How to Identify and Deal with Fake Reviews on Amazon (for Sellers)

In today’s competitive Amazon marketplace, fake reviews have become a significant challenge for sellers. 

These reviews can skew perceptions about a product, leading buyers to make misinformed purchasing decisions and damaging the credibility of genuine sellers and brands. 

With fake reviews evolving and becoming increasingly difficult to spot, sellers must stay alert. This guide will provide actionable strategies for identifying fake reviews and helping Amazon sellers protect their reputations.

What are fake Amazon reviews?

Fake reviews on Amazon are reviews that aren’t real or honest. They’re written to make a product look either better or worse than it is. These reviews do not accurately represent the product’s performance, quality, or functionality. 

Fake reviews can be misleading because they make it harder for shoppers to trust the ratings and comments. When people read these fake reviews, they might buy something that doesn’t meet their expectations or avoid a good product because of negative, fake feedback.

1. Bot-generated reviews: These are automated reviews created by bots, typically with repetitive and generic language, aimed at quickly inflating the review count.
2. Incentivized reviews: Sellers may offer incentives, such as free products or discounts, in exchange for positive reviews. This results in biased feedback and is against Amazon’s TOS. This black-hat tactic was popular years ago and has since been shut down by Amazon, but some bad actors still try to offer an incentive to customers. 
3. Non-purchase reviews: These come from individuals who haven’t bought the product (on Amazon) but write a review to either support or harm a listing. You can tell because Amazon will label a review a “Verified Purchase” when a customer has purchased that product on Amazon. 

Fake reviews can come from third-party services that create many fake positive or negative reviews for products on Amazon. They can also come from dishonest sellers who want to get ahead by making false negative claims about competing products to damage that product’s reputation or boost the ratings and review count of their products by adding fake positive reviews. 

The problem is more common than you may think. Estimates suggest that at least 20% of Amazon product reviews may be fake, making it harder for honest sellers to compete fairly. 

While this may be disheartening and concerning for Amazon sellers who follow the rules, those who break these rules will eventually be caught and shut down by Amazon, so always be sure to stay on Amazon’s good side. 

Why are fake Amazon reviews a big deal?

Fake product reviews on Amazon can severely impact both customers and honest sellers. For sellers, fake reviews can damage their reputation, disrupt product rankings, and mislead potential customers. 

When customers see fake reviews, they might receive a product that does not meet their expectations. This can lead to a bad experience, reflects poorly on Amazon and the seller.

Customers rely on honest feedback on a product because they cannot physically see or touch it before buying it. Without honest reviews, customers cannot have full confidence in a product before ordering it. 

According to Fakespot, an AI and machine learning software specializing in detecting fake reviews, fake reviews influence up to 30% of consumer decisions on popular ecommerce sites, including Amazon. 

This statistic underscores the potential for customer distrust, a loss of credibility, and revenue loss for genuine sellers. Credibility is crucial in a marketplace as competitive as Amazon, and fake product reviews jeopardize that for all sellers involved.

Consumers use the Fakespot extension to do just that. Spot fake reviews on Amazon and other e-commerce sites. 

How to spot fake reviews on Amazon

Distinguishing honest reviews from fake ones can be challenging, but there are some clear red flags to look out for. Here are some common signs sellers can monitor:

• Overly optimistic language: Reviews that excessively praise a product without mentioning specific details are often suspect. Generic phrases like “amazing product” or “best purchase ever” without further explanation may signal a fake review.
• Lack of product details: Real reviews usually include specific information about the product, including its use and special features. Reviews that are vague or lack these specifics might not be real.
• Spike in five-star reviews: If a product quickly receives a sudden increase in five-star ratings, it might be due to fake reviews.
• Spike in bad reviews: If a product suddenly sees an increase in bad reviews or one-star reviews in particular that are meant to harm the performance of the listing, then it may be due to fake reviews. 
• One-word or one-sentence reviews: Real customers generally provide more context. Short, uninformative reviews like “Good,” “Great product,” or “Love it” could indicate fake reviews, especially if they appear frequently.
• Reviewer patterns: Check if the same reviewer has posted multiple reviews on unrelated products within a short period. Such behavior often indicates a fake review profile.
• Unverified reviews: If the review is not marked as a “Verified Purchase” by Amazon, it may indicate that the reviewer didn’t purchase the product on Amazon, making it a possibility to be fake.
• Repetitive language: If you notice several reviews using identical or highly similar language, it could mean the same person or a bot wrote them.

