How to Verify If a Website or Business Is Legitimate

Learn simple checks to determine if a website is real and trustworthy before you give it your money or personal information.

In this guide (6 steps):

1.Check when the website was created
2.Scan the website with VirusTotal
3.Look up the business on the Better Business Bureau
4.Search for customer reviews and complaints
5.Check for HTTPS and a valid SSL certificate
6.Red flags that indicate a fake website

Check when the website was created

~15s

Go to whois.domaintools.com and type in the website address. This will show you when the website was registered. New websites (less than a week old) are more likely to be scams. Real businesses usually have websites that have existed for several years.

Scan the website with VirusTotal

~15s

Visit virustotal.com and paste the website address in the search box. VirusTotal checks the website against 70+ antivirus programs to see if it contains malware or is flagged as a scam site. If many security vendors flag it, do not visit the site.

Look up the business on the Better Business Bureau

~18s

Go to bbb.org and search for the company name. The BBB shows you the business address, how long they have been in business, customer complaints, and their rating (A+ through F). A new business with many complaints is a red flag. Real businesses have customer reviews going back years.

Search for customer reviews and complaints

~15s

Search the company name + "scam" or "reviews" on Google. If you see many complaints about people not receiving their orders or losing money, it is likely a scam. Read through reviews on Google Maps, Trustpilot, or the BBB website.

Check for HTTPS and a valid SSL certificate

~20s

Look at the web address at the top of your browser. It should start with "https://" (not just "http://"). The "s" means the website is secure and encrypted. You should also see a small lock icon next to the address. If there is no lock or the address starts with "http://", the site may not be safe.

Red flags that indicate a fake website

~30s

Avoid websites if: they are very new (created recently), they have poor spelling and grammar, the design looks amateurish or copied from another site, they ask for payment by wire transfer or gift cards, they ask for unusual payment methods like cryptocurrency, prices are much lower than competitors, they pressure you to buy immediately, or they refuse to answer your questions.

Warning

Never buy from a website that only accepts wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Legitimate businesses accept credit cards and PayPal. These payment methods give you protection if something goes wrong.

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