Review fraudster on TripAdvisor gets jail time

A pivotal legal ruling in Italy saw a persistent online review fraudster sentenced to jail, prompting reviews site TripAdvisor to emphasise its stance against paid reviews companies.

The Criminal Court of Lecce ruled that writing fake reviews using a false identity is criminal conduct under Italian criminal law.

The owner of PromoSalento, which sold fake review packages to hospitality businesses in Italy, was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay approximately 8,000 euros (US$9,294) in costs and damages.

Paid review fraud – when companies or individuals ‘sell’ fake reviews to business owners – is a violation of the law in many jurisdictions, but this is one of the first cases of enforcement resulting in a criminal conviction.

In a statement, TripAdvisor said it supported the prosecution of PromoSalento as a civil claimant by sharing evidence from its extensive in-house fraud investigations and providing support from its Italian legal counsel.

“Review fraud is something TripAdvisor takes extremely seriously, employing advanced tracking technology and a dedicated team of investigators to catch paid review companies and prevent them from operating on the site,” the statement read.

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