How to check if a website is legit: a 7-point checklist
If something about a website feels off, trust that feeling and slow down for two minutes. Fake shops and copycat sites are designed to look real, but they almost always slip up in a few predictable places. Here is the checklist I run through before I buy from a site I do not know.
1. Do not rely on the padlock
The little padlock next to the web address only means the connection is encrypted. It does not mean the company is honest. Scammers get padlocks too, because they are free. So treat the padlock as the bare minimum, not a seal of approval.
2. Read the web address very carefully
Most fake sites copy a real brand and change the address slightly: an extra word, a swapped letter, or an odd ending like .shop or .top instead of .co.uk or .com. Look at the spelling letter by letter. If you arrived from an email or a text, that is even more reason to check, because that is exactly how copycats pull people in.
3. Find out who is behind it
A real business is usually happy to tell you who they are. Look for a full company name, a UK address, and a way to contact a human. If it claims to be a UK company, search the free Companies House register for the name. No company details, no address, and only a contact form is a bad sign.
4. Look for reviews somewhere other than their own site
Five-star reviews on the company’s own page mean little. Search the brand name on Google and on Trustpilot, and add the word “scam” to your search. Be wary if every review is glowing and written in the same style, or if there are almost no reviews at all for a shop that claims to be popular.
5. Check how they want to be paid
This one is the clearest tell. If a site pushes you toward a bank transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards, walk away. Those methods are almost impossible to claw back. Paying by credit card is safest, because purchases between £100 and £30,000 are covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which makes your card company jointly responsible if things go wrong. Debit card payments can sometimes be recovered through chargeback, but the protection is weaker.
6. Be honest about prices that look too good
A new iPhone at half price, designer goods at a tenth of the cost, tickets that are sold out everywhere else but available here. Scammers use a genuine bargain as bait because it switches off the part of your brain that asks questions. If the price makes no sense, that is the point.
7. Run it through a free checker
Free tools like Get Safe Online’s check-a-website feature give a site a quick risk score based on its age, location and history. A site registered three weeks ago that claims to be an established UK retailer is worth avoiding.
Quick red-flag summary: brand-new domain, no company details, bank transfer or crypto only, prices too good to be true, pressure to buy now, and reviews that all sound the same. Two or more of these together, and I would not hand over a penny.
If you have already paid
If you have a bad feeling after paying, act quickly. Our guide on what to do if you’ve been scammed walks you through the first hour, and how to report a scam in the UK covers who to tell. The sooner you contact your bank, the better your chances of getting your money back.
More guides in our scams and fraud section.