Detecting Fake Reviews: Just a Matter of Data

Abstract

Along with the ever-increasing portfolio of products online, the incentive for market participants to write fake reviews to gain a competitive edge has increased as well. This article demonstrates the effectiveness of using different combinations of spam detection features to detect fake reviews other than the review-based features typically used. Using a spectrum of feature sets offers greater accuracy in identifying fake reviews than using review-based features only, and using a machine learning algorithm for classification and different amounts of feature sets further elucidates the difference in performance. Results compared by benchmarking show that applying a technique prioritizing feature importance benefits from prioritizing features from multiple feature sets and that creating feature sets based on reviews, reviewers and product data can achieve the greatest accuracy.