Amazon is cracking down on fake one-star reviews, following reports several independent sellers have received unfavourable reviews from other third-party sellers in a targeted smear campaign.

Reported by the BBC, affected UK sellers have asked the country’s watchdog to further investigate, with a probe into fake reviews already in progress.

Despite Amazon’s “relentless” efforts to combat the fake reviews, some sellers reportedly remain doubtful about its effectiveness, with sales suffering as a consequence.

Last week, a Financial Times report revealed many top-ranked UK reviewers were allegedly embroiled in online ‘factories’ which offered free products in exchange for five-star reviews.

Amazon has reportedly removed hundreds of thousands of false positive reviews, however, latest reports put a spotlight on the impact of fake negative reviews on independent third-party sellers.

The rise of fake one-star reviews reportedly engaged by rival sellers has lead to the accent of indepent Amazon consultancy firms to combat such threats.

Whilst sellers have voiced their support for Amazon cracking down on fake reviews, some vendors have critiqued the e-tail behemoth’s reactive, rather than proactive, methods.