If you are looking to find a handy resource that collates customer reviews of businesses, then Trustpilot could be a great choice to do just that. However, the company has been plagued by fake reviews in the past, so how to spot fake Trustpilot reviews? That’s where we come in.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Trustpilot is a customer review site that is known for transparency.
- Unfortunately, this transparency has also led to an influx of fake and fraudulent reviews.
- To spot fake reviews, check out the timestamp of the reviews for a certain company. If a slew came in at once, they could be fake.
What is Trustpilot?
Trustpilot is a Danish review website in which consumers are encouraged to leave reviews on businesses throughout the world. It is particularly popular with large corporations looking to undergo a brand or image makeover.
Insider Tip
Trustpilot is a Danish review website in which consumers are encouraged to leave reviews on businesses throughout the world.
Are There Fake Trustpilot Reviews?
There sure are. Trustpilot has been plagued by fake reviews in the past, with the company being forced to delete millions of reviews at a time after it was discovered they were fake. The company has instituted multiple policies to keep fake reviews under control, including creating a number of proprietary algorithms. Even with all of this effort, however, fake reviews can still fall through the cracks.
How to Spot Fake Trustpilot Reviews
Here are a number of ways you can spot fake Trustpilot reviews so you can make informed purchase decisions throughout the Internet and at brick-and-mortar establishments. And if the social belonging theory works, the fake reviews problem becomes worse.
Insider Tip
You can see the time stamp on reviews, so do some scrolling to be sure that the reviews were written and posted in regular intervals.
Check the Timestamps
Look for reviews posted to a company’s Trustpilot page at or near the same exact time. If a company is getting hundreds of positive reviews streaming in at the same time, it is likely they are fake reviews and that they were purchased via unscrupulous means. You can see the time stamp on reviews, so do some scrolling to be sure that the reviews were written and posted in regular intervals.
Check Out the Reviewer
In addition to paying attention to timestamps, devote some time to looking at the reviewer and what else they have reviewed. Are all of their reviews positive and are they all directed at a single company? If so, you have a fake reviewer on your hands. If the reviewer posts a mix of reviews to multiple companies, it is likely that their review can be trusted.
Read and Reread
Take some time to read and reread the review itself. Does it seem like it was written by an actual person with an actual opinion about an actual company? If so, good. If it seems off, or like it was written by a bot, then it could be a fake review. Those not written by bots, like fraudulent peer reviewed articles, are much harder to spot.
Warning
Trustpilot has been plagued by fake reviews in the past, with the company being forced to delete millions of reviews at a time after it was discovered they were fake.
F.A.Q.S
What can you do if you spot fake reviews?
You can contact Trustpilot directly via the app, or call the company’s customer service line. Another way to issue a complaint of a fake review is to find them on a social media site, such as Twitter.
Why fake reviews?
Companies will purchase fake reviews in order to boost the aggregate score of their overall reviews. This will create a false image that they are a trusted brand for curious consumers.
Do Trustpilot reviews matter?
Trustpilot reviews do matter, as the company is one of the primary customer review sites out there. Positive Trustpilot reviews can make or break a company’s overall brand image.
STAT: 70% of global consumers believe that the censorship of customer reviews is a serious concern and 56% of people want more transparency about how review platforms publish their reviews. (source)
REFERENCES:
- https://www.trustpilot.com/blog/trends-in-trust/how-to-spot-a-fake-review
- https://www.trustpilot.com/
- https://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/207113087-How-do-we-make-sure-reviews-are-trustworthy-r
- https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2749863/2019-trustpilot/The%20Critical%20Role%20of%20Reviews%20in%20Internet%20Trust%20(UK)%20-%20final.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trustpilot
