Security News > 2023 > June > Google targets fake business reviews network in new lawsuit
Google has filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Ethan QiQi Hu and his company, Rafadigital, accusing him of creating 350 fraudulent Business Profiles and 14,000 fake reviews for an alleged business verification service for Google services.
"Our lawsuit targets a bad actor who perpetrated a coordinated campaign to deceive consumers and business owners by fraudulently attempting to manipulate our services for small businesses," alleges a Google announcement.
According to the lawsuit that Google submitted to the U.S. District Court of North California, Hu and companies GMBEye and Rafadigital allegedly set up a complex scheme to manipulate business listings on Google to mislead consumers for profit.
In short, Google alleges that Hu and his team created fake businesses on Google, boosted them with fictitious reviews, and convinced small business owners to purchase these profiles for $1,000 and apply for a name switch, hoping to enjoy a more prominent position in Google search results.
Google says GMBEye's website promoted Google Business verification services that supposedly bypassed Google's standard procedures and even promised the capability to get any business at the top position in Google Map searches.
"Rafadigital's advertising makes dramatic and unachievable promises, such as that Defendants will ensure that a website"shows up #1 on Google" and that "[w]e rank your business on Google My Business to be #1 on map searches so you can out-perform local competitors," reads Google's lawsuit.