Fake online shops used to be easy to spot. Broken English, terrible design, a logo stretched out of shape.
That era is over. Today's fakes copy entire product catalogues from legitimate retailers, use professional templates, run paid ads on search engines and social media, and carry a valid security certificate. Judging by appearance no longer works.
Check three things before entering a card number: how old the domain is, whether a real company is contactable, and whether the price makes sense. A site registered last month, with no address or phone number, selling at a third of the market price, is not a bargain. And pay by credit card — never by transfer, crypto or gift card.
The padlock proves nothing
Start here, because it is the most common misunderstanding.
The padlock in your browser's address bar means the connection is encrypted. Nobody on the network can read what you send. That is all it means.
Certificates are free and issued automatically. Scam sites have them too. The padlock tells you your card number travels safely to the criminal.
The two-minute check
Before entering payment details on any shop you do not already know:
1. How old is the domain?
The single most revealing check. Look up the domain in a public WHOIS service — it shows the registration date.
Most fake shops are days or weeks old. They are set up, run until the complaints and chargebacks accumulate, then abandoned and rebuilt under a new name.
A site claiming "serving customers since 2009" on a domain registered last month has told you everything.
2. Can you contact a real company?
Look for a physical address, a phone number, and a company registration number.
Then actually test one:
- Paste the address into a map. Does it show a business, a residential flat, or empty land?
- Does the phone number connect?
- Is the contact email on the shop's own domain, or a free Gmail address?
A legitimate retailer makes it easy to reach them. A fake shop offers a web form and nothing else.
3. Does the price make sense?
The oldest signal, and still the most reliable. If an item sells for 300 across every major retailer and this site offers it for 90, there is no supply chain that explains it.
Genuine clearances happen — but they are for specific items, from sellers you can verify, not for an entire catalogue of everything at 70% off.
Countdown timers, "only 2 left", "17 people are viewing this". Some real shops use these too, but on a fake shop they are the whole mechanism — the goal is to get a card number before you finish thinking. A price that is too good and a clock counting down is the complete pattern.
Other signals worth checking
Reviews that all sound the same. Same length, same enthusiasm, same week, no photos, no complaints. Genuine review sets are messy — three stars, delivery grumbles, mixed opinions.
Reviews only on the site itself. Search the shop's name plus "scam" or "review" and see what independent sources say. A shop with no footprint anywhere off its own domain is a warning.
Stolen product photos. Reverse-image-search a product picture. If it appears on dozens of other sites, the catalogue was copied.
Policies that are copied or absent. Read the returns page. Fake shops paste generic text, sometimes leaving another company's name in it, or set an impossible window.
A brand name that is nearly right. nike-outlet-store.shop is not Nike. Big brands sell on their own domains, and rarely through a discount site you have never heard of.
Payment methods. This one is close to decisive.
The payment rule
| Method | Recoverable if it is a scam? |
|---|---|
| Credit card | Yes — strongest chargeback rights |
| Debit card | Sometimes, weaker protection |
| PayPal (goods and services) | Usually |
| PayPal "friends and family" | No — waives protection |
| Bank transfer | No |
| Cryptocurrency | No |
| Gift cards | No |
The bottom four are effectively irreversible, which is precisely why a scam site steers you toward them.
A seller who only accepts irreversible payment is telling you something. Believe them.
If a site takes cards at checkout but then emails you asking for a bank transfer "because the payment failed", that is the scam, in the clearest form it takes.
If you have already paid
Move fast — chargeback windows have deadlines:
- Call your card issuer and ask about a chargeback. Do not wait for the delivery date to pass.
- Keep everything — order confirmation, screenshots of the product page and price, every email.
- Do not pay any additional fee, especially a "customs charge" or "release fee" that arrives afterwards. That is a second scam aimed at the same victim.
- Report it to your national consumer protection or fraud reporting body.
- Change your password if you created an account with one you use elsewhere, and turn on two-factor authentication.
Do not delay out of embarrassment. These operations are professionally run and designed to work — how quickly you act matters far more than how you feel about it.
See also: how to spot a phishing message.
Frequently asked questions
Does the padlock in the address bar mean a site is safe?
No. It means the connection is encrypted, not that the seller is honest. Certificates are free, so scam sites have them too. The padlock tells you nobody is eavesdropping — it says nothing about who is at the other end.
What is the biggest warning sign?
A price far below everyone else's, combined with pressure to buy immediately. If a product sells for 300 everywhere and one site offers it for 90 with a countdown timer, that is the whole scam in one screen.
How do I check how old a site is?
Look up the domain in a public WHOIS lookup. A shop with thousands of reviews on a domain registered three weeks ago is not what it claims to be.
Which payment method is safest?
A credit card, because chargeback rights are strongest. Avoid bank transfer, cryptocurrency and gift cards — those are effectively irreversible, which is exactly why scam sites request them.
I already paid. What do I do?
Contact your card issuer immediately and ask about a chargeback, keep every screenshot and email, and report the site to your national consumer or fraud body. Move quickly, since chargeback windows have deadlines.
Sources
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