Is This Shopping Website Safe? 7 Checks Before You Pay

Fake shopping sites copy real brands, run ads with unbelievable discounts and disappear after taking payments. These seven checks take two minutes.

1. Read the domain carefully. nike-sale-india.shop is not Nike. Brands sell on their own domain or well-known marketplaces.
2. Price sanity. 80–90% off a brand-new phone or branded shoes is the classic bait.
3. Contact details. A real business lists a physical address, a working phone number and a GST number on invoices. Only a WhatsApp number or a Gmail address is a warning sign.
4. Reviews outside the site. Search “site name reviews” or “site name scam”. Reviews on the site itself can be fake.
5. Return and refund policy. Real shops explain returns clearly. Copy-pasted policies mentioning another company’s name are a giveaway.
6. Payment options. Be careful when a site pushes only direct UPI to a personal ID or bank transfer, with no cash on delivery or card option.
7. How old is the site? A “since 2010” brand on a domain registered last month doesn’t add up. WHOIS lookup sites show the registration date.

If something went wrong

Contact your bank or UPI app immediately, report on the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in, and keep screenshots of the site, the order and the payment.

See also: spot a phishing email.