Is This Website Legit? Free Website Scam Checker
Free · no sign-up · threat feeds, blocklists, domain age and HTTPS in one check
What this website checker looks at
Most “is this website legit” tools give you a single score. We show the evidence behind it, from sources you can verify:
- Threat-intelligence feeds: the domain is compared with more than two million malware and phishing domains collected from public feeds and updated every day.
- Spam and abuse blocklists: Spamhaus DBL, SURBL and URIBL, the lists email providers and security tools rely on.
- Domain age: the creation date published by the registry (RDAP). Brand-new domains are the favourite of fake shops.
- Popularity: whether the site is in the Tranco list of the most visited domains, which scam sites practically never reach.
- HTTPS certificate: whether it works, who issued it and whether it has expired.
- Ownership and email: whether the owner hides behind a privacy service and whether the domain receives email, as real businesses usually do.
Need more? The full domain lookup adds WHOIS history, the company behind the site, its technology and dozens of extra reputation sources.
How to tell if a website is legit: 8 checks before you pay
- Read the address carefully. Lookalike domains swap letters or add words (amaz0n-deals, paypal-secure-login). Type the brand’s address yourself instead of clicking links.
- Check how old the domain is. The checker above shows it. A site created last month offering famous brands at 70% off is a classic fake shop.
- Be suspicious of prices that are too good. Heavy discounts on sold-out or luxury products are the main bait.
- Look at the payment options. If the site only accepts bank transfers, gift cards, crypto or payment apps, walk away: those payments are almost impossible to reverse. Credit cards let you dispute a charge.
- Find a real company behind it. A legal name, a physical address and a phone number that works. Missing or copied “About us” pages are a warning sign.
- Search for independent reviews. Look the site up together with words like “scam” or “reviews” on search engines and forums, not just the testimonials on the site itself.
- Don’t trust the padlock alone. HTTPS only encrypts the connection; scam sites have it too.
- Check the policies. Returns, shipping and privacy pages that are vague, copied from another shop or missing altogether usually mean nobody stands behind the store.
Is this website legit to buy from? Signs of a fake online store
Fake shops follow a pattern: a fresh domain, adverts on social media, unbelievable discounts, a countdown timer, stock photos stolen from the real brand and contact details that lead nowhere. Many disappear after a few weeks and reopen under a new name, which is why domain age and threat feeds are such strong signals. Our step-by-step guide explains how to spot a fake online store in more detail, and if a seller contacted you by email, run the address through the email lookup first.
Scammed by a website? What to do now
- Call your bank or card issuer today and ask to dispute the payment. The sooner you report it, the better your chances of a chargeback.
- Change your passwords if you created an account or typed a password on the site, and turn on two-factor authentication.
- Keep the evidence: order confirmations, emails, screenshots of the site and the payment record.
- Report it. In the US, report the site to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and internet fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov. In the UK, report it to Report Fraud and forward scam texts to 7726.
Frequently asked questions
How can I check if a website is legit for free?
Paste the address into the checker at the top of this page. In a few seconds it looks the domain up in our database of more than two million malicious domains, in the Spamhaus, SURBL and URIBL blocklists, in the domain registry for its age, and tests its HTTPS certificate. It is free and needs no account.
Is a website safe if it has a padlock (HTTPS)?
No. The padlock only means the connection between you and the site is encrypted. Scam shops and phishing pages get free HTTPS certificates in minutes, so a padlock tells you nothing about who runs the site or whether they will ship your order.
How old should a website be before I trust it?
There is no magic number, but most fake shops and phishing pages live on domains registered days or weeks earlier. A domain younger than six months selling big brands at deep discounts deserves extra checks; one that has existed for years is a better sign, though not a guarantee.
Can a website pass every check and still be a scam?
Yes. Automated signals catch known threats and typical warning signs, not every fraud. A new scam may not be in any feed yet, and older domains are sometimes hijacked. Combine the result with independent reviews, real contact details and a payment method that lets you dispute the charge.
What should I do if I bought from a fake website?
Call your card issuer or bank straight away and ask to dispute the charge; card payments usually allow a chargeback. Change any password you typed on the site, keep screenshots and emails, and report the site to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and, for internet fraud, to the FBI at ic3.gov.
Is this website checker really free?
Yes. The quick check on this page is free with a fair-use limit per day. The full domain report, with owner and WHOIS history, technology stack and reputation across many more sources, is part of IntelMind’s paid domain lookup.