AI-Powered Facebook Scam Targets UK Small Businesses with Fake Reviews
Small businesses throughout Britain are reporting a disturbing new trend: their Facebook pages are being inundated with fraudulent negative reviews generated by artificial intelligence, followed by direct demands for cash payments to have these fake reviews removed. This sophisticated scam is specifically targeting tradespeople, cleaning services, and other local enterprises, with extortion demands reaching as high as £150 per incident.
How the Scam Operates
The fraudulent scheme begins when business pages suddenly receive multiple negative reviews within minutes of each other, all from obviously fake accounts with no friends or legitimate activity history. Shortly after these reviews appear, business owners begin receiving phone calls or messages from individuals claiming they can help remove the damaging content for a fee.
Brendan Corrigan, a 38-year-old plumber from Luton, Bedfordshire, experienced this firsthand when his company New-Gen Plumbing received twelve fake negative reviews earlier this month. "The first six reviews were all done within minutes of each other," Corrigan explained. "The pages have no friends and nothing on there – they have obviously been made for this purpose."
Devastating Impact on Small Businesses
The consequences for affected businesses are severe and immediate. Corrigan, who had maintained a perfect five-star rating for eight years, saw his overall rating destroyed overnight. "I was actually livid," he said. "All of my customers say that they saw my good reviews and that is why they picked me."
The financial impact has already become apparent. "Last week I noticed that I wasn't as busy as I normally am," Corrigan reported. "That is obviously from people seeing the reviews. It definitely has already started having an impact." As a father of four with another child on the way, the timing couldn't be worse for his family business.
Widespread Targeting Across Industries
Liam Robertson, 39, from Rugeley, Staffordshire, experienced a similar attack on his business Haywood Exterior Cleaning LTD. Five negative reviews appeared simultaneously on February 19, followed by messages demanding £150 for their removal. "I know loads of businesses similar to mine that have been attacked by these scammers," Robertson stated.
The cleaner, who established his business six years ago, expressed frustration with Facebook's response. "As far as I know Facebook isn't doing anything about it which is very annoying," he said. "This could be so damaging for our company – Facebook is where we find most of our customers. It is scary. There is absolutely nothing that I can do."
Business Owners Feel Helpless
Stephen Fielder, 28, from Sittingbourne, Kent, reported a sudden surge of negative reviews within a five-minute span for his company Kent Property Cleaning. The reviews made various false allegations, from property damage to poor communication. The following day, he received a message offering 'help' in exchange for £100.
"They came in completely out of the blue," Fielder said. "I was just out on a job, and they appeared all within seconds of each other and didn't stop." He expressed disappointment that his hard-earned reputation was being attacked: "I work hard for my reviews and do a good job and for some reason someone has decided to try and attack us and bring us down."
Limited Options for Victims
Many affected business owners have considered paying the scammers but quickly realized this would only encourage repeat attacks. Instead, they've been reporting all fraudulent reviews and encouraging genuine customers to do the same, though with limited success. Facebook's current policies make it difficult to remove reviews, even when they're clearly fraudulent.
Robertson summarized the frustration felt by many small business owners: "We work hard all the time running small businesses and it is just another thing to worry about now." The psychological toll is significant, with business owners describing the experience as "degrading," "gut-wrenching," and "panic-inducing."
Growing Concern About AI-Powered Fraud
While it's unclear exactly how the scammers are generating these reviews, the speed and coordination suggest automated systems or AI tools are being employed. The scam represents a new frontier in digital extortion, leveraging the importance of online reputation for small businesses while exploiting platform vulnerabilities.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, was approached for comment regarding these incidents but has yet to provide a substantive response or outline specific measures to address this growing problem. Business owners continue to operate in a vulnerable position, with their livelihoods potentially at stake from coordinated review bombing campaigns.
