In Singapore's digital marketplace, where a five-star rating can determine whether a restaurant fills its tables or a clinic earns a patient's trust, the Competition and Consumer Commission has uncovered the city-state's largest known scheme to manufacture that trust artificially. Roughly 100 businesses — spanning restaurants, salons, law firms, and medical practices — are implicated in purchasing fabricated reviews from a firm that deployed AI-generated prose, deliberate imperfections, and a network of paid posters to simulate the voice of genuine customers. The case arrives as a reminder tha
Singapore watchdog uncovers largest fake review scheme, 100 businesses implicated
Fake reviews are not a legitimate business
Mark
So this is about one company selling fake reviews to a hundred other businesses. How did they actually do it—what made this operation so hard to catch?
Mimi
They used AI to write the reviews, which made them sound natural. They varied the writing style, added Singapore details, even included little doubts before the praise. Then they had people post them from their own accounts on Telegram, so it looked like real customers.
Luke
But wait—if they had a database and the watchdog got access to it, how long had this been running before they were caught? The source says it started in or before 2023, but we don't know when the watchdog actually discovered it.
Mimi
That's fair. We know they found it through complaints and their own monitoring, but the timeline of discovery isn't clear. What we do know is that once they found the Telegram channels and websites, they moved quickly.
Mark
The 45 businesses that admitted it—they're getting public apologies as punishment. Does that actually deter anyone, or is it just theater?
Mimi
It's part of a package. They also have to remove the fake reviews, strengthen compliance, and report progress. But you're right that a six-month apology on a website is relatively light compared to what could happen.
Luke
And the two businesses that refused to cooperate—we don't even know who they are. So we can't assess whether they're big players or small ones, or what sector they're in.
Mark
What about the people who actually posted the reviews? The ones Reputifly paid via Telegram?
Mimi
The source doesn't name them or say whether they're being investigated. It seems the focus is on the supplier and the businesses that bought the service.
Luke
That's a significant gap. Those people were knowingly participating in fraud. Are they being prosecuted, warned, or just ignored?
Mark
And what happens in phase two? Is the watchdog going after other fake review companies?
Mimi
They're calling for voluntary disclosure from other providers and businesses. If they come forward before formal investigations start, the watchdog will view it favorably. But phase two will also target any other businesses that bought from Reputifly or other suppliers.
Luke
The question is whether other suppliers exist and how big they are. One company operating two websites is significant, but is this the tip of the iceberg or the whole problem?
El Pulso
- A digital marketing firm called Reputifly sold AI-crafted fake reviews to roughly 100 businesses across Singapore, operating with enough sophistication to mimic hesitation, vary writing styles, and replace removed reviews on demand.
- The scheme touched nearly every corner of consumer life — restaurants, hair salons, law firms, medical clinics, and tutoring agencies all stand implicated, revealing how normalized the practice had quietly become.
- Forty-five businesses have admitted wrongdoing and now face six months of mandatory public apologies displayed on their websites, social media, and physical premises — a reputational consequence calibrated to match the reputational crime.
- Two businesses refused to cooperate, and a second investigative phase is already underway, with the watchdog signaling that voluntary disclosure now will be treated more favorably than exposure later.
- Reputifly itself must cease operations, post a public apology, and donate its fake-review proceeds to charity — without the consolation of a tax deduction — while its operator faces the prospect of court injunctions if violations continue.
In Singapore's digital marketplace, where a five-star rating can determine whether a restaurant fills its tables or a clinic earns a patient's trust, the Competition and Consumer Commission has uncovered the city-state's largest known scheme to manufacture that trust artificially. Roughly 100 businesses — spanning restaurants, salons, law firms, and medical practices — are implicated in purchasing fabricated reviews from a firm that deployed AI-generated prose, deliberate imperfections, and a network of paid posters to simulate the voice of genuine customers. The case arrives as a reminder that the infrastructure of public trust, once quietly corrupted, requires not only enforcement but a reckoning with the incentives that made the deception feel worthwhile in the first place.
Singapore's Competition and Consumer Commission has dismantled the largest fake review operation ever uncovered in the city-state, implicating roughly 100 businesses across restaurants, hair salons, medical practices, law firms, and tutoring agencies. At the center of the scheme was Reputifly, a digital marketing firm run by Julian Tung Yan Kai, which sold fabricated customer endorsements through two websites, BuyReviewSG and GetReviewSG.
The operation was more sophisticated than a simple fraud. Reputifly used generative AI to craft reviews that mimicked genuine customer voices — varying sentence structures, embedding Singapore-specific details, and even scripting initial hesitations before pivoting to praise, a technique designed to seem disarmingly human. Packages were tiered; one offered 35 five-star reviews posted over seven days for S$219, with a promise to replace up to 30 percent of any reviews that platforms removed. A proprietary dashboard generated, managed, and tracked the fabricated endorsements across Google, Facebook, Tripadvisor, Carousell, Yelp, and Trustpilot. Real people, recruited through Telegram and paid to post from their own accounts, gave the false reviews a veneer of ordinary authenticity.
