We have previously discussed competitors that pay for people to destroy your Amazon account by nailing you with negative reviews. We have also previously discussed My Journey to The Dark Side of Prime: Fake Positive Reviews. In this case, Amazon sellers pay for positive reviews on THEIR items so their items are boosted in search results. However there’s a flip side to this issue: A competitor tries to destroy you with POSITIVE fake reviews - I know, it sounds crazy, but hear me out because it makes a ton of sense:

A little while back (2019, I believe) Amazon realized they had a major problem with Fake Paid Reviews so they began suspending all buying and selling accounts suspicious of violating their terms. Fast forward to 2021: It’s hard to say how much of a dent this is putting in the Fake-Review-Mountain because you can still search for pretty much any product and the Amazon Search Results will produce new listings for no-brand items with only 5-star reviews.

Anyways, competitors have realized that they can destroy an Amazon business by triggering the Amazon Fake Review AI to suspect you of paying for 5-stars.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

If you suddenly see your listing getting “spammed” with 5-stars you are likely a victim of Competitor Review Sabotage. Once you trip the Fake Review Alarm your account will be instantly suspended and there’s NO WAY TO PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE.

WHAT TO DO:

Unfortunately, there is no good advice for this because you are choosing to sell on a platform that you do not own, therefore you will always be at the mercy of whatever an anonymous Amazon employee decides. SO, the best thing you can possibly do is ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP PLAN!!!