Amazon has filed a lawsuit in Seattle, Washington against over 1 000 people selling fake reviews to retailers on its online marketplace.
An investigation by the e-tailer found a thriving market for five (out of five) star reviews, commonly bought from individual users for $5 (R66) each through freelancing platform Fiverr, which presents itself as "the world's leading $5 marketplace" and lists advertising and online marketing among the services its users offer.
"Most defendants promise glowing reviews of products or books they have never seen," the lawsuit explains.
These "misleading and inauthentic" reviews seek to undermine Amazon's purchaser rating system, Amazon alleges. Even a small number of illegitimate reviews bought by sellers and manufacturers seeking an unfair competitive advantage can significantly undermine consumers' trust in Amazon's rating system at large, which in turn threatens Amazon's brand, the e-tailer argues.
The company is seeking cease and desist orders for all 1 114 defendants, and requesting the identities of the sellers who bought their reviews. If found guilty, the defendants face penalty fees and the bill for Amazon's legal expenses.
Prior to the lawsuit, Amazon conducted an investigation into fraudulent reviewers, which involved purchasing fake reviews from them through Fiverr. Many fake reviewers sought to avoid detection by using a number of accounts from unique IP addresses, the investigation found.
The lawsuit is not targeting Fiverr, which has said it is working with Amazon to resolve the issue.
Amazon's plight with false reviews is not new. In April, the company sued four Web sites that were paying people to produce reviews for Amazon sellers. One of the sites, buyamazonreviews.com, continues to operate under the notion that it offers authentic reviews for a price.
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