Sold for S$5 per post: Inside the persistent scourge of fake positive reviews online
CNA found six businesses that have commissioned two suppliers to solicit fake reviews to improve their online presence, including a law firm, funeral home and a private investigator.
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SINGAPORE: When choosing where to eat or which vendor to hire, opting for a business rated five stars on Google over a four-star competitor seems like an obvious choice.
But for anyone reading the actual reviews closely, some of the testimonials appear unrealistic and contrived – anonymous users raving about the professionalism of a divorce lawyer or gushing over the “seamless” experience arranged by a funeral parlour in the midst of deep personal grief.
The phenomenon – which CNA had reported about as far back as 2018 – points to a persistent scourge of deceptive online endorsements that authorities have warned about for years.
In late 2025, CNA spotted listings on Carousell offering money in exchange for posting reviews.
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After responding to the listings – offering S$1 to S$2 per review – posted by what appeared to be fake review suppliers, this reporter was tasked to give glowing but misleading testimonials for six businesses in Singapore.
The businesses include a law firm, a funeral home, a private investigator, a logistics company, a hair salon and a maid agency.
This reporter did not receive any payment or commercial incentive for seven Google reviews that were posted and have since been removed.
When this reporter identified herself and sought comment from two fake review suppliers, one read the message but did not reply while the other deleted the entire conversation history.
Fake reviews persist despite the authorities taking action and review platforms such as Google instituting policies against inauthentic reviews and using technology to remove suspicious content.
In 2024, furniture retailer Loft Home became the first company in Singapore to be formally censured for publishing fake reviews.
Last year, a car detailing firm admitted to posting fake AI-generated five-star reviews on Sgcarmart.
In response to CNA’s queries, a spokesperson from the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) said posting fake reviews is an unfair practice that can mislead consumers into thinking the product or service is more popular than it actually is.
While difficult to detect and investigate, CCS said if such practices are uncovered, it would take action against businesses that procure, post or facilitate the posting of fake reviews.
These unfair trade practices contravene the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. Under the act, it is an unfair practice for businesses to post false reviews to deceive or mislead a consumer.
If a court finds that a supplier has engaged in an unfair practice, it can order restitution or award the consumer damages, among other consequences.
A Carousell spokesperson said that the company takes a serious view of the sale of prohibited content, including listings on buying and selling Google reviews.
“We are aware of such listings and are in the process of using relevant keywords to identify and remove them,” the spokesperson said, adding that moderation takes place after the listing is posted, so it may take time before its artificial intelligence system detects it.
Users can also report problematic listings, and reports are typically reviewed within 24 hours of submission, said Carousell.
Google did not respond to CNA’s questions about fake reviews, but its user-generated content policy page said it has automated systems and trained operators monitoring Google Maps for suspicious behaviour.
“Contributions to Google Maps should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business, and a review or rating should reflect an actual experience with a business, and be genuine and unbiased,” the website said, adding that content is sometimes removed when policy violations are identified.
POSTING FAKE REVIEWS
But several fake reviews that this reporter posted remained on Google’s platform for some time before she took them down.
Listings on Carousell also appear to avoid detection for months. As of Sep 25, there are multiple listings seeking people to post reviews, requesting a review exchange, or advertising their services to businesses willing to pay for fake reviews.
“Account must be at least one year old, and at least local guide level five and above,” said one listing seeking to enlist reviewers by paying S$5 for each fake post. “Payment will be made 24 hours after review.”
Google’s local guide level increases based on the user’s activity, such as posting reviews, photos and captions. Posts by a user with a higher local guide level are usually seen as authentic.
Another Carousell user seeking to entice businesses to buy fake reviews claimed he has 10 Google accounts and can post “very good reviews for very cheap”, adding that those who buy more than five reviews can get a discounted rate.
After CNA made a Carousell offer to someone claiming to be a supplier of fake reviews, the conversation was moved to Telegram, where – within minutes – this reporter was told exactly what to post for the first assignment.
Posing as someone named “Jackson”, this reporter was asked to put up a five-star review for a law firm that had engaged the supplier of falsified reviews. The review – posted word for word from the text provided by the supplier – praised a lawyer from the firm who kept Jackson updated on legal proceedings at every stage.
Using another account and posing as “Sam”, this reporter similarly left a five-star review for a funeral home, praising the seamless service provided to Sam and his fake wife using verbatim text from the supplier.
This reporter was also asked to join a Telegram channel, which assigned new tasks to participants to post fake reviews on platforms other than Google.
Over the next few days, when a new Singapore business purchased reviews, this reporter would be asked to post a review by the fake review suppliers.
Over the course of one month, CNA found six Singapore businesses that had paid for such reviews.
CNA has contacted these firms for comment and is withholding their identities pending their responses.
WHY DO SOME COMPANIES DO IT?
Businesses recognise that online reviews play an important role in shaping reputation and influencing decisions, said Associate Professor Alton Chua of Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.
“In highly competitive environments, some may see fake reviews as a quick and relatively inexpensive way to lure customers,” he said.
This can create a vicious cycle where competitors feel pressured to follow suit and engage in conduct that raises serious ethical concerns and may also carry legal consequences,” said Assoc Prof Chua, whose research interests involve user-generated content.
Mr Marcus Ho, founder of digital marketing agency Brew Interactive, said businesses seek to influence consumer trust and improve search rankings through buying fake reviews.
Increasingly, they may also do so to boost how their brand appears in artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini, he added.
Several of the companies that CNA posted fake reviews for had numerous one-star reviews.
One user described her experience with the law firm as upsetting, while another review named a lawyer and said it was difficult to get updates from her.
For the funeral home, one user expressed extreme anger and disappointment over how her brother’s funeral was handled, while two others complained of hidden costs.
Another user said she did not get the empathetic service that other reviewers raved about, and described the funeral home staff as tactless.
A private investigation company had reviews alleging a lousy surveillance job and requests for more payment.
CNA was unable to verify if these negative reviews were genuine. All three companies responded to some of the negative reviews, with the private investigation company accusing users of leaving fake reviews.
SUSPICIOUS SIGNS
Mr Ho said consumers can look for patterns in reviews to determine if they are genuine.
“Warning signs include sudden spikes in five-star reviews, generic language, repeated use of the full brand name in reviews, and reviewer profiles with little history,” he said.
Reading lower-rated reviews first and comparing feedback across platforms can also be helpful, he said.
Assoc Prof Chua said fake reviews used to be easier to spot because of exaggerated praise and obvious grammatical errors, but have now become more professional and authentic-looking.
“Generative AI has further amplified this trend by making it almost costless to generate large volumes of polished, convincing reviews that are almost indistinguishable from genuine customer feedback,” he said.
Alarm bells should ring if a large number of reviews appear within a very short period with similar wording, or if reviews are overwhelmingly positive but lack details about the experience, he added.
“But the reality is that there is rarely a definitive giveaway. Fake reviews are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so consumers should think in terms of probabilities rather than certainty and look for patterns of suspicious behaviour rather than individual red flags,” said Assoc Prof Chua.
In one example of suspicious reviewer behaviour, CNA observed three five-star reviews being posted on the law firm’s page within a 10-minute window by different accounts.
“While review manipulation may deliver short-term gains, the long-term costs of regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage and the loss of consumer trust can be far greater,” said Assoc Prof Chua.
Source: CNA/an(nj)
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