How to Remove a Fake Google Review in Singapore

You cannot delete a review from your own Google Business Profile, so getting a fake one removed means reporting it to Google, either from the profile or through Google's Reviews Management Tool. Google takes a reported review down only if it breaks its content policy for Google Maps, which covers reviews not based on a real experience, reviews a competitor posts to damage you and reviews someone paid for. If Google decides the review can stay, you get one appeal.

Before you report anything, check whether you are looking at a single review or at a sudden run of one-star and two-star reviews followed by a demand for money. Google treats that second pattern as an extortion scam, with its own report form and its own advice, covered further down.

Google's wording below is quoted from its help pages and Maps policy as published on 3 October 2026. The Reviews Management Tool only opens for the account that manages a profile, so its steps here are Google's own, and we did not file a test report through it.

Which fake reviews will Google remove?

Google's help page on reporting inappropriate reviews sets the test in one sentence: "You can report any review, but only those that violate Google policies are eligible for removal." The same page says "Google doesn't get involved in conflict between businesses and customers" and asks owners not to report a review "just because you disagree with it or dislike it".

The policy that decides is Google's list of prohibited and restricted content for Maps. This table matches situations an owner might call fake to the wording that covers each one.

What you are looking at	What Google's policy says	What to do
A one-star from someone who has never been your customer	Fake engagement includes "Content that is not based on a real experience or does not accurately represent the location or product in question."	Report it
A review from a competitor, or from a current or former employee	Users may not "Post content on a competitor's place or business to undermine that business' or product's reputation". The policy also lists "current or former employment" and "industry competitors" as examples of a conflict of interest	Report it
The same complaint from several accounts in a short time	"Content that has been posted from multiple accounts by or at the request of one person" is fake engagement, and posting "the same content multiple times either from the same account or multiple accounts" is not allowed	Report each review and each account
A review calling you a cheat or a scammer with nothing to back it up	Offensive content includes "Unsubstantiated allegations of unethical behavior or criminal wrongdoing."	Report it
A review that posts a staff member's face or personal details	Personal information covers details such as a person's "full name, or last name, their face in a photograph or a video" posted without consent, with exceptions for public-facing professionals who do business under their own name	Report it
A rant about politics or something unrelated to a visit	"We don't allow content which contains general, political, or social commentary or personal rants."	Report it
A reviewer name you do not recognise	Not a violation by itself. Google's rules for user profiles say "users are permitted to use pseudonyms in their usernames"	Check your records, then reply
A harsh review from a real customer	"We do allow content that describes negative experiences in a respectful manner."	Reply to it

An unfamiliar name proves less than it seems to. In a Google Business Profile community thread from October 2023, someone managing a client's profile wrote that a review came from a person the client "doesn't know and has never worked with", and that Google refused to remove it after their report and again after their appeal "because it doesn't violate their policies". When we read the thread on 3 October 2026, 192 people had clicked "I have the same question". The report steps Google publishes ask you for a reason, such as "Spam" or "Profanity", and have no step for attaching your booking records.

How do you report a fake review on Google?

There are two routes, and both need you signed in to the Google account that manages the profile. From the profile itself, Google's steps are:

Go to your Business Profile.
Select "Read reviews".
Next to the review, select "Report".
Select the reason, for example "Spam" or "Profanity".
Select "Send report".

Through the Reviews Management Tool, confirm the email address linked to your profile or switch accounts, select your business and choose "Report a new review for removal". Then select "Report" next to the review, pick the reason and select "Submit". Whichever route you use, the tool is where you check the report's status afterwards.

If the account behind the review looks fake too, report the account. Google's page on reporting user profiles covers "Profiles of users who contribute false information". In the Google Maps app, find one of the account's reviews, tap the user name, tap "More" and choose the report option. Google says "It can take several days for a profile to be assessed."

How long does Google take, and what happens if it says no?

Google says review evaluation "typically takes several days" and gives no deadline. After you report, the Reviews Management Tool shows one of three statuses:

"Decision pending": the review is flagged and has not been evaluated yet.
"Report reviewed - no policy violation": Google evaluated it and found no violation.
"Escalated - check your email for updates": your appeal has been escalated, and the final decision will come by email.

