Can you trust five stars?

Before you book a hotel, choose a restaurant or buy headphones online, you probably check the reviews. It makes sense: hundreds of strangers feel more reliable than an advert, and 4.8 stars looks a lot safer than 3.9. The trouble is that a growing share of those stars may be fake. Here's how they get there, and how to protect yourself.

Fake reviews have become an industry of their own. Some sellers pay agencies to post dozens of glowing comments, often written by people who've never touched the product. Others offer a refund or a free gift in exchange for five stars, which quietly pushes honest buyers to exaggerate. A few even post negative reviews about their competitors. For a small online shop, a handful of bad ratings can make the difference between success and failure, so the pressure to cheat is strong.

Don't rely on your instincts. Studies have found that most people are no better than chance at telling a real review from an invented one. Instead, look for patterns. Be suspicious of lots of reviews posted within a few days, very similar wording across different reviews, and praise that never describes how the product was actually used. Reviews that repeat the brand name again and again are another warning sign.

Read the three-star reviews first. They tend to be the most balanced, because the people who write them usually mention both what worked and what didn't. Check whether the seller explains how reviews are collected. Look at the reviewers' profiles, too: an account that has only ever posted five-star reviews should make you wonder. And treat a perfect score with care. A product with thousands of reviews and almost no complaints deserves a second look.

The law is starting to help. In 2024 the United States banned buying and selling fake reviews, and companies that break the rule can face heavy fines. The UK has gone further: since April 2025 it has been illegal there to post fake reviews or to hide negative ones. Big platforms also use software to remove millions of suspicious reviews every year. None of this will catch everything, so it's still worth reading with a sceptical eye.