How to spot a fake review in under a minute

Most fake reviews are written quickly and in bulk by people who never used the product, so they tend to share the same giveaways.

1. It praises the company, not the experience

Real reviews talk about what happened: the parcel was two days late, the plumber found the leak behind the dishwasher, the refund took three emails. Fake ones talk about the brand: "Amazing company! Highly recommend! Best service ever!" If you could paste the review onto any other business without changing a word, be suspicious.

2. The timing is odd

Look at the dates. Twenty five-star reviews in two days after months of silence usually means a campaign, not a sudden wave of happy customers. A steady trickle of mixed reviews is what real businesses get.

3. The reviewer has one review, and it's this one

A first-time reviewer isn't proof of anything. Everyone starts somewhere. But a page full of one-review accounts that all appeared the same week is a pattern.

4. Every review is five stars or one star

Real ratings spread out. People who had an okay time leave three stars and explain why. A business with nothing between "perfect" and "scam" is either very unusual or being gamed from both sides.

5. The details are wrong

Fake reviewers guess. They mention a product the shop doesn't sell, a branch that doesn't exist, or "fast delivery" for a company that only does in-store pickup. One wrong detail is enough.

6. The language repeats

Read five reviews in a row. If the same unusual phrase shows up ("truly exceeded every expectation", "will definitely be using again in future"), they were probably written by the same person or the same tool.

7. The business answers every bad review the same way

A copy-pasted reply isn't a sign of fake reviews, but it tells you how complaints get handled. A business that answers with specifics ("we've refunded the delivery fee and spoken to the courier") is worth more than a perfect score.

What we do about it on ReviewFolk

Every review here is tied to an email address the writer has confirmed by clicking a link, and each email can review a business once. Scores only count confirmed reviews. Businesses can reply and flag reviews for our moderators, but they can't edit, hide or pay to remove them.

This doesn’t stop every fake review, but it makes posting them in bulk a lot more work.