Thousands of fake customer reviews are found on Amazon
A lot of tech products on Amazon are boosted by product reviews that appear to be fake
A new investigation by a British consumer education group, called Which?, found a lot of tech categories on Amazon are flooded with products from virtually unknown brands, all boosted by product reviews that appear to be fake, reports CNN.
The Which? investigation dug into the lineup of cameras, smart watches, headphones, fitness trackers and other small tech items offered on Amazon and unearthed some fishy details:
- Some of the top-rated brands in different categories were brands tech experts had never heard of, like Ktaoism, Gejin, ZagZog and Vogek.
- A bulk of the reviews on questionable products were from unverified purchasers. (In an effort to combat the widespread problem of fake product reviews online, Amazon has a “Verified Purchase Review” program, where the company indicates what reviews are written by people who actually purchased the product and did so without significant discount or incentive from the seller. Unverified reviews can still be published, but don’t bear Amazon’s seal of approval).
- Of these unverified reviews, a significant portion of them were perfect 5-star reviews.
- Finally, large floods of these unverified, unanimously perfect reviews “arrived on a product listing on the same day, or in a short space of time,” according to Which? “This sort of activity often involved duplication or repetition of reviews. We even found instances of positive reviews for entirely different products appearing on a listing.”
CNN has reached out to Amazon for comment. “Even one inauthentic review is one too many,” the company told Which? “We have clear participation guidelines for both reviewers and selling partners and we suspend, ban, and take legal action on those who violate our policies.”
More Amazon news
Amazon speeds up same-day delivery
Amazon expands same-day delivery with the new network of mini warehouses Amazon unveiled its latest initiative to speed up delivery times on millions of items for its Prime members. Amazon has quietly built smaller versions of its fulfillment centers...
The Court examines Amazon’s third-party liability
Who's responsible for what you buy on Amazon? The court is to decide Federal judges will determine if Amazon holds responsibility for damages caused by goods sold on Amazon Marketplace. According to CNN, the U.S. Third Court of Appeals in Philadelphia is...
China Coronavirus Update
Chinese companies start to get back to work Monday is the first official day back to work in China after the authorities extended the holidays in attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In some provinces factories gradually start to resume...
