# A competitor is posting fake one-star reviews on our profile, one with a photo stolen from a real review | Illia BizTech

> A new one-star review uses a photo that actually belongs to our own five-star review. It isn

Source: https://illia-biztech.de/en/forum/ein-konkurrent-postet-bei-uns-falsche-1-stern-bewertungen-mit-einem-geklauten-foto-aus-einer-echten-bewertung

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# A competitor is posting fake one-star reviews on our profile, one with a photo stolen from a real review

A new one-star review uses a photo that actually belongs to our own five-star review. It isn't clear whether or how that can be used against a competitor.

* ##### Asked by  
BrightSignal622
* ##### Asked on  
October 10, 2026

We keep getting one and two-star reviews we believe aren't genuine. The latest one is unmistakable: the photo in it is from our own five-star review from a year ago, just paired with new, negative text.

We suspect a competitor is behind it, but we can't prove it.

What can we actually do about this, and does it even matter that we can clearly recognise our own photo?

#### Answers

![Portrait of Alina Belichenko, content and social media specialist](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/small_Alina_Belichenko_author_ae667ebec9.png)

##### Alina Belichenko · Content & Video Specialist

✓ Accepted answer October 10, 2026 

The reused photo is your strongest argument, even though it doesn't settle the question of who's behind it. A photo from someone else's genuine review doesn't end up in a new one by accident, and that specific point can be reported to Google regardless of who's responsible.

Report the review through the three dots next to it and describe exactly where the photo comes from, ideally with a link or screenshot of the original review. If the first report gets rejected, an appeal with the same evidence is worth filing, Google sometimes reviews these cases differently on a second pass.

Google won't confirm who's actually behind it, and without that confirmation a competitor stays only a suspicion, never a confirmed fact. Taking action against a specific person needs more than a recognised photo, and in practice that's usually where it stalls.

Some restraint on reporting still pays off. Reporting reviews in bulk, including genuine ones with a similar pattern, risks Google scrutinising whole clusters of reviews more closely and removing some legitimate good ones along with the rest. Focusing on the cases with the clearest evidence, like the reused photo, works better than reporting on volume.

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