Fake Google reviews: report them, don’t fight them on the listing

A review with no visit you can find, copied language, or a brand-new account is infuriating. The listing is the wrong place to win that argument. Google has reporting tools. Your owner reply is for everyone else who will read the thread later.

Report first

Use Google’s process for reviews that violate policy (spam, fake, off-topic, conflicts). Keep a note of why you flagged it. Do not expect a same-day takedown. Planning your public sentence as if the review stays is the adult move.

What the public reply is for

1. Show the next customer you are paying attention.
2. Give a real contact path for anyone with a genuine issue.
3. Avoid giving the fake review a second, angrier paragraph to screenshot.

What not to write

• “This person never came in.” (You cannot prove that in a comment.)
• “Fake review / bot / competitor.” (Oxygen.)
• A coupon to “make it right” for a visit that may not exist, and a promotional reply Google may restrict.

Templates and the queue

Copy-paste starters live on the fake-review templates page. Replace the contact placeholder. In reviewsGBP, 1-star stays in the queue until a human posts. That is the point of the lock.