Amazon continues its offense against those who try to monetize fake reviews on its marketplace. It issued another press release on Thursday detailing its recent efforts including its first criminal complaint in Italy and its first lawsuit in Spain.
Amazon Vice President of Selling Partner Services Dharmesh Mehta said Amazon would remain relentless in identifying and enforcing against bad actors that attempt to engage in review abuse. “There is no place for fake reviews on Amazon or anywhere else in the industry,” he said.
The two legal proceedings in Europe plus 10 new lawsuits in the US target bad actors that operate more than 11,000 websites and social media groups that attempt to orchestrate fake reviews on Amazon and other stores in exchange for money or free products, according to the release, which identified 21 websites related to its 10 US lawsuits.
Amazon made the following allegations about the defendant in Italy:
“Amazon’s first criminal complaint in Europe targets a high-profile broker in Italy selling fake reviews. The defendant claims to have built a network of individuals who are willing to buy products on Amazon and post 5-star reviews in exchange for a full refund. Amazon’s decision to seek criminal proceedings in this case signals the company’s determination to stop bad actors who profit by misleading customers and selling partners. Individuals convicted of this type of crime in Italy may be subject to imprisonment and fines.”
Amazon said it also sent warning letters to five websites based in Germany that were allegedly directing visitors to a fake review broker. “All five websites have since agreed to stop this activity by signing a cease and desist letter,” Amazon stated. It did not identify the German websites by name.
In Thursday’s press release, Amazon’s Mehta described how it was working to identify and hold bad actors accountable: “We continue to improve our proactive controls, invent new technologies and machine learning to detect bad actors, and find new ways to hold them accountable.”
