Updated: April 30, 2014
In August we told you about a Guardian article that pointed to a surge in the number of “click farms” and the resulting consequences for companies like Hasbro who pay these companies for Facebook “Likes” and Twitter “Followers”. In the previous post we warned that paying for people to “Like” your product could be compared to buying fake reviews, which is illegal under U.S. Law.
Today Reuters reports on 19 companies that were caught buying fake reviews on Yelp, Google Local and CitySearch during a yearl-long sting set up by the New York Attorney General, which will result in $350,000 worth of penalties. During the sting law enforcement setup a fake store front in Brooklyn and began trolling for SEO Companies they could buy reviews from. One of the companies caught up in the sting was US Coachways, a well-known charter bus company located in New York. Since the bust US Coachways has seen their Yelp rating go from bad to insanely bad, which makes us think that maybe the Attorney General’s fine was the least of their worries.
So is buying fake online reviews in order to grow your reputation in a non-organic manner ever a good idea? Considering that 90% of consumers report that customer reviews factor into their purchasing decision at one point or another then this practice can be seen as not only deceptive and manipulative but illegal and likely NOT worth the risk to the legitimate business you have worked so hard to build.
