Online shopping and fake websites

Fake online stores and too-good-to-be-true deals

An ad shows a brand-name product at a price that seems too good to pass up. The site looks professional, but it’s a fake store. You get a counterfeit, something completely different, or nothing at all, and your card details may be used again.

By Clutterstrike · Last reviewed · 1 min read

Fake stores are often advertised on social media, borrow photos and logos from real brands, and can even show up in search results. Many look polished. The tell is usually in the details around the price and the payment.

What it looks like

Example message · details changed
Closing down sale! Everything 80% off today only. Original designer handbags from $39: https://luxe-outlet-clearance-sale.shop/bags

How to spot it

  • The price is far below what anyone else charges for the same brand-name item.
  • The deal is “today only” or “closing down”, to rush you past your doubts.
  • The web address doesn’t match the brand, or is a long string of shopping words.
  • It wants payment by gift card, wire transfer, payment app, or cryptocurrency. The FTC says a seller who only takes those is probably a scammer.
  • You can’t find real reviews. Search the store’s name and web address with “review”, “complaint”, or “scam”. Don’t rely on star ratings alone, since reviews can be fake.
  • The padlock doesn’t prove anything. A secure (https) connection only means the connection is encrypted, not that the store is real.

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What to do

  1. Search before you buy. Look up the store’s name and address with “scam” or “complaint”.
  2. Go to the brand’s real site by typing its address yourself instead of clicking the ad.
  3. Pay by credit card when you can. If the item never arrives or isn’t what you ordered, you can dispute the charge with your card company.
  4. Keep records: the store’s name and address, your receipt, and the promised delivery date.
  5. Report fake stores at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

If you already paid and nothing arrived, contact your card issuer to dispute the charge, then follow I sent money to a scammer: what to do now.

Written by Clutterstrike

Clutterstrike makes Cluttersignal, a browser extension that checks emails, texts, links, and websites for signs of a scam. Our guides are written by the team and checked against official guidance from the agencies listed in the sources.

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Sources