Don't Trust Online Reviews, Even for Charities!
A network of Google profiles that posts fake reviews for businesses all over the country has a new beneficiary: Childhelp, a children's charity based in Arizona. What's more, Childhelp appears to be receiving fake Yelp reviews as well.
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Fake Google Reviews for Texas Medical Professionals
Eterna Cosmetic Surgery in San Antonio has a lot of "patients" on Google suspiciously reviewing multiple Houston businesses in common, including a dermatology clinic, a low testosterone specialist, and a therapist. Where is Google's new machine learning algorithm that supposedly catches more fake reviews? Apparently not up to the task.
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Yelp Touts AI, Ignores Fake Reviews
Yelp has a new AI toy, but they're not using it to find fake reviews, that's for sure. Mindful Health Solutions, with psychiatric clinics in four states, continues racking up fake reviews even though Yelp says they're on it. Yelp Elites are even being paid to give Mindful Health 5-star reviews. Yelp's not looking out for consumers, not doing what they say they do, and certainly not using AI to clean up their polluted platform.
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Google vs. Fake Review Watch
Who's better at spotting fake reviews, Google or Fake Review Watch? Google is a $2.2 trillion company and brags it's using machine learning to detect even more fake reviews quicker than ever, but Fake Review Watch keeps finding plenty of fakes on Google's polluted platform. For example, FRW has found a network of profiles posting fake Google reviews for five New York financial companies, a Michigan Amish outdoor building supplier, and a Texas hospice care provider, among other businesses. Hello, Google?
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Facebook Sticks It to Small Business
Nearly six months ago, a network of Facebook profiles bombed Storm Team Construction in Florida with fake negative reviews. Despite complaints from the business, a Fake Review Watch video, and a media story, Facebook refuses to respond and remove the fake reviews. What's more, a bunch of these Facebook fakers who trashed Storm Team have magically become Germans! What will it take to get Facebook to act? Perhaps Congressional action is needed.
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Google Review Fraud and Car Accident Lawyer Daniel Kim
Something suspicious is going on with Car Accident Lawyer Daniel Kim's numerous California Google listings. Reviews seem to roll in on a timer, many reviewers have locked profiles to hide their review histories, and too many other Kim reviewers incredibly like the same businesses from around the country. Plus, some of those 30+ Kim Google listings are for virtual offices, mailboxes, or no offices at all. What's Google doing about this? Not telling consumers, that's for sure.
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Getting to the Root of Fake Reviews for Texas Dental Clinics
Surprise (not)! More review fraud on Google and Facebook. Fake Google and Facebook reviews are rolling in for Glo Dental Group with four clinics in the Houston area. The source of the review fraud seems to be Facebook itself, where review sellers both advertise their services and post reviews for Glo Dental.
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Yelp Network and Fake Reviews for Car Accident Lawyer Daniel Kim
Car Accident Lawyer Daniel Kim has Yelp pages for multiple California locations and has a history of receiving fake Yelp reviews from a network of college age kids. Yelp, for once, has taken a stand and has long-running suspicious review activity alerts on his pages. Kim is smarter than Yelp, though, and has numerous other Yelp business pages using a cornucopia of law firm names. Yes, those pages have fake reviews from the network as well, many recommended as trustworthy by Yelp.
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Don't Trust Houzz Reviews, Either
Houzz is another site rife with fake reviews. An active black market exists on Facebook for fake Houzz reviews, and plenty of contractors on Houzz appear to be benefiting from fake 5-star reviews. Fake reviews from New Delhi review sellers, reviews from people who were already deceased, and reviews that were part of trading schemes--you'll find them all on Houzz. What's Houzz doing about it? Nothing, it appears.
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Yelp Abets Fake Reviews for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Centers
Shady profiles are posting plagiarized Tripadvisor reviews all over Yelp's platform, and now some of those plagiarizers are posting fake reviews for mental health and addiction treatment centers. What's Yelp doing about it? Allowing it to happen, to the detriment of potential patients. Both Mindful Health Solutions, with clinics in California, Washington, Texas, and Georgia, and Agape, with treatment centers in South Florida, are benefiting from reviews by these fakers.
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Fake Google Reviews for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Centers
You can't trust Google reviews even for mental health and addiction treatment centers. A network of Google profiles is posting reviews for both Mindful Health Solutions (clinics in California, Washington, Texas, and Georgia) and Agape treatment centers in South Florida. Moving companies appear to be gaining reviews from this same network. Google has been removing reviews, but does it let consumers in on the secret? Of course not.
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Google Ignores, Facebook Punishes Business Getting Review Bombed
Storm Team Construction in Florida and other states is being bombed with fake negative reviews on Facebook and Google. What do the tech titans do about it? Google ignores Storm Team's entreaties, and Facebook suspends the business administrator's profile for complaining about fake reviews!
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Drilling into Fake Google Reviews for Minnesota Dentist
Don't trust Google reviews, even for doctors and dentists. Dentistry by Design in Minnetonka, Minnesota, seems to be getting lots of 5-star Google reviews from people who also use the same vape shop a half hour away, as well as from others who like the same Miami Beach locksmith or the same Indian restaurant in Australia! So much for Google giving us quality information.
