Amazon Sues More Than 1,000 People Over Fake Reviews Some Fiverr users were allegedly paid to publish Amazon reviews.
By Jon Fingas
This story originally appeared on Engadget
Amazon isn't just content to chase down the larger outfits offering fake reviews on its store -- it's pursuing individuals, too.
The internet retailer has sued 1,144 people who used Fiverr's gig marketplace to peddle bogus Amazon reviews. They're only mentioned in the lawsuit by their user names, but it's clear that Amazon wants to get their real info from Fiverr's logs. Moreover, it suspects that there's more to the story than some unscrupulous writing -- it wants these sellers' client lists.
There's a real chance that Amazon will take down at least some of its targets, since Fiverr has cooperated on takedowns in the past. Still, the sheer scale of this latest case underscores the problems with keeping a lid on fake reviews, especially on gig sites where it's not always easy to spot shady dealings. It may take a long, long while before these false authors are forced to go elsewhere.
