The short answer on Trustpilot fake reviews
Trustpilot fake reviews are caught mainly by automated screening, with flags from businesses and consumers adding a second layer. A fake review is one not based on a genuine experience with the business. Trustpilot removes reviews it detects as fake and can penalize businesses that try to game their score.
The scale is large. In 2024, Trustpilot removed 4.5 million fake reviews, which was 7.4% of submissions. About 90% of those removals happened automatically.
The figure keeps changing. Trustpilot reports removing 7.8 million reviews detected as fake in 2025. Removal statistics change every year, so any number is a snapshot.
Where the fakes come from
Fakes can come from outsiders, competitors or a business boosting itself. Trustpilot’s rules cover the business side directly. Businesses may not invite reviews from family, staff or shareholders, or pressure reviewers.
Steps a business owner follows when a review looks fake
When a review looks fake, the owner checks it against the valid flagging reasons and flags it from the business account. Then the owner waits for a decision and keeps its own practices clean. The discipline lies in flagging only what qualifies.
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Read the review against your records. Look for a matching customer, order or visit. A review with no match may not be based on a genuine experience.
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Check it against the valid reasons. Businesses can flag reviews that are harmful, contain personal information, are promotional, aren’t based on a genuine experience or concern a different business. Disliking the star rating is not a valid reason.
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Flag it from Service Reviews. Business owners flag reviews from Service Reviews using the flag icon. The flag sends the review to Trustpilot for assessment.
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Consider a public reply. A calm reply explaining that no matching record exists can help readers. It should stay factual and avoid accusations.
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Report suspected fraud more widely if needed. Suspected fakes can also go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov. That route reaches the Federal Trade Commission rather than Trustpilot.
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Audit your own invitation habits. Businesses must invite all customers the same way. Selective invitations, including timing invites so only happy customers get them, are banned.
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Keep records of each flag. A short log of what was flagged and why helps if the same pattern repeats. It also keeps the business honest about its own reasons.
How detection works behind the scenes
Every submitted review is screened by automated systems that analyze IP addresses, device characteristics, location data and timestamps. The fuller account of how Trustpilot spots fakes belongs to the first part of this series. An owner does not need those details to flag a review correctly.
What to do while waiting
A flagged review stays under review until Trustpilot decides. The owner should avoid flagging the same review again or contacting the reviewer with pressure. Businesses may not pressure reviewers under the guidelines.
How much flagging happens
In 2024, consumers flagged 92 thousand reviews and businesses flagged 601 thousand. Businesses flag far more often than consumers. That gap is one reason Trustpilot polices flag misuse.
What changes the outcome of a fake review case
The outcome of a fake review case depends on three things. They are whether the flag fits a valid reason, whether the business follows the guidelines and whether Trustpilot finds misuse. Money plays no part, because businesses can never pay to remove reviews.
A flag that matches a valid reason
A flag succeeds when the review breaks a rule. A review about a different business or with no genuine experience behind it fits the guidelines. A fair but negative review does not, however much it stings.
The business’s own conduct
The guidelines apply to all businesses whether or not they pay. A business that breaks them weakens its position. Incentives such as discounts, prize entries, refunds or freebies for writing or editing reviews are not allowed.
Evidence of misuse on the business side
Misuse can lead to a Consumer Warning on the profile, a hidden TrustScore, account limits or legal action. A Consumer Warning is a public notice on a profile that tells readers about misuse. Trustpilot places prominent notices on profiles when it is investigating or acting against misuse.
UK CMA guidance from April 2025 lists warnings on trader pages as one possible platform sanction. That guidance applies in the UK. It shows that public warnings are a recognized tool beyond Trustpilot itself.
What a reader sees on a penalized profile
A notice on a profile changes how readers judge every review below it. A hidden TrustScore removes the headline number entirely. Either outcome costs a business more trust than a few negative reviews would.
The scoring rule on repeat reviewers
Only a reviewer’s most recent review counts toward TrustScore. A person who posts many reviews of the same business does not multiply their effect. That rule limits one simple form of manipulation.
What the platform is
For readers new to the platform, the basics of what Trustpilot is are covered in a separate guide on this hub. That guide explains the profile, the labels and the TrustScore. This guide stays with fake reviews.
Mistakes businesses make with fake review concerns
The common mistakes are flagging honest negative reviews, buying or incentivizing reviews, inviting only happy customers and asking friends or staff to post. Each one can turn a business from the victim of fakes into the source of misuse. All of them are named in Trustpilot’s guidelines.
Flagging reviews you simply dislike
Flagging a review only because of its star rating counts as misuse. It does not remove the review. It can count against the business.
Offering a reward for a review
A discount, a prize entry, a refund or a freebie in return for writing or editing a review is not allowed. The rule covers edits too. Asking an unhappy customer to change a review in exchange for a credit breaks it.
Inviting only the happy customers
Selective invitations are banned. Timing invites so that only pleased customers receive them counts as selective. Every customer has to be invited the same way.
Asking family, staff or shareholders
Businesses may not invite reviews from family, staff or shareholders. Those reviews are not independent. They also add risk if Trustpilot looks closely at the profile.
Assuming the platform is spotless
Wikipedia notes that independent investigations suggest platforms like Trustpilot still host fake reviews. Removals are large, but some fakes get through. A business should keep watching its profile rather than assume screening caught everything.
Treating every bad review as fake
A wave of negative reviews can feel like an attack. Often it reflects a real problem, such as a delay, a staff change or a pricing shift. Checking records first separates genuine complaints from suspect ones.
When the reviews are genuine, a flag will not help. A reply that acknowledges the issue and explains the fix usually does more for the profile. The TrustScore weights newer reviews more, so improvement shows up over time.
Ignoring the profile until there is trouble
Some owners only look at their profile after a bad review appears. Regular checks catch suspect reviews early, while they are still easy to match against records. A short weekly look is enough for most small businesses.
Accusing a reviewer in public
A public reply that calls a customer a liar can backfire if the review turns out to be genuine. A factual note that no record matches is safer. The flag is the proper channel for the accusation itself.
Frequently asked questions
What is Trustpilot?
Trustpilot is an open online review platform founded in Denmark in 2007 and headquartered in Copenhagen. Anyone can review any business there about a genuine experience. Reviews feed a TrustScore shown on each business profile.
Is Trustpilot free to use?
Claiming a profile on Trustpilot is free. The platform runs a freemium model, so some features are paid. Paying never lets a business remove reviews.
How can you tell if reviews are fake?
A review may be fake if it has no match in the business’s records or describes a different business. Trustpilot’s own screening looks at technical signals around each submission. A single sign is not proof, so a flag lets Trustpilot assess it.
How can I check for fake reviews online?
Read the review against what you know about the business and look for notices on the profile. A visible notice means Trustpilot is looking into or acting on misuse. Suspected fakes can also be reported to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Continue with the Trustpilot hub
The hub for Trustpilot explained pulls together each guide on this review platform. It explains how profiles, invitations and the TrustScore work, and how fake reviews are found and handled. Pick the guide that matches the question at hand.