Amazon using AI to crack down on fake review ‘brokers’

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E-commerce giant Amazon has said it uses artificial intelligence systems to prevent fake reviews on the platform that can intentionally mislead customers.

While the company already uses machine learning models to detect risks such as links to other accounts, sign-in activity, review history, and other indications of unusual behavior that point to fake reviews, the tech giant said on Tuesday that is further investing in sophisticated fraud-detection tools.

Using several such methods, the company said it “proactively blocked over 200 million suspected fake reviews” from its stores in 2022.

“We will continue to build sophisticated tools that protect customers, our selling partners, and our store from bad actors that attempt to profit by proliferating fake reviews globally,” Amazon said.

In the new statement, the e-commerce giant warned of the emergence of an illicit industry of “fake review brokers,” who approach consumers via social media channels, and messaging services, soliciting them to write fake reviews in exchange for money or other incentives.

These brokers, according to Amazon, portray themselves as legitimate businesses with networks of hundreds of employees stationed worldwide.

So far, it has taken legal action against over 90 such bad actors around the world who facilitated fake reviews and sued more than 10,000 Facebook group administrators who attempted to put fake reviews.

It also reported over 23,000 abusive social media groups, with over 46 million members and followers, that facilitated fake reviews in 2022, the company added.

These high-volume fake review brokers a “global problem” impacting multiple industries, according to Amazon, which called on the private sector, consumer groups, and governments to work together to stop fake review brokers.

“Through cross-industry sharing – including information on bad actors’ tactics and techniques, who they are targeting, the services they provide, and how they operate – we can more effectively shut down these schemes, thereby protecting more consumers across different industries,” the company said.

In countries that already have laws against soliciting fake reviews, it said regulators could do more to use their authority to take action against fake review brokers.

“We also support greater funding for law enforcement to build further technical expertise to investigate and take down these brokers,” the multibillion-dollar conglomerate said.

“Amazon will continue to protect our stores from fake reviews by investing in proactive tools to detect and stop fake reviews from impacting a customer’s buying decision,” it added.