Police launch crackdown on fake reviews in Albania

Cybercrime investigators in Albania are tracking a network of two hundred people suspected of sabotaging local businesses with a wave of coordinated, fake negative reviews.

For small business owners, the impact is devastating—fifteen have already filed formal complaints, warning that the campaign is tanking their reputations during the peak of the summer tourism season.

Investigators say a massive, organized network has used more than ten thousand fake accounts to target popular bars and restaurants across the country. Authorities are now probing charges of defamation and computer fraud, as they work to expose the orchestrators behind the plot.