Owner of top-rated Liverpool restaurant blackmailed over fake reviews

Blackmailers targeting two top tier restaurants in Merseyside said they would post thousands of negative reviews about the businesses unless they paid a £2,000 demand.

Liverpool-born chef Andrew Sheridan and his business partner Sam Morgan own a number of restaurants across the North West, including the award-winning Restaurant 8 in Liverpool city centre and OXA on the Wirral.

The talented pair are highly-regarded in the food industry, with Restaurant 8 awarded three AA Rosettes, Best Restaurant in the UK and a Google review rating of 4.9 out of five stars, but the blackmailers’ goal was to ruin their reputation if they didn’t receive payment.

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Threatening the business through its WhatsApp booking service, the criminals demanded £2,000 or they would post ‘thousands’ of fake reviews online. After Mr Morgan decided to ‘play along’ for a few days, the figure was increased to £2,500, before the restaurant owners decided to stop contact.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Morgan said: "How do I know even if we were to pay that sum of money that this is going to stop? The truth is, it's not going to stop, he's going to come back a week later and say 'pay another £2,000 or I am going to post online that you paid me previously' and it's just going to go on."

Five days after contact ended, fake one-star reviews began to appear on Google and Tripadvisor. According to the BBC, Restaurant 8 was one of the restaurants hit with fake reviews earlier this month, however, they now appear to have been removed.

Mr Morgan commented: "I think this happens more, we are not just isolated. Unless we speak up about it, other people will bury their head in the sand, their businesses are going to get destroyed.

"The public gives so much credence to online review platforms and you have got these people trying to destroy businesses that are operating in a lifeblood of employment. I was thinking when is this going to stop?" Mr Sheridan added: “There will be some people who will pay out of fear. We have got a lot going on, the stress levels are already high, on top of it we have got some plonker trying it out, you take it personally."

Mr Morgan and Mr Sheridan have reported the scam to Google, Action Fraud and Tripadvisor.