Why Fake Reviews Threaten eCommerce Trust
Online reviews are a cornerstone of digital commerce. They inform buying decisions, shape brand reputations, and influence search rankings. But a growing ecosystem of fake review brokers has been quietly manipulating that system, eroding consumer trust and creating unfair advantages for dishonest sellers.
Amazon, as the world's largest eCommerce platform, is responding with a multi-pronged offensiveโramping up legal actions, deploying advanced machine learning, and collaborating with regulators and tech giants like Google. For eCommerce decision-makers, this isnโt just a headlineโitโs a roadmap for protecting integrity in a high-stakes digital marketplace.
Amazon Partners with Google to Tackle BigBoostUp.com
In October 2024, Amazon and Google joined forces to file a joint lawsuit against BigBoostUp.com, a platform that sold fake reviews for both Amazon and Google profiles. This crossโplatform legal move:
- Demonstrated that major tech companies are coordinating strategies to tackle multiโplatform review fraud.
- Highlighted how review brokers operate beyond single platforms, affecting buyer confidence across the web
- Set a precedent for holistic enforcement of brand trust across ecosystems.
By aligning on legal domain boundaries and enforcement thresholds, both giants are reinforcing an ecosystem-wide commitment to authentic reviews.
A Year of Legal Muscle: Inside Amazonโs Review Enforcement
Over the past year, Amazon has dramatically expanded its legal efforts against fake review networks, both domestically and internationally.
U.S. Crackdown
Amazon filed more than 150 lawsuits in 2023 alone, targeting fake review services offering packages for as little as $5 per post. Among the firms sued were:
- AMZ Trusted Review
- Blue Marple
- Woorke
- ReviewServiceUSA.com (in collaboration with the Better Business Bureau)
In many cases, these services promised โverifiedโ reviews that could circumvent Amazonโs systems and operated across multiple geographies, including the U.S., UK, India, and Canada.
Europe and Asia: A Global Pursuit
Amazonโs legal strategy extended far beyond U.S. borders. Key actions included:
- Italy: Filing its first-ever criminal complaint against a broker soliciting reviews through Telegram.
- Spain: Initiating a civil suit against a service offering full refunds after a positive review.
- China and Japan: Working with local authorities to shut down coordinated review scams.
Amazonโs global team of investigators and lawyers worked in tandem with regulators to hold offenders accountable and protect marketplaces from distortion.
How Amazon Detects Fake Reviews: Tech + Human Intelligence
Maintaining review authenticity at scale requires more than lawsuitsโit demands proactive tech systems and vigilant enforcement teams.
AI Detection Engine
- Machine learning algorithms analyze thousands of signals: review timing, reviewer behavior, linguistic patterns, regional anomalies, and sudden review bursts.
- Automated systems block over 250 million suspected fake reviews annually, ensuring minimal manipulation reaches customers.
Human Oversight
- Amazonโs dedicated teamsโcomprising investigators, policy analysts, and legal expertsโreview flagged networks and gather evidence to support enforcement.
- With collaboration from regulators, they escalate, including criminal and civil filings, to hold perpetrators accountable.
The result: over 99% of viewed product pages display only authentic reviews, maintaining platform trust and eCommerce credibility.
UK Agreement with CMA: Regulatory Pressure Meets Platform Commitment
In June 2025, Amazon reached a binding agreement with the UK Competition and Markets Authority, reinforcing its responsibility for review integrity:
- Faster removal of suspect reviews
- Enhanced seller verification protocols
- Improved attribution to prevent โcatalog abuseโ or misassigning reviews across product variants
This underscores global regulatory expectations: platforms must not only detect fraudโthey must prevent and remediate it.
What This Means for Brands & Agencies
If you're leading an eCommerce brand, Amazonโs war on fake reviews is more than a policy updateโitโs a shift in the ecosystem. Here's why you should care:
1. Unfair Competition is Being Eliminated
Brands that rely on real product performance and customer satisfaction no longer have to compete with shadowy operators buying their way to the top of Amazonโs rankings.
