Yesterday my neighbor told me about a couple of packages she received in the mail, but didn't order. The first was marked as coming from Walmart and contained a bag of cough drops. The second, an envelope that seemed to be from Amazon that had a single paper plate inside. Anyone who buys online these days would be leery of receiving anything for free...and the paper plate?!? It's unnerving for the recipient, but why would anyone send free goods or a package that contained essentially nothing? The reality is that verified reviews are so valuable that shady online retailers are working the system to try to boost their store's ratings. It goes something like this...
Scammer store on Amazon is looking to increase rankings by boosting good reviews online. Rather than focusing on value and customer service, they find real people's information online, create a fake email account using that information and place a bogus order from their own store. They generate a shipping label, invoice and send the package. After the package arrives, the scammer logs into the bogus email account they created and writes a glowing review that is "verified" by Amazon, Walmart or other online retailers. One after another, these reviews increase the online store's standing and help it to be seen by more shoppers and sell more products.
For consumers who receive free goods or bogus packages, they should be aware that their name, address and phone number are being used by someone who is impersonating them. Typically the scammer is paying for the goods and shipping, so the danger isn't to the consumer in the form of a payment scam. [If you believe this has happened to you, here are some steps to take as recommended by the United States Postal Inspection Service https://www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/brushing-scam.]
Legitimate retailers who work hard to market their products and provide superior customer service are the real victims of these scams. As with other shortcuts, large online retailers will catch on, but it's going to take time. For legitimate businesses looking to cultivate good reviews - the best defense is a good offense.
If you have physical locations, create a plan to make leaving a review easy. Have your staff ask customers for their review and post a QR Code near the register, include on receipts or in-bag. Just getting a few each day will add up quickly. If you're a service provider, have technicians or customer service people ask for the review after an order is complete or during a follow up quality-assurance call.
The general public has developed a finely tuned "BS" detector and real reviews usually just seem different than fakes - better grammar, more specific, longer, etc. Keep cultivating your businesses legitimate reviews by creating a plan you can activate with your team. They will continue to be an important part of marketing your business and whether scammers are around or not, you'll be at five-stars.
Ally from Local Marketing Works
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