>> Asha:
This is marketplace.
How to spot a fake.
>> I was fooled by that.
>> Asha: Online reviews--
we all rely on them.
>> I've personally seen numerous
people lose 9 to 11 pounds.
>> Asha:
But are they for real?
>> I'm a certified
financial advisor.
And I'm a designer.
And I'm a teacher.
>> Asha: One of Canada's
top reviewers.
>> How is the business
not held accountable for that?
>> Why do you do so many
fake reviews, aren't you
misleading people?
>> I don't even know
who you are.
Get away from my car.
>> Why won't you talk to us?
>> Asha:
This is your marketplace.
♪ ♪
We're heading to a stake-out
north of Toronto.
>> Just drive around
for a sec and have a look.
>> Asha: Searching for a woman
who doesn't want to be found.
There's that spot right there.
But that might be too close.
A woman whose job is to fool
people like you and me.
This woman.
>> Hi there, I'm Susanne.
I'll create a believable
testimonial video for you
starting at just $10.
>> Asha: She makes money
making fake testimonials
for businesses pretending
she's a real customer.
>> Just send me your script
of up to 50 words to work with.
>> Asha: She even poses
as an expert to push
questionable diet supplements.
>> Hi, my name is Maria
J. Clifford, I'm a licensed
dietician at the Kennedy
Health Institute in Washington.
>> Asha: Making fake
testimonials like this could be
illegal, but it seems she's done
thousands of them, and we'd
like to talk to her about it.
Our plan is to drop off this
package at her post office box
and wait for her to pick it up.
It's a bit of deception
designed to expose hers.
>> Hi there,
my name is Susanne.
Hi, I'm Tessa Daly
of Tampa, Florida.
>> Hey, everyone, it's Jennifer.
>> Asha: We're not sure
what her real name is,
but companies all over the world
hire her to say
good things about them,
then posts her reviews
on their websites.
>> To let everyone know
about Rain City Maids.
>> Asha: Like this maid service
in Seattle, and this
private eye in England.
>> I suspected for some time
that my husband had
been having an affair.
Now I heard about
 Stellar Intelligence 
through a friend of mine
and I asked them for help.
>> Asha: This isn't the only
time we've wanted to know
more about this woman.
In fact, we once
hired her ourselves.
>> Hi there, I just wanted to
make this quick video to tell
everyone how much I love
eating at Cheezed Off.
>> Asha: We first investigated
online reviews two years ago.
With so many of us relying on
reviews to decide where to spend
our money, we wanted to know
how easy it is for a company
to fool with us with fake ones.
♪ ♪
So we invented a phony food
truck called Cheezed Off with
its own website, Facebook page,
and lots of tricked-out photos.
Then we hired people to say
how much they liked our truck
on review sites like Yelp.
We showed just how easy it is
to manufacture a good reputation
even for a phony business.
>> I'm here to offer you
a written review for
your product or your service.
>> Asha: We found
our reviewers on fiverr.com,
it offers cheap ways to boost
your business, including
hundreds of people who will
make testimonials, saying
whatever you want them to.
>> Something that seems like
it may have come from
one of your actual customers.
>> Asha: To give you an idea
how big the problem is, Amazon,
the internet giant, recently
sued more than a thousand people
on Fiverr for selling
fake reviews about its products.
>> I loved getting lunch
at Cheezed Off.
>> Asha: The woman
we're investigating goes by
the user name Sanpan.
We first picked her
because she's a Canadian
and a top seller on Fiverr,
and she was happy to lie
about our fake truck.
>> They're fast, they're
friendly and they make the best
grilled cheese sandwich around.
>> Asha: Since that story
first aired, the problem
of fake reviews persists and so
does the woman called Sanpan.
As we dig deeper,
our trail leads to this man.
♪ ♪
We're in Kamloops,
British Columbia,
to meet George Gavriel.
>> Physics, math, biology.
The usual sciency things.
