Fake Reviews: How They Hurt and What to Do

10-15% of online reviews are estimated to be fake. Some are purchased by businesses trying to inflate their ratings. Others are attacks from competitors or disgruntled former employees.

For home service contractors, fake reviews create real damage. A fraudulent 1-star review sits on your Google Business Profile, visible to every homeowner searching for your services.

Understanding how to identify fake reviews, report them effectively, and build a review profile that overwhelms fraudulent attacks is essential for protecting your business.

The damage fake reviews cause

A single 1-star review drops your average rating. If you have 50 reviews averaging 4.8 stars, one fake 1-star drops you to 4.7. Doesn’t sound significant until you realize that decimal can affect your local ranking position.

The click-through rate impact is measurable. Businesses with 4.5-5.0 star ratings get 28% more clicks than those with 4.0-4.4. Every fake negative review pushes you toward that lower bracket.

Research shows a single 1-star review can reduce click-through rates by 9%. For a contractor getting 1,000 monthly impressions in local search, that’s 90 fewer potential customers seeing your website. At a 4% conversion rate and $2,500 average ticket, you’re looking at roughly $900 in monthly lost revenue from one fraudulent review.

The psychological damage compounds. Homeowners read negative reviews with more attention than positive ones. A fake 1-star that claims you overcharged or damaged property creates doubt even if 200 other reviews contradict it.

How to identify fake reviews

Fake reviews, both positive and negative, share common patterns.

No service history. Check your records. If someone claims to be a customer but never appears in your CRM or payment history, that’s a red flag. Competitors and angry former employees often leave reviews pretending to be customers.

Vague details. Real customers mention specific services, technicians by name, and actual outcomes. “Terrible service, would never use again” with no specifics suggests fabrication.

Profile patterns. Click the reviewer’s name. Fake review accounts often have few total reviews, all written in a short time period, or all 1-star attacks on local businesses. Real customers have mixed review histories across multiple business types.

Location mismatch. Google sometimes shows reviewer locations. Someone from a city 500 miles away reviewing your local plumbing company is suspicious.

Timing clusters. Multiple negative reviews appearing within days, all from new accounts, suggests a coordinated attack.

Competitor mentions. Reviews that say “went with ABC Company instead, so much better” are often planted by ABC Company.

Former employee language. Reviews mentioning internal processes, specific employees by name, or business practices that customers wouldn’t know about often come from former staff.

Document everything before reporting. Screenshot the review, note the date, check your customer records, and examine the reviewer’s profile. This evidence strengthens your removal request.

Reporting fake reviews to Google

Google’s review removal process has improved but remains imperfect. Success depends on how you report.

Step 1: Flag the review from your Google Business Profile dashboard. Go to Reviews, find the fake review, click the three dots, and select “Flag as inappropriate.”

Step 2: Fill out the form with specific violation categories. Common applicable categories include “Off-topic” (if they’re not a customer), “Fake engagement” (if it’s a competitor attack), or “Conflict of interest” (if it’s a former employee).

Step 3: Document your case. Gather evidence that the reviewer was never a customer, including CRM records, payment records, and appointment logs.

Step 4: Submit a formal review removal request through Google Business Profile Help. This escalates beyond the automated flagging system. Include your documented evidence.

Step 5: Use the Google Business Profile support contact for persistent issues. Live support can sometimes expedite review of your case.

Google removes roughly 55% of legitimately flagged fake reviews within 30 days. When businesses provide documentation proving the reviewer was never a customer, success rates climb to 73%.

If Google declines removal, you can appeal. New evidence or additional context sometimes changes the outcome.

Responding to fake reviews publicly

While fighting for removal, your response to the fake review is visible to every potential customer reading it.

Response strategy matters.

Stay professional. Never get defensive or accusatory, even when you know the review is fraudulent. Potential customers judge you by how you handle criticism, not by the criticism itself.

Deny without attacking. “We don’t have any record of a customer with this name and couldn’t locate this service in our records. We take all feedback seriously and would like to resolve any genuine issues. Please contact us directly at [phone] so we can investigate.”

This response signals to readers that something may be off with the review while demonstrating your professionalism.

Document your response date. If you respond professionally and the fake reviewer never follows up, that pattern becomes visible to readers.

Don’t engage in back-and-forth. One professional response is enough. Extended arguments make you look defensive.

Read more about responding to negative reviews.

