How to Spot Fake Online Reviews Before You Buy

Most of us check the reviews before we buy anything online, and sellers know it. In 2024 the Federal Trade Commission finalized a rule banning fake reviews and testimonials, including reviews written by people who never used the product and reviews bought in exchange for payment. The rule helps, but it doesn't make every review honest. You still have to read them with a critical eye.

Seven warning signs

1. A flood of reviews in a short windowDozens of five-star reviews posted in the same few days, especially for a new product, often point to a campaign rather than real customers.
2. Everyone sounds the sameSimilar phrases, similar length and the same enthusiasm across many reviews suggest a script.
3. No details"Amazing product, changed my life!" tells you nothing. Real buyers mention how long they've used it, how it arrived, what they liked and what they didn't.
4. Only extremesA product with nothing but five-star and one-star reviews and almost nothing in between deserves a closer look.
5. Reviewers with one reviewOn platforms that show reviewer profiles, check whether the reviewer has reviewed anything else.
6. Talk about rewardsMentions of a free product, a discount or a gift card for leaving a review mean the review was incentivized. That has to be disclosed, and it should change how much weight you give it.
7. "Review" sites that only praiseA page ranking ten products where every product is excellent and every link goes to a shop is a sales page, not a review.

Where honest feedback hides

The three-star reviews. They tend to be the most balanced: the buyer liked some things and not others, and explains both.

The questions section. Questions from other buyers, and how the seller answers them, show you what people are actually worried about.

The seller's own terms. Reviews can be gamed; a written guarantee can't. What the seller promises in writing, and how easy it is to use, tells you how confident they are. Our guide to money-back guarantees explains what to look for.

Reviews and health products

For anything you take for your health, treat reviews as one input, never the deciding one. Your body, your medications and your history are different from the reviewer's. A conversation with your doctor or pharmacist is worth more than a thousand stars.