Can you go to jail for fake reviews?

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The owner of a company called PromoSalento, which sold fake review packages to hospitality businesses in Italy, was sentenced to nine months in prison and fined 8,000 (£7,100).

He was tried at court in Lecce, where it was found that writing fake reviews is a crime under Italian law.

TripAdvisor itself has commended the decision after sharing evidence that was used in the trial.

Brad Young, VP, Associate General Counsel,TripAdvisor, said: We see this as a landmark ruling for the Internet."

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He continued: Writing fake reviews has always been fraud, but this is the first time weve seen someone sent to jail as a result.

We invest a lot in fraud prevention and were successful at tackling it since 2015, weve put a stop to the activity of more than 60 different paid review companies worldwide.

However, we can only do so much alone, which is why were eager to collaborate with regulators and law enforcement authorities to support their prosecutions.

Pascal Lamy, Chairman of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics at the World Tourism Organisation in the United Nations said: Online reviews play a major role in tourism and consumer purchasing decisions, but its important everyone plays by the rules.

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Fake reviews clearly contravene the World Committee on Tourism Ethics guidelines,which we published lastyearto guide the responsible use of ratings and reviews on digital platforms.

The recommendations were developedin collaboration withTripAdvisor,Minube and Yelp and we know that industry collaboration has an important role to play in tackling review fraud.

A family of five were previously left horrified after booking a £3,500 Algarve holiday only to discover a week before departure they have been scammed by afake TripAdvisor account.

Shuk Potter had booked a 12-day trip to the Algarve for her husband Andy and three children, Jack, aged 13, Charlie, aged nine, and Emily, aged six.

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The 48-year-old sent 3,500 Euros to what she thought was the official TripAdvisor website for the August 13 holiday.

But she was horrified to learn when her emails went unanswered that the holiday was a fake.

Vice journalist Oobah Butler previously hit the headlines when he created a fake restaurant on TripAdvisor in his shed - that became the highest-rated restaurant in London.