A while ago I left a negative review for a shady company that I had some interactions with, and recently, while reviewing one of my emails from Google congratulating me on the reach of my review, I noticed that the average rating of the shady company went up one whole star (from roughly 2.7 to 3.7 stars).
After a short investigation, I noticed that they got about about 10 reviews in the span of 2 days, and from the review contents and review history of the posters it is evident that many if not most of the new reviews come from employees of a subcontractor that the shady company employs. The timing and frequency of the reviews suggests fake engagement and review solicitation, which I believe is against the rules. Aside from that, there is an evident conflict of interest and possible misrepresentation, since these reviewers work for the company in question and are publicly reviewing their employee, not the services the company provides.
Is there anything I can do to formally report this activity? I am happy to share my findings and collected evidence with someone who can take action against this.
Thanks,
Chris
