Michelin-rated restaurant fights back against online scammers who tried to blackmail it with 'one-star' reviews if they weren't paid

Criminals are threatening to bombard Michelin-starred restaurants with one-star reviews unless they manus implicit currency successful a caller scam.

Chef Andy Sheridan, who has appeared connected Great British Menu, says helium and concern spouse Sam Morgan's eateries person been targeted by criminals demanding four-figure payments oregon other they would beryllium deed with fake reviews.

The pair, who tally a fig of restaurants crossed England and are preparing to unfastened 1 successful Wales, accidental they initially ignored the demands until they noticed fake criticisms of their businesses cropping up connected Google and TripAdvisor.

Mr Sheridan's apical restaurant, the Michelin-starred 8 by Andy Sheridan successful Liverpool, was deed by a fake reappraisal slating its vino enactment and the prices paid for world-class eating - and helium suspects the reappraisal was retaliation for not paying up.

Others flooded successful connected Google - targeting not lone the duo's Liverpool edifice but the Bracebridge gastropub successful Sutton Coldfield, adjacent Birmingham - making baseless claims astir each business.

One reappraisal of 8 successful Liverpool read: 'Wine database is precise mediocre and wholly overpriced. Our cook Jake was fantastic but...how tin anyone warrant 90 pounds for Prosecco.' 

Mr Sheridan and Mr Morgan told BBC News the venue does not service prosecco and they person ne'er employed a cook named Jake.

Another of the Bracebridge read: 'Disappoints with its lacklustre work and mediocre nutrient quality, ambience was dull and prices did not warrant the experience. Not recommended for discerning diners seeking prime dining.'

Mr Morgan decided to instrumentality action, trying to find retired arsenic overmuch arsenic helium could astir the fraudsters portion besides reporting their malicious reviews to tech giants successful bid to person them removed - with varying degrees of success. 

He told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours: 'This is conscionable classical fraudster tricks. The limb is fearfulness - yet we are a tiny autarkic business...we are not a multi-million organisation, we don't person the resources that tackle these things.'

He began to 'play along' with the fraudsters, asking for outgo details and adjacent convincing them to stock a transcript of their passport arsenic impervious of their identity, though helium suspected the paperwork is fake.

Mr Morgan added: 'How bash I cognize adjacent if we were to wage that sum of wealth that this is going to stop? 

'The information is, it's not going to stop, he's going to travel backmost a week aboriginal and accidental 'pay different £2,000 oregon I americium going to station online that you paid maine previously' and it's conscionable going to spell on.'

After helium stopped communicating with the fraudsters, malicious reviews began to look online - and helium was disappointed that it was lone aft the media got progressive that the likes of Google intervened to cull the fake posts.

He told the Telegraph: 'The property has to get progressive for them to enactment and that's a beauteous mediocre situation. And that's conscionable not bully capable successful today's time and age, erstwhile you're a multi-billion lb organisation, making wealth retired of tiny business. It's conscionable not bully enough, and not acceptable.'

The brace person since thanked the nationalist for their support, sharing an representation of an AA Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence connected 8's Instagram.

'We decided to spell nationalist with this contented due to the fact that we judge it’s not an isolated incident,' they wrote.

'The nationalist places immense spot successful online reappraisal platforms, and unfortunately, malicious individuals exploit this spot to harm businesses that are captious to our assemblage and section employment.'

A Google spokesperson said: 'Our policies intelligibly authorities that reviews indispensable beryllium based connected existent experiences and information.

'We've looked into this lawsuit and are removing the policy-violating content.'

A Tripadvisor spokesperson said: 'This benignant of enactment contravenes Tripadvisor's guidelines and is amerciable successful galore locations.

'With regards to this incident, portion Tripadvisor's modular reporting processes were not initially engaged with by the business, our spot and information squad has been successful interaction with the proprietor and the reappraisal successful question is nary longer published to their listing page.

'More broadly our connection to concern owners is simple. If you are threatened with blackmail – by a lawsuit oregon anyone other – bash not prosecute straight with that individual.'