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For every product you buy, every hotel you book or every app you download, you can guarantee that there will be a review out... How Can You Tell If An Online Review is Fake?

For every product you buy, every hotel you book or every app you download, you can guarantee that there will be a review out there telling you whether it’s a good choice or not. You can find out almost all the pros and cons of anything before you actually click that ‘buy’ button but can you really trust the opinions that are out there? Sadly you can’t trust them all and that’s due to the rising problem of fake reviews, which even popular sites like TripAdvisor have been criticized for . It has been revealed that some companies will pay people to write positive reviews about something that they have never actually purchased or used or rave about hotels that they have never even stayed in. So how can you differentiate between the genuine reviews and those which are there to trick you into ordering a sub-standard product? Here are some handy tips on making sure you don’t get duped.

How Can You Tell If An Online Review is Fake?

1. Multiple Reviews Are Worded Very Similar By The Same Author

You may notice that one reviewer has commented on a number of products or hotels but each comment sounds very similar, due to the wording used – beware, this could well be someone who is being paid for every review they write.

2. An Over The Top Positive Review

If the author of the review is going completely over the top in praise for something and using excessive amounts of punctuation, then don’t be fooled. Nothing is perfect!

3. An Overly Specific Review

If you are looking at a product that has a long name, then often a person reviewing the item will shorten it because no one wants to keep writing the same long-winded title over and over. However, a hired reviewer will make sure that the name is always written in full because this helps the product rack up SEO points. If you notice this then don’t take every word of the review as gospel.

4. No Other Reviews From This Author

If someone has posted an extremely positive comment or alternatively an extremely negative comment, then it’s worth checking their username and history because it may be a fake.

Getting Legitimate Reviews

Thankfully some sites are keen to protect their customers from bogus reviews, for example Amazon will tell you whether a reviewer has actually purchased the item that they are reviewing through the online store. Other sites use social media accounts to ensure that any reviews are real, by requiring people to use their Facebook account to  post comments. That way you can see the person’s account and it should put a face to a review, helping you decide whether it is genuine or not.

Amazon review

Amazon will verify that the author has purchased the product they are reviewing

Have you ever come across a fake review? Share you experiences with us in the comments below.

[Image via Amazon]