While it’s not uncommon for people to have mixed opinions about a movie, fraudulent campaigns can artificially inflate or depress ratings, misleading audiences and potentially affecting a movie’s success
Posted Date – Tue, 6 Jun 23 at 12:45am
Scammers try to impersonate well-known organizations like Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios.
Movie review or rating fraud is a deceptive practice in which an individual or group manipulates movie ratings/reviews for financial gain, to promote/defame a movie, or to influence public opinion. While it’s not uncommon for people to have mixed opinions about a movie, fraudulent campaigns can artificially inflate or depress ratings, misleading audiences and potentially affecting a movie’s success.
Scammers take this opportunity to impersonate well-known organizations such as Warner Bros., Marvel Studios, etc. Some examples of fake websites related to Alamo – “Draft House Cinema” are http://www.alamorate.com, https://www.alamotop.com, https://alamo-top.com and https:// www.alamozone.com. Most of these sites expire after a complaint is received, and new similar sites are created in less than an hour.
Some common methods of falsification of movie reviews/scores
* Paid Reviews: Individuals or groups are paid to write positive or negative reviews of films, creating the illusion of widespread public support or criticism.
*Review Manipulation: Fraudsters use techniques such as using bots or fake accounts to submit multiple positive or negative reviews to accounts, artificially inflating or devaluing the overall rating.
* Review exchange: Fraudsters engage in reciprocal arrangements in which they exchange positive reviews with other individuals or groups in order to maintain positive reviews while avoiding suspicion.
* artificial grass: Involves creating fake user accounts or personas to post seemingly authentic comments with the intent of creating the appearance of broad consensus.
*Review Bombing: A concerted effort to flood a movie’s ratings page with many negative reviews with a specific agenda or motivation.
Modus operandi of movie review/rating fraud
* Step 1 – Victim receives a message on WhatsApp and social media messengers – “You can make money sitting in the comfort of your home; all you have to do is rate movies.”
* Step 2 – Advise the victim to join the Telegram group, log on to the fake website and start writing reviews to earn money.
* Step 3 – Victims are told to watch the movie first and then rate the movie for a commission or bonus. Movie rating commissions between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000 are deposited into their bank accounts.
* STEP 4 – No bonus payout, victim will be impressed. In the Telegram group, many members keep posting that they have made a lot of investment and paid a lot.
* Step 5 – Victims now start paying the amount as a paid task and start watching movies and writing reviews, their commissions are reflected in the wallet but they cannot withdraw.
* Step 6 – Victim is advised to invest an equal amount of funds visible in the wallet and perform future tasks of watching and writing reviews, for which the victim is paid, which is reflected in the wallet.
* Step 7 – These steps continue and the victim continues to invest, in an infinite loop, assuming they can withdraw the amount from the wallet. Scammers even make realistic promises that if x amount is paid as taxes, the money will be deposited into the victim’s account.
* Step 8 – After several paid missions, the victim realizes that it is a scam and seeks help from the Internet police because the money is shown in the wallet, but they cannot withdraw it.
some safety tips
* Never subscribe to newsletters or offer promising easy money or high income, especially through platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram or social media messengers.
* Before registering on any website or platform, make sure it is reputable and trustworthy.
* Never prepay or join fees for any talk of earning multiple income opportunities.
* Never provide sensitive personal information such as bank account details, credit card numbers or identification documents to unknown individuals or unsafe websites.
* When considering movie reviews or ratings, please rely on reputable and reliable sources.
* If you come across a fraudulent scheme or suspect movie review/rating fraud, please call the helpline 1930, or report it at https://cybercrime.gov.in/.
