Amazon sues more than a thousand fake reviewers

Amazon claims the 1,114 defendants, termed “John Does” as the company said it is unaware of their real names, offer their false review service for as little as five dollars (£3.25) on the website Fiverr.com, with most promising 5-star reviews for a seller’s products.

Amazon.com has stepped up its battle against suspected bogus reviewers, filing a second lawsuit this year against unnamed individuals who offer $5 to submit upbeat product evaluations on the site.

The e-commerce giant started its campaign against the alleged fake reviewers by hiring a few of the Fiverr members, according to the court report.

The retailer added that while in small number, these reviews can significantly diminish the trust that consumers and the majority of sellers and manufacturers place in Amazon, which tarnishes the retailer’s brand.

“Fiverr has a takedown process we have used, but it doesn’t solve the root cause”, Amazon said in a statement. Amazon simply had to contact Fiverr users who advertised their review-writing services and set up the transaction.

For its part, Fiverr did not dispute Amazon’s allegations regarding Fiverr freelancers.

The Internet based retailer had already taken action back in April, suing several websites that were offering fake reviews.

Amazon is bringing this action to protect its customers from this misconduct, by stopping defendants and uprooting the ecosystem in which they participate.

They also claim the defendants were fully aware that the site doesn’t allow paid-for or fictional reviews.

The ability to read reviews of products before making a purchase is one of the great advantages of online shopping. Sadly, over the years there have been many documented cases in which people try and game the system with paid reviews.