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Fake Amazon reviews draw fraud charges in groundbreaking FTC case

NorthCascades
NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
in Debate Club
I don't think this will be a robust debate because nobody will take up the pro fraud side. But this is important info nonetheless.

The US Federal Trade Commission has successfully brought the first ever case against using fraudulent, paid Amazon reviews to falsely advertise an online product, the agency announced Tuesday evening. The company in question, named Cure Encapsulations, Inc. and owned by Naftula Jacobowitz, paid a third-party website to write five-star Amazon reviews for a weight-loss supplement called garcinia cambogia. The plant, native to Indonesia, is widely mischaracterized as contributing to weight loss, but is in fact known to cause acute liver failure.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/26/18242303/ftc-fake-amazon-reviews-lawsuit-false-advertising

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    This has been a problem for quite a while. I'm more familiar with it in the book area, but I think it's rampant for just about any type of product and it's interesting to see the FTC attempting to do something to address it.
  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,330 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    But are the sugar-free Haribo gummy bear reviews real?!? :o

    Yes. Lol
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    This has been a problem for quite a while. I'm more familiar with it in the book area, but I think it's rampant for just about any type of product and it's interesting to see the FTC attempting to do something to address it.

    Amazon and Amazon sellers have been caught multiple times padding reviews for certain books (like having more reviews than books sold). I am sure that it happens on most of the other products that are sold as well.

    I have been waiting for the FTC to take a stand and do something about this for awhile - I am glad that they finally took a stand.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    I used to get offers to get reimbursed for lifting equipment from a specific vendor in return for leaving an honest review. It was great for me because I loved their products and I did leave honest feedback (like most were not designed for a 100ish lb 5'1" female). They have the absolute best customer service I've ever seen however, and great quality products. However, after I heard that Amazon was forbidding that type of activity, I started declining their offers. I feel bad for the companies as it is a really good way to get people to try your products and get the word out, but I also understand Amazon's stance that people might be less than willing to provide honest feedback.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    mom23mangos wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    But are the sugar-free Haribo gummy bear reviews real?!? :o

    Only one way to find out....

    I await your review.

    I had no issues with them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Now the "kids" who came trick or treating and were taller than me and had beards, I'm not so sure how they fared.

    Sadly, it appears they have been discontinued :disappointed:
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,092 Member
    Not to discount the actual fraud, but Amazon is also just bad at associating reviews with the correct products. I see reviews all the time that are clearly not for the product they're listed under (wrong format, wrong model, etc., etc.) I've been emailed questions from shoppers for products that Amazon thinks I've bought from them, but when I go try to be helpful and answer the query, I see it's for a newer model or some other difference that makes my experience of limited value. There's no real benefit in boosting sales from doing that, so far as I can see (in fact, I would think people that notice the problem would be unlikely to trust Amazon reviews much anymore), so it just seems like incompetence in those cases.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    But are the sugar-free Haribo gummy bear reviews real?!? :o

    yes.

    Now guess how I know. :angry:
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    mom23mangos wrote: »
    I used to get offers to get reimbursed for lifting equipment from a specific vendor in return for leaving an honest review. It was great for me because I loved their products and I did leave honest feedback (like most were not designed for a 100ish lb 5'1" female). They have the absolute best customer service I've ever seen however, and great quality products. However, after I heard that Amazon was forbidding that type of activity, I started declining their offers. I feel bad for the companies as it is a really good way to get people to try your products and get the word out, but I also understand Amazon's stance that people might be less than willing to provide honest feedback.

    My understanding is that writing a review for a free/reimbursed product *is* allowed as long as you clearly state that in the body of the review itself. I frequently see book reviews that note that the reviewer received a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. ARC (advance reader copies) are common in publishing and they're done specifically for the purpose of facilitating reviews.

    Not for books, but I used to be an amazon product reviewer. Companies send hundreds of free things if you review them.

    About a year ago, Amazon cracked down and made it against the rules to do so and banned hundreds of accounts who did this. I had my account banned and another account streaked of review privileges because I had used coupon codes. If you review a product without making a purchase and/or use a discount code and then review, they will revoke your review privileges now.

