San Francisco restaurants threatened by scammers leaving negative reviews

SAN FRANCISCO - A growing number of San Francisco restaurant owners are saying they are losing business to online scammers.

The restaurant owners said they are receiving emails from scammers threatening to post negative reviews online unless they receive a fee, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Some targeted restaurants include the Nightbird, Sons and Daughters, and Third Cousin.

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The scammers threaten to give them a single star, the lowest possible rating on Google's review system. They have no additional comments in the email.

Restaurant owners told the Chronicle that it's a form of online extortion.

Frustrated with how to deal with the issue, the owners said it's affecting their businesses negatively. 

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated where the negative reviews appeared. The alleged bogus reviews were posted to Google, according to the Chronicle.