Chargers, cables, webcams, keyboards, mice, speakers, headphones, etc. from popular Apple and other tech accessory companies, including Aukey and Mpow, are either unavailable for shipping or have been removed from Amazon following a leak that revealed a fake review scheme on Amazon.com.
Andrew Martonik for Digital Trends:
Online safety advocate SafetyDetective uncovered a massive trove of data pointing to wide-reaching pay-for-play review systems purportedly focused on China-based phone and computer accessory companies that primarily sell on Amazon. The leak exposed a system of companies paying to generate real-looking — but completely falsified — reviews for new products. The goal is simple: Shoot up the Amazon rankings for having a high number of reviews and an average rating, which starts the waterwheel of purchases and real reviews.
The system would essentially have third-party companies buy products, submit favorable 5-star reviews from fake user accounts, and then be reimbursed for the products (and then some) via a separate payment platform to protect the integrity of the “verified purchase” denotation on Amazon. The leak shows over 75,000 Amazon accounts being used for the services, though the true scale isn’t yet known.
MacDailyNews Note: Two of Aukey’s major competitors, Anker (whose products we use and recommend) and RAVPower remain available on Amazon.
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