How to Tell If an Online Store Is Fake Before You Buy

A social media ad shows a designer jacket at 80% off. The site looks polished, the countdown timer is ticking and checkout takes 30 seconds. Two weeks later, nothing has arrived, or a cheap knockoff shows up, and the “customer service” email bounces.

Fake online stores are one of the most common scams in the US. The Federal Trade Commission reported that shopping scams were the most reported type of social media scam in 2025, and more than 40% of people who lost money to a scam on social media said it started when they ordered something they saw in an ad. Here is a practical checklist to tell whether a website is legit before you pay, including how to check a domain’s age and which payment methods protect you.

The 60-second legitimacy check

If you only have a minute, run these 5 checks. A store that fails 2 or more is not worth the risk.

1. Is the price realistic? The FTC warns that prices far lower than elsewhere are probably a scam. Compare with 2 or 3 major retailers.
2. What do others say? Search the store’s name or web address with words like “scam,” “complaint” or “review.”
3. How old is the domain? A store that claims years of history but registered its domain a few weeks ago is a major red flag.
4. Can you reach them? Look for a physical address, phone number and an email on the store’s own domain, not only a contact form.
5. How can you pay? If the only choices are gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps or crypto, walk away.

Key takeaway: A professional-looking site and a padlock icon prove nothing. Scam stores look polished, and the FTC notes that HTTPS only means the connection is encrypted, not that the seller is honest.

How to check a website’s domain age

Scam stores often run for a few weeks, collect payments, then disappear and relaunch under a new name. That makes domain age one of the most useful clues.

1. Copy the store’s domain, the part after “https://” and before the first single slash, such as examplestore.com.
2. Look it up in a registration data tool. ICANN, the organization that coordinates domain names, runs a free lookup tool that uses the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP), the successor to the older WHOIS system. It can show the date a domain was registered.
3. Read the dates. Look at the creation or registration date. A domain created in the past few months deserves extra suspicion, especially if the site claims to be an established brand.
4. Do not expect owner names. Under ICANN’s data policy, personal details such as names and phone numbers are usually withheld, so a hidden owner alone is not proof of fraud.

A new domain is not automatically a scam, since real businesses launch every day. But a brand-new domain combined with deep discounts, no contact details and a social media ad is a very strong warning sign.

Check the address itself

• Look-alike spellings: an extra letter, swapped letters or a hyphen added to a famous brand name.
• Extra words: brand names padded with “outlet,” “sale,” “official-store” or “clearance.”
• Odd endings: an unfamiliar domain ending on a site claiming to be a major US retailer.

You can also paste the address into Google’s Safe Browsing site status tool in its Transparency Report to see whether Google currently flags it as dangerous. A clean result does not prove a store is honest, because brand-new scam sites may not be flagged yet.

Red flags in social media ads

Most fake-store victims arrive through an ad, so learn to read ads critically.

• Huge discounts on famous brands. The FTC specifically warns about social media ads offering super-low prices on well-known brands. Ads can impersonate real companies, so the seller may not be the brand shown.
• Urgency tricks. Countdown timers, “only 3 left” and “closing down, everything must go” stories pressure you to skip research.
• Disabled or odd comments. Comments turned off, or a stream of identical praise from new accounts.
• A page that does not match. The ad’s page is new, has few posts or changed its name recently.
• Stolen or AI-generated images. Product photos that look too perfect, or celebrity endorsements that seem off. Our guide on how to spot a deepfake covers fake video and image clues.

If an ad seems to come from a brand you trust, do not tap it. Go to the company’s official website by typing the address yourself and look for the deal there.

Fake store vs legitimate store: a checklist

Don’t rely on star ratings alone. The FTC notes some reviews and ratings are fake or misleading, so look for detailed reviews on independent sites rather than the store’s own page.

How to pay safely online

How you pay decides whether you can get your money back.

The FTC recommends paying by credit card because you may be able to dispute charges if you receive the wrong item or nothing at all. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, the FTC advises getting your written dispute to the card issuer within 60 days after the first statement with the charge.

A few more habits help:

• Use a virtual card number if your card issuer offers one, so the merchant never sees your real number.
• Never give a store your Social Security number or bank account number. The FTC warns that scam sites are often after personal information as well as money.
• Save everything. Keep the store name, web address, order confirmation, payment record and any messages.

What to do if you already ordered from a fake store

1. Contact the seller once through the details on the site, in case it is a delay rather than a scam. Do not wait long.
2. Call your card issuer or payment provider and dispute the charge. Ask for a new card number if you are worried the store kept your details.
3. Change any password you created on the store, especially if you reuse it elsewhere, and turn on two-factor authentication for your email and bank.
4. Watch your statements for unfamiliar charges.
5. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and report the ad to the social media platform.
6. Go to IdentityTheft.gov if you shared personal details beyond your card.

Our checklist on what to do if you got scammed walks through each payment type in more detail. Be wary of anyone who contacts you afterward offering to recover your money for a fee.

Where to start: build safer shopping habits

1. Shop from bookmarks. Save your favorite retailers so you never rely on ads or search results.
2. Pause on ad deals. Make a rule to wait 10 minutes and run the 60-second check before buying from any store you discovered through an ad.
3. Set up card alerts so every online charge pings your phone.
4. Pick a “shopping card.” Use 1 credit card, or a virtual number, for online purchases only.
5. Share this checklist with family members who shop on their phones.

Watch for shipping scam texts after you order, too. Fake “delivery problem” messages are among the most reported text scams, as our guide on how to spot a scam text explains.

Conclusion

Fake online stores rely on great-looking sites, impossible prices and quick decisions. Slow down, check the domain’s age, search for complaints, compare prices and confirm real contact details. Pay with a credit card so you can dispute the charge if something goes wrong. Those habits take a few minutes and can save you hundreds of dollars.

Sources

• FTC: New FTC data show people have lost billions to social media scams — shopping scams most reported on social media in 2025 and the share that started with an ad
• FTC Consumer Alert: That social media ad with super low prices on well-known brands could be a scam — ad red flags, research steps and payment advice
• FTC Consumer Advice: Online shopping — HTTPS does not prove legitimacy, fake reviews and risky payment methods
• ICANN: Domain registration data lookup — RDAP-based lookup showing domain registration dates
• Google Transparency Report: Safe Browsing site status — checking whether a site is currently flagged as dangerous
• FTC Consumer Advice: Using credit cards and disputing charges — Fair Credit Billing Act dispute rights and 60-day window