How should I respond to blackmail for a do-follow back-link?

• Recently I received a threat saying that if I didn't give them a backlink they would launch a a toxic comment spam campaign against my site and kill my rankings.

  My question is, can they do that? ...should I be worried?

Answer:

The short answer is NO.

It is, unfortunately, a thing that's been circulating for a while now.

By googling backlink blackmail messages you'll find links to articles and discussions that describe exactly this issue in detail while offering a myriad of suggestions on how to deal with it if you're targeted.

Recently Google's John Mueller responded to a reddit post with the definitive suggestion from Google's point of view which is...

ignore it, it's just spam.

Google even has a Search Console support page that addresses this topic: Someone is using our company name to blackmail other website owners for backlinks.

Here are some of the many comments and recommendations posted on Reddit.....