Recently, the company announced it has filed a lawsuit against admins of more than ten thousand global Facebook groups for paying members to post fake product reviews. This relates to AppSally, which allegedly offered buyers goods in return for posting fake reviews. This new action is a significant development because it could potentially curb such practices. But the question remains, how do these companies operate? Is this sort of exploitation legal? And how can we protect ourselves from these predators?
Amazon files lawsuit against admins of more than 10,000 global Facebook groups for allegedly paying people to post fake product reviews
The recent allegations of inauthentic reviews on Amazon have plagued the company for years. It has prosecuted brokers and sellers who buy fake reviews and has thousands of people working to prevent fraud. Amazon reports that it has reported more than 10,000 Facebook groups with potentially questionable content to Meta since 2020. Among those groups is the “Amazon Product Review” group that had more than 43,000 members.
The companies are accused of helping people obtain paid reviews on Amazon by offering them free goods or cash. The fake reviews are largely unrelated to the product being reviewed, and appear almost like copypasta. As a result, Amazon’s team is working to prevent the posts and is suing tens of thousands of admins of global Facebook groups.
AppSally allegedly offered cash or goods to buyers willing to post bogus reviews
The two companies, AppSally and Rebatest, are accused of promoting fake reviews on Amazon. AppSally pairs third-party sellers with willing buyers who trade positive reviews for free goods or payments. The two companies aim to shut down fake reviews on Amazon’s marketplace, which accounts for over half of all e-commerce sales. Fake reviews are a constant headache for Amazon, which receives over 30 million reviews a week.
Despite the promise to overtake competitors without leaving any room for error, the website has a few flaws. The price ranges are vague, and it’s not clear what the services cost. For instance, AppSally doesn’t specify if the reviews will be posted on Facebook. It also isn’t transparent about its pricing, and the services offered are a bit more expensive than those offered by other platforms.
AppSally allegedly offered goods to buyers willing to post bogus reviews
A company called AppSally is being sued by Amazon for offering “verified” reviews to buyers who agreed to post bogus reviews on Facebook. Amazon claims the two companies coordinated false reviews to boost the seller’s listing on Amazon. Both companies have denied these accusations, and have not responded to requests for comment. However, Rebatest is another company whose users are accused of selling products at premium prices for fake reviews.
Amazon is also taking action against two other companies: Rebatest and AppSally. Both of these companies offer third-party sellers goods in exchange for positive reviews posted by bogus buyers. Amazon claims that both services have more than 90,000 members and offer free products in return for false reviews. The sites have been shut down in Germany and the UK due to accusations of fake reviews.
AppSally allegedly provided goods to buyers willing to post bogus reviews
In a lawsuit filed against two companies, AppSally and Rebatest, Amazon claims that the companies provide bogus reviews. The companies allegedly connected third-party sellers with buyers who agreed to post a positive review in exchange for a payment or free product. The complaints allegedly lead to millions of negative reviews on Amazon. Rebatest and AppSally did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the lawsuits, AppSally and Rebatest provided goods to buyers willing to post false reviews on Facebook. The companies charge as little as $20 for a fake review. The companies also provided photos to accompany the reviews. The bogus reviews were posted in order to increase their ratings on Amazon. The companies are now facing a lawsuit from several other companies, including eBay, which accuses them of deceitful practices.