The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against a new type of online fraud. Hijacking reviews of other products in online stores is a relatively new ploy to mislead consumers, and Amazon.com is one such online store that offers the option of grouping several similar products under one entry. Nestlé subsidiary The Bountiful Company has been accused of abusing this function, resulting in the FTC taking $600,000 from the company, which will be distributed to victims. The company added poorly performing products to the listings of individual bestsellers on Amazon.com, thus misleading consumers. The FTC recognised false and misleading advertising and unfair competition in the machinations and issued a cease-and-desist order against the company.
Amazon.com prohibits misleading or manipulative reviews, but The Bountiful Company still maintains that it has done nothing wrong: The company only accepted the FTC measures to avoid a long and expensive appeal. However, the requirements are now being met.
