Inside India’s underground network of fake e-commerce reviews

According to a study by cybersecurity company CloudSEK, over 12,000 fake reviews have been generated in the last 10 months, influencing products worth ₹50 lakh, across various e-commerce portals. For the unsuspecting customers relying on these reviews, the consequences are real when the products don’t match their glowing endorsements, making them distrustful of online shopping.

The average consumer often tends to filter out products with reviews with less than four stars and tends to read reviews before ordering a product. Consumers trust reviews from “verified buyers" believing they reflect genuine user experiences.

For instance, take this Amazon review for a handbag: “Ideal for shopping sprees or family gatherings, this bag complements various outfits, from casual jeans and a crop top to kurtis and denims. Color is trendy and fashionable. Perfect for gifting too." –(Name withheld), Verified Buyer.

Another reads: “This is one of the best bags I have bought. Quality is just fantastic at this price. Material feels super premium and looks reliable. Design is beautiful. Size is compact to carry. Long straps can be hooked whenever needed and are extremely helpful. I liked this bag a lot." – (Name withheld), Verified Buyer.

These reviews, currently active on Amazon, appear genuine. But they can be traced back to a spreadsheet where a mediator compiled them, along with a dozen similar posts, likely as part of a planned campaign to boost ratings and visibility for the brand’s handbags. Mint has reviewed the spreadsheet.

From unbranded items such as sari covers and salad spinners to cosmetics and audio products from well-known brands, a wide range of goods are frequently listed on Telegram groups, where users are incentivized to leave five-star reviews.

To be clear, the menace of manipulated reviews goes beyond bags and skincare products. In fact, mediators and companies try to game the system across product categories, even books. Some digital agencies approach authors and strike a deal to provide five-star ratings—workers from the agencies then order the books from e-commerce platforms and write glowing reviews. The author has to reimburse them for their trouble.

The puppeteers

To understand the inner workings of this network, this reporter spent a few days observing the messages being exchanged over nine Telegram and four WhatsApp groups. In our reporting we found these groups to be hotspots, where several key players collaborate to manipulate product ratings and deceive consumers.

Sellers, often referred to as e-commerce vendors, seem to be the primary beneficiaries. They partner with so-called “marketing agencies" to artificially boost their product’s reputation. The marketing agencies act as intermediaries, orchestrating the entire operation through mediators.

The mediators oversee the execution of the entire scheme. They post deals with screenshots of products and a link to the e-commerce portal. Mediators also share the nature of the deal. In most cases, a reviewer needs to purchase the product and write a positive review. The exchange value of a deal differs. Some offer a 50% discount on the product, while others offer to refund the entire amount with the reviewer getting to keep the product.

Mediators also maintain internal portals to track customer details, order IDs, refunds and payments. They manage peer groups, ensure smooth coordination among participants and process refunds once users submit proof of positive reviews.

While there are hundreds of mediators, messages sent within these groups reveal that a handful of them are more popular, “genuine and trustworthy" than others.

In a Telegram channel where members discuss refund statuses, tips on posting reviews and trusted mediators, users speak of one particular mediator with a mix of admiration and trust.

“Unlike others, he’s special," writes one member who claims to have done deals with the mediator for over a year without any problems. Most issues, according to messages exchanged in the group, are focused around a reviewer having to follow up on the promised payment or refund.

Another user boasts of receiving refunds from the mediator for three years. The mediator himself proudly declares that he has disbursed ₹1.3 crore in deals so far, emphasizing that he has never withheld a single rupee.

“I want to make a living out of respect and honesty," he wrote in a Telegram group with 1,172 members. The irony aside, his statement is a testament to the scale of this underground operation, where fraudulent reviews aren’t viewed as deception, but as a well-oiled business model.

Mediators also run channels to educate reviewers on how to post reviews, what to do if a review doesn’t appear on the website, and how to make a fake review look like a genuine one.

Going by the messages in these groups, reviewers follow precise instructions to ensure they get a full refund. They have to give a five-star rating, mention specific features, highlight ease of use, and sometimes upload photos or videos.

In some cases, paid reviewers are asked to wear or use the product and post a picture to make the review seem even more authentic. Some mediators also ask the reviewers to not use ChatGPT to write a review, in order to ensure a guaranteed refund.

When Mint reached out to WhatsApp with queries on these private groups, the messaging platform responded saying, “We ban accounts for violating our policies which prohibit, amongst other things, engaging in scam and fraudulent activities."

“As captured in the latest Monthly Report, WhatsApp banned over 9.7 million accounts in the month of February alone. Over 1.4 million of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users," it added, without indicating if any of these were groups engaged in posting fake reviews.

Mint has reached out to Telegram with queries but is yet to get a response.

Modus operandi

According to CloudSEK researcher Mayank Sahariya, the ecosystem behind fake reviews on e-commerce platforms is far more structured than it appears.

“Sellers looking to boost their rankings on platforms approach marketing agencies or intermediaries, who then recruit individuals through Telegram groups with names like Review Deals," said Sahariya. These groups openly advertise opportunities for users to purchase products and receive full refunds, sometimes with additional commissions, after posting positive reviews.

“We dived into these groups to understand how they operate. We accidentally came across a website where they manage their entire operation, including tracking product IDs, refund requests and reviews," Sahariya added.

Sahariya shared a spreadsheet containing order IDs, customer details and review links managed by a mediator, primarily targeting handbags from a particular brand. Mint has reviewed the spreadsheet and independently verified these reviews on Amazon.

