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Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Don’t Be Fooled By Phony Online Reviews

Summary: An information security professional named David Matusiak hired Florida-based Full Service Van Lines after reading dozens of five-star reviews, many of which appeared on review sites registered with the same email address used for the moving company's own domain. After his belongings were loaded on May 24, 2015, the foreman demanded an additional $2,437 in cash or money order for 375 extra cubic feet, and more than 30 days later Matusiak was still waiting for delivery while the company gave shifting accounts of the truck's location.

Bottom line: The same email address tied the company's site to the review sites that ranked it first, and public records linked its operators to a prior firm fined $50,000 by the FMCSA and sued by the Florida Attorney General after hundreds of complaints - a reminder that a wall of five-star reviews can be manufactured by the party being reviewed.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Fraud & Scams
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