Everyone should be using Fakespot for protection from fake reviews and scammy merchants!

Fakespot is a Mozilla product which helps detect fake reviews and scams while you're online shopping. It will help you navigate fake reviews and alert you to scammy websites. I highly recommend it!

What is Fakespot?

Fakespot by Mozilla is a tool developed by Mozilla that detects fake reviews and scams on various websites, including Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Walmart, BestBuy, and Tripadvisor. This tool helps you avoid bad products or scammy sellers, especially on aggregate sites with multiple vendors like Amazon or Walmart. It also apparently can find good deals with trusted merchants, although I haven’t been able to have that functionality show up yet.

Fakespot can be used in various ways. It is an extension you can install on your browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) and is also available on iOS and Android via app (although I didn’t find this as useful). You can also manually analyze a URL on their website with the Fakespot Analyzer.

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How Fakespot Works

Fakespot uses advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyze reviews and detect patterns indicative of inauthenticity. Here’s a closer look at how it works:

1. Review Analysis: Fakespot scans the text of each review, looking for common indicators of fake reviews such as overly positive language, repetitive phrases, or lack of detail. It also evaluates the reviewer’s profile—accounts that leave multiple five-star reviews across different unrelated products are flagged as suspicious.

2. Grading System: After analyzing the reviews, Fakespot assigns a grade from A to F. An “A” grade indicates that the reviews are highly likely to be genuine, while an “F” suggests that a significant portion of the reviews are likely fake. This grading system applies both to individual products and sellers.

   From Fakspots’s FAQ:

   A and B: Reviews are reliable
   C: Mix of reliable and unreliable reviews
   D and F: Insufficient reliable reviews

   

   An example of a Fakespot review of a product.

3. Transparency and Trustworthiness: Fakespot doesn’t just give you a grade; it provides detailed explanations for why a particular grade was given by breaking out common review notes sorted by category. This transparency helps you understand the underlying issues, whether it’s the reviews themselves or the seller’s history. For good grades, you can quickly summarize the reviews and see the pros and cons of the product and seller.

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How to Get Started with Fakespot