Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.Learn more.
Your favorite accessory brand may have left Amazon due to fake reviews (Update)
July 08, 2025
Update: June 19, 2025 (3:30 AM ET): An Amazon spokesperson has responded toAndroid Authority‘s request for comment in an email. Although the statement doesn’t specifically mentionAukeyorMpow, it does note that any company deemed to be violating Amazon’s policies can lodge an appeal if they believe they are compliant. Read the statement in full below.
Original article: June 07, 2025 (4:17 PM ET): Have you noticed that a favorite tech accessory brand vanished from Amazon without a trace? There might be a good reason for it. Amazon has pulled AUKEY and Mpow from its listings not long after a SafetyDetectiveinvestigationfound companies paying for fake reviews to boost sales.
The internet safety advocate discovered an exposed server with a cache of messages between Amazon vendors and customers who were willing to supply fake reviews in return for free products. While the participants in the scheme would buy the products themselves, the vendors would send money through PayPal to avoid tipping off Amazon’s moderators. Some might have received an “additional payment,” although there weren’t examples of this in the cache.
Related:The best wireless chargers
The fraudsters also set review guidelines to avoid detection and used a variety of messaging platforms to orchestrate fake reviews, includingTelegramandWhatsApp. The server hosting all these conversations appeared to be in China, although the data covered people in Europe and the US.
We’ve asked Amazon for comment. AUKEY and Mpow so far haven’t addressed the takedowns, including whether or not they were directly linked to the alleged fake reviews scheme.
It’s not certain just how many companies were implicated in the fake reviews scam. However, the removals of AUKEY and Mpow could have dramatic effects on the tech accessory world. Both are some of the best-known tech accessory makers and were fixtures on Amazon — they’ve just lost one of their largest storefronts. Alternatives likeAnkerandRavPowerremain, but they won’t do you much good if they don’t have an equivalent to what you were looking for.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read ourComment Policybefore posting.
