Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and six states permanently banned Roomster Corp. and its owners, John Shriber and Roman Zaks, from purchasing or incentivizing consumer reviews as part of a settlement over charges that they utilized fake reviews to lure consumers into paying for access to nonexistent rental listings. The settlement comes in the middle of a public notice and comment period for the proposed rule by the FTC on fake reviews that would cover much of the conduct alleged of Roomster.
According to the complaint, Roomster allegedly bought tens of thousands of fake reviews that were used to funnel unwitting customers to the company’s rental listings, which often ended up being fake or nonexistent.Continue Reading Bad News for Fake Reviews: FTC Issues Permanent Ban on Roomster