Review Bombing – How our client was targeted and what you can learn

What happened?

Our client had a strong online reputation: plenty of five-star and four-star reviews, detailed feedback from real customers, and a profile that showed credibility. Suddenly, within minutes, their profile was flooded with multiple one-star scam reviews.

The pattern was obvious:

• Reviews posted within seconds of each other.
  
• Generic, poorly written text.
  
• One review even said: “Business owner, contact me, check my profile. My WhatsApp number is in my profile.”
  

The goal? To pressure the business into messaging the scammer and then demand money to “remove” the reviews.

Our response

Here’s what we advised and did immediately:
✅ Reported all fake reviews as spam.
✅ Asked the client to also report them.
✅ Suggested sharing the link with friends and family so they could report them too.

We strongly recommended not contacting the scammer, as this only leads to more harassment and demands for money.

Why it matters for every business

This case shows that review bombing can happen to anyone – even companies with a great reputation. And it’s not just about one bad day:

• Fake reviews can damage your rating and scare potential clients.
  
• They can make your profile look less trustworthy compared to competitors.
  
• The stress and distraction it causes to business owners is real.
  

What you can do

• Monitor your reviews regularly.
  
• Report suspicious ones immediately.
  
• Keep collecting genuine customer reviews to outweigh any damage (but not straight away! Keep the scammy ones on top for Google to notice).
  

How we can help

At SLT Media, we support businesses with Google profile optimisation, review monitoring, reporting guidance and review response management. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation – get in touch. We can help protect your reputation before fake reviews cause real harm.

How it ended in this case?

After identifying the unusual review activity, we acted quickly to protect our client’s online reputation. Using several Google accounts available within our company, we reported the suspicious reviews to Google as scam/fake. Thanks to the volume and accuracy of the reports, Google responded reasonably promptly and removed all of the fraudulent reviews. This highlights the importance of vigilance, multiple reporting channels, and swift action when dealing with review-bombing or fake feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions About Review-Bombing

What is review-bombing?
Review-bombing is when a large number of fake or irrelevant reviews are posted about a business in a short period of time, usually to harm its online reputation.

How can businesses spot review-bombing quickly?
Look for sudden spikes in reviews, repetitive text patterns, low-quality accounts, or a cluster of negative ratings that don’t align with typical customer feedback.

What should you do if review-bombing happens?
Report suspicious reviews to the platform (like Google) as fake or spam, preferably using multiple accounts for visibility. Monitor your review profile and respond to legitimate feedback professionally.

Will Google remove fake reviews?
Yes. If reviews are reported correctly as fake/scam and violate Google’s policies, Google can and will remove them, though timelines can vary.

How can you protect your online reputation proactively?
Regularly monitor reviews, encourage genuine customers to leave feedback, and set alerts for unusual activity in review volume or ratings.