Scam Spotting: What Are the 5 Most Fake Reviewed Amazon Products Around the Holidays?
Written by
Nicole Spector
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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On Dec. 5, Saoud Khalifah, the founder and CEO of FakeSpot, posted a tweet targeting the five most fake reviewed categories on Amazon. The tweet comes “after the record breaking Black Friday/Cyber Monday craziness,” Khalifah wrote.
According to Fakespot, a site that uses AI to analyze millions of product reviews and reviewers to detect evidence that they might be biased or bogus, the following categories received a “C grade” or lower — meaning that consumers should be particularly wary when shopping them.
Watches
Based on Fakespot’s technology, 45% of reviews for wristwatches are fake. “Not surprisingly, wrist watches make the top 5 with many copy cats of known designs by Apple, Garmin and others with many cheap/counterfeit derivations available,” Khalifah wrote.
Christmas Trees and Decor
According to Fakespot, 45% of reviews for trees and Christmas decor are bogus. “Trees and X-mas decor are in the top 5 as sellers know that getting into the top with fake reviews can make or break their sales this holiday season,” Khalifah tweeted.
Smartwatch Bands
Fakespot found that 45.3% of reviews for smartwatch bands on Amazon are fake. “Correlated with watches and the most obvious accessory to add to the checkout,” wrote Khalifah.
Pullovers and Sweaters
Based on Fakespot’s findings, 59.5% of reviews on pullovers/sweaters are phony. “This is one of the most competitive categories to stand out in with a plethora of fake reviews,” Khalifah tweeted.
Slippers
The category with the most fake reviews on Amazon, according to Fakespot, is slippers, with 71% bogus reviews. “This should not have been surprising but it was,” Khalifah wrote. “Try searching this category on @amazon and take a look at the results. No name brands with tens of thousands of ratings.”
Shortly after Khalifah posted on Twitter, Amazon’s customer support team, @AmazonHelp, publicly responded via tweet.
“We’re sorry to hear about any negative experiences! You can find our Community Guidelines, as well as how to report violations, here: https://amzn.to/3h0pkYa. We’re here to help. -Bree.”
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