Warning: Five-Star Review Scams! How Fake Ratings Trap Online Shoppers

While doing your holiday shopping online, you stumble upon an air fryer with an appealing price. The brand is unfamiliar, but it has received outstanding reviews—each one claiming it to be life-altering or the best air fryer on the market.

You decide to purchase it, but upon arrival, it’s evident that the product is of low quality, cheaply made, and potentially unsafe.

Those shining reviews? Completely fabricated.

Despite being officially prohibited in the UK since April of this year, these fake reviews still frequently deceive consumers.

National Trading Standards (NTS), the agency responsible for consumer protection and enforcement, recently alerted that criminals are employing paid individuals, bots, and increasingly, AI to produce false reviews at a large scale. It also mentioned that fraudsters are setting up entire websites dedicated to fake reviews, often targeting popular products like air fryers and vacuum cleaners.

Many times, consumers duped by these reviews end up with nothing, or they receive a product of inferior quality, or a fake version of the brand they thought they were purchasing.

The percentage of online reviews that are fake varies, with a 2023 UK government study estimating that between 11% to 15% of reviews in three major product categories (consumer electronics, home and kitchen, and sports and outdoors) on major e-commerce sites are not genuine. Other research suggests as much as 30% might be fake.

Identifying the Scam

Historically, this type of fraud was mainly based in “review farms” located in countries like India and Russia, where individuals were paid to write a large number of fake posts to enhance a business’s online reputation. Many of these human-generated reviews might include spelling and grammar mistakes, which are clear indicators for UK consumers.

Nowadays, the industry has evolved with technology, and AI-generated reviews are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from those written by real customers.

These reviews often lack specific details about the product or service and might repeat phrases from the product’s description (like “up to 75% less fat than traditional frying methods”). They typically use vague language, such as “I can’t believe how great this is”, and avoid sharing personal stories.

“Authentic reviews usually contain personal specifics based on the user’s experience, whereas a fake review is more likely to use generic compliments like ‘amazing’, ‘awesome’, or ‘must buy this product’,” NTS explains.

Similarly, consumer organization Which? points out that “real reviewers often provide detailed information”.

It further advises caution if there is an unusually high number of five-star ratings, suggesting skepticism about how likely it is for so many users to deem the product as ‘perfect’. Excessive enthusiasm in reviews can be a red flag.

Suspicion should also be triggered if multiple similar reviews appear all at once, or if a reviewer’s account is newly created, or only reviews a limited range of products.

Steps to Take

Which? recommends looking beyond the five-star reviews for a more balanced opinion. Checking out the four, three, and two-star reviews will likely provide more truthful insights.

Extra caution is advised when dealing with unfamiliar brands.

Seek out “verified” reviews and purchases, where it’s confirmed by the retailer or marketplace that the product was actually purchased through their platform.

Lastly, always rely on reputable review websites.