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Reporting on fraud, review manipulation, misleading information and the work of protecting consumers and honest businesses.
49 articles tagged fake-reviews
New investigation by The Guardian reveals illegal weight-loss drug vendors masked by inflated Trustpilot scores A recent investigation by The Guardian has found that a number of firms are selling unlicensed and illegal weight-loss drugs in the UK while using high Trustpilot ratings to appear legitimate and trustworthy.
Trustpilot and a Drug Dealer You Can Trust How a global “trust” platform is being used to launder criminal credibility Fresh investigations are exposing the true scale of harm and deception being facilitated through Trustpilot — a platform relied upon by millions of consumers to judge whether a business is safe, legiti
On 19 October 2025, The Guardian published an article highlighting KwikChex’s investigation into fraudulent investment firms exploiting the Trustpilot review platform. The report warned of the risks these fake reviews and deceptive online practices pose to consumers and legitimate businesses. Scam investment firms regu
The challenges KwikChex made against fake reviews got us noticed in the first few months of launching our services when we were invited to appear on BBC TV’s flagship technology programme ‘Click’. Spencer Kelly, host of the ‘Click’ programme visited our offices in Bournemouth and KwikChex director and founder Chris Emm
KwikChex has once again assisted BBC investigative journalists, providing information on problems with online reviews websites. Director and Co-Founder of KwikChex, Chris Emmins was also interviewed on Adrian Goldberg’s programme. – discussing how TripAdvisor prioritise Online Travel Agents (OTAs) that pay TripAdvisor
Credits: The Sun, by Kathryn Cain ‘CHINESE fraudsters operating a sophisticated “fake reader factory” have taken down travel website TripAdvisor’s page on the country’s top social media app.’ ‘Two years ago a Bournemouth-based online reputation management company cast specific doubt on the integrity of Trip
BBC Radio Humberside Online reviews, fake reviews, TripAdvisor – includes interview with Chris Emmins, KwikChex. Listen here – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03ts6nc (From 45 minutes).
Credits: 4hoteliers.com, 26th April 2016 After examining more than forty thousand TripAdvisor reviews of all star-rated hotels in Hong Kong in a recently published study, the study warns that the high proportion of suspicious reviews should ring an ‘alarm bell’ for customers. Around 20% of online hotel customer r
Credits: TechCrunch By Sarah Perez (@sarahintampa), 26th April 2016 Amazon is continuing its efforts to crack down on fake, paid-for reviews of the products it sells on its website, by filing yet another lawsuit against those who offer glowing reviews in exchange for cash. In this latest suit, filed on Friday, the comp
Credits: TechCrunch By Ingrid Lunden (@ingridlunden), 8th March 2016 Fake reviews have been an occasional and frustrating by-product on sites like Google, Yelp and Amazon for years. But a recent case in the Netherlands highlights how one company affected by them fought back. A nursery in Amsterdam has won a case agains
Credits: Bighospitality.co.uk, By Sophie Witts, 04-Mar-2016 Businesses which arrange for third parties to write fake positive reviews about them online are at risk of falling foul of consumer protection law, according to new guidance. Above excerpt and read the full article: bighospitality.co.uk
Credits: Telegraph By Katie Morley 1st March 2016 Companies that post fake reviews on websites to boost their ratings could face fines of thousands of pounds as part of a new Government crackdown on misleading business practices. The Telegraph understands that the Department for Business Innovation and Skills is consid
