Facebook fake review groups targeting Amazon, Google and Trustpilot
Facebook continues to have a problem with groups trading fake positive reviews in exchange for free products or payment, our latest investigation indicates.
In March and April we went undercover to find out if fake reviews trading groups still exist on Facebook. We quickly discovered 14 groups trading in reviews for Amazon, Google My Business and Trustpilot, that shared more than 62,000 members between them.
We first uncovered groups on Facebook trading free products for positive Amazon reviews in 2018, and since then we’ve uncovered review trading groups on the social media giant in every single year. We estimate that the groups we’ve reported to Facebook have had at least 1.16 million members in total.
The government is soon expected to publish its Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, which would make it illegal to pay someone to write a fake review or host a review without taking steps to check if it is real, and will hand the regulators powers to fine firms that flout the rules.
Find out how to spot a fake review with our in-depth guide
Groups trading in fake Amazon reviews
In our latest investigation we identified six groups trading in Amazon reviews in exchange for free products. One group - Amazon Reviewer - Test Products - had more than 15,000 members, and claimed to be a genuine group setting up testing of Amazon products. There was even a video supposedly from the group admin claiming that Facebook had been asking him questions about the group because some users hadn’t been abiding by the rules. We found posts clearly asking for five star reviews in exchange for free products. The group disappeared during the course of our investigation, but had existed on Facebook for six years.
We contacted one of the members of another group, Amazon Top Reviews, and said we were interested in some of the products they had posted. They told us that a refund would be given after a five star review. The products offered for review included earbuds, a fitness watch, a solar powered sprinkler, curtains and a weighted hula hoop (a popular item with influencers on Tiktok and Instagram).
One group stated blatantly in the group description that it was giving free products in exchange for a five star review - it existed on the platform from November 2022 until March this year.
Another called Community for Amazon Sellers was hosting genuine advice for sellers, alongside posts offering free products for reviews or members selling established Facebook listings on. This allows other sellers to make use of any reviews, revenue or traffic built up on a page, and appear higher in the search results on Amazon.
Limited action taken against groups
Meta (which owns Facebook) told us 'Fraudulent and deceptive activity is not allowed on our platforms, including offering or trading fake reviews. We’ve removed the groups shared with us for violating our policies. While no enforcement is perfect, we continue to invest in new technologies and methods to protect our users from this kind of content.'
Our investigation did show that Facebook has taken some action against Amazon review trading groups. A search for AMZ reviews now comes with a warning that the term is associated with fraudulent behaviour. But a search for ‘Amazon reviews’ - the term we used to find these groups - doesn’t have the same warning. It seems to be a glaring gap in cracking down on these groups.
We also contacted Amazon with our findings and it told us: 'Amazon receives millions of reviews every week globally, which are analysed by our skilled investigators and sophisticated industry-leading tools before publication. When we detect fake reviews, we remove them and take appropriate action against those responsible, including through litigation in the UK and abroad.
'Last year we shut down some of the largest fake review brokers and sued more than 10,000 Facebook group administrators. In the last few weeks we also launched fresh legal actions against more than 20 websites, some of which targeted our UK store. By taking this action against fraudsters, we are going after the source of the problem and shutting down these fake review businesses.'
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Groups trading in fake Google reviews
A search for ‘Google reviews’ on Facebook revealed groups trading openly in five star reviews for Google My Business pages (businesses that appear on Google Maps).
One group that had been started in February 2023 had very quickly gained members - it already had 2,728 members with 503 joining in a week. The group was very active, with more than 3,300 posts in a month.
When we tweaked the search term to ‘GMB reviews’ - an abbreviation that we’ve seen used by review brokers when referring to Google reviews - we found further groups.
‘Local guide’ is a Google rewards system where reviewers are given points for leaving reviews, posting expert tips or photos and appear to be knowledgeable and trustworthy. In a group called ‘GMB Listing.com Google My Business Verifction Google Maps review’ we found multiple posts from people selling reviews from Local Guide accounts.
There were nearly 17,000 members in the groups we found trading in Google reviews.
