You've seen them — an avalanche of five-star reviews, all posted within the same week, all saying the same vague things. Fake reviews are epidemic on every major platform. Here's how to identify them, and what to do instead.
Check the review velocity: a sudden spike of reviews in a short window is a red flag. Legitimate businesses accumulate reviews steadily over time.
Read for specificity: real reviews mention specific people, dates, projects, or outcomes. Fake reviews tend to be generic and effusive — 'Amazing service! Highly recommend!'
Look at the reviewer's history: a reviewer who has only ever reviewed this one business, or who reviewed 20 businesses in one day, is suspicious.
Notice the grammar and phrasing: review farms often use similar sentence structures across multiple reviews. If ten reviews all say 'very professional and timely,' that's a signal.
Use the IBT directory: IBT-certified businesses have been independently verified using identity-confirmed client responses. No anonymous reviewer can game the process.
The IBT directory lists only businesses that have been independently certified through our rigorous acceptance sampling process.
Browse the Certified Directory