Review Integrity & Endorsement Policy

Regulatory Basis

Upmos prohibits fake, AI-generated, paid-but-undisclosed, suppressed, and otherwise deceptive consumer reviews and endorsements, consistent with:

• FTC Final Rule on Fake Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465 (effective Oct 21, 2024);
• FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255;
• Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45 (prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts).

The FTC’s Fake Reviews Rule provides for civil penalties of up to $51,744 per violation.

Prohibited Conduct — Sellers, Vendors, and Customers

The following are strictly prohibited on the Upmos marketplace:

• Fake reviews — reviews that misrepresent the reviewer’s identity or that purport to be from a person who does not exist or did not actually use the product.
• AI-generated reviews presented as authentic consumer experience.
• Buying or selling reviews — exchanging money, gift cards, free products, or other consideration for a review without disclosure.
• Incentivized reviews without clear disclosure — reviewer received a free product, discount, or future credit and did not state so clearly and conspicuously inside the review.
• Suppressing negative reviews — using threats, intimidation, or unfounded legal threats to coerce a negative-reviewer to remove or modify their review.
• Insider reviews — reviews by the seller, the seller’s employees, the seller’s relatives, or anyone with an undisclosed material connection to the seller.
• Self-affirmation tactics — buying reviews of a competitor’s product to disparage the competitor.
• Review trading — agreeing with another seller to review each other’s products.
• Fake indicators of social-media influence — purchasing followers, likes, or views.
• Hijacking reviews — repurposing reviews from one product to another.

Disclosure Standard for Material Connections

If a reviewer has a “material connection” to the seller — including, without limitation, employment, friendship, family ties, financial interest, free or discounted product, or any other relationship that might affect the weight a consumer gives to the review — that connection MUST be disclosed clearly and conspicuously within the review itself, using language a consumer can easily understand.

Acceptable disclosures include phrases such as: “I received this product free in exchange for an honest review,” “I work for Upmos,” or “Paid endorsement.”

Detection and Enforcement

Upmos uses a combination of human moderators and machine-learning detection systems to identify suspect reviews. We screen for:

• Same IP / device fingerprint posting multiple positive reviews for the same vendor;
• Reviews posted from accounts with no prior purchase history;
• Burst patterns of reviews on a single SKU within a short time window;
• Text-similarity matches against known fake-review templates;
• Stylometric and AI-generation signals;
• External signals received from third-party fraud-protection vendors.

Suspect reviews are removed or hidden pending investigation. The reviewer is notified and may appeal.

Vendor Penalties

Vendors found to have engaged in any prohibited conduct will face the following consequences, escalating with severity and recurrence:

1. First substantiated violation: Removal of the offending review(s); written warning; loss of buy-box eligibility for thirty (30) days.
2. Second substantiated violation: Suspension of selling privileges for sixty (60) days; forfeiture of pending payouts pending review.
3. Third substantiated violation: Permanent termination of seller account; closure of all related accounts; forfeiture of pending balance subject to legal release; referral to the FTC and to State Attorneys General.

Customer Reporting

Customers may report a suspected fake, incentivized, or otherwise problematic review by:

• Clicking “Report” on the offending review;
• Emailing abuse@upmos.com;
• Filing an independent complaint with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

We acknowledge reports within one (1) business day and complete the investigation within ten (10) business days.

Reviewer Protections

We do not threaten, intimidate, or pursue meritless legal action against any honest reviewer. If a vendor attempts to coerce or retaliate against a reviewer (for example, by withholding a return, threatening defamation litigation, or contacting the reviewer’s employer), the vendor will be subject to the penalties above and the reviewer will be supported in pursuing applicable anti-SLAPP and consumer-protection remedies.

Transparency Reporting

Upmos publishes an annual Transparency Report disclosing the number of reviews removed, the number of vendors suspended for review fraud, and the categories of detected violations. The report is available at /transparency-report/.

Updates to this Policy

This Policy may be updated to reflect changes in the FTC’s regulations, our detection systems, or industry best practice. Material updates will be communicated to vendors at least thirty (30) days in advance.

Contact

Email: abuse@upmos.com · legal@upmos.com

How Can You Contact Us About This Policy?

If you have any further questions or comments or wish to report any problematic Content or Contribution, you may contact us by:

General Contact

• Phone: 1(855)637-2433 (Mon–Fri, 9 AM–5 PM CST)
• General Support: support@upmos.com
• Report Issue: upmos.com/report
• Send Feedback: upmos.com/feedback

Department Directory

Mailing Address

Upmos Inc.
9896 Bissonnet St
Houston, TX 77036
United States