Learn how to spot fake online shopping websites with 12 warning signs, including suspicious prices, fake reviews, payment methods, missing policies, and more.
Shopping online can save time and money, but it also makes it easy to buy from a seller you know almost nothing about.
A store can have a professional-looking website, attractive product photos, big discounts, and hundreds of reviews and still not be what it claims to be.
Some fake online stores are built to take your payment and never send anything. Others send a cheap or counterfeit version of the product you ordered. Some are designed mainly to collect payment details or personal information.
That does not mean every unfamiliar online store is a scam. It means you should take a few minutes to check a store before giving it your money.
Here are 12 signs that can help you spot a fake online shopping website. For a broader guide on evaluating any website, see how to check if a website is legit or a scam. For practical checks before entering personal information on any site, see how to check a suspicious website before you enter your information.
An unusually cheap price is one of the first things that should make you stop and investigate.
Imagine you find a popular product that normally sells for $300, but an unfamiliar website is selling it for $79.
There could be a genuine reason for a discount, such as a clearance sale or refurbished product. But if the price is dramatically lower than what established retailers are charging, find out why before buying.
The FTC warns that scammers often advertise expensive or popular products at unusually low prices. In some cases, buyers receive counterfeit goods, something completely different from what was advertised, or nothing at all.
A low price is not proof of a scam.
It is a reason to investigate.
Social media can be a great place to discover products, but you should not assume that an advertisement means the seller has been verified.
Scammers can create ads using stolen photographs, logos, product descriptions, and videos from legitimate businesses.
You might see an expensive product advertised at a huge discount, click the ad, and land on a store that looks completely legitimate.
Before purchasing, search for the store independently instead of relying only on the advertisement.
Check the store name and website address along with words such as "review," "complaint," or "scam." The FTC recommends this type of research when shopping from unfamiliar sellers.
Take a close look at the URL before entering payment information.
Watch for:
A legitimate business can use many different domain names, so a strange-looking URL by itself does not prove that a website is fraudulent.
But if the website is pretending to be a well-known retailer and the domain does not match the retailer's normal website, stop and investigate.
Also remember that having HTTPS does not prove that a shopping website is legitimate. HTTPS encrypts the connection, but scammers can use HTTPS too. The FTC specifically warns consumers not to treat the padlock or HTTPS as proof that a website is trustworthy.
A real online store should normally give customers some way to understand who operates the business and how to contact them.
Look for information such as:
Be cautious when a store gives you almost no information about who is behind it.
The FBI recommends checking the contact details of an online retailer, including its address, email, and phone number.
A contact page alone is not proof that a store is legitimate. It is simply one part of the overall check.
Reviews can be useful, but don't treat a five-star rating as proof that a store is genuine.
Fake shopping websites may display copied or fabricated reviews to make the business look established.
Look beyond the star rating.
Search for the company independently and compare reviews from different sources. Pay attention to repeated complaints about:
The FTC recommends reading reviews critically and checking several sources because reviews and ratings can be fake or misleading.
Look closely at the product images.
If every product uses polished images that appear to come from the manufacturer, but the store provides no original photographs, that is worth investigating.
This is particularly important when buying expensive electronics, designer products, collectibles, furniture, or other items where the condition matters.
A scam store can copy photographs from a legitimate retailer and use them to advertise products it does not actually have.
The FTC recommends looking closely at product photos and checking whether a seller actually shows the item being sold.
Before paying, find the store's return and refund policy.
Ask:
A vague policy that makes it difficult to understand how refunds work should make you cautious.
The FTC recommends checking shipping, return, refund, and other terms before buying from an unfamiliar seller.
Pay attention to how the website wants you to pay.
Be especially cautious if a seller insists on methods that make it difficult to recover your money, such as:
The FTC specifically warns against online sellers who insist on payment methods such as gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, or cryptocurrency.
When possible, use a payment method that gives you appropriate protections if something goes wrong.
A fake online store may try to create pressure.
You might see:
A genuine retailer can certainly run legitimate sales and limited-stock promotions. So urgency by itself does not prove that a website is fraudulent.
But when extreme urgency is combined with an unfamiliar seller, unusually low prices, weak company information, and unusual payment methods, you have several reasons to slow down.
