The BBC tracked down UK companies using fake reviews to boost their visibility in Google results.
Medical clinics are using fake Google reviews to boost their profiles online, a BBC investigation has found.
The government said it was toughening the law to protect consumers, while Google said it removed fake reviews.known to appear on Amazon, Trustpilot and the App StoreOne of the companies the BBC's investigation examined was the Ipswich Spine Clinic run by Dr Amit Patel.Reviews left on Google for firms highly recommended them to customers
We also found that five people who had rated Ipswich Spine Clinic highly, posted negative comments on one of their local competitors.When we contacted the clinic, Dr Amit Patel told us he had outsourced his marketing to a company in India, and hadn't been aware of the reviews posted on Google. But in the same month, Rose Bellamy had also appeared to review a removal company in Australia, a restaurant in Sweden, an immigration company in Canada, and a spa in the US.
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