>> Asha: He's a university
student who feels duped
by testimonials and thinks
Sanpan has gone too far.
>> Honestly, I had lost
a whole bunch of weight to
begin with, and then I sort of
went off that weight loss wagon
and then I was kind of
looking for an easier way
to get back on to it.
>> Asha: George heard about
the diet supplements raspberry
ketone and green coffee bean
extract and went looking online.
What he found was
a lot of testimonials.
>> The testimonials were sort of
saying that people had
amazing results with these,
they lost more weight than
what the product claimed it did.
>> Asha: George spent a couple
of hundred bucks and a few weeks
trying them, but didn't
notice any difference.
>> I was fooled by that,
and I like to think of myself
as an educated consumer.
>> Asha: We show him
a testimonial for the same
supplements from Sanpan.
>> I've personally seen
numerous people lose
9 to 11 pounds during their
first week, and I'm doing this
because I care about people.
>> [chuckles]
I'm doing this because
I care about people.
I think that's definitely a lie.
[laughs]
There's absolutely no way that
she's making all of these videos
dressing up in a lab coat and
telling people that they need
to be buying products from
a certain area just because
she cares about people.
>> Asha: George is right.
Sanpan is only pretending
she's a professional.
>> Hi, my name is
Maria J. Clifford.
Gina Parker.
Jessica Moore.
I'm a licensed dietician at
the Kennedy Health Institute
in Washington.
>> At the Harold Institute
here in Washington.
I'm also the mother of two.
And I'm also the mother
of three children.
>> I think that everybody
has to have some sort of...
thing in them that says no,
I'm not going to do that,
it's wrong,
because there's a certain point
where it's acting and then
there's a certain point
where it's misleading people.
>> I'm a certified
financial advisor.
And I'm a designer.
And I'm a teacher.
>> Asha: We spent weeks online
trying to track down Sanpan.
She's the tip of an internet
iceberg of deception,
despite being outed by us
two years ago.
>> So if I type in the one
user name that I know...
But for a woman
who's all over the web,
she's proving very hard to find.
Using picture searches and
variations of her user name,
we find pieces of her past.
An old profile.
A dormant website
offering realistic reviews.
Places where she admits
to making thousands of videos.
We find old photos of her pets.
And this one of her backyard.
But still, it's a needle
in a haystack.
Eventually, we even find this.
>> I play an investigative
reporter named Heather Blank
in the new movie,
"My Uncle John is a Zombie."
>> Asha: It's a fundraising
video for a new zombie movie.
Here's a trailer.
>> Uncle John, don't worry,
I won't let anybody hurt you.
>> Asha:
Sanpan does get a credit
on the Internet Movie Database
as Susanne Banks, but none
of this tells us exactly who
she is or where to find her.
>> After all, the public
has a right to know,
wouldn't you agree?
>> Asha: We do agree.
So we go back on Fiverr
to ask Sanpan to make us
another testimonial,
this time for a scarf.
>> Hello, Sanpan.
I'd like to buy a video
testimonial from you.
We're pretending to have
our own business, selling
hand-knit accessories online.
Once again, she happily agrees
to make us a video and to wear
our scarf, no questions asked.
>> Susanne P, that's how
she wants us to address it.
>> Asha: Sanpan or Susanne
tells us to send the scarf
to her post office box
in Nobleton, Ontario.
>> I'm going to fold it up nice
and stuff it in the envelope.
That's how we get
to this parking lot, waiting
outside this post office.
Hours pass, and still
no sign of Sanpan.
Not until early the next day
when suddenly she shows up.
♪ [dramatic]
Sanpan heads to her car
with package in hand.
>> This is CBC and we want
to talk to you about the
testimonials you sell on Fiverr.
>> Oh I'm going to pass, thanks.
>> Why?
>> I just don't have anything
to say and I really don't want
to be on camera right now.
>> Why do you do
so many fake reviews?
>> I don't even know
who you are.
