Atlys, a company that helps travellers get visas, is deploying fake reviews to boost its image among users. It all started when an X user, Saurabh Sharma (@randomusements), enquired about the Rs. 18,000 that Atlys was charging users as a ‘government fee’ for a Bhutan visa. As Indian users don’t require visas, many were confused about this fee.
This led Atlys to issue a clarification stating “Bhutan levies sustainable development fee of Rs. 1200/day/person. The visa fee is charged is in accordance with SDF.”
The clarification did not help the situation, as Atlys does not mention this information on their website. Users only see the Rs. 18,000 fee listed under ‘government fee,’ which the company charges at Rs. 1,200 per day for 15 days.
However, many users started noticing similarities in the reviews. Candid.Technology confirmed in our investigation that Atlys is showing its users fake reviews.
We visited three visa pages on Atlys: Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong. All three pages contained the same reviews. For example, Lavika Agarwal’s comment is the same on all three pages, with only the country name changed.
“Applying for my Hong Kong/Bhutan/Afghanistan visa with Atlys was quick. I could add other recommended countries without any hassle. As a solo traveller, it made the documentation process chill. I loved how they handled everything smoothly. Great experience for a first-timer!”
The above comment is more or less similar to the one in Hindi by Amit Kothari. This comment also adores the three pages that we mentioned earlier. In this comment were talks of solo travelling, acquiring hassle-free visas, and, interestingly, adding other countries.
While scrolling through the reviews, we found many such fake reviews. A sloppy work indeed. Fake reviews are not only misleading but also promote online fraud. Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, has this to say about fake reviews, “Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors”.
The federal rule banning fake online reviews takes effect in the United States today. It will be interesting to see how Atlys, based in California, adheres to these rules.
In India, the Bureau of Indian Standards, back in 2022, notified a framework on ‘Online Consumer Reviews — Principles and Requirements for their Collection, Moderation and Publication.’ These standards, although not voluntary, apply to “every online platform which publishes consumer reviews.”
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