Fake consumer reviews about products abound online

After a Dong-A Ilbo reporter sent an email message to an Internet advertising agency after seeing its want ad for part-time workers, the company sent a reply offering 5,000 won (4.34 U.S. dollars) per six online comments about the products it was advertising.

The ad company forms partnerships with restaurants, shopping malls and clubs and distributes discount coupons for those businesses. It also leaves favorable comments about their goods and services on Internet sites.

“People will notice if you continue leaving comments using the same ID,” the company advised in the reply. “When you officially start working, make about three IDs per Internet portal site.”

On Monday, the Fair Trade Commission of Korea fined six online shopping malls run by celebrities for posting phony reviews about their products and ordered them to take corrective measures. Yet putting up fake consumer reviews online remains rampant as shown by the ad company.

Certain online sellers use blogs to make fake reviews. An Internet shopping mall selling women’s apparel posted a want ad on an online job placement site, offering money to those who write favorable reviews about its products and provide a link to its website on their blogs.

A source from the shopping mall said bloggers with a daily average of 500 hits are eligible to work for the site, adding, “The more visitors you have on your blog, the more you will be paid.”

Experts advise consumers to refrain from depending solely on user reviews before making a purchase because it is almost impossible to crack down on fabricated reviews or comments.

One police officer said, “Pressing fraud charges requires us to prove that an online ad disguised as a user comment directly led to a consumer buying a certain product. It`s hard to prove this in each and every case.”

A staff member at the activist group Green Consumer Network said fabricated or exaggerated user comments result in consumer loss, urging the government to be active in cracking down on such practices.

hparks@donga.com