Bogus Reviews Gets App Developer Banned
An app developer is accused of providing fake reviews to boost product reception.
iPhoneography received a very convincing email proposing that a possible scam is going on with a Chinese App developer, its apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and their accompanying reviews. The email, sent in from someone known only as SCW, alleges that most of the reviews for Molinker Inc's apps (NightCam Pro was named) are fake.
The email points out that 42 of the 44 US reviews were poorly written, and that all users posting reviews have only written reviews for Molinker apps, giving them five stars. SCW reports that only ten reviewers rated NightCam Pro and ColorMagic; over 24 reviewers have rated six to seven other photography apps developed by Molinker. Reviews supplied by users outside the loop gave the apps 1 to 2 stars.
"This is absolutely fake, misleading, pushing false info to customers to buy their apps," the email reads. "One app "ColorMagic" is even on the apps front page as an App Store "Staff Favorite" yet the reviews majority are FAKE (203) 5 Star & (91) 1 Star."
The email was convincing enough, along with the provided screenshots, to be forwarded to Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Apple's Worldwide Product Marketing. Schiller thus acted swiftly and removed all apps developed by Molinker... including the bogus ratings. According to appfreak, Molinker said that it has no idea what's going on. Currently Apple has placed the developer's contract status to "pending."
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So, turn a blind eye to make profit from the apps sold until someone complains. Then act all suprised and then make action to prevent further issues. Sounds like good ole American Corporate greed to me.Nice to see Apple isnt as saintly as people would believe them to be.
Funny how all the scams and fake internet spam seems to be stemming from the Chinese..........
I'm Chinese and even I find this appalling and disgraceful. I hope these guys get what they deserve.
Apple...BLEH!
Pwned.
There is a good lesson here...
ALWAYS read the negative reviews as well as the positive...
While this behaviour is no doubt criminal (fraud), it is also stupid and lazy :
"all users posting reviews have only written reviews for Molinker apps, giving them five stars"
Truly an incompetent attempt to bolster their products popularity. Of course if they had been able to figure out how to create believable fake profiles they probably wouldn't have to resort to such measures and would have had a decent product to begin with...
"Reviews supplied by users outside the loop gave the apps 1 to 2 stars."
Considering how poorly written most online user reviews are, these must have been very bad to stand out as notably bad.
...and don't bother pointing out anything that may be wrong with my writing. If anything it would just further illustrate my point.
I'm Chinese and even I find this appalling and disgraceful. I hope these guys get what they deserve.
"Yang" i bet u made this account just to comment on this article
You've convinced me with me that ur chinese with ur chinese sounding name
you find shit like this on amazon ALLLL THE TIME!
new accounts, only with one review, with all similar language... I tend to stay away from those products
So, turn a blind eye to make profit from the apps sold until someone complains. Then act all suprised and then make action to prevent further issues. Sounds like good ole American Corporate greed to me.Nice to see Apple isnt as saintly as people would believe them to be.
You know, I'm no fan of Apple. But what I loath even more are people who throw around phrases like, "corporate greed" without having the slightest idea what the hell they are talking about.
Business 101: The goal of every business is to MAKE MONEY. That's it. That is the reason for their existance. It is not to make cool toys, or to provide people with jobs and benefits, or to help support the country through their taxes. All of those things are merely byproducts of a successful business. Corporations are typically large businesses with many owners. People invest in those businesses because they expect a share of the profits which come in the form of dividends and appreciating share value. Corporations have a DUTY to their shareholders to make money. This is not corporate greed, but rather a component of capitalism which is the backbone of modern life. Judging by the fact that you own a computer and visit the TH website, I think it's safe to say you are a fan of that system, even if you lack the understanding to appreciate it. If you don't, then give away all of your stuff and move to Cuba.
Apple has their app store, which makes them money (and rightfully so). One of their contractors tried to perpetrate a fraud and Apple gave them the boot. That is what a responsible company does.
The "greed" that obviously offends your sensibilities, is being exhibited by the Chinese company that was attempting to entice people to purchase their substandard wares with falsified testimonials. Put the blame where it belongs.
You know, I'm no fan of Apple. But what I loath even more are people who throw around phrases like, "corporate greed" without having the slightest idea what the hell they are talking about. Business 101: The goal of every business is to MAKE MONEY. That's it. That is the reason for their existance. It is not to make cool toys, or to provide people with jobs and benefits, or to help support the country through their taxes. All of those things are merely byproducts of a successful business. Corporations are typically large businesses with many owners. People invest in those businesses because they expect a share of the profits which come in the form of dividends and appreciating share value. Corporations have a DUTY to their shareholders to make money. This is not corporate greed, but rather a component of capitalism which is the backbone of modern life. Judging by the fact that you own a computer and visit the TH website, I think it's safe to say you are a fan of that system, even if you lack the understanding to appreciate it. If you don't, then give away all of your stuff and move to Cuba.Apple has their app store, which makes them money (and rightfully so). One of their contractors tried to perpetrate a fraud and Apple gave them the boot. That is what a responsible company does. The "greed" that obviously offends your sensibilities, is being exhibited by the Chinese company that was attempting to entice people to purchase their substandard wares with falsified testimonials. Put the blame where it belongs.
Now you sound like your making stuff up as you go along. I read the first couple sentences and I'm like, wtf is he talking about? The goal of every business is to make money? You say that like it's the ONLY goal.
Everything is "convincing" for iPeople