Fake reviews are becoming increasingly prevalent, and it can be challenging to spot them. However, by following a few tips, you can avoid falling victim to these misleading reviews. Here are some key strategies to consider:
1. Look for obvious red flags: If a review contains excessive praise without providing specific details, it may be paid for by the product producer or company. Be cautious of phrases like “this product changed my life” or “I can’t believe how amazing this is.” Similarly, be suspicious of reviews that claim to be the reviewer’s first review ever.
2. Check for typos and strange sentence construction: Many fake reviews come from non-native English speakers, particularly from countries like India and Russia. Look out for typos, grammar errors, and awkward sentence structures that indicate the reviewer is not a native English speaker.
3. Pay attention to sentence length and language: AI-generated fake reviews often use long, perfectly written sentences that real reviewers would not typically use. These reviews may also exhibit flawless English and grammatical accuracy. Additionally, AI tends to default to American English instead of British English but can be programmed to mimic British English or use shorter sentences to appear more authentic.
4. Examine the distribution of review scores: Typically, reviews tend to cluster around positive or negative ratings. Suspicious patterns may arise when there are an excessive number of five-star reviews, along with a significant number of extremely negative reviews. This may suggest that the establishment is paying for or generating fake positive reviews to mask genuine negative ones. To get a better picture of a product or establishment, scroll through numerous reviews, including the one- and two-star ratings, if possible. However, be aware that highly negative reviews could also be fake, designed to harm a competitor.
5. Verify the legitimacy of the reviewer and the number of reviews: When possible, investigate if the reviewer has left reviews on other platforms. Accounts created solely to post a single fake review are common. If the reviewer has multiple reviews, check if they are overly positive and short. This may indicate that the reviewer is not genuine.
6. Adjust your Amazon settings: On Amazon, sponsored results tend to dominate the first page of search results. To remove many of these sponsored results, change the search settings from “featured” to “avg. customer review.” Additionally, avoid clicking on items with only a few reviews. Switch between “top reviews” and “most recent” to get a more comprehensive overview on product pages.
7. Rely on trusted websites and sources: While no source is entirely immune to fake reviews, there are platforms you can depend on for reliable information. Join your local community WhatsApp group for independent reviews and recommendations for local services. Airbnb has measures in place to combat fake reviews, but exercise caution when the average score falls below 4.6 out of 5. Trusted publications like The Guardian and websites like Auto Trader offer in-depth, expert reviews. Which? provides a Trusted Traders service, where all customer reviews undergo verification, as well as a paid product review service for comprehensive testing and evaluation.
8. Beware of fake celebrity endorsements: Scammers often use the images of celebrities, such as Martin Lewis from MoneySavingExpert, to falsely claim their endorsement. Be wary of these endorsements, including “deepfake” videos created using AI technology, which are becoming more convincing.
By applying these tips and remaining vigilant, you can avoid falling for fake reviews and make more informed consumer decisions.