(♪♪)
>> Erica: We're in the back
alleys of north Toronto getting
ready to assume a whole new
identity.
In fact, this entire story is
about deception.
And how companies use it to
get your money.
>> Erica: Hey, how's it going?
>> Hi, Erica, not bad.
Yourself?
>> Erica: Good, it's looking
good.
To start, we need to make it
seem like we have a business
that's legit, the kind they
write on-line reviews about.
Like maybe a trendy new food
truck?
We're calling our truck
Cheezed Off!
Pretending to serve up grilled
cheese sandwiches.
Our slogan...
Come get fed up!
Clearly we are nowhere near
ready to open.
And to be honest, we never
will be.
Strange thing is the reviews
for Cheezed Off! are already in.
That's odd.
Just check out Yelp.
Someone on that review site
says this place has the best
grilled cheese sandwiches I've
ever eaten in my life.
Makes you wonder when it comes
to on-line reviews, how much
we really trust them.
Just about everybody goes on
line before getting in line to
buy anything.
We want to hear what other
people are saying about the
latest restaurant, hotel or
consumer products on sites
like Yelp, google plus and
Urbanspoon.
Do you ever read on-line
reviews?
>> If I'm looking for a good
restaurant, I'll look at
reviews.
>> Erica: It will affect you're
opinion of it?
It will affect whether or not
I decide to go there, basically.
>> Erica: Do you ever check
out on-line reviews?
>> All the time.
It's good to get someone
else's feedback.
>> Erica: Which do you trust
more, on-line reviews or
traditional advertising?
>> Reviews, yeah.
>> I think it actually gives
me a better sense of trust
when somebody who is a
stranger tells me that this is
good, this is not good, because
it's more from the public
than from the people who
are trying to sell the product.
>> Not exactly what I expected.
>> Erica: On line review sites
work hard to get your trust.
Check out this Hotels.com
ad...
>> They're genuine guest
reviews that are written by
guests who have genuinely
stayed there, instead of people
who lie on the internet.
>> Erica: The better the
reviews, the more we trust a
business.
For companies that means a
better bottom line.
One extra star in a restaurant
review and revenue can go up
by as much as 9%.
With so much money on the
line, no wonder companies
might be tempted to fudge
their reputations but how easy
is it to fake it?
We're using our Cheezed Off!
Food truck to find out.
Like every new business,
Cheezed Off! needs a web
site with lots of convincing
photos, and that means a trip
to our graphics department for a
logo and a look.
Hi, Tom.
>> Hi, Erica.
>> Erica: Is this our logo?
>> Tom: This is it.
>> Erica: It looks great.
Where's it gonna go?
>> It's going to go on the
side of the truck and on our
web site.
>> Erica: How are we gonna get
that on our truck?
>> We're going to start with the
truck in the garage --
>> Erica: Oh yeah, there it is.
>> We're gonna get rid of
the window and straighten it out
a little bit.
>> Erica: Just gone.
>> Clean up the sides.
>> Erica: Ah, so much better!
>> Add all of our our social
media branding.
>> Erica: Just like that!
>> And add our logo that you
saw before.
>> Erica: Ah, that looks great!
>> And add the rest of the
wrap around the truck.
>> Erica: Holy cow!
Where are you going to put
our slogan, come get fed up?
>> Right below the window.
>> Erica: That is scary.
>> And then we're going to add
the menus and some orange
wheels.
>> Erica: That is a whole new
truck all at the click of a
button.
>> All fake.
>> Erica: Nice job!
(♪♪)
>> Erica: To get more shots we
could doctor --
-- Am I turning here?
-- to put on the web site we're
going to build, we take our
truck on a road trip to
Toronto's hot spots like the
Rogers Centre so our graphics
guy can do this...
And this...
This time at the trendy
distillery district.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: We even pull up at
a local food truck gathering
spot.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: This looks great!
Then our web guy, Stuart,
uses these tricked out
photos...
This looks really legit.
>> Yeah.
>> Erica: To make it seems
like Cheezed Off! is taking the
city by storm, at least on-line.
>> So we've set up the website
with a whole bunch --
>> Erica: Stuart builds us
a pretty standard site.
You can find it at
Cheezedoff.ca.
This is our public face, the
bait we'll use to dig deeper
into the world of fake reviews.
-- lotsa mozza...
It's got our menu, our story,
and all those pictures.
What's our twitter handle?
>> It's @cheezedofftruck.
And we've also set up a facebook
page as well.
