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Several San Francisco restaurants have been victims of blackmail from people posting false negative reviews on Google.
After posting the negative review, the blackmailer sends the following message: "Hello. Unfortunately, negative feedback about your establishment has been left by us. And will appear in the future, one review a day. We sincerely apologize for our actions, and would not want to harm your business, but we have no other choice." Some restaurants have received 10 such threats
The scammer then demands a $75 Google Play gift card in order to remove the negative review. Once it’s reported it takes a while for Google to remove the review.