Checking reviews online is a ritual for millions of consumers.
You find a local contractor or a new mechanic, scroll down and count the stars. You trust strangers to guide your spending decisions. But a new warning from federal regulators suggests that many glowing endorsements are nothing more than digital fiction.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued warning letters to businesses suspected of using deceptive reviews to mislead consumers. It’s part of a broader crackdown under the agency’s new ruling on consumer reviews and testimonials, which authorizes significant civil penalties for buying or selling fake feedback.
The government may be stepping up enforcement, but the marketplace is still flooded with phony praise. Read on to learn how you can spot the red flags.
1. Check the timing
One of the easiest ways to spot a coordinated campaign is to look at the dates. Genuine reviews for an established business usually trickle in steadily over months or years.
If you see a sudden burst of five-star ratings posted within a short window — such as 10 glowing reviews in a few days for a plumber who usually gets one a month — be skeptical.
This often indicates a business has just purchased a batch of fake reviews or incentivized a group of people to post positive feedback all at once.
2. Look for specifics
Real customers typically mention specifics about their experience. They talk about the technician arriving late, the cleanliness of the waiting room or how the receptionist handled a billing error. They write like humans who actually visited the location.
Fake reviews, by contrast, often rely on vague, generic praise. Phrases like “great business,” “excellent service,” or “highly recommended” without any supporting context are common in purchased reviews.
If a review sounds like it could apply to any company in the industry, it probably wasn’t written by a real client.
3. Investigate profiles
If a review seems suspicious, click on the user’s profile.
A legitimate user generally reviews businesses in their local area. A fake profile might show a user reviewing a roofer in New York, a bistro in Paris and a dentist in Sydney all within the same week.
Also, look out for profiles that have only posted one review ever — the one you’re reading.
4. Watch for AI polish
The rise of artificial intelligence has made fake reviews harder to spot, but they often share a specific voice. AI-generated text tends to be grammatically perfect but emotionally flat.
Watch for reviews that are overly formal or structured like a high school essay. They might use transition words like “moreover” or “in conclusion,” which most people rarely use ever. If the review sounds like a corporate press release rather than a neighbor giving advice, trust your gut.
5. Compare across platforms
Since you can’t always rely on “verified purchase” badges for local services, cross-reference the business across multiple platforms.
A restaurant or contractor might have a perfect five-star rating on one site but a mediocre three-star rating on another. Discrepancies like this often suggest that the high ratings on one platform were manufactured or curated to bury negative feedback.
Check sources like the Better Business Bureau or Google Maps to see if the story holds up.
Report suspicious activity
If you spot a review that violates these standards, you can help clean up the marketplace. Most platforms allow you to flag or report reviews as suspicious. You should also report the business directly to the FTC. Your report helps regulators build cases against companies that try to cheat the system.
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