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Amazon continues to increase its legal commitment to counter the activity of fake review brokers, filing its first European criminal complaint and its first civil suit in Spain in Italy. These two proceedings, along with 10 other new lawsuits recently launched in the United States, aim to identify and block operators who currently operate more than 11,000 websites and social groups fueling the market for fake reviews on Amazon and other online stores in money exchange or free products.
“Bringing these evildoers to justice through lawsuits and criminal charges is one of many important initiatives that we protect customers with so they can shop with confidence,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Vice President of Selling Partner Services at Amazon. “In addition to continuing to innovate our fake review detection and prevention systems in our store, Amazon will relentlessly continue to spot the wrongdoers fueling this market and take action against them. There is no place for fake reviews on Amazon or elsewhere in the industry “.
Amazon’s first criminal complaint filed in Italy (and the first at European level), targets one of the leading brokers selling fake reviews. The broker identified would have created a network of people willing to buy products on Amazon and publish 5-star reviews in exchange for a full refund of their purchases. Amazon’s decision to report this case to the judiciary demonstrates the company’s determination to stop those who profit by deceiving customers and sales partners. These conducts can integrate crimes for which imprisonment and fines are provided for in Italy.
Amazon also filed its first civil complaint in Spain against a fake review broker, Agencia Reviews. The Spanish-based operator targets www.amazon.es sellers and customers and communicates via the Telegram instant messaging service to avoid being tracked. According to Amazon investigations, the suspected scammer fully refunds customers once they post a fake 5-star review.
In addition to these unprecedented lawsuits in Europe, Amazon has increased the number of cases in the US, which is already growing strongly, by filing 10 more lawsuits against fake review brokers and others attempting to circumvent Amazon’s control systems. . Amazon also sent warning letters to five German-based websites that directed visitors to fake review brokers. All five websites have since decided to stop this business by signing a termination confirmation letter.
Amazon has devoted numerous resources to investigations and lawsuits against fake review brokers to counter this phenomenon in its online store. A dedicated team of experienced investigators, lawyers, analysts and other specialists operating globally and tracking down fake review brokers, collects evidence of their business and takes legal action against them, with the aim of identifying the culprits and stopping the fraud at source. However, ongoing collaboration and investment across the industry is required to permanently eliminate fake reviews. Amazon continues to seek the assistance and support of other industry players, as well as government agencies, regulators, and law enforcement agencies to improve detection and increase enforcement actions against fake review brokers.
“Amazon will continue to devote significant resources to fighting fake reviews and ensuring customers have a reliable shopping experience,” added Dharmesh Mehta. “We continue to improve our proactive controls, invent new technologies, and use machine learning to detect attackers and find new ways to bring them to justice.”