Look how old this is! I post at SearchCommander.com now, and this post was published 11 years 8 months 17 days ago. This industry changes FAST, so blindly following the advice here *may not* be a good idea! If you're at all unsure, feel free to hit me up on Twitter and ask.
I’m writing this because Google needs your help to weed out fake reviewers, and this is how I reported one.
I just reported this user, Heather C-H, where I suspect that it’s a fake profile for a number of reasons…
- No “About” information
- No personal information
- No full name
- No profile photo
- No images, albums or videos
- All reviews are for businesses in different parts of the country / world.
- All of their “reviews” were created within a one month time frame.
- Several of the reviews are written about the same industry, (medical).
- All reviews are negative except for one. (Might that be who hired them?)
Any of these reasons alone are not enough to add up to a fake profile, but combined, I do believe that it does indicate that this is a fraudulent account. These fake reviews are hurting businesses, and I think Google has a responsibility to take action against these fakes, giving the business owners the benefit of the doubt.
These are the steps I took to report the fake profile to Google…
1. I logged into my Google account, then visited their reviews page.
2. I went to the top right, the “gear” icon, and chose “Report / Block Heather”.
3. On the next screen, I chose the third option, “This profile violates other User Content and Conduct Policies”, because the policy they are violating is #12, “Impersonation or Deceptive Behavior”
4. Then I hit “DONE although I was not actually done, because on the next screen I selected the top option, “Unwanted Commercial Content or Spam”, and hit “Okay”.
5. On the next and final screen I saw this thank you message –
So, with a little luck, Google will review the profile, and remove it, along with the fake reviews, from their listings.
Scott, this is perfect, thanks for the tip. We’re seeing similar issues with fake reviews on Yelp as well and now folks are starting to do negative tweeting with egghead accounts. I used to think there was no such thing as bad press, but when people resort to fake negative reviews that’s just desperation and fear. It’s too bad people have to resort to those tactics.
I was scammed by a guy who has the email address [email protected] I had paid the delivery fee to have them sent to me and list 250$. I have reported it to the police. This guy is still doing it today. Google will nit let me report it because I am both the person being impersonated and nor do I work fir the fake company of which this address runs through. I’m not sure what to do now.
I’m not sure why you posted this here, but it sounds like you’ve done all you can. I hope you’ve learned a lesson here…
well, I reported it here because the title of this article is “help weed out fake accounts”. That was a fake account and it wont let me report it because I am not the person it’s impersonating. How do you go about reporting fake accounts on google or any of these other places if there’s not an option?
How do I flag 66 fake Google reviews at one time..they are copy pasted from other sites and posted using fake accounts. Some are setup by the owners using hacked profile pictures? Thanks in advance.
Sorry Dave – There’s no way I know of to flag multiple reviews at once. However, you might try logging into Google as the business owner, then phoning Google via the Contact Support link on the top right. Speaking to a rep may get you a faster resolution….
I’m not a business owner. I got catfished into believing they were a 5 star rated company only to realize the reviews were fake. I’ll just post a review telling everyone they are a scam I guess.
is there a way to report a business for writing fake reviews for their business to attract more business?
Almost all of the reviews written have no profile picture and have no posts, or no other reviews.
They are using their reviews to attract people losing their homes from foreclosure. How can I prevent them from continuing to do this?
Sorry, Laura, for the delay. Your comment was sent to spam, I apologize. Yes, certainly there is on Google, by “Flagging” the review with specifics. details: https://support.google.com/business/answer/2622994?hl=en