You do not need to make an immediate decision just because a countdown timer is running.
Look at the small details.
Does the website contain:
One spelling mistake does not make a store fake.
Businesses make mistakes.
But a collection of inconsistencies can tell you that the website may have been thrown together quickly or copied from somewhere else.
Be careful with claims such as:
These claims can sound reassuring, but you should verify them independently when the purchase involves an expensive or branded product.
If a seller claims to be an authorized retailer, check the manufacturer's own website to see whether the seller is actually listed.
Don't rely only on a badge or statement displayed on the store's website.
A professional website does not necessarily mean the business has a real track record.
Search the store's name and domain independently.
Try searches such as:
Look at what you find rather than relying on a single review website.
If the store has no meaningful history, very little independent information, or a pattern of complaints about missing orders and refunds, think carefully before purchasing.
The FTC recommends researching an unfamiliar seller and searching for complaints or reviews before buying.
This is one of the most important things to understand.
You may see a padlock in your browser and HTTPS at the beginning of the address.
That is good for protecting information while it travels between your browser and the website.
But it does not tell you who owns the website or whether the seller is honest.
Scammers can use HTTPS too.
So don't ask only:
"Does this website have HTTPS?"
"Who operates this store, what are other customers saying, how does the business handle returns, and how does it expect me to pay?"
That gives you a much more useful picture of the seller.
If you are unsure about a website, take five minutes before placing the order.
Make sure you are on the website you intended to visit.
Search the store name and website address with words such as "review," "complaint," and "scam."
Check several established retailers selling the same product.
Make sure you understand what happens if the product is damaged, incorrect, or never arrives.
Look for a real way to contact the business.
Search for independent experiences from customers.
Be especially cautious if the seller insists on difficult-to-reverse payment methods.
If you need to decide in seconds, take a step back.
Act quickly, especially if you paid by card.
Save your order confirmation, receipt, emails, messages, screenshots, product page, and any communication with the seller.
If the product never arrives or the transaction is fraudulent, contact your payment provider and ask what options are available. The FTC recommends contacting your credit card company to dispute certain charges when an order never arrives or there is another qualifying problem.
If you created an account on the site and reused that password elsewhere, change the reused password on those other accounts.
If you gave the website sensitive financial or personal information, monitor your accounts carefully and contact the relevant financial institution if necessary.
Don't delete the evidence before you have finished dealing with the problem.
If you received a suspicious shopping message or email containing a link to an unfamiliar store, you can use the Scamlify SMS Scam Checker or Scamlify Email Scam Checker to look for common scam indicators in the message. Many fake online stores are reached through phishing messages — see our guide on what phishing is and how phishing scams work.
Remember that a scam checker is another layer of protection, not proof that a website is safe.
Before paying an unfamiliar online store, independently verify the seller, check its reputation, read the refund policy, compare prices, and use an appropriate payment method.
Sometimes spending five extra minutes checking a store can save you from a much bigger problem later.
Look for several warning signs together. Extremely low prices, missing company information, suspicious payment methods, fake-looking reviews, copied product images, unclear refund policies, and pressure to buy immediately can all be reasons to investigate further.
No. HTTPS helps encrypt the connection between your browser and the website, but it does not prove that the seller is legitimate. Scammers can use HTTPS too.
Research the company independently. Search for its name and website address along with words such as "review," "complaint," or "scam." Check its contact information, refund policy, shipping terms, reviews, and payment methods before buying.
They can be. An unusually low price is especially concerning when the product normally costs much more elsewhere and the seller is unfamiliar. It can also indicate counterfeit goods or a misleading offer.
Yes. Reviews and ratings can be fake or misleading. Check several independent sources rather than relying only on the reviews displayed on the store's own website.
Be very cautious. The FTC warns consumers about online sellers who insist on payment methods such as gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, or cryptocurrency because these methods can make it difficult to recover money.
Keep your order records and contact the seller. If the issue is not resolved, contact the company you used to make the payment and ask what dispute or refund options are available. The exact process depends on the payment method.
Yes. A polished design does not prove that the business behind a website is genuine. Check the seller's history, contact information, independent reviews, pricing, policies, and payment methods instead of judging the site by appearance alone.