Facebook Business Page Under Fire: The Rise of Review Extortion
The Threat Lurking in the Inbox Imagine opening your inbox to find a message from a stranger. They claim they can ruin your business with a flood of negative Facebook reviews if you don’t pay them a “protection” fee. Sounds like a plot from a gangster movie, but it’s happening today. Small e-commerce shops, local boutiques, and mom-and-pop online stores have reported these threats. Unknown attackers say, “Pay us, or watch your ratings crash.” For businesses that rely on Facebook as a source of traffic and trust, this is terrifying. A few one-star reviews might seem harmless, but when they appear in large numbers, they can scare off potential customers. Online shoppers pay close attention to star ratings. A sudden drop can cause a major hit to sales. These attackers know it, and ...