When competitors are attacking

Coordinated fake review campaigns from competitors are illegal under FTC regulations and potentially actionable.

If you suspect a competitor is behind fake reviews:

Document patterns. Screenshot everything with timestamps. Note similarities between reviews (similar language, timing, profile patterns).

Check other businesses. Competitors engaging in fake review attacks often target multiple local businesses. Connect with other contractors in your area.

Consult an attorney. Depending on the damage and evidence, you may have grounds for a cease-and-desist letter or defamation claim.

Report to the FTC. File a complaint at FTC.gov. The FTC has taken action against review fraud, particularly in organized campaigns.

Consider a reputation management service. These firms specialize in identifying fake review networks and have established relationships with Google’s trust and safety team.

Building review volume as defense

The best protection against fake reviews is overwhelming legitimate review volume.

One fake 1-star among 50 reviews is damaging. One fake 1-star among 500 reviews is noise.

Math: 50 reviews at 4.8 stars plus 1 fake 1-star = 4.7 average. 500 reviews at 4.8 stars plus 1 fake 1-star = 4.79 average.

At scale, fake reviews can’t move the needle. They’re still visible, still annoying, still worth fighting, but they can’t tank your overall rating.

High review velocity also signals to Google that you’re a legitimate, active business. This can influence how Google handles your flagged review reports.

Preventing fake review damage

Proactive monitoring catches fake reviews faster.

Set up Google Alerts for your business name. You’ll get notified when new mentions appear online, including reviews.

Check your Google Business Profile weekly. New reviews should be responded to within 24-48 hours, whether positive, negative, or suspicious.

Train staff to recognize fake reviews. Your team may remember customers that your CRM doesn’t capture perfectly. Their memory can help identify legitimate vs. fraudulent claims.

Use review monitoring software. Several platforms alert you immediately when new reviews appear and can help flag suspicious patterns automatically.

Legal options for persistent attacks

Small claims court is an option for documented damage from fake reviews.

If you can prove:

The review is demonstrably false
The reviewer is identifiable
You suffered quantifiable financial harm

You may be able to recover damages. Consult with a local attorney about defamation claims in your jurisdiction.

Several contractors have won judgments against former employees who posted fabricated reviews. These cases typically require proving the review contained factually false statements and that the business lost revenue as a result.

Lawsuits are expensive and time-consuming. For most single fake reviews, the ROI isn’t there. Reserve legal action for sustained campaigns causing significant documented harm.

Fake positive reviews hurt too

Some contractors buy fake positive reviews. Bad idea.

Google’s fake review detection has improved dramatically. Purchased reviews often get removed in bulk, sometimes months after they were posted. When 50 reviews disappear overnight, your rating crashes and your legitimacy is destroyed.

FTC regulations prohibit fake reviews. Businesses have been fined for purchasing reviews or incentivizing reviews without disclosure.

Consumers are increasingly sophisticated at spotting fake positives. Generic 5-star reviews from profiles with no history are obvious. They erode trust rather than building it.

If competitors report your fake reviews, Google will investigate. The consequences can include profile suspension.

Build real reviews from real customers. The ROI is better, the risk is zero, and the results are permanent.

The platform perspective

Google removes millions of fake reviews annually. Their detection systems consider:

Reviewer account age and activity patterns
IP address and device fingerprinting
Linguistic analysis of review text
Velocity patterns (too many reviews too fast)
Relationship mapping between reviewers and businesses

These systems are imperfect. Fake reviews still get through. But the trajectory is toward better detection, not worse.

Yelp has even more aggressive filtering, often removing legitimate reviews that their algorithm deems suspicious. HomeAdvisor, Angi, and other platforms have their own review policies.

The best strategy remains the same across platforms: generate high volumes of legitimate reviews, monitor for attacks, report violations with documentation, and respond professionally to everything.

Long-term reputation strategy

Fake reviews are a symptom of reputation risk. The cure is building a review profile so strong that attacks can’t damage you.

Contractors with 300+ genuine reviews, strong velocity, and professional responses to all feedback are insulated from fake review damage. They still deal with occasional attacks, but those attacks don’t move rankings, don’t tank ratings, and don’t scare off customers.

Building that profile takes 12-24 months of consistent effort. There’s no shortcut. But once you have it, you’ve built a competitive moat that protects your business and is extremely difficult for competitors to replicate.

Key Takeaways