⚠️ PRACTICAL SAFETY GUIDE

How to Check If a Website is Legitimate

A practical guide to spotting scams and verifying websites before you buy, invest, or share information

⚠️ Immediate Red Flags: Is This Website a Scam?

Urgency & Pressure Tactics

•"Limited time offer!" or "Only 3 left in stock!" when it's clearly fake
•Countdown timers that reset when they expire
•Pop-ups saying "X people are viewing this right now"

Suspicious Website Signs

•No contact information or only a contact form (no phone, address)
•Website was created recently (check domain age)
•Poor English, spelling mistakes, or awkward phrasing
•Prices that seem too good to be true (they usually are)

Quick Check: The 60-Second Verification

Use our free tool to instantly check these red flags:

Domain Age

SSL Security

Contact Info

Social Media

🛒 Common Online Shopping Scams

Fake Online Stores

These sites look like legitimate stores but either sell counterfeit goods or take your money and never ship anything. They often use stolen product images and fake reviews.

Social Media Scams

Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok ads for amazing products at unbelievable prices. The sites are usually new, and the products either never arrive or are completely different than advertised.

Fake Reviews & Ratings

Scammers create fake positive reviews or clone legitimate sites' reviews. Look for: overly generic praise, same review posted multiple times, or reviews that don't match the product.

✅ Legitimate Website Signs

✓Clear "About Us" and "Contact" pages
✓Physical address (not just P.O. box)
✓Professional website design

✓Real customer service (phone/email)
✓Realistic shipping/return policies
✓Domain registered for more than 1 year

🆘 What to Do If You've Been Scammed

Immediate Actions

1Contact your bank or credit card company immediately to report fraudulent charges
2Change passwords if you created an account on the scam site
3Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov

Report the Website

Help protect others by reporting scam websites:

Report to Google Safe Browsing IC3 Internet Crime Complaint

About Our Free Verification Tool

We created Is This Business Legit because everyone deserves to shop and browse safely online. Our tool automates the checks we outline above, analyzing 9+ trust signals in seconds.

Why It's Free

We believe basic online safety shouldn't cost money. We're committed to keeping our verification tool completely free—no premium features, no paywalls for essential checks.

Our Promise

We'll never sell your search data, show annoying ads, or charge for basic verification.

Accuracy Note

While we use multiple verification methods, no tool is 100% perfect. Always use common sense with too-good-to-be-true offers.

🔍Check a Website Now

100% free • No registration • Instant results