Trustpilot removes fake reviews and warns flagged firms

Trustpilot has removed more fake reviews, issued warnings to four firms and placed permanent consumer warnings on their profiles, closing them to new reviews, after Which? reported that recovery scammers were targeting scam victims on the reviews site¹. The consumer group published its findings on 13 November 2025 and updated the story on 14 November 2025 with the outcome of Trustpilot's investigation¹.

Which? said it found six firms purporting to offer legal or claims management services, none of them registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, meaning they are not authorised to provide claims management or financial services in the UK¹. Many were listed as located in the US while having websites registered in Germany, and all the websites were created in September and October, around the same time as the mass reviews¹. Which? contacted all six companies and received no response before publication¹.

A recovery scam is when fraud victims are targeted by "professionals" claiming to be able to recover lost money, only to be scammed again¹. Between November 2024 and November 2025, Action Fraud received 5,553 reports related to recovery scams, resulting in £185.4m in losses¹. In one case, 93 reviews were written by the same person in one day, all praising one of the recovery services¹.

Trustpilot told Which? that all reviews submitted on its platform are run through generative AI technology and that it uses fraud specialists alongside automated systems to check for anything suspicious before publication¹. After the story was published, Trustpilot told Which? it found more fake reviews related to these companies and removed them, contacted four of the firms with warnings, placed permanent consumer warnings on all their profiles and closed them to new reviews, and blocked review accounts found to be leaving numerous similar reviews on similar company profiles¹.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, which became law in May 2024, banned fake reviews¹. Since October 2024, banks have been required to reimburse faultless victims of Authorised Push Payment fraud, where someone is convinced into paying a fraudster by bank transfer¹. Payments made by credit card over £100 may fall under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act¹.

Why it matters for households

People who have already lost money to fraud and post about it on review sites are the group being targeted, according to Which?¹. One person, referred to as Holly, described being contacted by a firm claiming it had already located money she had lost, then being asked to pay audit fees, compliance checks and clearance charges, with the firm saying it would take 7 to 10 per cent of recovered funds¹. She said she is now out of pocket £20,000¹. Which? said her case was not related to Trustpilot¹.

The figures cover the year to November 2025, when 5,553 recovery scam reports and £185.4m in losses were recorded by Action Fraud¹. The four firms Trustpilot warned, and the six Which? identified, are not FCA authorised, so they cannot lawfully provide claims management or financial services in the UK¹. Consumers checking whether a firm is authorised can use the FCA Firm Checker and register, and the FCA's warning list, as set out by Which?¹. More on how these issues are handled sits in our consumer protection coverage.

What happens next

Trustpilot's profiles for the firms it warned are closed to new reviews and carry permanent consumer warnings¹. Which? said Trustpilot confirmed it was investigating the firms it flagged, and that it blocked accounts leaving numerous similar reviews on similar company profiles¹. No further action by the FCA or other regulators is reported in the source¹.