Online reviews are increasingly fake, say researchers. Here’s why, and how to spot them [Video]

We turn to online reviews to help with everything from shopping for shoes to finding a dentist.

But a former U.S. federal criminal investigator says so many reviews are fake — written by people paid to post — that she no longer believes anyone should rely on them.

“My recommendation to everyone is actually get back to the tried-and-true method of getting your information from real people, because you just don’t know,” Kay Dean, now a consumer advocate, told The Current host Matt Galloway.

Dean, who has spent more than five years investigating the issue and runs a YouTube channel called Fake Review Watch, said she’s seen fake reviews “across every profession you can imagine, from law firms to surgeons, piano teachers, wedding DJs, lactation consultants — you name it.”

Sometimes the fakes are facilitated by brokers or marketing companies who have numerous businesses as their clients, she says.

Or, if a business wants to …