Trick or Trap? How Spam Reviews and Bots Can Cost Your Firm

Executive Summary

Online reputation is one of the most valuable assets your law firm owns. However, it’s also one of the easiest targets for bad actors. Law firms that are receiving spam reviews or gaining spam leads from bots are a growing problem that can quietly undermine your marketing strategy. Fake reviews can scare away potential clients and tank your rankings, while bots and spam leads can flood your CRM with junk data, making it harder to track real leads. In this blog, you’ll learn how to identify these online “tricks” and take practical steps to protect your firm’s reputation before they cause lasting damage.

Why Spam Reviews for Law Firms Are a Problem

Online reviews shape how potential clients see you long before they ever pick up the phone. While many reviews offer helpful feedback and build trust in your firm, spam reviews for law firms can disrupt that first impression. These fake, misleading, or malicious posts often come from bots and spam leads, competitors, or people who were never actual clients.

Family law firms are especially vulnerable because emotions tend to run high in these cases. An upset ex-spouse, a competitor trying to damage your reputation, or even an automated script can post a negative review that has nothing to do with the quality of your work. While fake reviews may not seem like a big deal at first, the time and effort it takes to deal with them can quickly pile up.

The Real Cost of Spam Reviews for Law Firms

Spam reviews for law firms won’t destroy your practice, but they do create hassles that waste valuable time. Someone still has to respond, flag them, and try to get them removed. It’s frustrating and time-consuming. Here are some of the common ways spam reviews for law firms    can be disruptive:

• Lost Credibility: Potential clients might hesitate when they see a random one-star review or negative feedback from a “client” who wasn’t actually a real client
• SEO Implications: Google takes reviews into account when ranking businesses, so too many suspicious reviews can throw off your online visibility.
• Fewer Calls: A drop in your Google rating can be enough for potential clients to skip over your profile and choose a competitor with a higher rating. 
• More Admin Tasks: Someone on your team has to spend time flagging, responding, and trying to clean up the mess.

None of these problems will sink your firm, but together they drain time and energy that could be focused on tasks that actually move the needle, like serving your existing clients or generating new business.

Bots and Spam Leads: The Hidden Threat Inside Your CRM

The frustration doesn’t end with fake reviews. Bots and spam leads have become another frequent headache for law firms, often showing up in website forms, email lists, and CRMs. These fake submissions can look legitimate at first, but they’re usually just automated scripts filling out forms, signing up for newsletters, or submitting random gibberish.

How this affects your law firm CRM:

• Messy data: Your reports become less accurate when fake submissions mix with real leads.
• Wasted time: Intake teams spend hours chasing “leads” that aren’t actually real, or your CRM manager has to go through and delete thousands of junk entries.
• Clogged automations: Follow-up emails and workflows trigger for fake contacts, cluttering your systems.
• Harder decisions: With inaccurate data, it becomes more difficult to see which marketing campaigns are actually performing.

Putting the right tools and processes in place to catch fake activity early keeps your data clean and your marketing efforts working the way they should.

How to Spot Spam Reviews and Fake Leads Early

The faster you detect spam reviews for law firms and bots and spam leads, the less damage they can do. Watch for these warning signs:

Spam Reviews for Law Firms

• Sudden spikes in negative reviews within a short time
• Reviews with vague, generic, or unrelated content
• Accounts with no profile pictures or review history
• Language that doesn’t match your services or location

Bots and Spam Leads

• Identical or nonsensical names and email addresses
• Multiple submissions from the same IP address
• Sudden increases in leads without corresponding traffic growth
• Inquiries that never respond to follow-up messages

Creating a review monitoring checklist and regularly auditing your CRM can help you catch these issues before they spiral.

How to Protect Your Law Firm from Bots and Spam Leads

Bots and spam leads can clutter your website forms and CRM with fake submissions that waste time and distort your data. A few simple steps can help keep them out:

• Add CAPTCHA tools or simple verification steps to forms to block most automated submissions.
• Use lead scoring and email validation to filter suspicious contacts before they enter your CRM.
• Review new leads regularly to spot unusual patterns or spikes in spam activity early.

Taking these steps keeps your data clean and ensures your team is focused on realx submissions, not fake bots and spam leads.

Steps to Remove Spam Reviews on Google

Getting rid of spam reviews for law firms can be time-consuming, but knowing the right steps makes the process much easier to manage.

1. Identify and Document the Review

Look for signs of spam, like irrelevant comments, suspicious profiles, or reviews from people who were never clients. Take screenshots and record details in case you need them later.

2. Flag the Review

Log into your Google Business Profile, go to the Reviews section, click the three dots next to the review, and select “Report review.” Choose the reason that best fits, such as spam or conflict of interest.

3. Respond Professionally

While you wait for Google’s decision, leave a brief, neutral reply that shows you take feedback seriously without arguing.

4. Use Google’s Review Removal Tool

If the review isn’t removed after reporting, submit it through the Google Reviews Management Tool with a short explanation and any evidence you collected.

5. Contact Support if Needed

If removal still doesn’t happen, reach out to Google Business Support and provide your documentation for another review.

6. Push It Down with Real Reviews

If all else fails, focus on collecting genuine client reviews. A steady flow of authentic feedback builds credibility and makes the spam reviews for law firms less noticeable.

Making review and lead protection part of your marketing plan helps prevent problems before they start and keeps your team focused on the work that matters most.

Don’t Let Spam Haunt Your Firm

Spam reviews for law firms and bots and spam leads might not bring your business to a halt, but they do create nuisances that waste time and drain resources. If you’re ready to spend less time dealing with spam and more time growing your practice, our CRM experts can help you build a system that filters out junk and tracks the metrics that matter, while our SEO and PPC team can strengthen your online visibility and attract qualified leads.

Contact our team at US Legal Marketing Group today to schedule a discovery call. We’ll help your firm eliminate wasted time, improve lead quality, and focus on the growth opportunities that drive real results.