As soon as you enter you are greeted by a message. “Important. Read Before Ordering ”. A long list of tricks follows. What to do, what not to do, what to have before buying a product on Amazon and getting a refund on the expense made. Partial or total, it depends on the item bought.
We entered one of the Telegram channels where fake product reviews are organized in exchange for a refund. The most popular of all among the dozens existing in Italian. 42 thousand subscribers. They are not secret channels, but accessible to everyone. Amazon on Thursday 20 criminalized one of the managers of these channels. A broker, whose name or regional origin is not known at the moment.
The rules for getting free products and refunds
The vademecum contains useful information to ensure that everything runs smoothly. That there is no suspicion on the part of Amazon. “Maximum two or three orders per week”, but to be alternated with “normal orders”, therefore without refund. Because those who organize themselves are not normal orders. They are used to push product ratings to the top of the charts and convince other users to buy them.
The channel, which has as its main image a five star icon, the maximum possible vote for a product purchased on Amazon, indicates three types of possible orders: with review, and here the refund is 100% “unless otherwise specified”; without text, but only with five stars, but a screenshot must be sent to certify it; purchase only, and here you need a photo of the product received.
Below is a long list of possible products: muscle electrostimulators, bluetooth headphones, spy cameras for children. All products with a link that link directly to Amazon for purchase. Once everything is done and any evidence is provided, you will be refunded to a PayPal account.
How the fake reviewer networks were organized
Everything took place on specialized or social websites. Only on Telegram subscribers to these channels there are about 150 thousand. Numbers that tell of a much more extensive and rooted phenomenon than one can imagine. Because they are real people, who make real reviews, even if the judgment on the product is distorted by the fact that they got it for free. From a first estimate, there could be about 11 thousand sites and social channels that feed the false reviews market.
A problem for all the players in the field. For consumers, who are led by fake reviews to purchase products that may not be so good. For Amazon, which has built part of its strength on the market on the value and reliability of reviews. But also for companies that behave honestly on Amazon, without looking for fake reviewers of their products.
Yes, because if there are coordinated reviews, and all with the highest possible score, the most plausible reason is that there are dishonest retailers, willing to do anything to see the five stars adorn their products. And convince other unsuspecting potential customers to buy. Mechanism made more effective by the existence of a coordinator.
The intermediary, or broker, who organizes these channels. Probably for a larger return on a product, or a refund. The prosecutors will investigate and ascertain the phenomenon and the turnover behind it. Illegitimate because it contravenes Amazon’s rules of use.
“You don’t run the risk of being scammed”
Even more detailed is the vademecum of another Telegram channel. The second in size. 26 thousand subscribers. The incipit is immediate: “You do not run the risk of being scammed, if you do not receive the refund you can always make the return within 30 days from the date of purchase”. As if to say, no one here loses anything. Except Amazon. There are cosmetics, clothes, appliances, essential oils and anti-baldness products. Hundreds of products put out every day. An endless list. Of all types of goods that can be purchased. Except books, it would seem.
This channel (five stars on a blue background) instead asks for an Amazon profile with five reviews already made. A PayPal account for refunds. And a warning about shipping costs: they will not be refunded. But then an invitation, which sounds almost ironic: “if you want to avoid them, subscribe to Amazon Prime”. The refund is promised in “3-5” days. At the service of the reviewers, even a Telegram channel where you send the link of the review to get the money. Finally, a series of tricks to avoid making the ecommerce portal suspicious: “Every now and then, do a different review and don’t put five stars”.
Or again: “Do reviews even 10 days after receiving the product”. Because, it is clearly explained, “this practice goes against Amazon’s policies” and “if your profile is suspicious they could forever take away the opportunity to review”. A perfect car. Studied in every detail. Aware that the activity is illegal, but organized in such a way as not to arouse too many suspicions. But over the years the phenomenon has reached such great dimensions as to undermine its secrecy.
When calculating the 150,000, subscribers to sites created to put reviewers and desired products in direct contact are not taken into account. Now to clarify if there is a crime and who are responsible will be the investigations of four Italian prosecutors alerted by Amazon and Altroconsumo. Meanwhile, the channels are still active. As we write, new announcements are being posted. In the order. A “camera trap” for wild animals. A supplement for the immune defenses. A fitness watch.