Businesses love to tout positive online reviews.
From banks and apps to plumbers, restaurants and beyond, companies proudly display virtual badges or real-life stickers that celebrate their high ratings and popularity. Reviews are a great source of information for consumers — as long as they’re real.
The reality is that fake or inauthentic reviews are rampant online. Between 30% and nearly 40% are fake, according to some estimates. People and companies sell reviews as a service, and unscrupulous businesses do their best to game review platforms and systems.
Fake reviews typically take two forms:
Favorable reviews and ratings placed by inauthentic accounts
Positive reviews placed by real people that were paid or otherwise compensated to give a review
This guide equips you with fundamental knowledge to help you analyze online reviews for signs of inauthenticity. I suggest reading it alongside my investigation into the suspicious reviews for a range of online businesses run by a Pakistan-based scam network.
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