#BECOME A YELP ELITE SERIES#

Dean says consumers still need to be careful. Yelp also said it “strictly prohibits offering payment for reviews.” And if it finds a Yelp user has been paid, it will remove their reviews and close their account.Īfter the I-Team started digging into Elite reviews, Yelp did close some accounts, including the account of the man who spoke to us.

In a statement to the I-Team, Yelp said: “We take significant measures to maintain the integrity and quality of the content on Yelp.” It said it does this using automated software, human moderation and consumer alerts. “So basically the current environment is that cheating is rewarded, business ethics are eroding, and millions of consumers and honest businesses suffer,” said Dean. The I-Team asked the FTC if it issued any fines, but we didn’t get a response. There’s proposed federal legislation that would hold Yelp and other companies accountable for fake reviews, but only if someone can show they’ve been harmed by one.Īnd last fall, the Federal Trade Commission said it put hundreds of businesses on notice about fake reviews, threatening hefty fines. “They’re doing far too little to police their own platforms.”īut it doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon. “I think there needs to be a change in legislation, to hold the tech companies accountable for everything they’re allowing,” she said. She says somebody needs to make them do it. She calls the problem massive, and says fake reviews can easily trick consumers, because they’re often detailed, can even include pictures, and of course, they can have that badge.ĭean’s frustrated that Yelp isn’t aggressive enough in taking down fake reviews.

So Dean’s now a part-time sleuth, making it her mission to track fake reviews. “I was shocked at what I was seeing,” she said.ĭean says she started digging into the issue about four years ago, after she had a bad experience with a doctor she found on Yelp, who had great reviews. Kay Dean says he’s not the only Yelp Elite who’s posted fake reviews. “I did a few already, it was kind of easy, it was a quick $20, no one said anything about it, no one called me out, so I was like, whatever, I’ll just post it,” he said. He says the quick cash was too easy to turn down.

He said the offers for posting fake reviews kept coming in, from a carpet cleaning business and an insurance agent.

#BECOME A YELP ELITE SERIES#

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Become a yelp elite