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Fake Review Watch Trumps Yelp's Algorithm--Again
Within days of Fake Review Watch publishing its video Yelp Abets Review Faking for Moving Companies, Yelp hurriedly began removing fake profiles and reviews. How can Fake Review Watch find these fakers and Yelp can't? Once again we show that Yelp's recommendation software is a miserable failure at giving consumers trustworthy reviews.
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Yelp Abets Review Faking for Moving Companies
The feds are investigating moving companies that rip off consumers, but maybe they should be investigating Yelp as well. Four moving companies are receiving fake reviews across 14 Yelp pages. This case follows the trail from two previous Fake Review Watch investigations and media stories which Yelp belatedly acted on, but does Yelp do anything proactive? No. It allows the faking for the movers while consumers get duped.
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Deluge of 5-Star Google Reviews for Florida OB/GYN
Five-star Google reviews pour in for First Class OB/GYN in Florida, hundreds in just days. Where are they all coming from? Are they fake? You decide.
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Yearlong FRW Investigation: Expansive Network Faking Google and Yelp Reviews
An expansive network of hundreds of Google and Yelp profiles are posting fake reviews for businesses from San Diego to San Francisco. Where are Google and Yelp, who claim to do so much to combat fake reviews?
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New York Attorney General Runs with Fake Review Watch Investigation
The New York Attorney General's Office announced on October 30, 2023 that it secured $100,000 in penalties from a Manhattan doctor who had manipulated his online reviews across multiple platforms. Orthopedic surgeon Mark Mohrmann and his wife suppressed negative reviews and obtained fake positive reviews for his practice. The AG thanked Fake Review Watch for assisting in the investigation.
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See the Evidence: Facebook Group Polluting Yelp with Fake Reviews
Much of the review fraud across the internet comes via Facebook. The administrator of a Facebook group called "Yelp reviews" openly boasts of the Yelp reviews he's posting, including dozens of fakes for an Arizona contractor. But the contractor isn't the only business benefiting from this Facebook group.
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DO NOT Trust Yelp for Contractor Reviews
Many people rely on Yelp to find a home contractor, but Yelp is awash in fake contractor reviews. In this case, Yelp is recommending fake reviews for Victory Home Remodeling in Los Angeles. Moreover, Yelp has found fake Elite reviews for Victory and removed them, but doesn't warn consumers about it. Wouldn't you want to know that a contractor you're considering just had fake reviews removed by Yelp?
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Hello FTC? Facebook, Google Abetting Fake Reviews for Dentist and Neurosurgeon
The FTC has proposed a new rule to crack down on fake reviews, but it won't apply to the review platforms themselves. Well, a Texas dentist and a Michigan neurosurgeon are benefitting from fake reviews, and the big boys Facebook and Google are right there facilitating the faking.
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Fake Yelp Reviews for Data Recovery Company
Did your hard drive or phone crash? Be careful trusting Yelp to find a place to recover your data. A Fake Review Watch investigation found dozens of fake Yelp reviews for DriveSavers Data Recovery. After a reporter went to Yelp with the information, over 100 recommended reviews for DriveSavers disappeared! Once again, Yelp is late to the game, acting only after a media inquiry.
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UPDATE: Fake Yelp Elite Reviews for San Francisco Veterinarian
After media attention to the original video, someone is trying to stifle free speech and the public's right to know about review fraud through a bogus privacy complaint! Update to 2020 video about fake Yelp Elite and Facebook reviews for Ocean Avenue Veterinary Hospital in San Francisco. The original video showed the owner in a Facebook group created to facilitate the procurement of fake reviews, and his communications with a fake review seller. This update shows the original info and explains that Yelp belatedly caught on, removing the veterinary hospital's fake reviews and slapping it with a Suspicious Review Activity Alert nearly a year later. Facebook eventually removed the fraudulent group. Who do you trust, Fake Review Watch or these tech companies?
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Objection! Fake Google Review Network Boosts Law Firm, Bashes Animal Hospitals
Google is saturated with fake reviews. See what one network of fake Google profiles has been up to during a two week period. The same profiles are propping up Ohio law firm Patituce & Associates, an Australian hair salon, a Chicago moving company, a Massachusetts nail salon, and a Florida locksmith with fake 5-star reviews while simultaneously review bombing two Vancouver animal hospitals with fake 1-star reviews.
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KTNV Las Vegas Runs with Fake Review Watch Investigation: See How Big Tech Reacts
Fake Review Watch provided its investigation into fake reviews for Greencare Pool Builder in Las Vegas to ABC affiliate KTNV. Reporter Darcy Spears asked Yelp, Google, and Facebook about the fakes. Most of the fakes were on Yelp, which was shamed into removing over 200 that it had previously recommended. Google provided a canned response and took down a couple reviews. Facebook provided a canned response and left the reviews up. Why trust these companies for reliable reviews?
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