Amazon plagued with thousands of ‘fake’ five-star reviews

Amazon’s system of customer reviews and ratings is being seriously undermined by a flood of ‘fake’ five-star reviews for products made by unknown brands, a Which? investigation has found. To find out more about expert testing from Which? and what makes a product a Best Buy, visit http://www.which.co.uk Amazon told us it uses a combination of techniques including investigation teams and automated technology to spot fake reviews. It confirmed that they use machine learning tech to analyse reviews 24/7 as well as working with social media sites to block fake reviews at the source. Which? is advising shoppers to take extra care buying products from brands they haven’t heard of, even if they have positive customer reviews, as these are more likely to be fake or incentivised. Where possible, look for thorough and independent reviews from credible sources. Which?: http://www.which.co.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/whichuk Facebook: http://bit.ly/1fAOmna