Tech Peak » Frauds, Forged, and Falsified: How to Spot and Fight Back at Fake Glassdoor Reviews

Frauds, Forged, and Falsified: How to Spot and Fight Back at Fake Glassdoor Reviews

by Tech Peak

Frauds, Forged, and Falsified: How to Spot and Fight Back at Fake Glassdoor Reviews

You’re thinking about applying for a new job. The salary and benefits are good, and you like the sound of the company culture. But before you hit “submit” on that application, you decide to do a little digging online. A quick Google search leads you to Glassdoor, where you find dozens of reviews from current and former employees. After reading through a few, you’re feeling pretty good about your decision to apply. That is until you come across a review that seems fishy. Is it real? Or is it fake?

It’s a valid question and one that a lot of us had at least once. With more and more people turning to online reviews to help them make purchasing decisions, it’s no surprise that businesses are starting to game the system by posting fake reviews. This is a growing and worrying trend to boost their ratings and make themselves look more appealing to potential customers or employees.

So how can you tell if a review is real or fake? Here are a few things to look for:

Unnatural Language

When you’re looking for honest feedback about a company, online reviews can be a helpful resource. But it’s important to be able to spot fake reviews, which may be posted by the company itself or by paid individuals. One key sign that a review is fake is if the language seems unnatural or contrived.

This can be either in the overall tone of the review or in specific phrases that are used. For example, if a review repeatedly mentions how “stunning” the office layout is, or how the company is “truly like family,” these could be signs that the review is not genuine. They may also include grammar and punctuation errors. If a review seems too good to be true or is filled with red flags like these, it’s likely fake.

There’s also the way the review was written and how unauthentic it sounds. Real reviews tend to be written in relatively natural language, while fake reviews often contain choppy sentences, unusual phrasing, or excessive use of keywords like “I loved my job as a customer service representative!” If a review sounds like it was written by a robot, there’s a good chance that it was.

Suspicious Timestamps

Another clue that a review may be fake is the timestamp. Take a close look at when the review was posted. If you see a large number of reviews posted within a very short time—especially if they’re all positive—that’s usually an indication that something fishy is going on. In some cases, businesses will post fake reviews en masse in an attempt to drown out any negative publicity they may be receiving. So if you see too many good reviews posted all at once, beware.

Also, if a review is dated several years ago but claims to be recent, or if it’s from an anonymous user with no other activity on the site, there’s a good chance it’s not legitimate. A lot of times, these reviews are fake and written by people who are paid by the company to write them. These “reviews” often lack detail or contain information that is vague and not specific to the company.

Incentivized Reviews

Last but not least, be on the lookout for incentivized reviews—reviews where the reviewer was given some sort of incentive (e.g., cash, free product, etc.) in exchange for their positive review. These are fairly easy to spot; just look for disclosures like “I was given this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion.”

To add, if a reviewer is offered a prize for writing a positive review, that’s an obvious sign that the review may not be objective. Incentivized reviews can also be more subtle; if a reviewer is given preferential treatment by the company in exchange for a positive review, that’s another indication that the review may not be trustworthy. These reviews are not necessarily always fake, but they should be taken with a grain of salt.

How Common Are These Fake Reviews?

A study by Harvard Business School found that 16 per cent of reviews on Glassdoor are fake. That might seem like a small number, but it adds up to a lot of fake reviews when you consider that there are millions of reviews on the site.

The study also found that the percentage of fake positive reviews is three times higher than the percentage of fake negative reviews. This isn’t all that surprising when you think about it; companies are more likely to want to write positive reviews about themselves than negative ones.

What You Can Do About Fake Reviews

If you’re a business owner and you came across a fake positive review, the best thing you can do is ignore it – chances are, no one will believe it anyway. But if you come across a fake negative review, there are a few steps you can take to combat it.

  • Talk It Out. The first step is to reach out to the reviewer directly and try to resolve the issue offline. If that doesn’t work, you can flag the review as misleading or inaccurate.
  • Get Glassdoor Reviews Removed. There are Glassdoor removal services that can help specifically for these kinds of scenarios. These services will work to identify and remove any fake reviews that have been posted, helping to restore your good reputation.
  • Invest in Emerging Tech. Another way to fight back is by investing in emerging fraud detection technology. This technology can help to identify fake reviews, review fraud, and other types of fraud. By being proactive and investing in this type of technology, businesses can help to minimize the impact of fake reviews.
  • You Can Always Explain. Finally, you can post a public response to the review, explaining why you think it’s fake and providing more context about the situation.

Conclusion

The bottom line is there are a few things you can do if you come across a fake review. Talk to the reviewer directly, flag the review, remove it with a removal service, invest in fraud detection technology, or post a public response. No matter what you choose to do, it’s important to stay proactive and vigilant against fake reviews. They can be damaging not only to your business’s reputation but also to the trust that consumers have in online reviews as a whole.

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