By Carla Rogner
Publication Date: 2025-12-02 23:59:00
The “review bombing” extortion scam is happening locally and across the nation, according to the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio.
POWELL, Ohio — A Powell business owner said he was flooded by bad Google reviews from a scammer, who asked for $5,000 to remove them, in part of a negative review extortion scam that Google is warning business owners about nationwide.
Robert Koehler opened his Zoom Drain Columbus franchise about a year and a half ago, and said business has been going well. That is why he was confused when he received a string of one-star reviews from customers he never worked with.
“It started off as a panic,” Koehler said.
The reviews came in one by one, spaced just minutes apart.
“We thought we are getting attacked, our reputation is getting…
