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
New Australian Amazon Fulfillment Center in Perth
New Amazon Fulfillment Center in Australia Opening of the new Fulfillment center in Australia is significant for merchants looking to use Amazon FBA in this country Amazon has opened a new fulfillment center in Perth on the Western coast of Australia. The facility...
US considers putting Amazon overseas websites on counterfeit blacklist
Trump administration considers putting Amazon on “Notorious Markets” list Trump administration is considering putting some of Amazon overseas websites on a list of global marketplaces known for counterfeit goods, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar...
China insists on the removal of existing US tariffs
US-China Trade Deal Beijing’s top priority in the trade deal with the United States is the removal of existing tariffs on Chinese goods “Sources with direct knowledge of the trade talks told the Global Times on Saturday that the U.S. must remove existing...
