Amazon files two lawsuits targeting phony reviews
Amazon is going to court over what it says are organized efforts to post fake customer reviews on its site.
The e-tailer, which says it proactively blocked over 200 million suspected fake reviews from its online stores in 2022 and enacted a three-part plan to halt phony reviews from posting on its site in June 2023, is filing two new lawsuits against companies it says are acting as fake review brokers:
Amazon v. PMNLWeb: Through social media sites, Amazon says the owners and operators of PMNLWeb solicit prospective reviewers to leave fake five-star reviews on the product listing pages of bad actors operating Amazon selling accounts.
The suit alleges that reviewers are directed to PMNLWeb, where they can browse and select a product to purchase. From there, the reviewer is instructed how to search for and purchase the product in Amazon’s stores, suggesting specific keywords that make the reviewer’s purchase appear authentic through an organic search for the product.
According to Amazon, PMNLWeb fully refunds the reviewer for the product purchase price in exchange for a fake positive review, and targets Amazon’s stores globally including in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, United Arab Emirates, and more. Case No. 23-2-14063-0, pending in King County Superior Court.
Amazon v. ProAmazonService: An Amazon lawsuit accuses the owners and operators of ProAmazonService of selling fake “Amazon Customer Verified” reviews and other fake content to bad actors operating Amazon selling accounts. According to Amazon, the defendants allow bad actors to draft their own reviews, offering fake reviews starting from $7.99.
In addition to fake reviews, Amazon says the defendants sell other fake content to boost reviews higher up on a product listing page, and also offer services that aim to remove negative reviews from bad actors’ product listing pages, targeting Amazon’s stores globally including in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the U.K. Case No. 23-2-14891-6, pending in King County Superior Court.
“Customers rely on product reviews to make informed purchase decisions, and these fraudsters need to be held accountable for intentionally deceiving Amazon customers, harming our selling partners, and abusing our store,” said David Montague, Amazon VP of selling partner risk, in a corporate blog post. “These latest lawsuits represent our zero-tolerance policy for fake reviews and illicit activity in our stores, and we will continue pursuing fake review brokers in order to maintain a trustworthy shopping experience.”
Amazon plays long game against fake reviews
The company has been filing lawsuits against alleged fake review posters as far back as 2015, with at least two suits filed in 2022.. In 2021, Amazon said it “relentlessly innovates” to allow only genuine product reviews in its store. To proactively prevent fake or incentivized reviews, Amazon has developed and deployed machine learning technology which it pairs with expert human investigators.
However, Amazon says that due to its continued improvements in detecting fake reviews and accounts associated with them, it is seeing an increasing trend of fake reviews being solicited outside Amazon, particularly via social media services.