Social Science Research Council Research AMP Just Tech
Citation

» Revealed: Amazon plagued with thousands of ‘fake’ five-star reviews

Author:
Which? Press,
Year:
2019

Amazon’s system of customer reviews and ratings is being seriously undermined by a flood of ‘fake’ five-star reviews for products made by unknown brands, a Which? investigation has found.

The consumer champion looked at hundreds of tech products in 14 popular categories, including headphones, dash cams, fitness trackers and smart watches, checking for tell-tale signs of suspicious reviews.

Which? found that the top-rated items were dominated by unknown brands with names such as ITSHINY, Vogek and Aitalk, which in many cases had thousands of unverified reviews – meaning there is no evidence that the reviewer has even bought or used the product.