Amazon has announced that it has filed its first criminal complaint in Italy and its first lawsuit in Spain as part of its legal efforts to shut down fake review brokers. These two unprecedented lawsuits in Europe target bad actors that attempt to orchestrate fake reviews on Amazon and other stores, via social media groups and websites, in exchange for money or free products. Amazon’s first criminal complaint in Europe targets a broker in Italy selling fake reviews. Individuals convicted of this type of crime in Italy risk imprisonment and fines, Amazon said. The company also filed its first civil complaint in Spain against a fake review broker that targets sellers and customers of www.amazon.es and communicates via Telegram to avoid detection. These proceedings add to ten new lawsuits that Amazon recently launched in the U.S. against fake review brokers and other bad actors attempting to game its rating systems. Amazon has a dedicated global team of investigators, lawyers, analysts and other specialists who track down fake review brokers and take legal action against them.

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