Database Reveals Over 200K People Involved in Posting Fake Reviews on Amazon
Database Reveals Over 200K People Involved in Posting Fake Reviews on Amazon
The data shows third-party Amazon vendors working with customers to reward fake, positive reviews.
The cybersecurity experts at SafetyDetectives recently discovered an open AWS ElasticSearch database that contained a “treasure trove” of data related to organized fake reviews on Amazon. The database consisted of over 13 million records and 7GB of data, including direct messages between Amazon vendors and customers who provided fake review scores. In total, over 200,000 people are involved and the evidence points to this being an operation run out of China targeting both the US and Europe.
So how does it work? Amazon vendors involved in the scheme produce a list of products for which they want to generate five-star reviews. Customers sign up to take part, then purchase those items on Amazon and wait a few days after receiving them before posting their review. A message is then sent to the vendor along with a link proving the review is live and details of a PayPal account. The vendor then rewards the customer by refunding the purchase, but allowing the customer to keep the product.
Amazon does moderate reviews, but the vendors performing this deception are well aware of the process and checks. The database also contained messages where customers are given rules to follow when creating a review. For example, a specific word count must be exceeded and in some cases a video is requested to accompany the text in a bid to make it look real and avoid a red flag from moderators.
Latest news provided by PC Expert Services.
Source @ pcmag.com
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