>> Why do you do
so many fake reviews,
aren't you misleading people?
>> I don't even know who
you are, get away from my car.
♪ ♪
[car starts]
>> Why won't you talk to us?
What about the people
that believe your reviews
and trust you?
♪ ♪
It's all over in 30 seconds.
Or so we think.
Sanpan's surprising return.
>> So you don't think
what you're doing is wrong,
you don't think giving false --
>> Are you the moral police?
>> Asha: And meet the man
behind the big Bell bust.
>> The reviews were written
like non-humans would write it.
>> Asha:
This is your marketplace.
>> Asha: Don't get fooled
on your marketplace.
♪ [dramatic]
An SUV barrels out of
a strip mall north of Toronto.
Inside, a woman who
doesn't want to talk to us
with a package we sent her.
>> Hi there, I'm Jennifer.
>> Asha: Her job?
Lying to consumers
as they decide where
to spend their money.
In the business of fake online
testimonials, she's one
of Canada's top sellers.
>> She's back, she's back.
Let's get out.
>> Asha: None of us were
expecting her to return.
>> Get a photo.
>> Asha: As we approach the car,
she rolls up the window
but stays put.
Susanne, I would like to have
a civil conversation with you
about the testimonials
you sell on Fiverr.
>> We're with CBC marketplace.
>> CBC, The Canadian
 Broadcasting Corporation.
But can we get some answers
from you?
We just want to talk to you.
>> Asha: After several tense
minutes, Sanpan opens her door
and throws out the scarf
we sent her.
But still she remains.
Sanpan is prolific,
but she's not alone in the world
of online fakery.
 Bell Canada was busted in 2015
after it created a phone app
and asked its own employees
to write glowing online reviews.
This is the guy who first
noticed Bell's wrongdoing.
>> Have you watched anything
on Facebook Live?
>> No.
[laughter]
>> Asha: Scott Stratten
is an author and public speaker
who knows a lot about what
he calls authentic marketing.
We catch up with him at a studio
in Burlington, Ontario where
he records his weekly podcast.
Hey, Scott.
>> Hey there, how are you?
>> Good, how are you?
>> Good. Let's go on in.
>> All right.
>> Bell got busted big-time...
>> Mhm.
>> And it all started with you.
How did that happen?
>> So I woke up one day and just
pulled up the app store, and I
noticed that the Bell Mobile app
was number two.
And I said hang on a second,
there's only one thing
I know for sure in life,
people don't like
their phone company,
that's pretty much how it goes,
that's a given.
And the reviews were written
like non-humans would write it,
marketers,
marketers would write it
like this.
And it made no sense.
It's-- All right, here.
"Works great,
"makes it so easy now
"to check my profile
"and pay my bill,
"nice clean design
and very user friendly."
Have you ever said
user friendly in your life?
>> Nope.
>> Right?
[laughter]
It doesn't make any sense, "much
improved, like the new look,
faster and easier to use!"
It's right out of a commercial.
Looking forward to include
BTV and home phone services
in future releases.
No, that's not human,
that's not human.
>> Asha: Scott does some digging
and goes on Linkedin,
the social networking site
designed for business.
He discovers that many
of the people who reviewed
the Bell app are Bell employees.
An associate director at Bell,
the performance manager,
the marketing manager,
an IT executive,
a senior project manager.
Scott decides to write
this blog about it.
I wrote, "for Whom
the Bell Mobility Tolls,"
which by the way is
the greatest headline
I've ever written in my life.
First comment on that post
from somebody was "who cares,"
and I said, "I do,
and you should, too."
That if we compromise
the ecosystem of trust on
the internet, what do we have?
Just words.
>> Asha: Turns out Canada's
Competition Bureau cared, too,
and made Bell pay a fine
of $1.25 million.
1.25 million.
That's huge.
>> Like, not bad
for a couple of words.
>> You're a consumer hero.