>> Erica: Everything we need
to make it seem like we're
legit.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: All right, let me know
when you're ready...
>> Okay, I'm rolling.
>> Erica: Next step in our
creation of a fake business,
we make a promotional video.
>> First step, put it on to
the griddle...
>> Erica: How to make a
grilled cheese sandwich like a
pro.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: Hi there, if you like
grill chees sandwiches as much
as much as we do --
Believe it or not, there are
dozens of videos just like it
on Youtube, and now ours
is there too.
>> Dig in!
>> Erica: It's just one more
way to talk up our imaginary
truck.
>> Come down and see us on our
food truck on the streets of
Toronto, Cheezed Off!
>> Erica: Our ultimate goal,
remember, is to see how easy
it is to get some fake reviews
and fake buzz for our fake
truck.
We start by giving our new
Youtube video a little boost.
Only about 40 people have
bothered to look at it, mostly
us, so we contact a web site
called 500 views, and for just
30 bucks they arrange for our
video to go instantly from 40
views to more than 12,000.
That simple.
It's enough to make us wonder
about other videos we've seen
on Youtube.
Have that many people really
watched or has someone been
paid to inflate the view count
to make it seem more popular
than it is?
Not long ago Youtube cracked
down on fake views and
targeted major record
companies like Universal and
Sony.
It slashed their combined view
counts by more than 2 billion
views in one day.
The big test for us, though,
get some fake reviews on some
big review sites, Yelp,
Google, Urbanspoon, but who's
going to write our fake
reviews?
>> Hi there, I'm here to offer
you a written review...
>> Erica: Not us.
>> Fiverr.com is the world's
largest marketplace...
>> When we come back, we
uncover an entire industry
devoted to helping businesses
mislead you.
>> I think it's really amazing
how easily it is to purchase
deception now on the internet.
>> Erica: Lie or legit.
Do you trust reviews?
Tell us on twitter.
(♪♪)
(♪♪)
>> Erica: We all use on-line
reviews to check out restaurants
and hotels, products and
businesses, but how easy is it
for a company to fake a good
reputation on-line?
That's what we're investigating
with Cheezed Off!
That is a whole new truck.
Our own fake food truck.
>> All fake.
>> Erica: Nice job!
We want people to rave about
our truck on big review sites,
but to do that, we need some
fakers.
Our search takes us here, to a
web site called Fiverr.com.
>> Fiverr.com is the world's
largest marketplace for the
professional and creative
services you need to give your
business a boost, all starting
at just $5.
>> Erica: Fiverr offers help
for hire.
It's filled with people who'll
do just about anything for 5
bucks.
In our case we want reviews of
our food truck, and there's no
shortage of offers from all
over the world, including
Canada, like this woman.
She's known as Veghead Jenn.
>> I'm here to offer you a
written review for your
product or your service or
your web site.
>> Erica: Here's another
Canadian known on Fiverr as
Sanpan.
>> I'll make you a great 30
second or less testimonial,
promotional or review video
that you can use to advertise
your business or web site.
>> Erica: She's willing to say
anything we want about Cheezed
Off!
>> Hi there, my name's Marie.
Hi, I'm Suzanne.
My name is Jane.
>> Erica: Just like she has
about so many other companies.
We decided to hire Sanpan,
Veghead Jenn and others, and
send them a link to our fake
business, and ask them all for
a good review.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: While we wait for
the results, we hit the streets
of Toronto to see how much you
can trust on-line reviews by
testing how well passersby can
spot a fake one.
These are two reviews about a
Chicago hotel.
One of them is an actual
review and the other one is
fake.
What I want you to do is read
both reviews and then let me
know which one you think is
the fake one.
>> Okay.
>> Erica: So just take your
time.
>> Sure.
>> Erica: All of these folks
say they use on-line reviews
to help them decide where to
spend their money.
>> Erica: So pick one, A or B is
fake.
But, can they tell when
they're being lied to?
>> I wanna say "A" is the fake
one.
>> Erica: It's fake?
Okay so that means both
of you say review "A" is fake?
>> Yes.
>> Erica: In fact, review "B"
is the fake one.
>> Really!
>> Okay.
>> "A" is fake.
"B" is real.
>> Erica: In fact, "B" is
fake.
>> AAhh.
>> Erica: So which one's fake?
>> "A."
>> Erica: "B" is fake.
>> Oh, we fell for that one!
>> Erica: It was hard to tell
the difference?
>> Oh yea, big time.
>> Erica: Of the eight people
we test, only one of them
spots the fake review.
