Looks too good to be true…? Spotting fake reviews

During this festive season, many of us will be looking online to grab some bargains and get our loved ones gifts, possibly more than ever before with local restrictions affecting different parts of the country. 

While this can be a great way to shop while we’re unable to hit the high street, do you always know what you’re buying? When shopping on sites such as Amazon, there are some products which have gathered thousands of reviews, but are they all they seem? We take a look at the world of incentivised reviews and what you need to look out for.

How it works

In the past, companies have garnered five-star reviews in exchange for free goods. These are called ‘incentivised reviews’. Third-party sellers tried to stop this by introducing a number of preventative measures, but this only served to drive the business underground. Online forums and Facebook groups were created where companies requested that customers give them a positive review in exchange for a full refund of their product, a loophole which ensured there was a record of the item being purchased by the reviewer.

The scale of the problem

A Which? investigation revealed that at least 30,000 customer reviews have been removed from a popular online retail seller over the past two years, and it is expected that the total number of fake reviews out there is significantly higher.

Main offenders

From the categories looked at, the top offenders were cameras, headsets, headphones and earphones, smartwatches and portable speakers. A whopping 11% of the reviews for on-dash cameras were removed, whilst 10% were removed for action cameras and headsets. Whilst the focus was on technology in this study, fake reviews can be found across all retail sectors, so it pays to be vigilant if you are relying on these to decipher whether you’re buying a quality product.

How to spot a fake

We look at some of the ways you can spot a fake review from the real deal: 

·       Look at the timing, if there are a lot of reviews in a short time frame, this may be a concern

·       Repetition of ‘I’ and ‘me’ and overuse of verbs

·       Look at the small details, if they’re trying too hard to set the scene, it could be a fake

·       Watch out for generic names and images

·       Delve deeper into the profile of the reviewer, how often do they post? Do they write similarly worded reviews across the board?

·       Reach out to the reviewer in question, a real reviewer is more likely to help further.

Whilst we wouldn’t recommend you shun reviews entirely, customer reviews should only form a part of your decision. Remember, even if it isn’t fake, all reviews are subjective.

For the treasures in your life that are worth the money, you might just want to make sure they’re covered by a Contents Insurance policy that is tried and tested. For insurance that won’t fall short of your expectations, call us today.