Online reviews help guide us to the best products at the best prices — at least, in theory.
The reality is that often they are made up.
Amazon, which is rife with fake reviews, said it blocked more than 250 million in 2023 alone. And fakes are big business, according to money expert Clark Howard.
But there are ways to screen reviews and avoid making bad choices based on lies.
Try FakeSpot.com
This site lets you paste in the URL of a review to analyze it. While it was originally built around Amazon, it has expanded to other retailers.
It’s not perfect but helpful. There is a FakeSpot browser plugin for Chrome and Firefox, as well as apps for Android and iOS devices.
Look for typos and bad grammar
Online reviews, especially the fake ones, can look like they emerged from a translation website. This is a red flag.
Don’t put much stock in overly positive reviews
If a review reads on the extreme side of positive, and the accolades just don’t stop coming, they’re likely fake.
Overly positive reviews often accompany perfect ratings. Another clue: a sudden wave of positive reviews within the same short period of time.
To find real reviews, search for those from earlier years or months.
Beware the general review
When reviews are so general you can’t even identify the product being discussed, it may be fake.
Check all reviews for repetition. Do a search for phrases and sentences, and see if they pop up in dozens of other reviews.
Analyze the reviewer
Click on the reviewer’s profile and see if they’re writing the same thing for many products.
That kind of behavior should wipe them from your list of reliable sources.
If you are shopping Amazon’s marketplace, double-check the vendor’s rating. It’s not foolproof but only buy from sellers with a rating of 98% or more.
If you come across fake reviews, send an email to [email protected] or file a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission or call the FTC at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
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