What we measured
We assessed your review profile for signs of manipulation, attack patterns, or policy problems.
Why it matters
Two separate risks live here.
Someone attacking you - a competitor, a disgruntled ex-employee, or an extortion operation running a burst of fake one-stars followed by a demand for money.
You breaking a federal rule. The FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) took effect October 21, 2024. It carries civil penalties of over $50,000 per violation (the figure is adjusted for inflation annually). "Per violation" has been read to mean per fake review - so it compounds fast.
The part most owners miss: "knowing" includes "should have known." If you hire a review-generation vendor and never ask how they produce reviews, you are exposed to their conduct.
Fix it yourself
Know what the FTC rule actually prohibits
Fake reviews - writing, buying, selling, or spreading reviews from people who don't exist or never used your service, including AI-generated reviews presented as real customers.
Paying for sentiment - compensating anyone for a review "expressing a particular sentiment." This includes paying for negative reviews of a competitor.
Insider reviews without disclosure - reviews from your officers, managers, employees, or agents must clearly and conspicuously disclose the relationship. The disclosure must be unavoidable; a consumer must not have to click a link to find it. This also covers asking your own employees, or their relatives, for reviews.
Company-controlled "independent" review sites - running a "Top 10 Best [Industry] in [City]" site that quietly ranks you first.
Review suppression - using unfounded legal threats, physical threats, or intimidation to remove a negative review.
(Sorting your own reviews by rating, helpfulness or date is explicitly fine.) Fake social media indicators - bought followers, likes, or views.
Get a written representation from any reputation vendor that they comply with 16 CFR Part 465 and with the platform policies of every site they touch.
Step 1
Spot an attack
Signals, most reliable first:
Step 2
A cluster of one-star ratings within hours or days, often with no text
Reviewer profiles with no photo, one review ever, or a burst of reviews across unrelated businesses in distant cities Content describing a service you don't offer or a location you don't have
Reviews naming a competitor favourably
Any rating drop that coincides with an inbound message demanding money
Real bad reviews are specific, dated, and matchable to an actual transaction. Fakes are generic and clustered.
Report the review the right way
Use the Reviews Management Tool - it gives you a trackable case, unlike the in-profile flag: support.google.com/business/workflow/9945796 1. Confirm the email associated with the profile.
2. Select your business → Report a new review for removal.
3. Select the review → Report.
4. Choose the violation reason → Submit.
Evaluation typically takes several days. If denied, you get one appeal - return to the same tool and choose "Check the status of a review I reported previously." Make it count: write the appeal around the specific policy clause violated, quote it, and attach evidence that the reviewer was never a customer.
Common mistake: the Business Redressal Complaint Form is widely and wrongly recommended for fake reviews. It's for fraudulent listing data - a competitor faking their address or hijacking your phone number. Not reviews.
Step 3
If someone demands money - do not pay
Google has a dedicated channel for review extortion. Their description of the pattern: "a sudden increase in 1-star and 2-star reviews... followed by someone demanding money, goods, or services in exchange for removing the negative reviews."
Report at: support.google.com/business/contact/merchant_extortion
Gather first: screenshots of every demand, direct links to each suspicious review, any names/emails/phone numbers/social profiles of the perpetrator, and the dates the reviews and demands started.
Google's explicit instruction: "Do not engage with or pay the malicious individuals. This can encourage further attempts and
doesn't guarantee the removal of reviews."
Also report to the FBI IC3 at ic3.gov - this is extortion, a crime - to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and to your state Attorney General.
Step 4
Set expectations on what gets removed
Removal succeeds when you can point to a policy clause, not when a review is unfair.
Gets removed: not a genuine experience · conflict of interest · off-topic · profanity or harassment · personal information · promotional content · impersonation.
Does not get removed: harsh but real · factually mistaken · one star with no text · from a customer you fired.
Most legitimate negative reviews will stay. Your response is the remedy - see Respond to Every Review.
Step 5
Respond calmly to fakes while the case is pending Prospects reading your profile need to see a business behaving normally. Keep it short and non-accusatory: "We have no record of this visit and have reported this review for investigation."
Step 6
Common mistakes
Buying reviews. Over $50,000 per violation, and 'should have known' counts.
Employee reviews without disclosure. A federal rule violation, not just a Google one.
Legal threats to reviewers. Prohibited by the FTC rule itself.
Paying an extortionist. It marks you as a payer and invites more.
This fix is free. You can earn and keep any Agenarys Seal tier - including Platinum - without paying Agenarys anything beyond the audit itself. If you would rather have help doing it, we sell that. We never sell passage.
Sources and further reading
FTC Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465 (eff. Oct 21, 2024) FTC Q&A: ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers Civil penalty amount, 16 CFR § 1.98 - adjusted annually; confirm the current figure Google Reviews Management Tool: support.google.com/business/workflow/9945796 Google review extortion reporting: support.google.com/business/answer/16404809 Agenarys · Operational Intelligence Audit · Standard v2026.1 Issued July 2026 · agenarys.com/guides/review-integrity Don't accuse anyone. Don't name anyone. Don't argue.
You've reviewed your profile for attack patterns.☐
Any suspicious reviews are reported through the Reviews Management Tool.☐ You have written compliance assurance from any reputation vendor.☐ No employee, family, or insider reviews sit on your profile undisclosed.☐
You know the extortion reporting path and would not pay.☐
Legal information
This guide provides general information, not legal advice. Laws and policies change. Confirm current requirements with qualified counsel before acting.