Learn What happens when someone leaves a fake Google review?
What happens when someone leaves a fake Google review?
Recent reports have surfaced about some people leaving negative reviews of a business’s product or service on various sites, including Yelp! Many times these reviewers will claim to be someone who has done business with the company before and left good feedback, but then they will state why they are writing their bad review. They may say that the item was not as described, it did not work properly, etc.
But what happens when you read those reasons and you realize that none of them make sense? Or there are very few similarities between how the reviewer said his/her experience went and how the company actually works?
I have seen this happen many times now and I want to address it here. This article will talk more in depth about what goes into creating false online reviews. It will also discuss some things related to reviewing businesses on sites like Yelp! and other review websites.
The reviewer may face legal action for Fake Google Review
Recent events have made it clear that leaving fake reviews is an illegal act. It is now a criminal offense to leave unfair or negative comments about another person’s business on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google Maps.
The repercussions for doing so are serious – not only can you be sued by the company being reviewed, but your own employer may take legal action as well.
As many people know, review sites make use of third-party software to verify if all of the information posted about a business is genuine. If there is even one fake comment, the site will flag the item and potentially remove it because they want their website to be known for quality content.
Google in particular has become very aware of the importance of positive reviews. Over 5 million pieces of data are linked to each individual account, making malicious activity easy to trace. In fact, back in May 2018, we wrote about how Google took down over 500,000 accounts due to suspicion of review fraud.
So what happens when someone leaves a fake review?
Well, just like before, depending on where you left the review and for what reason, different actions will be taken!
The company may face legal action for Fake Google Review
Recent reports indicate that an ex-employee made fake reviews of the service in order to gain favor with other users. If you find a review that seems off, it’s important to check if it is authentic before clicking “leave a comment.”
It can be difficult to determine whether a given review is legitimate or not. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to do this.
You can visit the seller’s website directly to see if they have their own reviews. Also, most sellers will include their phone number and/or email address, which can help confirm that the person writing the review actually has access to the account.
By looking at past comments written by the reviewer under his or her name, you can get an idea of who this person is. It is very unlikely that someone would randomly change their style and tone of voice, so look out for patterns.
If you ever feel uncomfortable leaving a review, you don’t need to. Some sites offer reward programs where you earn points towards merchandise or services depending on how many reviews you write.
The Fake Google Review may have been a scam
Recent reports indicate that some individuals are leaving fake reviews for services to earn reward points or rewards from the service provider.
It looks like someone has left a negative Amazon review in your name!
This will hurt you at the very least if you are an online seller who has earned rewards through Amazon, but even if you are not, it is damaging to your business reputation.
What happens when someone leaves a fake review?
First, there are legal steps that must be taken against the person. Depending on what state you are in, this could include filing police report, opening up a case with our lawyers, etc.
Second, the company being reviewed can start fact-finding to determine whether the review is authentic. They may also pursue legal action directly against the reviewer.
But what about all of those fake reviews they say they received before the bad one?
The company may have been a scam for Fake Google Review
Recent reports indicate that some people are leaving fake reviews on Amazon and other sites to gain rewards or benefits for doing so. These rewards can include free merchandise, discounts, or even money.
Some individuals will create false identities to leave the review, while others will use reviews left by someone else as their own.
This is not only unethical, but it also presents a risk to the business being reviewed. If something has negative word of mouth, you could lose customers permanently due to bad reviews. Even one bad review can hurt your online reputation.
It is important to note that although this is unfortunately common in our society today, reviewing honestly and professionally is always the right way to go.
Businesses rely heavily on positive feedback, so if you ever feel uncomfortable writing a review, talk with colleagues or friends about the product or service. You should never write a review unless you truly like what you purchased and experienced enough to give an honest opinion.
The Fake Google Review may have been beneficial to the company
Even if you don’t like what a business does, leaving a good review can help them grow their audience and awareness. It may even inspire other people to go to that business or bring in more business for it.
By creating a positive experience for its customers, Uber has inspired many others to start their own ride-hailing services and earn money while helping out the environment.
By giving negative reviews to Amazon, reviewer “Lisa” lost some revenue for the company which she struggled to acknowledge. She eventually realized her mistake and apologized, but only after being exposed.
By writing fake reviews, reviewers risk getting caught and facing serious consequences. They could lose their credit cards, social media accounts, and even be prosecuted for fraud. Some states consider posting false online reviews as wire fraud, a felony offense.
The Fake Google Review may have been detrimental to the company
Recent reports claim that an individual left what seems like a fake or manipulative negative review of a business’s website on one of the most popular reviewing sites — Yelp!
This person did so to promote their own personal business, not those of the other companies mentioned in this article. It is important to note that while this reviewer was clearly motivated by self-interest, they went into great detail and used solid arguments to back up many criticisms of the businesses they reviewed.
The problem with these reviews is that they can hurt the business being reviewed. Even if you believe that the claims made about the business are false, others might read them and agree.
Yelp has a policy that allows people to dispute reviews. This is good because it gives voice to all sides of the argument and helps prevent individuals from ignoring the site completely.
However, there is a time limit for how long users can challenge a review. Only two weeks! That is no time at all when you consider that some small businesses cannot afford to defend themselves against attacks for more than a few months.
What happens to these disputed reviews now? They sit there gathering view counts without ever reaching the eyes of anyone who could benefit from reading them.
The Fake Google Review may have influenced the customer
Recent reports indicate that an ex-employee left a fake, negative review of their employer on Yelp! to influence potential customers to visit there site and write a bad review as well.
This employee was let go for this malicious activity and it is very important to be aware of such behaviors in employees.
Yelp has a policy against falsified reviews and will thoroughly investigate any allegations of this nature.
If you find yourself looking at a fake or misleading review site, do not leave a reply on the review. Instead, use other sites to check if the information is accurate.
The best way to avoid getting involved with false reviewers is to never leave a review online unless you are sure of the source, and you make sure your comments reflect the truth about the company and individual people you contact from the website.
The Fake Google Review may have influenced other customers
Even if you’re not the one who left the fake review, it can still hurt your business.
If someone leaves a negative review because of something you did as a business owner, that could affect how many people visit or come back to your site.
People read reviews before making buying decisions so even a few bad comments can influence their choice.
That’s why it is important to stick up for yourself. Fight back against malicious reviewers by adding complaints of your own and highlighting any good experiences you’ve had with them.
But what happens when someone hands you a fake review?
It’s definitely an uncomfortable situation but there are things you can do to prevent it from hurting your business too much. Read on to find out more!