Investigators identified the operation through consumer complaints and proactive monitoring, eventually tracing the Telegram channels and websites back to Tung. Using powers under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, they compelled document production and gained access to Reputifly's database — the key that unlocked the full list of implicated businesses.
Forty-five businesses in the first phase of the investigation admitted wrongdoing. They have agreed to issue public apologies displayed prominently across their digital and physical presences for six months, remove the fake reviews, and strengthen internal compliance. Two businesses refused to cooperate and face formal enforcement. Reputifly itself has admitted to aiding unfair trade practices, agreed to shut down its fake review services, and must donate its proceeds from the scheme to a registered charity — without claiming a tax deduction.
The investigation continues into a second phase, reaching beyond already-identified businesses to others who may have used Reputifly or similar providers. The watchdog has invited voluntary disclosure, signaling that those who come forward before formal proceedings begin will be treated more favorably. Singapore's regulators have made their position plain: the purchase of fake reviews is not a grey area, and both buyers and suppliers will be pursued with equal resolve.
Singapore's competition watchdog has dismantled what it describes as the largest fake review operation ever uncovered in the city-state, implicating roughly 100 businesses across restaurants, hair salons, medical practices, law firms, and tutoring agencies. The investigation centers on Reputifly, a digital marketing firm run by Julian Tung Yan Kai, which operated two websites—BuyReviewSG and GetReviewSG—that sold fabricated customer endorsements to businesses seeking to artificially inflate their online ratings.
Forty-five of the businesses caught in the first phase of the probe have admitted to purchasing these bogus reviews and agreed to undertakings with the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore. They will be required to issue public apologies displayed prominently on their websites, social media accounts, and physical locations for six months. They must also identify and remove the fake reviews from their accounts, strengthen internal compliance procedures, and report their progress to regulators. Two other businesses in this initial phase refused to cooperate, and the watchdog has signaled that formal enforcement action will follow.
The operation was sophisticated. Reputifly used generative artificial intelligence to craft reviews that mimicked genuine customer experiences, varying writing styles and sentence structures to avoid detection. The system incorporated Singapore-specific details and deliberate imperfections—some reviews even described initial hesitations before pivoting to praise, a narrative technique designed to seem more authentic. The company offered tiered packages; one example advertised 35 five-star reviews posted over seven days for S$219. Reputifly also built a dashboard that generated, managed, and tracked fake reviews, drawing from existing highly-rated Google reviews to create new ones with relevant details. The firm even promised to replace up to 30 percent of reviews if Google removed them.
To distribute these fabricated endorsements, Reputifly recruited people through Telegram channels and accounts, paying them to post the fake reviews using their own accounts on platforms including Google, Facebook, Tripadvisor, Carousell, Yelp, and Trustpilot. This gave the false endorsements a veneer of legitimacy—they appeared to come from ordinary users rather than the business itself.
The Competition and Consumer Commission discovered the operation through a combination of consumer complaints and its own monitoring for emerging threats. Once investigators identified the Telegram channels and websites, they traced the operation back to Tung. Using powers granted under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, the watchdog compelled the production of documents and obtained access to Reputifly's database, which proved critical to identifying all the businesses involved.
Reputifly itself has admitted to aiding and abetting unfair trade practices. The company has committed to cease offering fake review services, post a public apology on its website for six months, and donate the proceeds from its fake review business to a registered charity—without claiming tax deductions for the donation. The watchdog has made clear that if evidence emerges of continued unfair practices, it will pursue court injunctions and other enforcement measures.
The investigation is proceeding in two phases. The second phase will extend beyond the remaining businesses already identified to capture others who may have purchased fake reviews from Reputifly or other providers. The watchdog has called on other fake review suppliers and businesses that have used such services to come forward voluntarily, signaling that cooperation discovered before formal investigations begin will be viewed favorably.
The case reflects a broader problem in Singapore's digital marketplace. The watchdog first took action against a furniture retailer in 2024 for posting false reviews. More recently, listings on Carousell have openly advertised fake review services, offering to post false endorsements on Google Maps and other platforms for between S$1 and S$5 per review. Under Singapore law, posting false reviews to deceive or mislead consumers constitutes an unfair trade practice, and courts can order restitution or award damages to affected consumers. The Competition and Consumer Commission's chief executive has stated plainly that businesses should harbor no illusions about the acceptability of purchasing fake reviews, and that the watchdog will pursue both buyers and suppliers with equal vigor.
Citas Notables
Businesses should be under no illusion that paying for fake reviews is acceptable. Nor is it acceptable to profit from facilitating the creation or purchase of fake reviews.— Alvin Koh, CCS chief executive
We do not want businesses to then feel forced to compete in such things by either engaging in unfair practices or posting fake reviews in order to keep up with those that have been doing so.— Kho Qin Yao, CCS director of fair trading practices
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