Fake Marketplace Reviews

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Apricot

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Fake marketplace reviews are the top complaint (and my own personal pet hate) so I'm pleased to say we're focusing on getting them stamped out.

When members report marketplace threads for fake reviews, we spend a lot of time going through multiple sources of info and can often get enough evidence to be able to deal with it. But it doesn't always work out like this. Sometimes several days work can result in a mess of "it's probably fake but we can't prove it" and all we can do is flag it for monitoring and random spot checks.
To deal with it more effectively in the immediate future, this is the process:


  • When fake reviews are reported, we'll go through a "triage" checklist for suspicious behavior.
  • If there's enough red flags, we'll contact the seller and ask them to provide proof of all suspicious transactions in their thread. The buyer will also be contacted and asked for the same information.
  • If either member chooses not to respond within 7 days, their account will be infracted. If the seller doesn't respond, the thread will be closed. If it happens again, the account will be banned.
  • If we find that accounts are being used to manipulate the marketplace and deceive members, then both accounts involved will be banned.

PLEASE NOTE:

Not every single report will result in the seller being asked to provide proof. We know that not all reports are submitted with the best intentions and we'll do our own checks first before escalating it. This is the fairest way to let members reply or clear up any misunderstandings. No-one will be banned without being given every chance to prove that they are a genuine seller.

If you receive one of these PM's it will contain details on the proof we need to see. Do NOT ignore it.

Please read our other thread for more information: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/please-read-spammers-and-fake-reviews.852452/
 
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Nut-Nights

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Its a suggestion or Rule ? +10 for this, It will stop fake reviews to some extend. Make it sticky in BST section.
 

GoldenWarrior

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Nice movement Mr. Apeicot. I love it. And will help BHW community from spam. If i will see anything like that, I will immediately contact with you. I think everyone need to do same thing to keep our community safe from spam.. By the way this it really nice job that you are going to do mate. Good luck.
Thanks
 

Hawkster

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Excellent, this is something i hate also. Many will be happy to learn this is being looked at
 
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BassTrackerBoats

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tony_d

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Wonderful!
Integrity is key to any marketplace, so I'm glad you're going down this path.

I have been asked on more than one occassion if I have 'good ranking charts' that could be used for a BST. That silly business doesnt help anyone.
 

Aatrox

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Finally. I hope users will keep an eye on fake reviews so we can fight this. Good luck in cracking down fakers!
 

netcelal

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Great Mr. Apricot..we have a lot of fake reviews on BHW
 

satyr85

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  • If either member chooses not to respond within 7 days, their account will be infracted. If the seller doesn't respond, the thread will be closed. If it happens again, the account will be banned.
So competition can create tons of fake reviews, and get someones thread banned?

How you can say if some fake review is made by seller or by competitor who wants to ban someones thread? Its not possible to say this, and thats why its not way to go. Easiest way to ban someone acc/sales thread on bhw - create 50 fake accounts and post reviews in his threads...
 

seoways

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It is really a great step Apricot.. Claps.. Right decision on the right time..
 

arnosv

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Good to hear the forum is working on this problem!
 

Apricot

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So competition can create tons of fake reviews, and get someones thread banned?

How you can say if some fake review is made by seller or by competitor who wants to ban someones thread? Its not possible to say this, and thats why its not way to go. Easiest way to ban someone acc/sales thread on bhw - create 50 fake accounts and post reviews in his threads...

Nope, won't happen. Like always, people will try to abuse the system but I'll be carrying out my own checks first on both accounts and I'll only send the PM's out if I can see certain flags. In your scenario, they just wouldn't be there. Also, most sellers report fake reviews or query paypal transactions they don't recognise. If a seller has 50 fake reviews on their thread for a period of time without querying it, I'd be very concerned.
 
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Brad100

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So competition can create tons of fake reviews, and get someones thread banned?

How you can say if some fake review is made by seller or by competitor who wants to ban someones thread? Its not possible to say this, and thats why its not way to go. Easiest way to ban someone acc/sales thread on bhw - create 50 fake accounts and post reviews in his threads...
That will never work because the sellers can notify the mods if someone who never bought from them posted a review on their thread.
 

Asif A Khan LONDON

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So competition can create tons of fake reviews, and get someones thread banned?

How you can say if some fake review is made by seller or by competitor who wants to ban someones thread? Its not possible to say this, and thats why its not way to go. Easiest way to ban someone acc/sales thread on bhw - create 50 fake accounts and post reviews in his threads...
Well, Sellers need to be on the alert and inform Mods if the receive fake reviews, whether positive or negative.
Be proactive, sellers are quick to act if they receive fake negative reviews, now if they receive fake positive reviews they should report it.
The seller will be able to inform Mods that there were no sales to those accounts and Mods will delete the fake posts and ban the accounts.
If it is a competitor then Mods have access to other information and I am sure that anybody trying to manipulate and damage another persons sales thread will be caught and dealt with.

I really don't think any legitimate seller has anything to worry about, this is a good move by the forum.
 

mindmaster

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Great initiative.
I would add to fake reviews, the fake review copies, where members give good reviews just because they got the service for free.
 
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