Amazon suing more than 1,000 for fake product reviews

It is one of the biggest legal actions seeking to uncover hidden identities on the internet

Amazon says false reviews are tarnishing its brand reputation (Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)

Amazon, the world's largest online marketplace, is suing more than 1,000 people who it accuses of offering to write fake reviews on its website.

The web giant filed a lawsuit against 1,114 alleged fake reviewers, who it says are tarnishing its brand reputation with "false, misleading and inauthentic" reviews, GeekWire reports.

It claims the defendants - named as "John Does", the American term for an unidentified person - offer their false review service for as little as five dollars (£3.25) on the website Fiverr.com.

Amazon has a list of all the defendants' Fiverr account names and is seeking a court judgement to identify the people behind them.

It is one of the biggest legal actions seeking to uncover hidden identities on the internet, according to The Sunday Times.

The company says it conducted an extensive investigation, which included purchasing fake customer reviews on Fiverr. Those who offered reviews often promised five-star ratings and offered to let the purchaser write the review themselves.

Earlier this year, Amazon sued several websites suspected of selling fake reviews.

The legal action says: "Amazon is bringing this action to protect its customers from this misconduct, by stopping defendants and uprooting the ecosystem in which they participate.

“Although Amazon has successfully requested removal of similar listings from Fiverr in the past, the removal of individual listings does not address the root cause of the issue or serve as a sufficient deterrent to the bad actors engaged in creating and purchasing fraudulent product reviews.”