Business paying for fake 5 star reviews on Google Maps

[JesseJamesWest]

CASE ID: [3-5931000040990]

Hello,

I am writing to you because I conducted an in-depth investigation into a business that I believe has been buying fake 5-star reviews in bulk since 2023.
At the end of my investigation, I reported this to Google through the Business Redressal Form and attached my evidence.

Today, it has been four months, and so far, Google has taken 0 action. It honestly makes me wonder whether buying fake reviews is allowed.

Link to all the evidence : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HKpGcV9KGCerdnf9fQQq_a_B4vSTYwbDqlwobCL0PaE/edit?usp=sharing

During my investigation, I was able to identify part of a network of accounts. I found 95 accounts that reviewed the exact same businesses on Google Maps across France, despite the geographical distances involved. For example, 32 people who reviewed this business also reviewed the same clairvoyance business in northern France, and 21 reviewed the same locksmith/glazier business.

Is it normal for Google to take no action after 4 months ? What more can I do?

I doubt that most reports are as detailed as mine, with an investigation, screenshots, linguistic analysis, identification of part of the account network, analysis of the account profiles, and so on.
Despite all this, Google has still done nothing four months later.

Thank you for your help!

 

[fisicx]

There are millions of fake reviews reported daily. And for every million taken down another million are posted.

Google may not even have read your report. It's an automated process (probably with some AI bot doing thing), no humans ever get involved. Something might happen one day. Or it might not. I wouldn't hold my breath hoping for a result. It's something @keyserholiday knows a lot more about than I do.

 

[JesseJamesWest]

There are millions of fake reviews reported daily. And for every million taken down another million are posted.

Google may not even have read your report. It's an automated process (probably with some AI bot doing thing), no humans ever get involved. Something might happen one day. Or it might not. I wouldn't hold my breath hoping for a result. It's something @keyserholiday knows a lot more about than I do.Thank you for your reply!

Thank you for your reply!

Before conducting my investigation, I never would have imagined the scale of fake review fraud on Google Maps, nor how unclear Google’s reporting systems are for this kind of abuse and how slow their teams can be.

I thought that if I was able to find all these pieces of evidence and anomalies myself, Google would be able to detect them even more effectively. Apparently, that does not seem to be the case.

At this point, I honestly feel like all the investigative work I have done over several months has not led to anything so far.

 

[fisicx]

Statistically your findings are insignificant when compared to the number of reviews posted each day. And they may not even be paid for. There are a huge number of local guides writing reviews for businesses they have never used. They do this to build up their ratings so they can then sell their services. The whole review industry is riddled with fraud. Not just Google - all review platforms have the same problem as does all social media.

 

[JesseJamesWest]

Statistically your findings are insignificant when compared to the number of reviews posted each day. And they may not even be paid for. There are a huge number of local guides writing reviews for businesses they have never used. They do this to build up their ratings so they can then sell their services. The whole review industry is riddled with fraud. Not just Google - all review platforms have the same problem as does all social media.

I know I'm just a drop in the ocean when it comes to fake reviews, haha!

However, I took this investigation much further than most people would. I managed to identify part of the network of accounts reviewing this business, showing that many of them also reviewed the same unrelated businesses across France on Google Maps. I also carried out statistical and linguistic analyses, as well as a sector audit comparing this business with its competitors.

I believe I have strong evidence. If Google decides not to act, my case is also in the hands of the French consumer protection authorities . Even if Google ignores my report, they will still have to respond to the authorities' requests.

Google removed 292 million fake reviews in 2025, but in my opinion, that probably represents no more than 10% of the total number of fake reviews. I think Google's systems focus too much on reviewing individual reviews instead of analyzing an entire business listing to detect broader fraud patterns.

I'll wait and post an update here if anything happens !

 

[JoyHawkins]

If your redressal form submission is over 3 months old, you can post a thread over at the GBP community and ask for it to be escalated for a second look.

 

[JesseJamesWest]

If your redressal form submission is over 3 months old, you can post a thread over at the GBP community and ask for it to be escalated for a second look.

Hi Joy,

Thank you for your advice.

I followed your recommendation since my original redressal form is now over four months old. I created a thread on the Google Business Profile Community with all the details about the case.

