Reducing Bogus And Malicious Web-based Customer Reviews

Before the evolution of the web, a friend’s recommendation was a reliable and trustworthy way to find out who to call for a particular product or service. Nowadays, many people use the wide range of review tools available online (mostly through search engines such as Google), for example company websites and review forums, to help them decide where to go for a particular product or service. However, unfortunately, there has been recent reports about spam reviews and bogus reviewers who attempt to steal customers from- or damage their rival’s reputation. Those who engage in such damaging practices do so on the basis that customers would be turned off buying a product from their rival should they come across a bad review.

Tracing Malicious Reviews

Due to the nature of the Internet, it is often difficult to ascertain the source of harmful reviews and a constant battle to filter them from the Web. According to Google, it uses special software programs to automatically detect spam reviews although only so much can be done by these programs at any given time as proven by the ever increasing menace of spam reviews. However, Google has maintained that it is working to improve the system whilst also trying to balance identifying spam without removing genuine comments/reviews.

5 Ways To Reduce Bogus Spam Reviews

Whilst it might be impossible to totally remove all bogus and malicious spam reviews from the Internet, some of the following are suggested ways of tackling the problem:

• Use a flagging system on your site or on a suspected spam review/comment to raise alarm and bring it to the attention of the site owner.
• Manually identify and request e.g. via email, that suspected spam reviews are removed.
• Employ private companies such as Kwikchex, to help you do the job.
• Make a complaint to Google about persistent offenders.
• Use a pattern checker that looks at the computer address the review was written from to automatically pick up suspicious reviews.

Talking Point

Have you ever been a victim of fake and/or bogus Web reviews? What more can be done to reduce this problem?