9 signs a review violates the platform’s policies (and 4 that do not)

01/ 111. You cannot find the reviewer anywhere in your records

No order, booking, appointment, invoice or job under that name, or anything around the date the review describes. On its own this is not proof (reviewers often use a nickname or a partner’s account), but it is the most common starting point for a review that is not based on a real experience, which every major platform removes. Google calls this fake engagement: content “not based on a real experience”. Write down what you checked.

02/ 112. It describes something you do not do

A review complaining about your delivery service when you do not deliver, a dish you have never served, a branch you do not have, or a member of staff who has never worked for you. Either the review is meant for another business or the writer is inventing it. Google’s fake engagement category covers content that “does not accurately represent the location”. We cover the first case in a Google review left on the wrong business.

03/ 113. Several similar reviews arrived at once

A handful of one-star reviews within hours or days, often short, vague or worded alike, after weeks of quiet. Real complaints arrive one at a time; coordinated ones arrive together, often after something public that has nothing to do with a purchase. Google’s fake engagement category covers content posted from multiple accounts by, or at the request of, one person, and content posted on a competitor’s listing to undermine it. See review bombing.

04/ 114. The account looks brand new or reviews everything everywhere

A profile with no photo, no history and this one review, or one that has reviewed businesses in several countries in the same week. You cannot prove an account pattern from the outside, and it is not a policy violation in itself, but it often sits alongside one of the other signs and makes the overall picture easier to see.

05/ 115. The reviewer is linked to a competitor

The name matches someone at a rival business, the review praises a named competitor while criticizing you, or it arrived just after a dispute with another firm. Google’s policy lists industry competitors among the affiliations that create a conflict of interest, and separately names posting on a competitor’s place to undermine it as fake engagement. Our guide on a competitor posting fake reviews covers what to do next.

06/ 116. The reviewer used to work for you

Details only an insider would know, a complaint about pay or shifts dressed up as a customer review, or timing that matches a difficult departure. Google’s policy names current or former employment as a conflict of interest, under its rating manipulation and misrepresentation categories. See a Google review from a former employee.

07/ 117. It names your staff or shares personal details

A review that names an ordinary member of your team with an accusation, gives out a phone number, an address or a car registration, or describes someone in a way that identifies them. Personal information is its own prohibited category in Google’s policy, and Trustpilot’s guidelines also bar it, whoever wrote the review.

08/ 118. It is abusive, hateful or threatening

Insults aimed at a person rather than at the service, slurs, threats, or sexual content. A harsh opinion about the service is allowed; abuse of the people providing it is not. Google lists harassment, hate speech, offensive content, obscenity and profanity, and sexually explicit content as separate prohibited categories. What decides it is what was said, however angry the reviewer was.

09/ 119. It is selling something or is about something else

A review that promotes another business, includes a link or a phone number to call instead, or is really about politics, a news story or an unrelated dispute. Google’s policy has separate categories for advertising and solicitation and for off-topic content, and Trustpilot’s guidelines bar promotional content.

10/ 11Which things feel like signs but are not?

These are the reasons owners most often give for a review being fake, and none of them violates policy on its own.

• It is unfair: a one-sided or exaggerated account of a real visit is an opinion, and opinions stay up.
• It is untrue: the platforms do not judge who is right in a factual dispute between a business and a real customer.
• The customer was difficult: a difficult customer is still a customer, and their review counts.
• It is only one star with no text: a rating with no words is allowed, and is not a sign of anything by itself.

If a review only has these features, the better use of your time is a calm public reply and more genuine reviews. We go through the wording in how to reply to a bad review.

11/ 11What should you do if you see one of the nine signs?

Do not reply accusing the reviewer of being fake, and do not ask your staff or friends to report it from their own accounts, because extra reports add noise and no weight. Keep a record of what you found, reply once and calmly, and have the review looked at properly. A sign is a reason to look, not a guarantee: the platform decides, against its own published policies.

We can take that part on. Send us the profile, and the free review check tells you within 24 hours which reviews show real signs of violating policy and which do not. For the ones that qualify, our team for review removal handles the whole case, and you are only invoiced for removals verified on your live profile.