Online sellers 'pay for positive reviews'

"Fake Amazon Review Scheme Tricking Customers

Data breach reveals that over 200,000 users are involved in an organized Amazon fake product review scam...

The names of over 200,000 people participating in Amazon fraudulent product review schemes have been exposed due to an open database...

https://news.softpedia.com/news/scammers-accidentally-expose-fake-amazon-review-schemes-532839.shtml

 

"Amazon asked Apple to remove an app that spots fake reviews, and Apple agreed

Apple has removed Fakespot, a well-known app for detecting fake product reviews, from its App Store after Amazon complained the app provided misleading information and potential security risks...

Fakespot CEO Saoud Khalifah disputed Amazon’s claims and said he got no warning from Apple before the app was taken down...

Amazon said it reported Fakespot to Apple for investigation after it grew concerned that a redesigned version of the app confused consumers by displaying Amazon’s website in the app with Fakespot code and content overlaid on top of it...

Amazon also claims Fakespot’s coding technique makes it possible for the app to collect and track information from customers..."

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/16/apple-removes-fakespot-from-app-store-after-amazon-complains.html

 

Amazon is being sued by companies it banned for fake reviews
September 30, 2021
https://www.xda-developers.com/amazon-is-being-sued-by-companies-it-banned-for-fake-reviews/

 

They should also check YouTube for similar fake reviews.

 

Yeah, a lot of people get intimidated to remove negative reviews. My former dentist has a few and one of them was updated to say they were calling her and harassing her and her family members to remove it. I would have liked to have posted one but didn't want to deal with the same thing.

 

I once heard a story that Yelp itself will write a number of positive reviews. Then Yelp will ask you to start paying Yelp or start paying more. And if you don't pay then Yelp will start writing (more) negative reviews for your business. That reminds me of the word "Blackmail".

 

That's crazy indeed. Perhaps less serious, but I hope they will also tackle fake movie reviews. You see a lot of them on imdb.com, problem is how to prove they are fake, because at the end of the day it's a personal opinion.