2. Thereโs No Safe Harbor for โGray Zoneโ Tactics
Some sellers have relied on grey-area tactics like incentivized reviews or outsourced review schemes. These are now squarely in Amazonโs crosshairs. If you're caughtโeven unintentionallyโthe consequences can be severe:
- Account suspension
- Loss of review visibility
- Permanent marketplace bans
3. Reputation is the New ROI
In an era of deep scrutiny, customers and regulators alike are paying attention. Maintaining authentic reviews is not just a compliance issueโitโs a strategic brand asset.
Tactical Steps: Strengthen Your Review Integrity Framework
To align with Amazon's stricter review fraud policies, brands and agencies should take proactive measures:
- Audit review sources: Confirm your agencies or partners use compliant tactics
- Train teams: Educate marketing, ops, and compliance staff on escalating gray zone risks
- Monitor review streams: Use Brand Registry tools and third-party platforms for anomaly detection.
- Engage customers honestly: Solicit feedback and address negative reviews transparently.
- Flag abuse: Report suspect reviews from competitors via Amazonโs official channels
These efforts reduce risk and build a credible, long-term foundation of eCommerce trust.
Case Study: How SalesDuo Ensures Review Integrity and Drives Real Growth
To illustrate the benefits of combining proper review management with strategic growth, consider this client success story.
SKOY Enterprises: Boosting Sales + Cutting ACoS
SalesDuo partnered with SKOY Enterprises, a woman-owned kitchen cloth brand, to resolve declining visibility and inflated advertising costs. Through expert catalog fixes, listing optimization, and compliant Amazon Advertising strategies, SalesDuo drove:
- A 23% increase in sales
- A reduction of ACoS from 30% to 20%
- Honorable brand positioning with transparent customer engagement policies
By replacing questionable review sourcing tactics with systematic, policy-aligned review strategies, SKOY improved trust and performance simultaneously.
Griotโs Garage: Record-Breaking Revenue and ROAS
In another example, Griotโs Garageโa premium car care brandโstruggled in a saturated market until SalesDuo introduced a multi-pronged campaign:
- Aggressive Sponsored Display targeting competing categories and higher-priced alternatives
- Brand defense campaigns to protect owned search terms
- Use of ex-Amazon insights and proprietary AI for realโtime bidding optimization
The result? They achieved their highest lifetime sales, sustained a ROAS above 9, and expanded first-time customer acquisitionโall while building long-term brand trust.
Conclusion: Trust Is Your Competitive Edgeโand SalesDuo Can Help You Own It
Amazonโs intensified enforcement against fake review brokersโvia global lawsuits, AI detection, and regulatory alignmentโis reshaping the eCommerce landscape. Brands and agencies must now treat review integrity as both a compliance checkpoint and a growth engine.
This is where SalesDuo, a trusted Amazon agency powered by ex-Amazon professionals and proprietary AI systems, provides strategic value:
- They help you cultivate authentic review growthโwithout risk
- They increase visibility, reduce ACoS, and preserve brand reputation through compliant, expert tactics.
- Their proven track record includes fundamental, predictable transformations like SKOYโs 23% sales boost and Griotโs Garageโs record ROAS performance.
If you're aiming to scale on Amazon with integrity, minimize review fraud risk, and grow sustainably, partnering with SalesDuo gives you the inside track. Their blend of hands-on expertise and data-driven growth support turns trust into your most reliable ROI.
Ready to elevate your Amazon growth the right way? Book a 1:1 call with SalesDuo today, and build your business on a foundation of credibility, compliance, and longโterm success.
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About the Author
Meet Arjun Narayan, a Business Dynamo with two decades of conquering boardrooms and founding two companies that didn't just survive but thrived. When he's not navigating business strategies and delivery teams, you'll find him immersed in his love for cars and exploring new models, geeking out over tech trends, globe-trotting for new adventures, and occasionally pondering the mysteries of the universe over a good cup of coffee.
