Internet Spawns Another New Industry: Fake Five-Star Reviews Of Businesses Hot

With reviews of everything from advisors to xylophones, the Web is filled with five-star ratings. That's spawned an industry of fake reviews. For the record, advisors would be wise to stay away from such tactics.

The New York Times notes that fake reviews are rampant, with some Web workers offering to give you fake reviews for $5 apiece.

Hiring a college student to post fake five-star ratings of your advisory firm on Google Places may seem like a no-brainer. 

However, the story also says that algorithms are being devised to detect fake reviews.  Google, Amazon and other will impose a way to ensure the fakers are ferreted out.

With the credibility of crowdsourcing at stake, the Web giants cannot afford to allow unethical reviewers to get away with ruining their reputations.

While fake reviews may seem like a shrewd move now, it could get you banned from Google Places and kill your search engine ranking when a solution is discovered.

Moreover, it's just plain unethical.

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