These operations primarily function through two schemes, said Sahariya. In the first, a user purchases a product using an affiliate link provided by a mediator. Once they confirm their order and submit an initial form with details such as order ID and product cost, they wait a few days before leaving a positive review. Once the review is posted, the reviewer submits a form to record his purchase and shares it with the mediator. Based on a timeline agreed upon by the reviewer and mediator, the reviewer is reimbursed the full or partial amount, sometimes along with a small bonus.

In the second method, a more deceptive tactic known as the “empty box deal," the buyer places an order but receives an empty package instead of an actual product. Despite this, they are still required to leave a glowing review. In return, they not only get a full refund but also a commission for participating in the scheme. This allows sellers to generate fake positive reviews without distributing actual products.

Sellers’ woes

India’s e-commerce sector has seen rapid growth over the past few years and will only grow bigger. According to a report by RedSeer Consulting, the size of the country’s online retail market is expected to expand from $45-50 billion now to $350 billion by 2030, making it the third-largest e-commerce market globally.

With an increased sense of digital trust and comfort, customers are now willing to buy from a wider variety of sellers and brands. On their part, the brands rely heavily on marketplace visibility and user reviews to drive their sales.

As a result, online reviews and ratings have become a critical currency of trust, influencing buying decisions at a time when consumers often lack the luxury and convenience of physically touching or seeing a product before purchase. With large companies also getting on board, fake reviews have become institutionalized today.

The reasons behind these schemes vary. Some sellers use them to boost visibility for new products, others to suppress negative reviews on low-quality items and some to simply outcompete rivals, said Sahariya.

The consequences of these fraudulent review schemes are far-reaching. Consumers are misled into purchasing subpar or even unsafe products based on falsified reviews. Some of these products come with a “replacement only" option, leaving users stuck with a bad quality product.

On the other hand, honest sellers who rely on genuine customer feedback find themselves at a competitive disadvantage as their products are overshadowed by those with artificially inflated ratings. This whole ordeal leaves e-commerce platforms at risk, due to a loss of credibility and consumer trust.

Parul Gupta, founder of Festabox, a personalized theme party decoration brand, said Amazon’s policies tend to favour customers over sellers. When she listed her products on the platform last year, she received multiple calls from “Amazon verified" onboarding agents and account managers offering help with product listing and marketing, including “genuine five-star reviews."

However, she notes that high-quality, fairly priced products struggle to rank organically. “A ₹350 premium banner competes with a 16-piece China-made party kit priced at ₹200 of much lower quality, but stronger reviews," she said.

Gupta has observed brands openly offering cashback or gifts in exchange for five-star ratings, either directly on platforms or through discount coupons in packaging. “Brands that choose not to game the review system suffer from low discoverability and poor sales," she added.

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Based on a quote received by Gupta, which Mint has reviewed, digital marketing agencies charge ₹200 for a positive “verified" review, as a part of a bundled offering of sales boost package.

In response to an email questionnaire, a Flipkart spokesperson said that the company has implemented several processes to ensure that the interests of customers are safeguarded, including identifying suspicious product reviews.

“We allow only verified customers who have purchased a particular product to rate that product and limit one rating per account. Reviews found to be influenced by coordinated efforts are promptly taken down and stringent measures are taken against the parties involved. Where such manipulations are linked to sellers, strict actions are taken, including permanent delisting and barring future onboarding," the spokesperson said.

“Amazon has zero tolerance for fake reviews. We have robust and long-standing policies that prohibit review abuse, and we suspend, ban, and take legal action against those who violate these policies. We consistently monitor and enforce our policies so customers can shop in our store with confidence. In 2024, more than 99% of products viewed in our store contain only authentic reviews," an Amazon spokesperson said.

“Amazon invests significant resources to proactively stop fake reviews: This includes machine learning models that analyze thousands of data points to detect risk, including relations to other accounts, sign-in activity, review history, and other indications of unusual behavior, and expert investigators that use sophisticated fraud-detection tools to analyze and prevent fake reviews from ever appearing in our store. As a result of continued investments, Amazon proactively blocked more than 275 million suspected fake reviews from our store in 2024," the spokesperson added.

Mint also reached out to Myntra for their comments but had not received a response at the time of publishing this story.

Checks and balances

Fake reviews on e-commerce websites aren’t a new problem. Regulatory bodies and e-commerce companies have been working to curb this menace, but the review networks continue to get more sophisticated.

A survey done by LocalCircles in 2024, involving over 10,000 respondents, found that over half of online shoppers believe that e-commerce ratings and reviews are positively biased, with many saying their negative reviews weren’t published.

Despite existing guidelines, few platforms clearly label sponsored content and most haven’t adopted artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve review authenticity. Consumers continue to rely heavily on reviews, indicating a need for stricter enforcement to rebuild trust.

E-commerce platforms do attempt to counter fake reviews, but fraudsters have developed ways to bypass these checks. “Platforms monitor certain patterns, like the number of reviews a user posts per month," said Sahariya. “But even the fraudsters know this. They tell their reviewers to limit posts to three or four reviews a month so they don’t get flagged."

Back in the Telegram group, after getting a deal on a cooler, Vishal has moved on to hunt for a deal on a stainless-steel bottle. Whether either of those products is truly worth a five-star rating is anyone’s guess.

But in a digital economy increasingly driven by stars and ratings, it’s clear that trust, once the bedrock of online commerce, is now being traded, refunded and reviewed like any other commodity. And it’s all happening in plain sight, one glowing review at a time.