The second status is where your one appeal comes in. In the tool, choose "Check the status of a review I reported previously and appeal options", then "Appeal eligible reviews", select the review and fill in the form. One appeal can include up to 10 reviews. Google emails the result. A review that breaks the policy is removed, and one that does not stays live. In that second case, Google's page says the status will show "Escalated - check your email for updates", the same words the tool shows while the appeal is still open, so check your email for the outcome.

Google also removes some reviews without any report. Its help page says it uses automated spam detection, and that "Occasionally, the system may also mistakenly remove legitimate reviews", in which case it points owners to Business Profile support.

How should you reply to a fake review while Google decides?

Reply while the report is open. Google's page on managing customer reviews says the reviewer is notified when you reply and "can still change their review after reading your reply". Everyone else sees the reply under the review, posted as the business, and "your personal name won't be shown". You can only reply once the business is verified, so if you have not claimed it yet, start by claiming and filling in your Google Business Profile.

Google checks each reply against its content policies before posting it. Replies "usually take up to 10 minutes to review, but sometimes a review can take up to 30 days", and a reply that is not approved comes back to you to edit. Google's reply tips say "Like reviews, replies must follow our policies", and the policy bans "Unsubstantiated allegations of unethical behavior or criminal wrongdoing". A reply that calls the reviewer a liar or a competitor's plant, with nothing to show for it, can fall foul of that. For negative reviews, Google's advice is to "Never share a reviewer's private information or engage in personal attacks" and, where a situation is complex, to "politely request that the reviewer contact you via phone or email to resolve the issue privately".

An example reply for a review that matches no booking:

Hi Jamie, we can't find a booking or payment under this name, and nobody on our team recognises the visit you describe. If we've missed something, please call or email us with your booking details and we'll look into it.

If the reviewer turns out to be a real customer you could not place, they see your reply and can update the review. To check what customers see when they look your business up, follow our guide to checking what ChatGPT and Google say about your business.

What if someone demands money to remove the reviews?

Google's page on review extortion scams describes "a sudden increase in 1-star and 2-star reviews on your Google Business Profile, followed by someone demanding money, goods, or services in exchange for removing the negative reviews". Its first instruction is "Do not engage with or pay the malicious individuals. This can encourage further attempts and doesn't guarantee the removal of reviews."

Collect the evidence before you report. Google asks for:

screenshots of every message with the demand, whether it came by email, WhatsApp, Telegram or social media, showing the date, time and sender's contact details where possible
a direct link to each suspicious review, which you can copy in Google Maps with the review's "Share review" option
any names, usernames, email addresses, phone numbers or social media profiles the senders used
the date and time you first noticed the reviews, and when the first demand arrived

Then send it all through the merchant extortion report form linked from that page. Google says its team investigates and notifies you of the result, although "we can't share specific details about the investigation". You can also lodge a police report online through the Singapore Police Force's e-services.

What should you never do about a fake review?

Do not buy five-star reviews to bury it. Google's policy counts "Reviews or ratings that have been paid for, directly or in kind" as fake engagement, and its page on profile restrictions lists what can follow on top of removing the reviews: no new reviews or ratings for a set period, existing reviews unpublished for a set period, and a warning on the profile "to let consumers know that fake reviews were removed". Google says businesses can appeal a restriction. If the whole profile is suspended, see what to do when your Google Business Profile is suspended.

Singapore's Competition and Consumer Commission (CCS) acts on this too. On 30 September 2026 it announced that 45 businesses had admitted buying fake reviews from one provider, which had sold the service to approximately 100 businesses, in what CCS called its largest fake review investigation to date by number of businesses. The 45 committed to stop, to find and remove their fake reviews, to report their progress to CCS and to publish "a prominent public apology for six months on their websites, official social media accounts and at their physical premises or outlets". CCS says the provider used generative AI to "vary writing styles and sentence structures, incorporate details such as Singapore context and introduce natural imperfections", and offered to replace reviews the platforms removed, "capped at 30 per cent of the reviews purchased".

