Everyone that is on the internet often should beware internet shills. Do you even know what an internet shill is? Is this a word that you have never heard before? If you spend any time on the internet reading forums, reviews, and comments that are left on blogs, articles, and websites, then you may have been exposed to internet shills and not known it. Still confused? Read on to learn more.

Beware internet shills

Most of us would agree that the internet has affected and changed our lives in a positive way. However, along with the benefits, the internet has also brought with it a whole new school of scammers, too. False advertising and modern scams are just a couple of ways that “shills” are influencing our perception of what we read and see on the internet.

Why should you beware internet shills?  

You should beware internet shills because they are likely to trick you into thinking that they are real people, leaving genuine advice or reviews. Internet shills are like internet trolls as they both like to comment on forums, often from false profiles and accounts. While trolls prefer to cause unrest and chaos on a forum, shills are paid to leave positive comments about certain products, and sometimes they are paid to say negative comments about competitors with the goal of selling a solution, like many timeshare cancellation companies. The main problem is trying to figure out if a comment has been left by an internet shill or by a satisfied customer. Internet shills are paid to leave positive comments about products, because doing this will start a buzz. When a person endorses a product or service, others might follow suit.

The True History of Internet Shills

“Shallaber” is the word where shill comes from, and it was first started being used by circus troupers and circus workers who pretended to buy tickets quickly right after the circus master has just left an engaging speech about the show. This reaction sparked the “real” customer to urgently go to buy tickets as they didn’t want the tickets to sell out before they could get theirs. Open auctions are another place where shills can be found. The shills would drive up the price by bidding and bidding. Shills may be planted by either the auction room or the owner of the piece that is being sold.

Distinguishing an Internet Shill from a Genuine Commenter

It’s a fine art distinguishing an internet shill from a genuine commenter. Some shills are often extremely talented writers. The cheap shills are easier to distinguish. If you want to see if a post has been written by a shill, then there are a few actions you can take to test the authenticity of the commenter:

1. Copy the the comment and then paste it to Google search, and doing this will show you if the same comment has been left at numerous websites. Shills seem to be lazy as they don’t bother writing new comments for different websites that they need to post at. If the comment has been repeated and repeated then the post is often a shill.
2. You can also check the internet shill’s social networks to see if the pictures are stock or if they have friends. You will quickly see that the commenter is a false. You can also check to see if they are active on their networks.
3. Check how many comments the person has made recently. If there is only one or two comments and nothing more. They could be a shill.

TripAdvisor Catches onto Shills

Thankfully, most reputable websites like TripAdvisor have caught onto the tactics employed by shills and trolls that are posting on their site, and they are handing down heavy fines and penalties to the companies for using shill techniques just to get a raise with fake positive reviews. Any comment that you believe has been written by a shill should be reported. When you report the frauds, then this will help honest companies get the praise that they deserve and all the shills and scammers will be penalized for their fraudulent actions.