To learn why, we're on the
trail of a Canadian who's been
studying the problem here at
Cornell university in Ithaca,
New York.
Jeff Hancock's a
communications prof who
studies on-line behaviour,
especially on-line fakery.
How good are people at
detecting deception on line?
>> Well, we're really bad at
detecting deception in general
so the average is 54%.
>> Erica: So half the time
when you're looking at
something on line you can't
tell whether it's true or fake?
>> Right, and that's not only
just on line, that's all the
time.
>> Erica: Jeff's helped develop
a computer program.
>> I'm going to grab a fake
review.
>> Erica: -- That can help us
all.
You've created something called
reviewskeptic.
What that's about?
>> It's a tool that our research
team created to show people
how language differs when it's
a fake review versus a genuine
review.
>> Erica: Jeff says this
algorithm is 90% accurate when
it comes out to picking out
deceptive reviews.
You can check it out on our
web site.
>> So the red words are words
that the algorithm thought, mm,
this makes me think it's
really deceptive, and the blue
words are words that it makes
it think, hm, this is associated
with truthfulness.
>> Erica: Jeff says a sure
sign of a fake is when
reviewers are too glowing and
when they go in to
story-telling mode.
>> People that write fake
reviews tend to use the word
"I", "me" or "my" a lot more
than people that have actually
stayed there.
The reason is they're telling a
story about what they think
they did so they're putting
themselves in the story.
People who have been there,
they don't have to tell a
story.
They're describing what their
experience was.
>> Erica: Remember all those
fake reviews we bought?
They're now rolling in.
And sure enough, they're filled
with elaborate story telling.
This review from Veghead Jenn
says: I was in Toronto for a
few days and I found Cheezed
Off!
This is not any grilled cheese
either.
It's grilled cheese jacked up
and super-delicious.
A review from Kimberly B.
says when I had one of these
grilled cheese sandwiches they
were the best I ever had,
better than my momma's.
This review from Czechyourself
claims: the truck has an upbeat
atmosphere, thanks to the
friendly staff who were
personable and funny.
I guess she's talking about
us, but, remember, we've never
met.
We ask our fake reviewers to
post their work on three
review sites, Yelp, Google,
and Urbanspoon.
Popular sites you trust, and
within days those phoney
reviews start appearing, ten
of them all together.
Weeks later, they're still
there.
Finally we also hear back from
Sanpan.
Remember her?
>> Hi there, I just wanted to
make this quick video to tell
everyone how much I love
eating at Cheezed Off!
>> Erica: She doesn't do
written reviews but sends
along this video testimonial.
>> I love getting lunch at
Cheezed Off!
They're fast, they're friendly,
and they make the best grilled
cheese sandwich around.
>> Erica: By now we've got
fake views on Youtube, fake
reviews on Yelp, Google,
Urbanspoon.
We've even got Sanpan.
It all makes us want to dig
even deeper in to the world of
on-line fakery.
When we come back...
>> Looks natural?
>> Yeah.
>> Erica: Just how widespread is
it?
Our hidden cameras take you
inside an industry promising
to help us fake it 'til we
make it.
>> When you say you'll take
care of reviews, what does
that mean?
>> We create them ourselves or
we have writers as well that
would do that sort of stuff.
>> Erica: Think you can spot
fake reviews?
Test your deception detection
at cbc.ca/marketplace.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: We've discovered the
on-line world is fill with
fakery.
In New York, the attorney
general busts 19 companies for
flooding the internet with
phoney reviews.
It makes national news.
>> In some cases they went as
far away as eastern Europe and
Bangladesh to hire phoney
reviewers.
So this is a massive fraud that
we're determined to shut down.
>> Erica: Some of those busted
are internet marketers,
experts at attracting
customers to your web site.
The ones in New York weren't
playing by the rules.
But could companies in Canada
be doing the same thing?
We search for internet
marketers and come across a
company called Emizr.
As we scroll through its web
site, Emizr lists its different
services, including Yelp
reviews - and we thought real
customers wrote those.
A little further down the
Emizr page, look at that!
>> Hi there, my name is
Michelle and I'm a real estate
agent.
>> Erica: A glowing review
for Emizr by one of the people
who sold us a fake review.
>> I needed to find listings
fast, and basically that's why
I hired Emizr media.
>> Erica: Seems the internet
marketer needed a fake review
of its own!
>> And I've got to tell you
that they did just a phenomenal
job.
>> Okay, we'll get you hooked up
with these glasses.
>> Erica: We think Emizr
deserves a closer look.
