Amazon Sues Four Companies that Sell Fake Product Reviews

Seattle-based online retailer Amazon.com has sued four companies that it says is selling fake product reviews on its site. The complaint was filed in King County Superior Court in the State of Washington last week.

“While small in number, these reviews threaten to undermine the trust that customers, and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers, place in Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon’s brand,” the retailer said in the complaint.

The companies, which reportedly charge between $19 and $22 per positive review, are called, predictably, buyazonreviews.com, buyamazonreviews.com, bayreviews.net and buyreviewsnow.com.

According to the Seattle Times, buyamazonreviews.com has insisted that it isn’t breaking any laws. “We are not selling fake reviews. however we do provide Unbiased and Honest reviews on all the products,” the company’s owner Mark Collins told the Times in an email. “And this is not illegal at all.”

The Times says this is the first time Amazon has taken action against alleged fake reviewers in the 20 years that it has provided product reviews online – a feature that it was a pioneer on.