Identifying Anonymous Cyber Smears and Internet Defamation

Lubin Austermuehle is one of a select group of leading defamation law firms from around the country selected to be part of Viriant's network of attorneys who defend businesses and professionals against cyber smears and internet defamation. We are pleased that Viriant and our firm have worked together offering our combined services for many years.

For over 35 years the attorneys at Lubin Austermuehle have represented large and small businesses, and professionals such as lawyers in doctors to protect their businesses from defamatory attacks. We have been protecting our clients from these attacks since the advent of internet review sites. Our efforts have included obtaining a full retraction and apology for our client a large diamond wholesaler who was subjected to a concerted targeted smear campaign by a competitor wholesaler. We ended the cyber smear campaign in a matter of months by a filing a $16 million libel per se suit against the allegedly unscrupulous competitor. You can read about that suit and the settlement we achieved for our client here.

Now, with our continued partnership with Viriant, we have another tool in our arsenal to assist our business and professional clients in stopping defamatory online postings. Viriant can help identify the anonymous posters which can save our clients time and money and make it more likely that they will obtain a monetary recovery.

The internet allows for anonymity which can result in candor in the expression of negative opinions. However, some unscrupulous competitors or unethical former customers exploit this anonymity. They use it to attack your professional practice or with defamatory or even completely fabricated reviews. They make up facts about your business or services simply to harm you or sometimes even seek to extort payments or refunds in return for taking down the false reviews. In some cases, the anonymous person attacking your business or professional practice is really a competitor posing as a disgruntled former customer who simply wants to drive down your sales or even put you out of business.

We have represented clients who have suffered attacks from competitors pretending to be dissatisfied customers who post negative and entirely contrived on line reviews on sites such as Yelp. These false posts attribute qualities or results to your product or services that are made up out of whole cloth. We have even had to defend our clients against competitors who create entire websites with sham product reviews that promote their product or services at the expense of our clients' products or services, making our clients' products or services falsely seem far less worthy of purchase then the competitor's product. These tactics are not only unethical they often violate defamation or unfair trade practices laws. These anonymous posts and fake websites can cause substantial harm to a business's reputation and good will and drive down sales. A negative online reputation can even cause vendors or investors to refuse to do business with your company.

Competitors secretly trying to put you out of business cannot conceal their identities anymore. Our Chicago and Oak Brook internet defamation and cyber smear attorneys have combined with Viriant, a leading internet forensic investigation company. With Viriant's help we can assist our clients protect themselves from anonymous online assaults. Viriant's patented investigation techniques enable it to identify and locate anonymous posters from any user-generated online content. Viriant works with businesses of all sizes from Fortune 500 companies to local family companies. It also assists professionals including doctors and lawyers to identify the posters and put an end to the false campaigns to destroy their businesses and reputations. At Lubin Austermuehle our lawyers have over 35 years-experience protecting our clients from defamatory attacks. Our continued collaboration with Viriant, enables our clients to identify the persons or competitors attacking their businesses to put an end to the on-line defamation. Once the perpetrator is identified, we can file a lawsuit that will stop the internet defamation.

Going after fabricated reviews one by one with Yelp, Google, etc. is time consuming and is often fruitless and unsuccessful. Every minute dealing with cyber smears and false online posts is time away from your business or professional practice. It slows your growth. We can help.

Viriant can uncover the true identity of the anonymous poster seeking to destroy your business. Our Chicago defamation and slander attorneys the come into the picture. We help put an end to the trade libel, commercial disparagement and tortious interference with your customer or client relations. You may even be able to recover presumed and punitive damages. With attorneys in Chicago, Elmhurst and Wilmette, we represent businesses and professionals located in Cook, DuPage, and the surrounding counties. To schedule a consultation with a member of our team, contact us online, or for a free consultation at 630-333-0333.

You can learn more Viriant and its services here on its website.

Disclaimer: Lubin Austermuehle does not control or review the content of Viriant's website(s) and does not sponsor, approve, or make any representation or warranty regarding the accuracy thereof or regarding Viriant's services.