>> These ones are tricky.
Sometimes I worry that the
wires are sticking out of my
head.
>> Erica: We put on hidden
cameras.
>> Looks natural?
>> Yeah.
>> Erica: And head to their
office in north Toronto.
Inside...
>> Erica: We meet an account
manager.
She pulls up our Cheezed Off!
Web site and offers some
compliments.
>> Erica: But we want to know
more about creating a buzz on
the internet.
>> Erica: Eventually she talks
about taking care of reviews
for us.
>> Erica: Not only will they
write fake reviews, they know
how to get them on big sites
like Yelp.
>> Erica: She assures us she
can get our fake reviews posted
without setting off alarm bells.
>> Erica: She also knows how to
get us some reviews on google.
>> Erica: Days later, the
company sends us a contract
setting out the deception.
Three reviews a month on
google and Yelp.
No wonder some estimates say
many as 15% of on-line reviews
could be fake.
Down in Ithaca, New York...
>> People are becoming more
and more reliant on on-line
reviews.
>> Erica: Cornell professor
Jeff Hancock says fake reviews
undermine our trust in the
kindness of strangers, and
they could lead to some real
trouble.
What about when the stakes are
really high, you trust an
on-line review for a dentist or
lawyer who turns out to be
not very good.
>> It's going to become an
increasingly big problem as
more and more of these
high-end services, lawyers,
dentists, doctors come on line
with reviews.
Those are real.
That's not just having a bad
meal at a restaurant.
That could affect your life in
a big way.
>> Erica: With so much trust
at stake, we want to know why
Emizr offers to make up
reviews and post them on
popular sites.
We asked president Danny Han
several times to come on
camera, but he won't.
>> Hi, I'd like to see Danny
Han from Emizr.
So we drop by his office.
At first we're told...
>> It will just be a minute.
>> Erica: Then we hear, actually
he's not in the office.
Is he off site or is he here?
We do manage to get him on the
phone.
Han says we have it wrong.
The account manager we met
was new.
>> Erica: And that offering to
write fake reviews is against
company policy.
He says sometimes they help
post legitimate reviews...
>> Erica: But after hearing
about our findings, Danny Han
admits wrongdoing.
"We apologize and have taken
action to correct past and
prevent future errors in
judgment."
Emizr changes its web site so
its services no longer mention
on-line reviews.
And, speaking of...
>> At Yelp we're constantly
working to recommend the
reviews that have earned that
trust.
>> Erica: Yelp is the only
review site that catches any
of our fakes.
Two of the three that are
posted about Cheezed Off!
Yelp says it's thanks to the
secret algorithm it uses to
stop deception.
Urbanspoon doesn't detect any
of the three phoney reviews
about Cheezed Off!
Posted on its web site, and
google doesn't find the four
fake Cheezed Off! reviews
posted there.
They don't want to talk about
it on camera but send a
statement saying...
"We have strict policies
prohibiting fake businesses
and inauthentic reviews" and
"while we take down thousands
of false entries each month
there is a small subset of bad
apples out there."
Bad apples?
We decide to post one more
review, this one real on our
own Cheezed Off! Google page.
Hey, Google, this is the fake
food truck we told you about
and the fake reviews.
They've been on your site for
weeks now.
Thinking the people who trust
your site will be cheesed off.
Maybe now Google will do
something about our fake
reviews.
So how do companies react when
you criticize them on line?
We hear from a viewer who
knows first hand.
Jeff Ollerhead of Sackville,
New Brunswick.
He posts a negative review on
tigerdirect.ca, and they change
it without his permission.
>> I wrote an on-line review
that was posted on your web
site, and I'd like to find out
how I can have it taken off
the web site.
>> Erica: Find out why Tiger
Direct says they have the
right to edit your reviews.
That's next week on
"Marketplace."
Meantime, it's the end of the
road for Cheezed Off!
But to make sure you don't get
taken for a ride, always check
more than one review site.
Read at least a dozen reviews,
and if the language is too
glowing, remember, they just
might be faking it.
>> Tom: Also next week on
"Marketplace," do you know how
much gas you're really guzzling?
>> You never really get what
they tell you.
>> Are you spending hundreds
more than what you were
promised?
>> I believe the salesperson.
>> Tom: What the auto industry
isn't telling you about those
numbers on the window.
We test how far I can get on
one tank of gas.
♪ Raindrops keep
falling on my head ♪
>> And hit the showroom floor
for answers.
>> Is that on?
>> Yeah.
>> Turn it off please.
(♪♪)
