Latest news with #fakeReviews
CNA
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- CNA
Car grooming firm admits to posting fake 5-star AI-generated reviews on Sgcarmart
A car grooming firm has admitted to posting fake five-star AI-generated reviews on Sgcarmart for the last two years. It is the first such case uncovered by Singapore's consumer watchdog involving a third-party platform and the use of AI to create these reviews. Natalie Ong reports.
Independent Singapore
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Independent Singapore
Detailing shop admits to posting AI-generated 5-star reviews on Sgcarmart; using customer info without consent
SINGAPORE: The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said in a statement on Thursday (July 3) that the owner of a car detailing business admitted that it posted fake five-star reviews on its business page on the car buying and selling platform Since January this year, CCCS has been investigating Quantum Globe Pte. Ltd, which owns and operates the Lambency Detailing brand. The probe was launched after a customer of Lambency Detailing found unauthorised reviews posted in her name on Sgcarmart. In the course of its investigation, CCCS found fake reviews posted without the consent of seven other customers whose names, vehicle registration numbers and vehicles' photographs appeared in the posts. Screengrab/ CCCS After CCCS confronted the company with the evidence, Quantum Globe admitted that it submitted five-star customer reviews that contained information from their former customers without their knowledge or consent. The reviews were submitted through a QR code provided by , which lets users share feedback regarding businesses even if they have no accounts with Sgcarmart, Facebook, or Google. CCCS added that Quantum Globe also admitted to using ChatGPT to generate customised review content based on services provided to the customers. 'The posting of fake customer reviews by a business in relation to a consumer transaction is an unfair trade practice, as consumers might be misled into thinking that the product is more well-received than it actually is, and thus make misinformed purchase decisions,' CCCS said in its statement. Quantum Globe has said it will stop posting fake reviews and set up a feedback channel for six months to allow customers to report any fake reviews on Sgcarmart. It will also notify customers whose information was used in reviews posted by Quantum Globe between October 2024 and January 2025, inviting them to report any fake reviews through the feedback channel. For six months, the company will also publish notices on Sgcarmart and any online platforms used for marketing Lambency Detailing's brand or services to inform customers that it had posted fake reviews, and alert them to the feedback channel. It will also remove fake reviews on the platform within eight working days. See also AI may impact high-skilled professional jobs the most in SG Matthew Lim Jun Ho, the company's director, has told CCS he will not engage in any unfair trade practice or facilitate any business under his control to do so. On its part, Sgcarmart said it will look into additional verification measures, including SMS or email confirmation, to further enhance the integrity and authenticity of the reviews. CCCS chief executive Alvin Koh said that this is the second fake review case uncovered by them. 'When businesses post fake reviews to boost their ratings and popularity, they poison the well of consumer trust. Such deceptive practices, also known as 'dark patterns,' not only mislead consumers but also disadvantage honest competing businesses. We remain committed to taking firm action against businesses engaging in such unfair practices,' he added. Anyone who wishes to report cases of unfair trade practices may reach out to the Consumers Association of Singapore at 6277 5100 or through this link . /TISG Read also: CCCS flags Agoda's 'problematic' website and app features that could mislead Singapore consumers
CNA
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- CNA
Car detailing firm admits to posting fake AI-generated 5-star reviews on Sgcarmart in first such case
SINGAPORE: A car detailing company has been found to have posted fake AI-generated 5-star customer reviews on its Sgcarmart business page for the past two years, said the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) on Thursday (Jul 3). Quantum Globe, the owner and operator of Lambency Detailing, admitted to submitting the ChatGPT-written reviews using their customers' information without their knowledge and consent. 'This is the second fake review case that CCCS has uncovered, and the first case involving both a third-party platform and the use of AI to create these fake reviews," said CCCS chief executive Alvin Koh. The consumer watchdog began investigating the case in January under Singapore's fair trading laws. This came after a complaint from a Lambency Detailing customer who discovered unauthorised reviews posted under her name on Sgcarmart, an online platform for buying and selling cars. According to its website, Lambency Detailing provides a range of car detailing services from hand washing to restoration. During the investigation, CCCS confirmed with seven other customers that fake reviews with their names, vehicle registration numbers and vehicle photographs had been posted without their consent. Quantum Globe then admitted it was behind the reviews, and that it had used ChatGPT to generate them based on services it had provided to the customers. The reviews were submitted via a QR code provided by Sgcarmart that allowed users to give feedback on businesses without needing to have an account with the platform, Facebook or Google. "The posting of fake customer reviews by a business in relation to a consumer transaction is an unfair trade practice, as consumers might be misled into thinking that the product is more well-received than it actually is, and thus make misinformed purchase decisions," said CCCS. ACTION TAKEN According to CCCS, Quantum Globe has admitted to engaging in an unfair trade practice and has given an undertaking that it will stop posting fake reviews. The company also agreed to set up a feedback channel for six months to allow the reporting of any fake reviews on Sgcarmart by customers. It will notify customers whose details were used in the fake reviews that were posted between October 2024 and January, and invite them to report fake reviews via the feedback channel. In addition, Quantum Globe agreed to publish notices that will last for six months on Sgcarmart and any other online platforms it uses to promote Lambency Detailing. The notices are to inform customers that it had posted fake reviews and to let them know of the feedback channel. Any reviews on Sgcarmart that are verified to be fake are to be removed within eight working days, including the reviews flagged by CCCS during its investigation. Quantum Globe director Matthew Lim Jun Ho also gave an undertaking to CCCS that he will not engage in any unfair trade practice or facilitate any business under his control to do so. In response to the investigation, Sgcarmart owner and operator SGCM is considering additional verification methods, such as SMS or email confirmation, to enhance the integrity and authenticity of reviews on its platform, said CCCS. In June last year, furniture retailer Loft Home Furnishing was issued a warning by the consumer watchdog for posting fake 5-star reviews. Investigations into that case were prompted following complaints by some customers over reviews which contained their initials and posted on the retailer's website without their knowledge. "When businesses post fake reviews to boost their ratings and popularity, they poison the well of consumer trust. Such deceptive practices, also known as 'dark patterns', not only mislead consumers but also disadvantage honest competing businesses," said Mr Koh. "We remain committed to take firm action against businesses engaging in such unfair practices." Consumers who rely on online reviews before making purchases are advised to spend more time looking in-depth, rather than just scanning them. "Instead of just focusing on the number of reviews and the average score, look deeper into the spread of review scores and common opinions that emerge. Read a selection of reviews with different scores and form your own view," said CCCS. Other measures they can take to differentiate authentic reviews from fake ones include checking multiple websites to gauge the consistency and reliability of the reviews, as well as whether there are safeguards in place, such as verification of purchases and absence of incentivised reviews. Overly positive reviews can be a red flag, as are generic reviews that lack details or use generic buzzwords such as "amazing" or "perfect". Consumers should also be wary if there are many reviews posted under similar names, using similar language, or have repeated or similar spelling or grammatical errors, said CCCS.