Thank you again for your help.

I really appreciate it, and I hope the case can be reviewed by the appropriate Google team.

 

[keyserholiday]

Did you link to the reviews or just the screenshots?

 

[JesseJamesWest]

Did you link to the reviews or just the screenshots?

Hi ! Both.

One document explains the network of Google accounts reviewing the same unrelated businesses across France with links, while another highlights the top 3 businesses with the highest number of shared reviewer accounts identified within this network with screenshots

 

[JesseJamesWest]

Hi ! I thought I'd give you guys an update, 4 months and 11 days after creating this post.

My case was escalated by a Product Expert on July 1, 2026.
As of today, November 4, 2026, there has still been no visible action from Google regarding this matter.

I also recently found out where this company is getting its fake reviews from: a Facebook group where business owners exchange reviews with one another.

I must say that I've found Google to be quite slow when it comes to taking action and protecting consumers and honest businesses from review manipulation.

 

[Arthur]

Honestly, I wouldn't waste any more time or energy on this.

Google does a terrible job enforcing its own guidelines, and there seems to be no real way to hold businesses accountable for violating them.
I've submitted multiple redressal forms about competitors using keyword stuffing in their Google Business Profile names with clear eveidence and guidlines. Some literally add the main search keyword to their business name just to rank higher.

And guess what? Absolutely no action from Google. Even supportr cinfirmed that fact. But, those businesses are still doing exactly the same thing.

So, I wouldn't expect much when it comes to fake reviews.

Hi ! I thought I'd give you guys an update, 4 months and 11 days after creating this post.

My case was escalated by a Product Expert on July 1, 2026.
As of today, November 4, 2026, there has still been no visible action from Google regarding this matter.

I also recently found out where this company is getting its fake reviews from: a Facebook group where business owners exchange reviews with one another.

I must say that I've found Google to be quite slow when it comes to taking action and protecting consumers and honest businesses from review manipulation.

 

[JesseJamesWest]

Honestly, I wouldn't waste any more time or energy on this.

Google does a terrible job enforcing its own guidelines, and there seems to be no real way to hold businesses accountable for violating them.
I've submitted multiple redressal forms about competitors using keyword stuffing in their Google Business Profile names with clear eveidence and guidlines. Some literally add the main search keyword to their business name just to rank higher.

And guess what? Absolutely no action from Google. Even supportr cinfirmed that fact. But, those businesses are still doing exactly the same thing.

So, I wouldn't expect much when it comes to fake reviews.

Hi!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm starting to realize that I'm not the only one who thinks Google's reporting channels are practically useless. I hope Google eventually takes action on the reports you've submitted.

What really shocks me about my case is that I've practically done all the work for Google. I've identified part of the network of coordinated fake five-star reviews. I've provided examples of copy-pasted reviews, slightly reworded reviews, reviews using the same photos, and suspicious patterns in review posting activity (short, generic reviews on certain days, followed by longer reviews with nearly identical structures on other days).

I've even put together a PDF matching each identified anomaly with Google's own internal policies and guidelines.

And now, all my suspicions are being confirmed after discovering that the very same profiles and businesses are all part of a Facebook group dedicated to exchanging reviews.

If Google does nothing despite all this evidence, I honestly don't know what more I can do. It also says a lot about how Google handles these reports when a case as thoroughly documented as mine has been sitting without any visible action since February 2026.

I was able to document all of this using publicly available data, while Google has access to all that public data, its own internal data, and presumably much more powerful tools to detect these patterns.

I genuinely think Google has a serious staffing problem when it comes to investigating cases like ours. Instead, Google seems to rely heavily on AI moderation, which clearly allows a huge number of fake reviews to slip through the cracks.

Google hides behind Section 230. Meanwhile, it provides a platform (Google Maps) for businesses engaging in fraudulent practices and then fails to properly moderate that platform. In doing so, it allows fraud to thrive at the expense of both consumers and honest businesses.

 

[fisicx]

I genuinely think Google has a serious staffing problem when it comes to investigating cases like ours.

What staff? It's all AI these days.

Google is an advertising platform. Fake reviews doesn't affect their bottom line so they really don't care about your report.