What Happens If You Buy Google Reviews? Risks and Penalties
An email from Google lands in your inbox. It says fake reviews were found on your Business Profile, and that restrictions will follow.
You bought those reviews because you wanted to get Google reviews moving. What follows comes from three directions. Google can remove the reviews, block new ones, hide the ones you have and put a public warning on your profile. The ACCC can act under Australian consumer law. And customers who notice will draw their own conclusions.
At BuyReviews we work only with real customers, and we often hear from owners at this exact moment. Here’s each penalty, and what to do next.
What happens if you buy Google reviews?
The reviews appear, and for a while it looks like it worked. Then one or more of the penalties below arrives.
Sometimes it’s only removal. Sometimes it’s the full set. You don’t get to choose, and the seller isn’t affected either way.
What penalties can Google apply?
Google’s fake engagement policy lists what it can do.
| Penalty | What it means for you |
| Removal | The bought reviews are deleted, with no refund |
| No new reviews | Customers can’t leave reviews for a set period |
| Existing reviews unpublished | Every review is hidden for a set period, including real ones |
| Public warning | Customers see a notice that fake reviews were removed |
Google says these examples aren’t the full list. It also says it emails the business owner before a restriction starts, and that businesses can appeal.
The penalties grow with repeat offences. One report from 2026 showed a business caught a second time having its reviews hidden and new ones blocked for two months, with a warning shown to customers.
In our view, the unpublished reviews hurt most. An owner can spend three years earning forty honest reviews and lose sight of all of them over ten bought ones.
What penalties can the ACCC apply?
The ACCC enforces the Australian Consumer Law. It says it’s against the law to create fake or misleading reviews, or to arrange for others to.
Its own case studies show the range. A removalist called Citymove paid a $6,600 infringement notice in 2011 over false testimonials. Solar businesses trading as Euro Solar and Australian Solar Panel were ordered to pay $125,000, and their director a further $20,000 personally.
The legal maximums are far higher: $50 million or more for a company, and $2.5 million for an individual. Courts match the penalty to the conduct, so small businesses don’t face those figures. But the director’s personal penalty in the solar case is worth remembering.
What do customers do when they notice?
They go elsewhere, usually without telling you.
Bought reviews tend to look alike. They arrive together, say little, and mention nothing specific. The ACCC lists those same features as signs of a fake. A customer may not know the policy, but they can tell when twenty reviews sound like one person.
A warning on the profile removes any doubt. It tells every visitor what happened.
What are the hidden costs?
Three that owners don’t expect.
Your ranking can suffer. Google says review count and review score both factor into local ranking. When reviews are removed or hidden, both fall.
Your real reviews pay the price. They’re hidden along with the fake ones during a restriction, and Google admits its spam detection sometimes removes legitimate reviews by mistake.
And recovery takes time. You’ve spent money on reviews that are gone, and you start again from a weaker position than before.
What should you do in the first 48 hours after a Google notice?
Act quickly and calmly. This is the order we’d follow.
- Read the email carefully, and check it came from Google. Look in the spam folder for earlier messages.
- Cancel the review order, and refuse any replacement or “refill” offer.
- Search your business name on Google and look at your profile for a warning or missing reviews.
- Select Read reviews. For any bought review still showing, select the three dots, then Report review.
- Take screenshots of the notice and your profile for your records.
- Decide on an appeal. Use the appeal route in Google’s notice only if you believe Google has made a mistake, or once you’ve fixed the problem.
- Tell your staff, so nobody tries to “help” by posting reviews.
Step 4 feels odd, but clearing out the remaining fakes is the right move. It’s the proper way to remove fake Google reviews, including ones you arranged.
How do you rebuild afterwards?
With honest reviews from real customers, collected steadily. There’s no faster route that doesn’t repeat the mistake.
- On a computer, open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, then Copy. Google provides the link, so you don’t need a Google review link generator.
- Ask every customer in person on the day you finish their job.
- Text the link within the hour, or send a short review request email template.
- Send one reminder a week later.
- Reply to every review, and respond to negative Google reviews within a day.
If new reviews are paused, set up the routine now and start the day the restriction lifts. Keep serving customers well in the meantime, because those are the people you’ll be asking.
BuyReviews can run the asking for you. You share your customer list, we send the requests and reminders, and your customers write their own words. It’s how we help clients get Google reviews that stay, and how we improve Google reviews after a setback. For anyone wondering how to get more Google reviews after being caught out, this is the only method we’d recommend. It’s also what we mean by online reputation management in Australia.
Frequently asked questions
What is the penalty for buying Google reviews?
There are two sets. Google can remove the reviews, block new ones, hide your existing reviews for a set period and show a public warning. In Australia, the ACCC can also act under consumer law, with outcomes that have ranged from a $6,600 notice to penalties in the millions.
Does Google warn you before restricting your profile?
Google says it notifies the business owner by email before a restriction is applied, and that the business can appeal. Check the inbox and spam folder of the account that manages your profile. The email is your chance to act early, so don’t ignore it or assume it’s a scam without checking.
Do the penalties get worse the second time?
It appears so. One report from 2026 showed Google applying a longer restriction to a business caught violating the same policy again, with new and past reviews hidden for two months and a warning displayed. If you’ve been restricted once, a second batch of bought reviews is a much bigger gamble.
Can buying reviews affect my Google ranking?
It can hurt it. Google says review count and review score factor into local ranking. When bought reviews are removed, your count falls. If Google hides all your reviews under a restriction, you’re competing in local search with none showing. Google also says there’s no way to pay for a better ranking.
Will customers see that my reviews were removed?
They can. One of Google’s listed restrictions is displaying a warning that tells customers fake reviews were removed from the profile. It’s shown on the profile itself. Even without a warning, customers may notice a rating that suddenly drops or a review count that shrinks from one visit to the next.
What should you do next?
If you’ve had a notice from Google, work through the seven steps today. If you haven’t bought reviews, you now know what you’d be risking.
To grow your reviews without any of these penalties, send BuyReviews your customer list. We’ll help you get Google reviews from the customers you’ve already served.