Google said: 'Our policies clearly state reviews must be based on real experiences, and when we find policy violations, we take swift action ranging from content removal to account suspension and even litigation. We catch the vast majority of policy-violating reviews before they’re ever seen, and as bad actors evolve their strategies we continue to moderate contributions with our newest models even after they’re posted. Our teams work around the clock and invest in the latest technology to keep contributed content on Google Maps reliable, and we are working collaboratively with other organisations and government agencies to find industry-wide solutions.'
Groups trading in fake Trustpilot reviews
While the numbers of groups and members trading in Trustpilot reviews is smaller than for Amazon and Google (two out of the 14 groups), it does exist - once again in plain sight.
A Facebook group which called itself Trustpilot review Support was started in January, and has 149 members - 24 added in the week we were conducting this investigation. The group description reads ‘We are here to boost your businesses by placing 5 star positive review’ - a practice strictly against Trustpilot's terms and conditions.
Another - Google & Trustpilot reviews - was created in April 2022 and had 660 members. There had been 480 posts in a month, meaning it is an active group. We found members requesting and offering reviews for a variety of platforms, with several posting screenshots of reviews that they had apparently left on Trustpilot. We also found members specifically requesting reviews for the UK.
We shared our findings with Trustpilot and it told us: 'We closely monitor Facebook groups claiming to sell fake reviews on Trustpilot, and we take strong and robust action to combat the practice… Our Fraud & Investigations team actively trawls online data to identify leads for fake review sellers.
'Last year alone, we submitted 76 takedown requests to social media platforms - including Meta - to ask for the removal of groups, pages and accounts associated with review selling and other attempts to abuse our platform. Continued efforts by our Fraud & Investigations and Legal teams ensured 60 abusive accounts and posts were successfully taken down in the same year - and this work is ongoing. We welcome conversations with social media platforms on how we can work closer together to tackle this issue on an ongoing basis.
'We are constantly updating and bringing in new technology that allows us to understand and track complex behavioural patterns in review data, to identify review sellers and buyers… Constant enhancements in this technology has also enabled us to launch legal action against companies that are buying fake reviews…with both businesses also ordered to pay damages which will be donated to consumer rights charity, the Citizens Advice Bureau.
'Although the benefits and volume of authentic reviews far outweigh any attempts to misuse reviews on Trustpilot — sadly, there will always be some that try to manipulate and mislead others, but we are confident we have the right combination of technology, people and our reviewer and business community to help prevent and remove fake reviews.'
It shared a with us to its transparency report and pointed us towards successful legal proceedings it took to ban a property firm and dental practice from buying and writing fake reviews.
Tackling fake reviews on online platforms
The government is soon expected to publish its Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer (DMCC) Bill, which aims to crack down on fake reviews. It should be a vital update to consumer protection law to ensure major tech firms take more responsibility for addressing fake review trading on their platforms.
Which? supports these vital changes which would make it illegal to pay someone to write a fake review or host a review without taking steps to check if it is real, and will hand the regulators powers to fine firms that flout the rules directly.
Which? director of policy and advocacy Rocio Concha said: 'This bill is a pivotal step to make markets in the UK work better for consumers, businesses and support economic growth. Whether it’s fake reviews by dishonest businesses or people getting trapped in unwanted and costly subscriptions, our consumer protections are overdue an upgrade.
'Which? has long campaigned for stronger powers for the Competition and Markets Authority, including tough enforcement and the ability to fine firms that break the law directly.
'The empowerment of the CMA’s Digital Markets Unit will also be a major step forward. It needs the right powers to loosen the vice-like grip of a handful of tech giants that will foster innovation and give consumers more choice and lower prices.'
In the mean time, online platforms must up their game when it comes to policing this activity before new laws are introduced. The apparent ease with which unscrupulous businesses and individuals continue to operate these groups show why it is crucial that the legislation is not watered down and includes strong incentives for platforms to be proactive about cracking down on this activity.
The Competition and Markets Authority (the regulator for this space) must be prepared to actively monitor social media for this activity and stand ready to take strong action when platforms fail to stamp out illegal behaviour.
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