Amidst the surge in fraudulent reviews, Yelp is taking proactive measures. For consumers, distinguishing trustworthy businesses from deceptive ones on the platform can be a daunting task. In a bid to address this concern, Yelp is introducing a Consumer Alerts recipient index. This index catalogues Yelp pages where suspicious or misleading review activity has been identified. Consumers can access this index on Yelp’s Trust & Safety website, establishing it as a valuable ongoing resource for both consumers and regulatory bodies. However, determining which pages should be publicly listed was no straightforward endeavour. Everyday, thousands of businesses face allegations of soliciting reviews or posting fraudulent ones. For the sake of clarity, Yelp has adopted a straightforward approach for this new index. It includes all businesses that have been caught offering various forms of payment, such as cash, discounts, gift certificates, or other incentives in exchange for writing, modifying, preventing, or removing reviews. Additionally, it encompasses businesses that have received Suspicious Review Activity Alerts. These warnings from Yelp signify the detection of an unusually high number of positive reviews originating from a single IP address or reviews associated with users potentially linked to groups coordinating incentivized reviews.
Select Page