Fake reviews and false scam posts: help for Hong Kong online sellers

What hurts a Hong Kong online business

Hong Kong buyers check before they pay. Online shopping produced 18,913 consumer complaints in 2025, about half of all complaints received (LCQ14, 15 July 2026), and e-shopping fraud was the most reported fraud type with 12,505 police cases. Buyers have learnt to search a shop’s name with the word “scam” before transferring money, and a single false post can stop orders for weeks.

• False scam call-outs in Facebook groups, on Threads or in a LIHKG thread, after a delivery delay or a refund dispute.
• Fake or retaliatory ratings on Carousell, marketplace listings or Google Maps, from people who never bought.
• Cloned shop pages on Instagram or Facebook using your logo and product photos to take payments.
• Restaurant reviews on OpenRice or Google written by a rival, a former employee or someone who was never seated.
• Personal attacks on the owner: a post with your mobile number or home address after a dispute.

Platforms and their routes

• Instagram and Facebook shops: impersonation reports for cloned pages; harassment and false-information reports for scam call-outs. See Instagram and Facebook.
• Carousell: among the 50 most visited sites in Hong Kong (Similarweb, August 2026), with ratings left by buyers and sellers; we report fake or abusive ratings through Carousell’s support channels. See Carousell review removal.
• HKTVmall and other marketplaces: product reviews and seller feedback are reported through each platform’s merchant and customer-service channels, under its own review rules.
• OpenRice and Google Maps for restaurants and cafés: see OpenRice review removal and Google review removal.
• Forums: false accusations on LIHKG or Discuss.com.hk are handled through a precise notice to the forum, see forum post removal.

Evidence every seller should keep

• Order records, invoices and payment receipts showing whether the reviewer actually bought.
• Chat history with the buyer, exported with dates, from Instagram, Carousell or your messaging app.
• Courier or SF Express tracking numbers and delivery confirmations.
• Screenshots of each post or review with the URL, date and the reviewer’s profile.
• Your Business Registration Certificate, which proves to platforms that you own the shop name.

The free routes, and what we add

Every platform lets you report a review or a post yourself, and that costs nothing. If someone takes money in your shop’s name, report it to the police and the Anti-Scam Helpline 18222. If your personal data is posted to harass you, the PCPD handles doxxing complaints free of charge.

What we add is time and precision: we choose the rule each item breaks, attach the evidence the platform needs, file under your signed authorisation, follow up when the first answer is a template refusal, and re-check for clones and reposts.

How we work for sellers

1. Free written assessment. Send the links through the contact form. We tell you in writing which items have a real ground.
2. Signed authorisation. You authorise NetClearer to act for your business. We never ask for your password and never need admin access.
3. Reports. We file each report in the platform’s own route. Work starts within 48 hours.
4. Follow-up and report. We track decisions and send you the result for each link.

What we never do

• Post, buy or swap reviews, or ask customers to change theirs. Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, misleading claims by a trader can be an offence, and platforms penalise fake praise.
• Remove genuine complaints. A real buyer’s bad experience stays; a calm public reply usually serves you better.
• Contact the reviewer or the poster, or threaten anyone with legal action. For a claim against a competitor, consult a Hong Kong solicitor.

Prices for sellers

Reviews: HK$176 per review, HK$476 for 3, HK$1,312 for 10. Posts, fake accounts and Google results: HK$255 per link, HK$608 for 3, HK$1,753 for 10. Fixed price, no extra fees, paid by card through Stripe. Shops facing repeated attacks often choose a monthly plan from HK$696. See the pricing page.