Free Malaysia Today
06-06-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Amazon agrees to tackle fake reviews in UK, says regulator
In 2024, Amazon blocked more than 275 million fake reviews worldwide. (AFP pic) LONDON : Amazon has agreed to clamp down on fake online reviews of products advertised on its UK site, Britain's competition regulator said today. Google agreed a similar UK commitment in January after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the matter five years ago. Amazon 'has signed undertakings committing to enhance its existing systems for tackling fake reviews and catalogue abuse', the CMA said in a statement today. 'Catalogue abuse involves sellers hijacking the reviews of well-performing products and adding them to an entirely separate and different product to falsely boost its star rating', the regulator noted. The CMA said 'Amazon has committed to tough sanctions for businesses that boost their star ratings,' which could see them banned from its UK site. An Amazon spokesman told AFP that the company already invests 'significant resources to proactively stop fake reviews ever appearing… including on expert human investigators and machine learning models that analyse thousands of data points to detect risk'. They added that last year, Amazon 'blocked more than 275 million fake reviews (worldwide), with more than 99% of all products… containing only authentic reviews'. The UK regulator said that around 90% of UK consumers use online reviews when deciding on a purchase. It added that 'as much as £23 billion (US$31 billion) of UK consumer spending is potentially influenced by online reviews annually'. 'So many people use Amazon, from buying a new bike lock to finding the best coffee machine – and what's clear is that star ratings and reviews have a huge impact on their choices,' CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said in today's statement. 'That's why these new commitments matter and help set the standard. 'They mean people can make decisions with greater confidence -knowing that those who seek to pull the wool over their eyes will be swiftly dealt with'. The CMA in May 2020 opened an investigation into 'several major websites' that display online reviews, which led to the opening of a formal probe into Amazon and Google 13 months later. 'The undertakings from Amazon and Google, alongside our recently published advice to review platforms, paint a clear picture of what the law requires from businesses,' Cardell said. 'Following this, we're now launching the next phase of our work. 'This will scrutinise whether review platforms, businesses who list products on them, and reviewers themselves, are complying with the strengthened laws around fake reviews,' she said.
Associated Press
06-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Amazon commits to stepping up fake-review fight after UK watchdog's investigation
LONDON (AP) — Amazon has pledged to beef up fight against fake reviews, Britain's competition regulator said Friday after an investigation into whether big online platforms are doing enough to crack down on phony online ratings for products and services. The Competition and Markets Authority said it secured the 'undertakings' from Amazon, after getting a similar agreement earlier this year from Google to clamp down on rogue reviews plaguing the internet. The company promised to strengthen its existing systems for fighting fake reviews. It will also tackle catalog abuse, which involves sellers boosting star ratings for a product by hijacking good reviews from a completely different one. As an example, a shopper might come across a pair of headphones with a five-star rating. But, after looking closer, most of the reviews are for a mobile phone charger, the watchdog said. As part of its commitments, Amazon has agreed to sanction anyone caught using these tactics. Businesses could be banned from selling on the Amazon website and users posting fake reviews could be banned from posting them, the CMA said. The watchdog's chief executive, Sarah Cardell, said that so many people shop on Amazon and 'star ratings and reviews have a huge impact on their choices.' Amazon's pledges 'mean people can make decisions with greater confidence – knowing that those who seek to pull the wool over their eyes will be swiftly dealt with.' The pledges apply to Amazon's U.K. website. The company said in a statement that it has zero tolerance for fake reviews and that the measures build on Amazon's existing efforts to tackle them. 'We invest significant resources to proactively stop fake reviews ever appearing on our store, including on expert human investigators and machine learning models that analyse thousands of data points to detect risk,' the company said. The CMA opened its investigations into Amazon and Google in 2021 to examine whether the two companies broke U.K. consumer law by failing to protect shoppers. It began looking into phony reviews on some big websites amid the boom in online shopping fueled by the coronavirus pandemic.