    Despite this, there are still many websites/groups in which the seller refunds you in exchange for a review but through paypal (instead of giving you a code to get the item free). There are hundreds of facebook groups full of sellers looking for people to try and review for a refund. (I'll admit I do it from time to time when I want a free product) I never lie in my review though, I always said I got for free or discount.

    This is why I take reviews for certain items on amazon with a grain of salt, lol.

    Interesting, thanks for sharing.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    I get selective information from the reviews. If the product gets mediocre reviews, I'm more likely to take them seriously, and pick through the latest to see if there's some consenses about where the product falls short (there's a surprising number of 3-4 star reviews based on the colors available which don't say anything about the quality). I'll also look to see if there's a consenses on sizing as far as running big or small. 3 pages of glowing reviews just makes me go back to the original product and make up my own mind, especially if they don't say anything more than "I love this product, the quality's excellent and I would certainly buy it again!!!"

    Generally, if there are already a bunch of positive reviews and I like the product, I don't bother to add my own rating. If there's an issue I'm more likely to post a review with specifics of what didn't work for me.
  • AR15LUVR4U
    AR15LUVR4U Posts: 4 Member
    I have received plenty of free fitness related items in lieu of leaving a good review. I take all reviews with a grain of salt because i know how much trickery is involved
  • DanyellMcGinnis
    DanyellMcGinnis Posts: 315 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    mom23mangos wrote: »
    I used to get offers to get reimbursed for lifting equipment from a specific vendor in return for leaving an honest review. It was great for me because I loved their products and I did leave honest feedback (like most were not designed for a 100ish lb 5'1" female). They have the absolute best customer service I've ever seen however, and great quality products. However, after I heard that Amazon was forbidding that type of activity, I started declining their offers. I feel bad for the companies as it is a really good way to get people to try your products and get the word out, but I also understand Amazon's stance that people might be less than willing to provide honest feedback.

    My understanding is that writing a review for a free/reimbursed product *is* allowed as long as you clearly state that in the body of the review itself. I frequently see book reviews that note that the reviewer received a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. ARC (advance reader copies) are common in publishing and they're done specifically for the purpose of facilitating reviews.

    Nope, that's been banned by Amazon for several years now. (They used to allow it.) I think there might be exceptions for books but that's about it.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    DanyellMcGinnis wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    mom23mangos wrote: »
    I used to get offers to get reimbursed for lifting equipment from a specific vendor in return for leaving an honest review. It was great for me because I loved their products and I did leave honest feedback (like most were not designed for a 100ish lb 5'1" female). They have the absolute best customer service I've ever seen however, and great quality products. However, after I heard that Amazon was forbidding that type of activity, I started declining their offers. I feel bad for the companies as it is a really good way to get people to try your products and get the word out, but I also understand Amazon's stance that people might be less than willing to provide honest feedback.

    My understanding is that writing a review for a free/reimbursed product *is* allowed as long as you clearly state that in the body of the review itself. I frequently see book reviews that note that the reviewer received a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. ARC (advance reader copies) are common in publishing and they're done specifically for the purpose of facilitating reviews.

    Nope, that's been banned by Amazon for several years now. (They used to allow it.) I think there might be exceptions for books but that's about it.

    I still see it for books, so that must be an area where they are making exceptions (maybe because there is a long tradition of ARCs for books).
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    i def. still use it for books all the time; but products are different - that was changed in 2017 i believe
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    If you take reviews with a grain of salt, but want to use them to evaluate a product, you can use Fakespot to see how reliable they are.

    I'm glad to see that the FTC is getting involved with this. I get a lot of things from Amazon and rely a lot on reviews when evaluating products, and have done so with a cynical eye because it's obvious that so many of them are fake.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    I bought a mini LCD projector on Amazon.
    Have it a 3 star review.
    Got slammed with emails from the Chinese manufacturer saying they would pay my $160 (the projector was only $300) to remove the review. When I final said okay. Then they said they'd pay only if i gave them a 5 review.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Actually a bit shocked that no one is taking up the pro fraud side from a freedom of speech angle.

    Good move FTC. This is the appropriate role of government.
  • ericadcruz32
    ericadcruz32 Posts: 48 Member
    The fact that people still buy into these fads [DESPITE FAKE 5 STAR REVIEWS] is just amazing to me.

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