CCCS takes action against car groomer Lambency Detailing for posting fake AI reviews
Source: Business Times
Article Date: 04 Jul 2025
Author: Derryn Wong
The car groomer has been ordered to stop posting them, and will remove the content on Sgcarmart.com within eight working days.
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has taken regulatory action against car grooming service Lambency Detailing (Lambency) for posting false consumer reviews generated by artificial intelligence (AI) on automotive marketplace Sgcarmart.com.
CCCS said on Thursday (Jul 3) that Quantum Globe, the company that owns and operates Lambency, admitted to posting fake five-star reviews written by ChatGPT over the last two years.
“This is the second fake review case that CCCS has uncovered, and the first case involving both a third-party platform and the use of AI to create these fake reviews,” said the regulator’s chief executive Alvin Koh.
In 2024, Loft Home Furnishing, a furniture company, received a warning for publishing fake five-star product reviews on its website.
Businesses posting fake customer reviews is an unfair trade practice, the regulator said, as consumers might be misled into thinking that the product is more well-received than it actually is, and thus make misinformed purchase decisions.
Quantum Globe will stop posting fake reviews; remove fake reviews on Sgcarmart.com within eight working days; notify customers whose details were used in the false postings between October 2024 and January 2025; and publish notices for six months informing consumers that it had posted fake reviews, among other actions.
Matthew Lim, the firm’s director, has also undertaken to CCCS that he will not engage in any unfair trade practice, or facilitate any business under his control to do so.
The regulator began an investigation in January after a customer complained that reviews were posted under her name on Sgcarmart.com. It revealed that seven other Lambency customers were affected, with fake reviews – using their names, vehicle registration numbers and photographs – being posted without consent.
In a statement to the media, Lambency said that it “accepts full responsibility for a number of false reviews about our services that were posted on Sgcarmart”.
“These reviews were written by employees without proper disclosure, and this should not have happened,” it added.
“We apologise unreservedly to our customers, Sgcarmart, and the public. Upholding trust and transparency is core to our business, and we acknowledge that this incident compromised those values. We have taken immediate steps to remove the reviews and have put in place stricter guidelines to ensure all future communications meet the standards expected of us.”
Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
3265