Amazon Black Hat Tactics – How to Identify and Handle Them

Picture this scenario: In pursuit of your financial freedom, you have invested into an Amazon business which you are now continuously expanding. The path has not been easy, the amount of your regular day-to-day tasks is daunting and growth is only possible through very high investment of energy and resources on your part. This makes it even more stressful when other sellers on Amazon use black hat tactics to divert your hard-earned traffic to their stores, which offer similar but inferior products.

In this blog article, we will explore these black hat tactics used on Amazon and discuss what you can do to protect your business from sellers who are trying to cut too many corners and target your clients.

Let’s get into it.

What Are Black Hat Tactics on Amazon?

So, what exactly are we talking about here and how do these “strategies” used by black hat sellers impact the revenue of legit sellers that play by the rules? 

Black hat tactics refer to unethical or irregular practices that some sellers use to gain a fraudulent advantage on Amazon. These methods can include fake reviews, counterfeit claims, click fraud, and manipulating search rankings. Such tactics can significantly impact the revenue of legitimate sellers by diverting traffic and sales to those using these unsavory practices, damaging the reputation of genuine products, and potentially leading to account suspensions or other penalties for those who fall victim to these schemes. 

Have you ever noticed unusual activity like a sudden drop in sales, a spike in negative reviews, or false claims about your products? If yes, then you can be sure that your competitors are using these fraudulent strategies to steal your customers. 

Let’s take a closer look at how these black hat Amazon tactics look in real life.

Top 7 Amazon Black Hat Tactics and How They Harm Sellers

Here is a list of the main strategies used, starting with the most common ones.

1. Manipulating Reviews (Buying, Incentivizing, or Fake Negative Reviews)

Manipulating reviews is a black hat tactic where competitors buy, incentivize, or post fake negative reviews to alter product ratings on Amazon. This deception aims to mislead customers and distort product quality perceptions. For example, sellers might pay for positive reviews to artificially boost ratings or post fake negative reviews on rivals’ products to damage their reputation. 

Common scenarios include a new product suddenly receiving numerous 5-star reviews, raising authenticity suspicions, or a well-established product getting an unexpected spike in 1-star reviews with vague complaints, leading to a sales drop. These practices mislead consumers and harm legitimate sellers’ businesses.

If you are looking for ways to increase positive Amazon seller reviews the right way, click on the link and check out the article.

2. Listing Hijacking and Variation Abuse

Listing hijacking and variation abuse are Amazon black hat tactics where bad actors manipulate legitimate product listings. 

To identify these tactics, sellers should watch for sudden changes in product descriptions, images, or prices. A spike in customer complaints about product quality or authenticity can also be a red flag. If multiple sellers appear under your product’s Buy Box or unrelated products show up in your listing’s variations, it’s a strong indicator of hijacking or variation abuse. Monitoring your listings closely and taking swift action if you spot these warning signs is crucial to protect your business’s reputation and sales.

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3. Fake Infringement Claims & False Reports

Fake infringement claims and false reports are underhanded tactics often used by unscrupulous sellers to take down competitors on Amazon. By filing baseless intellectual property (IP) claims, such as copyright or trademark infringements, they can cause legitimate listings to be suspended or removed, disrupting the affected seller’s business. Similarly, black hat sellers may submit false pesticide warnings or other regulatory complaints, leading to product deactivation and substantial sales losses for competitors. 

These deceitful strategies exploit Amazon’s automated and sometimes erratic enforcement system, effectively sidelining genuine sellers while the perpetrators gain an unfair market advantage. Protecting your business involves proactively monitoring for such claims and swiftly addressing any false reports to minimize their impact on your operations.

4. Click Farming & Fake Traffic Manipulation

Click farming and fake traffic manipulation involve using click farms to artificially inflate traffic and manipulate Amazon’s ranking algorithms. Click farms employ people or bots to repeatedly click on product listings, creating fake engagement that boosts a product’s ranking and visibility. This deceptive tactic misleads consumers and unfairly pushes legitimate competitors down the search results. Recognizing and reporting these activities is crucial to maintaining a fair marketplace and protecting the sales and visibility of honest sellers.

5. Insider Information Exploitation

Exploiting insider information is another example of popular Amazon black hat tactics. Competitors access confidential data to gain an unfair advantage on Amazon. This includes obtaining competitors’ sales figures, inventory levels, pricing strategies, or product launch details. The data is used to undercut prices, strategically time launches, or better target advertising, damaging affected businesses and undermining marketplace integrity. 

6. Fake Purchases & Ghost Address Scams

Fake purchases and ghost address scams involve placing fraudulent orders to manipulate stock levels or return rates. Fraudulent sellers deplete a competitor’s inventory or inflate return rates by placing and then canceling or returning large orders. Ghost addresses create false shipping scenarios, complicating inventory and logistics. 

7.  Hoarding Inventory

Hoarding inventory is a black hat tactic where competitors purchase large amounts of another competitor’s product to create a temporary stock shortage. This can lead to your listings dropping in search rankings or going out of stock, which will of course drive customers away. The black hat actors then promote their own products with reduced competition. Large returns often follow, causing logistical problems. 

To protect your business, monitor for unusual order spikes. Take swift action if you detect this tactic, for example by limits on the number of items a single customer can buy and immediately reporting this behavior to Amazon Seller Support.

How to Protect Your Amazon Business from Black Hat Tactics

Now that we have a good overview over what kind of tactics are most commonly used by black hat sellers, let’s take a closer look at what you can do to protect your brand, traffic, and products.

1. Use Amazon’s Brand Protection Programs (Brand Registry, Project Zero, Transparency)

Amazon offers several brand protection programs designed to help sellers safeguard their intellectual property and maintain control over their listings.

– Brand Registry: This program provides access to advanced tools and proactive brand protections, giving you the ability to report violations and control your brand’s presence on Amazon. It also offers enhanced search capabilities and support from Amazon’s specialized teams to protect your brand’s authenticity.

– Project Zero: Aimed at eliminating counterfeit products, Project Zero uses advanced machine learning to automatically remove suspected counterfeits and gives brands the authority to directly remove counterfeit listings themselves. This initiative combines Amazon’s technology with brand expertise to reduce and prevent counterfeit activities.

– Transparency: This program offers a product serialization service, assigning unique codes that can be scanned to verify a product’s authenticity. It ensures that customers receive genuine products and empowers them to validate item authenticity via the Transparency app.

2. Monitor Your Listings & Reviews Regularly

Regularly monitoring your listings and reviews is crucial to detect and address any unusual activities swiftly. Here are some tips to help you stay vigilant:

4. Escalate Reports and Follow Up Persistently

Escalating reports and persistently following up with Amazon support are crucial steps when dealing with black hat tactics. Here’s how to approach this effectively:

5. Seek Legal Recourse When Necessary

While Amazon offers tools and support to address Amazon sellers black hat tactics, there are instances when escalating issues beyond the platform and seeking legal recourse becomes necessary. Here’s advice on when and how to pursue legal action:

Wrapping Up 

Growing competition and rising fees on Amazon have driven some sellers to resort to black hat Amazon tactics, undermining fair competition and causing harm to those who play by the rules. These unethical practices can lead to significant revenue losses, damage brand reputation, and disrupt business operations. 

To maintain a level playing field, it’s crucial for sellers to actively monitor their business metrics and swiftly address any suspicious activities. SELLERLOGIC Business Analytics is an effective tool that provides insightful data, helping sellers detect unusual patterns and take prompt action. By staying vigilant and leveraging the right tools, sellers can protect their businesses and sustain their growth on Amazon.

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