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Yelp Consumer Alerts: We Have a Zero Tolerance Policy When it Comes to Shady Business Behavior

Today we’re releasing a new round of 121 Consumer Alerts, which let people know that we’ve detected extreme attempts to manipulate ratings and reviews for certain businesses. While our automated recommendation software is constantly sorting through mountains of data to highlight the most trustworthy reviews, Yelp’s Consumer Alert program is an added layer of consumer protection.

Under the Consumer Alerts program, a skilled team of Yelp detectives tracks down efforts to deceive consumers, including people who offer money in exchange for five-star reviews. We then alert consumers about this activity for a minimum of 90 days.

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Consider these examples:

  • MX Movers in Staten Island, NY offered a $1,500 payment to a customer for the removal of a critical review.
  • National Youth Sports in Glendale, AZ was offering free Diamondback tickets in exchange for positive reviews.
  • A user reported that the office of Monica Pardo, DDS in Glendora, CA was offering free tickets to Disney World in exchange for 5-star reviews.

Beyond violating Yelp’s Terms of Service and misleading consumers, posting a testimonial without revealing you’ve been compensated is also false advertising.

Yelp is dedicated to protecting your peace of mind and preserving consumer trust, so rest assured that we won’t stop tracking down these brazen attempts to deceive consumers.

We rely heavily on community tips, so if you see any suspicious behavior on Yelp, please report it to help us continue to protect the integrity of the information we provide to consumers. Business owners can also reference our guide to success for best practices.