You Found Fake Reviews. Now What? 5 Steps to Take

So you ran a product through a review checker and the results came back ugly. Red flags everywhere. The trust score is low, the timing looks suspicious, and half the five-star reviews read like they were written by the same person.

Now what?

Most review checking tools stop at the diagnosis. They tell you something is wrong but don't tell you what to do about it. Here are the actual steps worth taking, in order of usefulness.

Step 1: Don't Buy the Product (Obviously)

This sounds obvious, but the urge to rationalize is strong. "Maybe the reviews are fake but the product is still fine." That's possible. But if the seller felt they needed fake reviews, they probably know their product can't sell on its own merits.

Save the product URL. If you want it later, you can check back in a few weeks to see if the review situation changes.

If you already bought it: Skip to Step 3.

Step 2: Find a Legitimate Alternative

Don't just give up on the purchase. Search for similar products and run them through a review checker too. Use our fake review detection tool to compare alternatives. Look for products where:

• Reviews are spread naturally over months or years, not clustered in bursts
• Three-star reviews exist (honest products always have them)
• Reviewers mention specific details like "after using for three months" or "the left handle is slightly loose"
• The rating distribution follows a natural curve, not 90%+ five-star

You'll often find that the legitimate alternative has fewer reviews but a more honest profile. Fewer real reviews beats hundreds of fake ones.

Step 3: Report the Fake Reviews to Amazon

Amazon has a formal process for this, and they do act on reports. Here's the specific path:

1. Go to the product page 2. Find a review you believe is fake 3. Click "Report" at the bottom of that review 4. Select the reason (most commonly "Suspicious reviews" or "This review is not about the product") 5. Submit

Important context: Amazon won't tell you what happens after you report. You won't get a confirmation email or outcome notification. But their review integrity team does investigate. In aggregate, reports matter.

If you want to go further, you can email Amazon's review integrity team directly at community-help@amazon.com with the product URL and your concerns.

Step 4: File an A-to-Z Guarantee Claim (If You Already Bought)

If you purchased a product and believe the fake reviews materially misrepresented it, you may have grounds for an A-to-Z Guarantee claim. This is Amazon's buyer protection program.

When this applies: - The product doesn't match what the reviews described - The product quality is significantly worse than the reviews suggested - The product arrived damaged or different from the listing

How to file: 1. Go to Your Orders → find the order 2. Select "Problem with order" 3. Choose "Product not as described" or similar 4. Explain that the reviews appear to be fake and the product doesn't match expectations

This won't always work. But if the product genuinely didn't deliver on what the manipulated reviews promised, it's worth trying.

Step 5: Leave an Honest Review (If You Bought It)

If you purchased the product, your honest review is the single most valuable thing you can contribute. One detailed, genuine review with photos can do more to help other shoppers than any number of tool ratings.

Write a review that includes: - Your actual experience using the product - Specific measurements, timeframes, or results - Photos showing the real product - Clear mention of how the product compared to expectations

Don't write: - "This product has fake reviews" (Amazon may remove this as it's about the reviews, not the product) - Anything based on assumptions rather than your actual experience - A one-star review purely out of frustration about fake reviews

Keep your review focused on the product itself. The review integrity problem is Amazon's to solve. Your review's job is to give future shoppers accurate information.

What About Reporting to the FTC?

The FTC issued rules in 2024 making fake reviews explicitly illegal, with fines up to $51,744 per violation. If you encounter what appears to be a large-scale fake review operation, you can report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Realistically, the FTC prioritizes cases with broad consumer impact. A single product with 50 fake reviews probably won't trigger an investigation on its own. But these reports contribute to pattern detection. If the FTC sees hundreds of reports about the same seller or review farm, that's when action happens.

The Uncomfortable Reality

Most of the time, finding fake reviews means moving on to a different product. The reporting steps help in aggregate but rarely produce immediate results for you personally.

The real value is in the habit: check reviews before buying, spot the fakes, choose products with honest feedback. Over time, those small decisions add up to better purchases and less money wasted on products that can't stand on their own. For a complete checklist, see our safe Amazon shopping guide.