Millions of iPhone and Android users warned of secret fake reviews on app stores – ignoring could cost you

THE Apple App Store and Google Play are flooded with fake reviews, according to an investigation by Which?

It turns out handing out bogus praise has become a lucrative business model for cash-strapped fraudsters.

Which?

Fake reviews can lead many tech users to download — and in many cases, buy — an untrustworthy app[/caption]

As many as a quarter, or 25%, of reviews on Google Play’s top 100 apps are fake, the investigation found.

While one in six, or 17%, of reviews on the top 100 apps in Apple’s App Store are fabricated.

Both companies have automated and human moderators in place to spot and delete fake reviews.

But it appears an increasing number of reviewers-for-hire are cropping up online.

One fake review broker site, reviewlancer, claims to have sold nearly 53,000 reviews and exchanged more than 130,000 reviews between apps, Which? found.

While another, called AppSally, offers review manipulation for many platforms and has featured in previous Which? fake review investigations.

This kind of deception can lead many tech users to download — and in many cases, buy — an untrustworthy app.

In some instances, these apps can be riddled with malware which can put people’s data and privacy at risk.

“Apple and Google are failing to prevent fake and suspicious reviews infiltrating their app stores, leaving consumers at huge risk of being misled into downloading apps that have been boosted through unscrupulous tactics,” Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said.

“Our latest findings illustrate why the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill is so badly needed in order to tackle fake reviews and the dominance of the tech giants, and finally make consumer protection laws fit for the digital age.”

Apple said developers who attempt to cheat the system by manipulating ratings risk having their apps removed.

The company has also encouraged users to report suspected fraudulent behaviour in the App Store.

Google said that it removes ads that are in violation of its policies and has strict rules to ensure dishonesty doesn’t thrive in its app store.

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