>> [chuckles] Not all heroes
wear capes, you know, it's --
>> But they wear man buns.
>> But they wear man buns,
it's the new cape.
>> Asha: Scott's a big user
of reviews himself,
sometimes even fake ones.
>> We figured out, how do we
get reviews for "Unselling..."
>> Asha: For the release
of his book "Unselling,"
he decides to have a laugh
by hiring some fake reviewers,
also from Fiverr.
>> Write a script and
then buy your reviews for $5.
>> And here's the best part,
we try to think of
the best most ridiculous word
they could say, and we came up
with bomb-diggity.
>> The new book "Unselling:
The New Customer Experience"
is the bomb-diggity.
>> Bomb-diggity.
>> The bomb-diggity.
 >> Bomb-diggity.
>> Bomb-diggity.
 >> Bomb-diggity.
>> Bomb-diggity.
 >> Bomb-diggity.
>> So let's scroll back a bit.
I want to show you someone.
That woman.
>> Yeah?
>> Her name is Sanpan
from Fiverr.
We've also hired her for another
story we did on fake reviews,
in fact, she's all over
the internet faking it.
>> Yes.
>> Can we take a look
at some of her videos?
>> Yeah, of course,
please, let's do this.
>> Okay.
>> Can't wait.
>> [laughs]
Watch as Scott's reaction
changes from amusement...
>> I'm a certified
financial advisor.
>> Are you?
>> Now she's
a financial advisor.
>> [laughs]
>> Hello, my name is Maria
J. Clifford, I'm a licensed
dietician, PhD
at the Kennedy Health
Institute in Washington.
>> Asha: ..to when he sees
Sanpan in her lab coat
pushing diet supplements.
>> This is my problem.
Even before this, I have --
we should all have
an issue with it.
None of this stuff
should be happening.
People just think that --
they're not under any rules,
that they're not held to them
because they're not on TV,
it's not a commercial on TV,
so it's like this
wild west of online.
How is Fiverr not
be held accountable for that,
how is the business not
held accountable for that?
And then people get scammed
and that's what makes me upset.
>> She's pretending to be
a licensed dietician.
>> I think now we're way over.
That line has been
really, really crossed.
>> Is there anything
you would say to her?
>> Please stop.
Because we're at
the point of harm.
We really are.
Is it worth the five bucks
or the ten because
you wore a lab coat, you know?
Is it really worth that?
>> Asha: We're trying to ask
Sanpan that exact question.
I want to ask you a question.
We've seen you claim
to be a licensed dietician,
a certified financial advisor,
an insurance agent,
none of that is true, though.
Well, it certainly
looks like you.
>> And we just sent a package
to you as Sanpan on Fiverr
and you picked up that package.
Can I tell you something,
we're not trying
to entrap you at all.
We want you to answer some
questions that we have.
>> So you're telling us
you are not Sanpan or Susanne?
>> Asha: She denies she's Sanpan
but defends the practise
of selling testimonials.
I want to hear this
because it's important for you
to have your voice.
>> Yeah?
>> Can I tell you that what
you're doing is unethical,
possibly illegal?
>> Nothing I have done
or anybody I know in
that marketplace is doing
anything wrong, okay?
They are earning money,
they are doing things,
and I have nothing to say--
get that microphone out of --
>> So you don't think
what you're doing is wrong,
you don't think giving
false testimonials--
>> Are you the moral police?
Are you the moral police?
>> I'm asking you.
>> Are you the moral police?
>> I'm asking you what you think
I'm asking your thoughts.
>> No, I have no comment
on that.
>> I'm asking your
thoughts, Susanne.
I want to know if you think...
>> You don't even know --
>> ..that giving false
testimonials online,
if that's not wrong.
>> Get your microphone out of my
car which is private property.
Get it out of here.
>> Is anyone cracking down?
>> A big part of what the bureau
does is complaints-driven.
>> Asha: It's up to you
to stop fake reviews.
This is your marketplace.
