Reviews are a cornerstone of your business’s online reputation, offering social proof for customers and prospects alike.
Unfortunately, online review sites aren’t perfect. Anyone can leave a review—truthful or not—and businesses of all sizes must be equipped to respond to spam.
In this post, we will go over actionable tools and strategies to identify, address, and respond to fake reviews effectively.
Reviews with minimal details or irrelevant information could be fake. This looks like reviews with no specific details about the product or service—a copy-paste job that could be applied to any business.
Example: “Terrible experience, do not recommend.”
*Spoiler alert: One-star reviews with no comments are often fake reviews made by bots. Filtering the real reviews from the negative ones takes time. Widewail Engage can help you manage this!
Over-the-top criticism that sounds unnatural is a key indicator of a spam review. Intense negativity often demonstrates an intent to harm the business by using extreme language that manipulates the public perception.
Example: “THIS BUSINESS RUINED MY LIFE. These people are stupid and evil. I will never ever come here again.”
While it can be hard to not take it personally when you receive offensive feedback—even if it is a fake review—it’s important not to escalate a negative situation. Take a breath first! Even better, ask someone on your team to review your response, or partner with an unbiased third-party service like Widewail to ensure measured responses to every review.
Strong allegations that are unverifiable or unrelated to the business but promote concerning and damaging information are often falsified by disgruntled customers or competitors.
Example: “Illegal—this business stole my credit card information and took my money.”
When the name of the reviewer, (ex. “Brian S”) is unidentifiable and/or the reviewer's profile has no previous reviews or profile details, this signifies a potential fake-review scheme written by bots or paid individuals who create throwaway accounts.
Remember—negative reviews are a normal part of running a business! Not only that, negative reviews are an opportunity: they help you build online credibility and trust with your clients.
A sudden influx of negative reviews in quick succession could indicate a mass spam event. Know the signs!
You could be experiencing a spam event if:
With spam events, it’s important to act quickly to address the issue, whether by reporting the reviews for violating the review platform, or by getting in touch with the disgruntled reviewer directly.
Online review management solutions are a growing resource for businesses that rely on their online reputations. Responding to/handling your customer reviews within 24 hours can help avoid a spam situation altogether.
Although daunting, monitoring and responding to reviews is vital for providing great customer service. According to a 2024 consumer review study, 88% of consumers would use a business that replies to all of its reviews, whereas only 47% would use a business that doesn’t respond to reviews at all.
Negative reviews are a great opportunity for your business to strengthen its brand and build trust, and those benefits apply to fake reviews as well. After you spot spam and report it, the removal process may take time. If this is the case, and a spam review is still live after a couple of days, it’s best to treat it as a negative and respond.
Credibility: Negative reviews, when handled effectively, give your business credibility. A company with a 5-star rating and no negative reviews suggests review suppression or other manipulative reputation management practices. By responding to all negative reviews, even ones that you suspect are fake, you uphold this credibility. While a review may be fake, you are still available and ready to help any prospective customers.
Reliability: While you may be able to tell when a review is spam, your clients and potential clients might not have the context and experience to. Without a response from you, they are left only with the contents of a false review. By responding, you demonstrate your accountability and willingness to find a solution for your customers. It is also an opportunity to professionally refute inauthentic claims and provide more context to your customer base.
Online Visibility: Platforms like Google Business Profile (GBP) reward review responsiveness, as it demonstrates the above-mentioned qualities. Correspondingly, Google will rank businesses that respond to their reviews higher in search. GBP aims to link the consumer with businesses that reflect consumer values, and 44.6% of consumers say that they are more likely to visit a business if they see that its management responds to negative reviews.
When responding to a fake or fishy review it's important to remain calm and professional. A well-crafted response can protect your business from unnecessary drama and even help convert skeptical onlookers into loyal customers.
Don’t get defensive or accusatory. It’s understandable to be frustrated when you encounter a defamatory review, but publicly arguing with a reviewer, even a fake reviewer, gives the impression that your business lacks professionalism. Stay calm, avoid accusations, and state the facts.
Let’s look at a suspected spam review for a car dealership:
Context: The dealership has received this negative review but has no record of a "John B." having recently purchased a vehicle at their location.
In this response, we politely refute the claim of illegal financial activity, pointing out that there was no record of the client’s purchase to back up their statement. Finally, we demonstrate a commitment to customer satisfaction by inviting the client to reach out to management directly.
Let’s see another example, this time for a restaurant:
Context: Several similarly written reviews were received around the same time for this restaurant. None of the reviews are written with real names and the associated accounts have not reviewed any other establishments on Google.
In this review, we make it clear that the level of service described is not the level of service we hold our team to, even if we do suspect it's spam. The review does not necessarily look fake to customers, and there is no guarantee every spam review will be removed, so we stay measured in our response and treat it as a regular negative. With this in mind, we still provide a channel through which the customer can reach out and resolve things if, on the off chance, the review is real.
One more example! Here’s a review of a fake review for an apartment complex:
Context: The reviewer's claims do not align with the amenities and experience offered in this community.
In this review, we clearly state that we have verified the review is fake (there is no evidence of this user being a resident and their claims do not match the profile of the community). However, we still make it clear that our goal is to keep our residents happy and comfortable. This serves to discredit the review itself while proving to prospects that the community cares.
Ignoring fake reviews isn’t just a missed opportunity—it can actively harm your reputation. If you can’t get fake reviews removed, responding to them is your next best option. When you respond to fake reviews, you get your side of the story out there, protecting your business’s credibility while demonstrating transparency and professionalism.
Empower your business by taking control of your reputation and handling reviews—fake or real—with confidence. Check out our comprehensive review response guide for more tips!