How to spot fake reviews before you choose
Fake and manipulated reviews are now specifically prohibited in the United States and the United Kingdom, yet they still appear. Here are the signs you can check yourself, what each market's law covers and where to report a review you doubt.
- Markets
- US · UK · UAE & GCC
- Official sources
- 12
- Reviewed
- October 2026
- A burst of reviews in a short period, or reviewers with a single review to their name, are signals to check, not proof.
- Since 21 October 2024, the FTC rule bans fake reviews and incentives conditioned on a positive or negative review.
- Since 6 April 2025, UK law bans fake and concealed incentivised reviews and requires review publishers to take reasonable steps against them.
- UAE consumer law has no review-specific rule; its provisions on misleading descriptions and advertising apply instead.
- Read the negative reviews and the business's replies in full; they often reveal more than the average star rating.
What counts as a fake or manipulated review
A review is fake when it claims to describe a genuine experience that never happened: written by the business, its staff, a paid service or software that invents reviewers. Manipulation is wider. It covers rewarding customers only for favourable reviews, hiding the fact that a reviewer was paid or given something, posting staff or family reviews without saying so, deleting or burying critical reviews, and pressuring unhappy customers into silence. Fake negative reviews aimed at a competitor are part of the same problem, so one harsh review is not automatically genuine either.
Warning signs you can check yourself
No single sign proves a review is fake, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cautions that you cannot always tell a real review from a fake one just by looking. Patterns tell you more than any one post. Look at when reviews appeared, who wrote them and how specific they are, then compare what you find across more than one source before you rely on the overall rating.
- A burst of reviews over a short period, especially after months of silence
- Reviewer accounts that seem to exist only to post a single review
- Praise that never mentions the job, the date, the place or the people involved
- Near-identical wording repeated across several reviews
- Four-star ratings can be fake too: some fake reviews avoid a perfect score to look believable
- No critical reviews at all for a business that has traded for years
- Reviews mentioning a free service or discount with no disclosure label
United States: the FTC rule in force since October 2024
The FTC's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465, took effect on 21 October 2024. It prohibits creating or selling fake or false consumer reviews and testimonials, including reviews attributed to people who do not exist, such as AI-generated fakes, and buying or spreading them where a business knew or should have known they were false. It also bans offering compensation or other incentives conditioned, expressly or by implication, on a review expressing a particular sentiment, positive or negative.
Further sections cover undisclosed reviews by a company's officers or managers, company-controlled review websites presented as independent, suppression of negative reviews through unfounded legal threats, intimidation or false accusations, and buying or selling fake social media indicators such as bot followers or views. The rule lets courts impose civil penalties for knowing violations. A general request to every recent customer to leave a review is allowed. In December 2025 the FTC sent warning letters telling businesses that fake reviews may lead to enforcement action and fines.
United Kingdom: a banned practice since April 2025
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) adds fake reviews to its list of commercial practices that are banned in all circumstances. Schedule 20, paragraph 13, came into force on 6 April 2025. It bans a trader from submitting or commissioning a fake consumer review, defined as one that purports to be based on a genuine experience but is not, and from commissioning a review that conceals the fact it was incentivised. Publishing reviews in a misleading way is banned too, for example removing negative reviews or giving positive ones greater prominence.
A business that publishes consumer reviews must take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove fake reviews, concealed incentivised reviews and false or misleading review information, and offering services that help traders do any of this is also banned. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its fake reviews guidance (CMA208) on 4 April 2025. Under the same Act, the CMA can decide for itself whether consumer law has been broken, without going to court, and fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover.
UAE: misleading-claim rules, no review-specific rule
Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection, amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2023, and its Executive Regulation, Cabinet Resolution No. 66 of 2023, contain no article aimed specifically at consumer reviews or testimonials. The general rules still apply. The law gives consumers the right to true information about the services they receive, and Article 8 of the Executive Regulation treats a description, advertisement or offer as deceptive if it creates a misleading impression about matters such as price, payment terms, certificates, quality marks or the results a consumer can expect.
How those provisions apply to a particular fake review is for the consumer protection authorities to decide, so treat ratings, award badges and quoted testimonials as claims to verify rather than evidence. Check the trade licence on the official register, ask for references you can contact and keep screenshots of any rating that influenced your decision. Complaints about misleading claims go to the economic department of the emirate that licensed the business or to the Ministry of Economy and Tourism.
Weighing reviews against other evidence
Reviews are one stream of evidence, not the verdict. Read a spread of recent reviews from several sources and read the critical ones in full: a specific complaint followed by a calm, factual reply from the business can be more reassuring than a page of five-star praise. Then test what reviewers say against things you can verify, such as licence registers, written quotes and the business's complaints process. We keep our editorial assessment separate from customer reviews and never merge the two into one unexplained score.
Reporting a review you think is fake
Report it first to the website or platform where it appears, using its own reporting tool, and keep a dated screenshot. In the United States, the FTC asks people to report fake reviews at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, choosing Other if no category fits and writing fake review in the comments. In the United Kingdom, the Citizens Advice consumer service can advise you and pass information about complaints on to Trading Standards. In the UAE, report misleading advertising to the consumer protection department of the emirate that licensed the business.
Questions
Are fake reviews illegal in the UK?
Yes. Since 6 April 2025, Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lists submitting or commissioning fake reviews, and concealing that a review was incentivised, as banned practices. Publishing reviews in a misleading way is also banned, and the Competition and Markets Authority can investigate and fine businesses directly.
When did the FTC fake review rule take effect?
On 21 October 2024. The FTC announced the final rule on 14 August 2024, and it took effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. It is codified at 16 CFR Part 465 and covers businesses that create, buy, sell or misuse fake reviews and testimonials, with civil penalties available for knowing violations.
Can a business offer a discount for leaving a review?
It depends on the condition attached. Under the FTC rule, a business may invite all its customers to post reviews, but it may not make an incentive depend on a positive or negative sentiment. Under UK law, a review written in return for an incentive must not hide that fact. Look for a clear label on incentivised reviews.
Does UAE law ban fake reviews?
There is no UAE federal provision aimed specifically at consumer reviews. Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection and its Executive Regulation prohibit misleading advertising and deceptive descriptions of services, which can capture false claims about a business, but how they apply to an individual review is a matter for the authorities.
Should I distrust a business with only five-star reviews?
Not automatically, but look closer. Check how many reviews there are, when they were posted and whether the reviewers have reviewed anything else. A long-established business with no criticism anywhere is unusual. The FTC notes that asking only customers you expect to be happy is not banned by its rule but could still breach the FTC Act.
Sources
Official sources behind this guide, checked in October 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and TestimonialsFederal Trade CommissionUS
- Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and AnswersFederal Trade CommissionUS
- How To Evaluate Online ReviewsFederal Trade CommissionUS
- FTC warns businesses about fake reviewsFederal Trade CommissionUS
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20legislation.gov.ukUK
- Fake reviews (CMA208)Competition and Markets AuthorityUK
- CMA to boost consumer and business confidence as new consumer protection regime comes into forceCompetition and Markets AuthorityUK
- Contact the consumer serviceCitizens AdviceUK
- Federal Law No. (15) of 2020 on Consumer ProtectionUAE LegislationUAE & GCC
- Cabinet Resolution No. (66) of 2023 Concerning the Executive Regulations of Federal Law No. (15) of 2020 Concerning Consumer ProtectionUAE LegislationUAE & GCC
- Consumer protectionThe Official Platform of the UAE GovernmentUAE & GCC
- Consumer ComplaintsMinistry of Economy and TourismUAE & GCC