David McManus says online retailers are trying to combat phoney ratings

Painful to admit it but the Christmas gift shopping season is about to be upon us and more of us than ever will seek to dodge the traffic jams, exorbitant parking fees and overcrowded streets to conduct the annual activity in our armchair.

As we peruse online stores pondering those perfect pressies our purchasing decisions are likely to be swayed by the star ratings and reviews of others.

But how sure can we be that those endorsements are real, made by a genuine customer?

Last week, Amazon stated that it would pursue legal action against more than 1,000 reviewers of products on its website identified as being fake.

It’s a problem the online retailer has tried to combat in the past. Last April it sued websites created as marketplaces to barter for the illegitimate endorsement of products, paying those who took up the offer $20 per bogus approval.

Some time ago, in an effort to add credibility to its reviews, Amazon added ‘verified purchaser’ to anything submitted by someone who had bought the subject of their write-up. Unscrupulous retailers soon found a way to game that system by offering immediate refunds or buying the product for the fake reviewer.

After successfully forcing the sham sites to shut up shop, fraudsters have instead been using legitimate websites to flog their dodgy services.

One such site is fiverr.com, where people offer their lawful services to would-be purchasers for a fiver (dollars in this case). Currently those hawking their wares include people who will ‘draw cute halloween cartoons’, or ‘translate English to Spanish’ etc. All for a fiver.

But under the ‘online marketing’ section there are also offers like: ‘I will write an in-depth review of your product’ and the almost comically less subtle: ‘I will review anything for a fiver’ offers. It is these individuals who are being targeted by Amazon.

Product endorsement for money is not illegal and it doesn’t need to be even vaguely believable. Who thinks Hollywood star Harvey Keitel had even heard of Direct Line insurance until they came waving wads of cash under his nose?

That’s the point: these are clearly adverts and not a genuine attempt to make us believe they are real.

I shop a lot on Amazon and, like everyone else, once I have made my initial search, my interest is drawn by ratings and reviews but it is usually easy to spot things artificially hyped.

Overuse of effusive pronouns is a giveaway. Genuine reviews, even those offering the highest praise, are usually more rounded and down to earth.

There are other websites too, so I never take Amazon’s word as gospel and look at other places. YouTube is useful where you get a greater sense of a reviewer’s sincerity.

On the web, that grain of salt we are always advised to apply to any claim, should be upscaled to at least a full cellar.