How to Use BBB and Review Sites Before You Send Money

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Before you buy from a new website, hire a contractor, or sign up for a financial app, you usually see stars and reviews everywhere.

Some of them help. Some of them mislead. And some are fake.

This article explains how to combine BBB tools, review platforms, and a few simple checks before you send money to a company, service, or platform.

It is educational only and does not tell you what you personally should buy or avoid.

Why checking a company matters even more now

Online reviews used to be short comments that real customers wrote.
Today, reviews can also come from:

  • Paid reviewers
  • Coordinated campaigns
  • AI-generated text designed to look “real”

In 2024 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a final rule that bans fake reviews and testimonials and allows civil penalties when companies buy or sell them.

Research groups and ad-fraud labs report that AI-generated fake reviews are rising fast, with some studies finding that the number of apps using AI-powered fake reviews more than tripled between 2023 and 2024.

So reviews still help, but you need more structure:

  1. Check neutral databases such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
  2. Read reviews carefully, not just the star number.
  3. Look for patterns instead of one dramatic story.

Step 1: Start with the Better Business Bureau (BBB)

The BBB runs a large directory of businesses in the U.S. and Canada.
From the homepage, you can:

  • Search by business name, website, phone number, or category
  • Filter by location (city, state, ZIP code)

The BBB profile for a business often shows:

  • BBB rating (from A+ to F)
  • Whether the business is BBB Accredited
  • Complaint history and how the company responded
  • A short business description

Consumer protection offices, such as state attorney general sites, also suggest using BBB reports when you check a company’s reputation.

You can treat this as a baseline check:

  • Does the business exist in the BBB directory?
  • How long has it been listed?
  • Do complaints follow a pattern (for example, non-delivery or billing issues)?

A low rating does not automatically mean fraud, and a good rating never guarantees perfection.
But BBB gives you data points that go beyond star ratings.

Step 2: Use BBB Scam Tracker for suspicious offers

The BBB also runs Scam Tracker, where people report scams they experience.

You can:

  • Search by scam type (online purchase, investment, job offer, etc.)
  • Filter by location
  • Read short reports with date, money lost, and what happened

If you see the same website, phone number, or offer appear many times, that pattern can warn you that others already reported problems.

Scam Tracker entries often describe situations like:

  • Paying for a product that never ships
  • Fake online stores with broken contact pages
  • Repeated “support” promises that never solve anything

Again, this does not replace police reports or legal steps.
It simply helps you see what other consumers have experienced.

Step 3: Read review platforms with more structure

Popular review sites and app stores show stars, comments, and sometimes “verified purchase” badges. These tools help, but they now sit inside a world where fake and AI-generated reviews appear more often.

Recent summaries of fake review statistics show trends like:

  • Strong growth in AI-generated reviews since 2023
  • A significant share of reviews on some platforms likely written by AI tools
  • Increasing concern among regulators and consumer groups

Instead of trusting the star rating alone, you can:

  1. Sort by “most recent”
    • Look at the last few months.
    • Check if quality changed after a certain date.
  2. Read a mix of positive, neutral, and negative reviews
    • Very short, generic praise may add less value.
    • Detailed reviews that mention specific dates, order numbers, or product details often feel more grounded.
  3. Watch for copy-paste patterns
    • Many reviews with almost the same wording can signal automation or coordination.
    • Research on AI reviews notes that repetitive language and similar structure often show up in fake content.
  4. Check how the company replies
    • Some platforms show whether the business responds to complaints.
    • A pattern of polite, concrete answers can indicate active support. Silence after serious issues can be a warning sign.

You still cannot see everything behind the scenes, but these steps help you read reviews more like data, not just headlines.

Step 4: Compare information across several places

One single page rarely tells the full story.
You can compare:

  • BBB profile
  • Reviews on big platforms (for example, large marketplaces or app stores)
  • Search results from general engines and news sites
  • Consumer alerts from agencies like the FTC or state authorities

The FTC’s new rule on fake reviews bans the sale or purchase of fake testimonials, insider reviews that hide conflicts, and company-controlled “review” websites that pretend to be independent.

That rule does not remove every problem.
It tells you that:

  • Regulators see fake reviews as a real risk.
  • Some of the worst behavior now faces clearer penalties.
  • You still need your own process, because enforcement takes time.

If a business looks fine on one site but shows many unresolved BBB complaints or scam reports elsewhere, you can treat that as a signal to slow down and dig deeper.

Step 5: Look at basic transparency signals

While you compare sources, you can also check a few simple details on the company’s own site:

  • Is there a clear physical address and not only a PO box?
  • Does the site list a customer service phone number or email?
  • Are the terms and conditions easy to find?
  • Do policies explain refunds, cancellations, and delivery times?

Consumer-protection offices often highlight these basic items when they teach people how to check a business or charity.

You can also:

  • Search the company name plus “scam” or “complaint” in a separate tab.
  • See whether news sites, forums, or regulators mention the company.

One angry review does not tell the whole story.
But many similar issues across multiple sites can show a pattern that deserves attention.

Step 6: Stay extra careful with finance and “too good to be true” offers

Some of the fastest-growing areas for fake or misleading reviews involve apps and services linked to money: investment platforms, trading apps, “passive income” tools, and high-yield products.

Consumer alerts from the FTC and other agencies describe common themes:

  • Promises of very high returns with little or no risk
  • Heavy use of testimonials and screenshots instead of clear disclosures
  • Pressure to act quickly because “this deal closes soon”

If you see these patterns:

  • Slow down.
  • Check the company on BBB, on Scam Tracker, and on official regulator sites if relevant.
  • Remember that reviews and star ratings can be edited, bought, or generated.

Step 7: Build a simple personal checklist

You can turn all this into a short checklist to use whenever you consider sending money to a new business, platform, or service:

  1. Search the BBB directory for the name or website.
  2. Check BBB rating, accreditation, and complaint patterns.
  3. Look up the business in BBB Scam Tracker for any related reports.
  4. Read reviews on at least one or two major platforms, sorted by recent date.
  5. Scan for repeated phrases and sudden review spikes that can hint at AI-generated or fake reviews.
  6. Confirm that the company lists clear contact information and policies.
  7. Search the name plus “scam,” “complaint,” or “review” on a general search engine.
  8. Pay extra attention if the offer relates to investments, trading, or “guaranteed” returns.

You can adapt this list for online stores, service providers, financial apps, or even charities.

Conclusion

Using BBB and review sites before you send money does not guarantee a perfect outcome, but it gives you structure in a world where fake and AI-generated reviews have become more common and regulators now treat them as a serious issue.

Recent FTC rules against deceptive reviews, BBB’s own tools—such as the business directory and Scam Tracker—and new research on AI review fraud all point in the same direction: trust needs verification.

By combining BBB reports, detailed review reading, basic transparency checks, and the broader investment education available on saveurs.xyz, beginners can create a simple, repeatable process to evaluate businesses and offers without turning any rating, testimonial, or star score into a guarantee.

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