Do you pay for reviews?

[trustmedium]

Recently I started receiving offers to get more reviews more than the usual SEO emails.
On average they charge about $5 per review and I am sure at least 1/5 of Google and Trustpilot reviews are paid for.

 

[keyserholiday]

Buying reviews violates Google's TOS and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidelines which prohibit manipulative review practices and publishing fake reviews. I receive several tips a day about businesses engaging in deceptive review practices. I just caught a chain of restaurants offering free shots in exchange for reviews in the UK. Somebody spent 80 pounds on a meal when they would have gone elsewhere had the businesses not engaged in this deceptive practice. They are a level 10 local guide, so they look at reviews.