Get marketplace in your inbox
once a week.
>> Asha: The real deal
on your marketplace.
She's a top seller in Canada,
but what Sanpan sells
are fake testimonials
used to deceive consumers.
>> I've recommended it
to many of my patients, and
the results have been great.
>> Asha: She says there's
nothing wrong with it.
But is she right?
This is someone who should know,
Josephine Palumbo with
Canada's competition bureau.
We head to Gatineau, Quebec
for answers.
But that is something
that we've noticed.
Palumbo is a deputy commissioner
with the law enforcement agency.
She's on the look-out for
deceptive marketing practises.
>> The bureau wants to ensure
that truth in advertising
applies in whatever forum
those communications are made.
>> Asha: They're the ones who
busted Bell for fake reviews.
>> We have been doing some
investigating into this woman.
Her name is Sanpan.
And I just want to show you
a video in which she purports
to be a licensed dietician.
>> Please find the four easy
steps to identifying the real
raspberry ketones below.
Please also note that
I don't have any financial
interest in raspberry ketones--
>> No financial interest
although she is being paid
through Fiverr.
Should she not
be held accountable?
>> I'm not going to comment
specifically on this
particular individual,
but what does the law say?
We're going to look to see
whether or not the message
that is being provided
is one of a genuine,
impartial, authentic reviewer.
>> Asha: The rules say you
cannot intentionally mislead.
Whether you sell reviews,
use them as a company,
or permit them to be made.
>> So all of the individuals
who fall within that sort of
a scheme could potentially
be subjected to civil
or criminal processes, should
we proceed with the case.
>> Asha: We spoke to a lawyer
who specializes in advertising
and competition and he told us
that the enforcement is lagging
here when it comes to deceptive
ads, what do you say to that?
>> Well, you know,
I beg to differ.
I think that the integrity
of online reviews
is important, so we have
to make sure that the rules
of engagement are followed and
the bureau's fully committed
to doing that.
>> Asha: The bureau says
enforcement depends
on Canadians to complain.
Can people complain
about Sanpan?
>> Well, absolutely.
In fact, a big part
of what the bureau does
is complaints-driven.
I encourage consumers who are --
who feel that they have
been misled through
misrepresentations,
please contact the bureau.
>> Asha: While the bureau
waits for your complaints,
we take our investigation
to Fiverr.
We ask repeatedly for
an interview to talk about
the huge platform they provide
for people like Sanpan.
>> In this gig,
I'll be your actor.
>> Asha: But Fiverr will
only give us a statement.
We decide to get one of
their sellers to read it for us.
>> With any script-driven
testimonial delivered
by an actor, it's incumbent
upon the advertiser to be
transparent with consumers
and consistent with the laws
governing disclosures
around that paid-for content.
>> Asha: Fiverr argues
its sellers are just actors,
saying their lines.
And it's up to buyers
to tell the public that.
>> Hi guys, my name is Stephanie
and I'm an actress.
>> Asha: Right after
we contact Fiverr,
it also adds this bit of
transparency to its website.
"Sellers in this category
"are actors, the testimonials
"they provide on your behalf
"are paid promotional materials,
"and you should indicate this
to your customers."
It's a disclaimer.
Maybe Fiverr's way of
acknowledging its site can be
used to mislead-- but will it
change anything for consumers?
As for Sanpan, the last
we see of her, she drives off
down the highway.
And get this.
Seems she's now out
of the testimonial business.
Within hours, her gig
disappears from Fiverr.
Guess we'll never get
that review for our scarf.
>> David Common:
Next week on marketplace,
we're going undercover
investigating a multimillion
dollar business.
Natural diet supplements.
Do they work?
>> We know that these natural
diet pills are not effective,
really just hope in a bottle.
>> David: And are they safe?
>> My liver was failing.
I had four to five days to live.
>> She actually at one point was
considered the sickest woman
in Canada.
>> I would like
to see it banned.
♪ ♪