Monitoring these patterns can help sellers detect and respond to suspicious reviews before they cause harm to their business.

What to do if you spot fake Amazon reviews on your listings

If you find fake reviews on your listings, it is important to act quickly. This helps protect your brand’s credibility and keeps customers’ trust. Without trust and credibility from your customers, you don’t have a successful brand. 

Report fake reviews to Amazon

1. Navigate to the review: Go to the review on your product listing that you suspect to be fake.
2. Report the review: Click on the “Report” button located beneath the review and choose “Fake.”
3. Document patterns: Note any specific patterns, such as the timing of reviews, language similarities, or lack of verification status. This documentation can assist Amazon in its investigation.
4. Provide evidence: If fake reviews continue, sellers can send proof to Amazon Seller Support to support their case.

Monitor for new fake reviews

After reporting suspicious reviews, sellers should remain vigilant. Set up alerts using Jungle Scout to track new reviews and look for patterns that might indicate further issues. Consistent monitoring allows sellers to respond quickly and minimize any damage to their brand.

Contact Amazon Seller Support for escalation

If reporting fake reviews doesn’t resolve the issue, consider escalating it by contacting Amazon Seller Support. Make sure to:

• Provide clear evidence: Detail your actions and observations, including any documentation of patterns, screenshots, or timestamps.
• Be persistent but professional: Amazon handles many cases, so persistence is necessary. Keep your communication factual and professional to make a strong case.

Helpful strategies to monitor Amazon product reviews for fraud

Continuous monitoring is essential for avoiding potential issues with fake reviews. Proactive strategies can help maintain your product’s credibility and rank on Amazon.

Use Review Automation

With Jungle Scout’s Review Automation tool, sellers can simplify the process of collecting real customer reviews by automating review requests. It also saves sellers time by eliminating the need to manually request a review within Seller Central. 

This tool ensures that verified buyers receive reminders to leave reviews, improving the likelihood of authentic feedback and reducing the influence of fake reviews on your product’s overall rating. Within Review Automation, users can track review requests on each order.

Using Review Automation is simple. Once you are a Jungle Scout user, connect your Jungle Scout account to your Amazon Seller Central account via MWS Keys. Once connected, you can simply toggle Review Automation on, and the tool will begin to send Amazon-TOS-approved review requests to customers. 

Using automation tools like Jungle Scout helps sellers simplify review requests. This builds a stronger base of real, verified reviews.

Respond to reviews professionally

While you can no longer leave a comment on product reviews on Amazon, if your brand is enrolled in the Brand Registry, brand owners will have an opportunity to contact the Amazon customer directly if they leave a 1-star review to 3-star review. 

After clicking Contact Customer, the brand owner will be presented with two options:

1. Courtesy Refund: Offer full refund
2. Customer Support: Check with the customer for additional details on the order

Amazon will have an automated response you send to customers when using this feature. If a customer answers, it will appear in your Buyer-Seller messages. Always remain professional when communicating with customers about reviews or order details.

Track reviews over time

Tracking review patterns over time can be instrumental in spotting fraud. Tools such as Jungle Scout’s Alerts can help sellers track reviews and detect unusual spikes that may indicate suspicious activity. Monitoring your reviews’ growth over time makes it easier for sellers to see if there is any abnormal activity with their reviews. 

Combat fake reviews and protect your Amazon business

Finding and dealing with fake reviews is important for any seller who wants to keep their credibility. It helps build a trustworthy brand on Amazon that customers know and love.

Sellers can protect their business and reputation by recognizing the signs of fake reviews and taking quick action—whether through reporting, professional responses, or continuous monitoring with tools like Jungle Scout.

Protect your brand by taking action today. Use tools like Jungle Scout to keep your reviews honest. This will help you build your business on a strong foundation of trust.