In June 2025, Natalia Piper — founder of Build Solutions, a general contracting firm in Los Angeles — received a WhatsApp message from a number in Pakistan: "Someone has ordered me to post a negative review on your business. Got an order to post 20 reviews."
The trap
Fake one-star reviews appeared on her Google Business Profile, crashing her rating from a perfect 5.0 to 3.5 stars. Piper made the decision many small business owners face: she paid $250 in two separate payments to numbers in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The reviews were removed. Then 10 more appeared.
"It took me eight years to get my reputation in the market, and one guy can damage it in one day."
— Natalia Piper, New York Times
Breaking the cycle
Piper stopped paying and reported the fake reviews to Google, which eventually removed them. She discovered that removing her cellphone number from her online business listings stopped new scammers from contacting her on WhatsApp, ending the harassment.
What this case reveals
Piper's case, reported by the New York Times, became a cautionary tale: paying the extortionist doesn't solve the problem — it validates the business model. Eight years of reputation-building, destroyed in hours by a stranger on another continent. This is the reality for millions of small business owners who depend on their Google rating to survive.