Fake Reviews - Review Fraud

Is Sangamam in Seattle covering up Negative Reviews with Fake Reviews?

Review Fraud — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 21:04:00 +0000

I recieved a tip that the Sangamam restaurant at 473 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103 has recieved an influx of reviews after a few negative reviews were posted. 11 5-star Google reviews were posted 11 hours ago. Many of those reviewers left reviews for the same business. I am seeing people reviewing Arash Persian Grill in Richardson, TX, and Potomac Taphouse in Seattle, WA.

Mark Perez left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, and Potomac Taphouse.
Satnam Singh left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, and Thai Me Up in Greenwood Village, CO.
Scott Hall left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, Potomac Taphouse, and Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort and Spa.
Nathan Young left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, Potomac Taphouse, and Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort and Spa.
Syed umer left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, and Potomac Taphouse.

There are six profiles set to private. This means that when you click on them, you can’t see the businesses they reviewed. Those profiles are: Muhammad Shahbaz, Wahid Khan, Gursimran Singh, Tejinder Singh, Toni Duggan, and Simranjit Singh. I am able to unmask these profiles.

Muhammad Shahbaz left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, Bao Nine, and Karma Indian Restaurant,
Wahid Khan left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, Bao Nine, and Karma Indian Restaurant.
Gursimran Singh left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, Bao Nine, and Karma Indian Restaurant.
Tejinder Singh left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, Bao Nine, and Karma Indian Restaurant.
Toni Duggan left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, Karma Indian Restaurant, Potomac Taphouse, and Thai Me Up.
Simranjit Singh left a review for Sangamam, Arash Persian Grill, Thai Me Up, Potomac Taphouse, and Restyle Automotive.

The post Is Sangamam in Seattle covering up Negative Reviews with Fake Reviews? first appeared on Review Fraud.

Is Pearl Orthodontics Playing Fast and Loose with Google?

Review Fraud — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 01:38:10 +0000

I recieved a tip that Pearl Orthodontics is not adhering to Google’s TOS. When I searched for the business online, I discovered that they added keywords to their Google Business Profile (GBP) name. The Fremont location is listed as Pearl Orthodontics Fremont, CA. The San Ramon office is listed as Pearl Orthodontics San Ramon, CA. City and state abbreviations are not allowed in the name. Another complaint is that the offices are not open five days a week, yet their hours indicate otherwise.

The major complaint is that they have been entering people into a raffle when they leave a Google review. There is evidence that this has been taking place since at least May 26, 2025. When Google learns about this, the reviews for both locations will be removed, dating back to May 26, 2025. Reviews that are not a part of this raffle will be removed, as Google can’t determine how many were obtained legitimately.

These reviews led to a redressal by the FTC. Each review can cost them up to $51,744. Google will remove those reviews, saving this practice a considerable amount of money. The question remains how long it will take Google to remove these reviews

The post Is Pearl Orthodontics Playing Fast and Loose with Google? first appeared on Review Fraud.

What Happened to Myeongdong Mud’s Google Reviews

Review Fraud — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:38:41 +0000

Somebody affiliated with Myeongdong Mud posted on Reddit claiming that they lost close to 800 reviews. In the post, they claim that they didn’t receive any warnings from Google. They also claim that they didn’t “provide discounts, gifts, or compensation in exchange for reviews.” They also replied, stating, “The support agent confirmed that reviews were missing and escalated the case to a specialist team.”

I looked into their reviews and found evidence suggesting they are offering gifts in exchange for reviews. Several reviewers mentioned in their reviews that they were given gifts in exchange for a review. It appears that this practice dates back to March 16, 2025.

Several reviews posted photos showing the same gift bag. The biggest red flag is the following image uploaded with this review. It shows the same gift bag above the QR code to leave a Google review.

Google does remove reviews all the time. It doesn’t appear that Google is aware of the potential offer of a free gift in exchange for a review. If Google did, they would wipe out reviews to a certain date. The business is still able to receive reviews after the reviews disappeared. There is a known technical glitch, but in this case. If this is the case and the reviews return, this business will lose its reviews dating back to March 16, 2025, as soon as Google sees these reviews.

The post What Happened to Myeongdong Mud’s Google Reviews first appeared on Review Fraud.

Google slapped a Consumer Alert Warning on the Henderson Castle Google Business Profile.

Review Fraud — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 20:57:40 +0000

Back on December 5, 2025, I covered how the Henderson Castle was sued by a customer. A customer alleges that Andrea Toliver left multiple 1-star reviews in retaliation for the customer’s 1-star Google review of the Henderson Castle. Google placed a consumer alert warning that Suspicious high-rated reviews were recently removed from this place. I first saw this warning with City Farm Roslindale Weed Dispensary back on June 25, 2025. At that time, they were unable to receive new reviews for one month. The warning remained for one month as well. Google has now increased the warning period and the inability to get new reviews to 2 months.

Currently, the Henderson Castle isn’t showing any Google reviews or a rating. I am not sure whether this is working as intended or part of a bug. People have reported that all of their Google reviews went missing after they flagged a review for removal. We will have to wait and see if any of the reviews come back.

It’s been alleged that this is the second time that the Henderson Castle has recieved this warning. If this is true, this is alarming. This is the only time I have heard of a business being warned twice.

The post Google slapped a Consumer Alert Warning on the Henderson Castle Google Business Profile. first appeared on Review Fraud.

Morristown Indoor Golf Club learns about the Streisand Effect

Review Fraud — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 01:34:43 +0000

I came across a thread claiming that Morristown Indoor Golf Club sent someone a direct message (DM) demanding they remove their negative review or face a legal demand letter. The original claim is supposed to be from the person who recieved the takedown request. They state that it’s a case of mistaken identity. The damage is done.

