Fake Beauty Reviews: How To Spot a Fraud
The FTC Claims Sunday Riley Faked Its Product Reviews For 2 Years — Here's How To Spot a Fraud
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Seeing 50 brand-new reviews posted all on the same date is enough to raise an eyebrow. "Something is wrong if a product one day has 10 reviews and the next day has 300 and then 500 and then 1000," said Gross. When you're shopping a new product and it has no reviews, check back in a few days to see how much the volume of reviews increase. If it's substantial, "this is a dead giveaway that they are using fake reviews, especially when they are positive."
He added, "If you stumble upon a new product, we advise that you sort the reviews from oldest to newest and look for groups of reviews around the launch date and if those reviews are from people with only one review or barren accounts. Fake reviews will usually show up at the beginning of a product's publication on a platform." Or, if you notice a cluster of 4 and 5 reviews that pop up in the weeks following a 1-star review, proceed with caution.
Unhappy costumers (read: people who did not get paid for their review) are less likely to hold back on their authentic opinion in a product review, and thus might leave a 1-star rating. Check those out first to learn the real, unfiltered complaints about the product. Gross says if there are none, but you notice a huge amount of 5-star ratings, that's a cause for suspicion.
Individual retailers like Ulta Beauty or Sephora are a generally safe place to buy cosmetics from because they do not stock third-party sellers who can sell counterfeit products. On Amazon, you have to be mindful that any negative or positive reviews listed under a product might not be about the authentic product itself. In these cases, Gross stresses the importance of looking for "Sold by Amazon" and not "Fulfiled by Amazon" with posts. If all else fails, it's best to triple check with the company's website to ensure Amazon is an authorized retailer.