Fake online review fraud: California agencies are not protecting consumers

In summary District attorneys, the State Bar and the Medical Board should protect Californians, but they seem uninterested in deterring fraud against consumers. By Kathryn Dean, Special to CalMatters Kathryn Dean is creator of Fake Review Watch on YouTube and member of the Alliance to Counter Crime Online , fakereviewwatch@gmail.com. Review websites are riddled with fake reviews foisted upon consumers by the tech companies who take advantage of federal legislation that holds them unaccountable for user generated content.

But that’s not the only problem for California consumers. The state agencies that are supposed to be protecting us, instead turn a blind eye to this fraud, even fraud perpetrated by the medical community. The Reveal program on National Public Radio recently aired a story featuring my investigation into online review fraud.

Three years ago, I received an attorney’s letter threatening legal action over a factual Yelp review I wrote on a Santa Clara County psychiatric practice. I refused to succumb to the bullying, and after further harassment I sued the practice in small claims court as a matter of principle for inflicting emotional distress. I won, but that was just the beginning of my odyssey. I am a former federal […]

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