Fake shops copy real brands, run social media ads with impossible prices, take your payment and either send nothing or send junk. Most disappear within weeks. Run these checks before you pay.
1. How old is the website?
Most fake stores are less than three months old. Paste the address into our website checker or website age checker. A brand-new domain selling branded goods at 70% off is the classic pattern.
2. Is the deal impossible?
Compare the price with the brand's official store. "Closing down — everything 80% off" banners are one of the most common Facebook and Instagram ad scams.
3. How do they want to be paid?
Real shops take cards and PayPal. If the checkout pushes Zelle, bank transfer, crypto or gift cards, stop — those payments cannot be reversed.
4. Can you actually contact them?
Look for a physical address, a phone number and an email at their own domain (not Gmail). WhatsApp-only "support" is a warning sign.
5. Are the policies real?
Legitimate stores publish returns, shipping, privacy and terms pages. Fake ones often copy them word-for-word from another store — search a sentence in quotes to find the original.
6. Read the bad reviews
Search "shopname reviews" and "shopname scam". Read the newest one-star reviews first; fake shops pad their own site with five-star testimonials.
7. Reverse-search the product photos
Right-click a product photo and search it with Google Lens. If it appears on the brand's site or on dozens of other shops, the store is reselling a fantasy.
Already paid?
Call your card issuer and ask for a chargeback, then use our recovery planner and report the site to warn others.