A Google search for Morristown Indoor Golf Club shows the Reddit post as the third result. People are writing and leaving negative reviews over the demand. People have left 130 reviews over this incident. Eventually, Google will be made aware of this and will take action. The damage may already have been done.

The post Morristown Indoor Golf Club learns about the Streisand Effect first appeared on Review Fraud.

A Google Bug Removing All Google Business Profile Reviews

Review Fraud — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:59:42 +0000

I am seeing two cases in which businesses have lost all their Google Business Profile (GBP) reviews. I came across the first thread on Reddit. The next time I saw somebody post in a private Slack group I am in. I am asking Claudia Tomina for clarification on the issue and Google’s knowledge of the issue. She is a Google Business Profile Product Expert (GBP PE). Amy Toman, another GBP PE, is seeing signs that Google is removing all of the reviews after a review is flagged and removed. Google seems to think that this is working as intended (WAI). I say No WAI.

If you have lost all of your reviews. You need to contact support. If and when support can’t assist you, head over to the help forum and include the case ID.

Time will tell how long it takes Google to fix this issue. Have you lost all of your reviews?

The post A Google Bug Removing All Google Business Profile Reviews first appeared on Review Fraud.

Should you seek Addiction Treatment at 1st Choice Detox Center?

Review Fraud — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:02:09 +0000

I came across 1st Choice Detox Center in a Facebook group. As I looked into them, I found some glaring red flags. For starters, they only have one 5-star rating on Google. That rating was left on April 2, 2026. Anthony Santana has written 9 reviews and left six ratings. One of those reviews has been removed by Google. Anthony left reviews for Warner Park Addiction Treatment & Mental Health Center, Renewal Health Group Sanctuary Treatment Center, and Launch To Wellness – Outpatient Program. I have identified all three facilities in the past as addiction treatment and sober living homes with shared reviews.

There are four items of concern on the 1st Choice Detox Center. First off, they claim to be BBB Accredited. They don’t have a profile with the BBB. Next, they claim to be certified by LegitScript. LegitScript allows you to run paid ads on Google. They also have three reviews on the website that can’t be verified as to who wrote them. It’s a one-page website, and there is no way for anybody to write and post a review. The address listed on the website, 18269 Parthenia St, Northridge, CA 91325, doesn’t match the address listed in their California business registration or their Google Business Profile (GBP).

If you are considering sending your loved one to 1st Choice Detox Treatment Center, please do more research.

The post Should you seek Addiction Treatment at 1st Choice Detox Center? first appeared on Review Fraud.

Did Somebody create a tool to Spam AI Google Reviews?

Review Fraud — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 15:58:17 +0000

I was alerted to this Google profile that had posted suspicious reviews. It appears that this is not only a fake profile, but it is also using a tool to scan GBPs and write reviews. The average person can write one to two reviews per minute. This reviewer wrote an alarming number of reviews in a short time frame. I stopped counting after I counted 1082 reviews posted within one hour. There is no way that anybody could write that many reviews in that timeframe. It took me ten minutes to scroll through the reviews on my phone. It takes Google time to load additional results. This profile wrote three-sentence reviews. The kicker is that the latest review states, “US English review test,” The review shows that it was edited after it was initially posted.

This test is scary. If Google can’t see that 6,513 reviews were posted in a short period of time and remove them all, then the spammers will have a field day. Google lists the profile as having 5,662 reviews and 1 rating. Google removed 851 reviews. Google removed 13% of the reviews. 87 of the reviews are still live on Google. I don’t know when the removed reviews were posted. Were they posted yesterday or days prior?

If Google can’t identify this type of abuse, it will get worse.

The post Did Somebody create a tool to Spam AI Google Reviews? first appeared on Review Fraud.

Did a Case of mistaken identity lead to Negative Reviews?

Review Fraud — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 22:48:00 +0000

When a business goes viral for the wrong reasons, people take out their anger on it with negative reviews. These people are referred to as keyboard warriors. While these reviews violate Google’s TOS, the damage is done. A photographer in Asheville, NC, is claiming to be the victim of mistaken identity. Taylor Parker has the same name as the killer from Netflix’s documentary Marernal Instincts.

I am currently only seeing one negative review. It is the same review from the news story. This same negative review is the one featured in Taylor’s Instagram post. Did Google remove the other reviews before the story was published? Google typically removes reviews before a story is published. However, it takes a few days for the rating to reflect the score. Taylor hasn’t posted anything new about the attack or the removal of reviews.

I do hope that this was an actual review attack and not a sad attempt at marketing. If this were a hoax, then Taylor may experience a real review attack. If this were a marketing ploy, it wouldn’t work. Taylor’s Google Business Profile (GBP) has recieved 18 5-star reviews since the one 1-star rating. Google removes positive reviews when a business is going viral. I would expect to see reviews posted within the past few days to be removed. One of the 18 reviews was posted five hours ago. When Google removes reviews in a case like this, they lock down the profile to prevent any new reviews. Nothing is adding up here. I sure hope I am wrong because this is a horrible way to market your business and gain sympathy.

I reached out for comment, but I have not heard back.

The post Did a Case of mistaken identity lead to Negative Reviews? first appeared on Review Fraud.

Google has a new Review Problem

Review Fraud — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 17:33:29 +0000

I have seen two different posts on Reddit about spma reviews. The first post showed images of a review offering to help businesses remove their negative reviews. In the second post, the reviewer offered to sell fake reviews for the business. In both cases, the reviews were posted across several businesses in and around Toronto, Canada.

For several years, businesses were being extorted by fake reviews. It appears that these spammers have changed their method. It got so bad that Google had to create a form explicitly for these attacks. These review sellers don’t quit and continue to adapt. Google better hurry up and figure out how to stop this before it gets worse.

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