Is a new online store with only five-star reviews trustworthy?
Not necessarily. An exclusively positive review profile — especially on a newly launched site — is a common feature of fake online stores.
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Explanation
Fake online stores manufacture credibility by populating review sections with paid or fabricated five-star ratings before launch. Genuine stores accumulate a natural spread of ratings over time, including some neutral or critical feedback. Other signs of a dubious store include prices far below market rate, limited contact information, no verifiable physical address, and checkout pages that do not match the site's domain. Even a store with many positive reviews may be fraudulent if those reviews were seeded at launch, all arrived within a short window, or are superficially similar in language and structure.
Common red flags
- Hundreds of five-star reviews on a very recently registered domain
- All reviews arrived within a short time window
- No neutral or critical reviews at all
- Prices are steeply below market rate
What to do now
- Check the site's domain registration date using a WHOIS lookup
- Search the business name alongside 'review' or 'scam' on independent forums
- Look for reviews on third-party platforms like Trustpilot or Google
- Use a credit card for purchases to enable chargeback if goods do not arrive
Frequently asked questions
Is there a tool to check if reviews are fake?
Services like Fakespot and ReviewMeta analyse Amazon and some other platforms for suspicious review patterns, but they cannot check all independent stores.