CNA's report on the case adds two details. One package offered 35 five-star reviews over seven days for S$219, and the provider's company is a digital marketing business that specialises in web design, SEO and paid advertisement management, with fake reviews offered as an "add on". If a marketing package lists reviews as a deliverable, ask how they are obtained before you sign. Our comparison of what Singapore SEO packages include has the other questions worth asking.

Do not ask only your happy customers. The policy says merchants may not "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers". That covers a follow-up message that sends satisfied customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private feedback form. Merchants also "should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises", and may not request "that staff solicit a certain number of reviews" or reviews "that include specific content, including content that identifies a staff member". Review quotas for staff, and asking customers to mention a stylist or therapist by name, both fall under that.

Do not offer the reviewer anything to change it. Google's tips page says offering "free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for customers to post reviews, change reviews, or remove negative reviews is considered fake & misleading content and is strictly prohibited". A voucher for deleting the one-star counts.

How do you get genuine reviews without breaking the rules?

The same policy lets merchants "Solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives to do so or attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review." Asking every customer in the same way keeps you inside that.

Google's review link and QR code exist for this. From your Business Profile, select "Read Reviews", then "Get more reviews", and copy the link or download the QR code, which Google says can only be generated in a computer browser. Google suggests putting the link on receipts, in thank-you emails and at the end of a chat, displaying the QR code in your store, and sending requests by email, WhatsApp message or Facebook post. Its tips page also says "A mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy."

For a cafe or restaurant, our guide to how Singapore cafes and restaurants get found on Google covers the rest of the profile. If the fake review has you worried about how your business comes across to strangers in general, read why a real business can look fake online.

Where else can a Singapore business report a fake review?

Google's report comes first. Three Singapore channels cover narrower cases, and we checked the scope of each on 3 October 2026.

If a review harasses you, or shares your identity information to cause you harm, Singapore's Online Safety Commission (OSC) may be able to act. It began operations on 29 June 2026, and in its first phase it takes reports on five harms: online harassment, doxxing, online stalking, intimate image abuse and image-based child abuse. For harassment, the Ministry of Law says victims should report to the platform first and may go to the OSC if the platform "fails to respond promptly or provides an inadequate response within 24 hours". Doxxing can be reported to the OSC directly. "Publication of false material" and "Publication of statement harmful to reputation" are on the government's list of harms for later phases, so a review that is false about your business, without harassing or doxxing you, is outside what the OSC handles today.

If you have evidence that a competitor is buying fake reviews, CCS's consumer protection FAQ, updated on 1 October 2026, says a business with "information and evidence that a supplier has committed an unfair practice in relation to a business-to-consumer transaction" may contact CCS through its feedback and complaint form.

If someone demands money to take reviews down, use Google's extortion form and the police report described above.

Google also accepts requests about content you believe breaks the law through a separate legal removal process. Whether a review does is a question for a lawyer, and this guide is not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Can a business owner delete a Google review?

No. An owner can reply to a review and report it, and Google removes a reported review only if it breaks Google's Maps content policy. Google's help page says "You can report any review, but only those that violate Google policies are eligible for removal." Google My Business, the old name for Google Business Profile, works the same way.

How long does Google take to remove a fake review?

Google says review evaluation "typically takes several days" and publishes no deadline. The Reviews Management Tool shows "Decision pending" until the review has been evaluated, and if you appeal, Google emails you the final decision.

What can I do if Google refuses to remove a fake review?

Submit the one-time appeal from the Reviews Management Tool. One appeal can include up to 10 reviews. If Google still finds no violation, the review stays live. Your reply then sits under it for every customer who reads it, so keep the reply short and factual.

Should I reply to a fake Google review?

Yes, once your profile is verified. Say what you checked, such as finding no booking under that name, and ask the person to contact you by phone or email. Google checks replies against the same content policies as reviews, which bar unsubstantiated allegations, so leave out accusations you cannot prove.

Is buying fake Google reviews illegal in Singapore?

Singapore's Competition and Consumer Commission (CCS), which enforces the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, has acted against it. On 30 September 2026 it announced that 45 businesses had admitted buying fake reviews and had committed to remove them and publish a public apology for six months. Google's Maps policy also bans paid reviews. For advice on your own situation, speak to a lawyer.