How to Identify a Fake E-commerce Website

As the e-commerce market booms, opportunity arises for scammers and fraudsters to catch you out when shopping online. Everyone wants an excellent deal on the products they love, but when a deal is too good to be true, sometimes it is!

Knowing how to spot a fake website is essential to avoid disappointment, so here's a quick guide on how to identify these fake websites and continue shopping safely…

Are their prices unbelievable?

If you've found a seemingly new Rolex watch for under £50 you might be tempted to think you've found a fantastic deal, but this isn't realistic. If the website is citing extremely low prices for products that are typically expensive, you could be being scammed or sold counterfeit products.

This also goes for websites that have incredibly high discounts applied to products that were previously marked at a realistic price. These are often in place to trick consumers and rush them into implausible deals with 'limited time only' offers. Make sure to price check products across a range of online stores, if their price margins are very low then you will know it is a scam website.

Do they have personal data security?

Typically just before you enter your card details into a websites checkout portal, you'll see a sign of reliable e-commerce data protection. This is a guaranteed way to tell is a website is legitimate. Usually this will come in the form of a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encoding certificate, you can spot if a website has this by checking if a padlock appears near the websites URL.

If this isn't present during the checkout process your information may not be safe and the website could be trying to access your details for fraudulent purposes. Make sure you are not rushing through the checkout process to get the best deal and ensure you check the legitimacy of the website so that you don't get scammed!

Is the domain name legitimate?

An easy way to spot a fake e-commerce site is to have a look at the domain name. Many fake websites will try to use a domain name that is very similar to a well-known brand or business. For example, this could appear as 'www.discountadidasclothes.co.uk' or 'www.adidas_1.com'. If you see a domain that uses names that use popular brand names within them, this is often a red flag and a good way to identify fake websites.

You should also watch out for sites that use domains ending in .net or .org and are selling products online. These domain names are typically used for organisations or websites giving out information and are rarely used for online shopping!

Sometimes it can be safer to shop from websites that are built through well-known companies like Shopify. These are all certified sellers and can guarantee customers quality products no matter which merchant they choose.

Plus, sellers that run their websites through these e-commerce website builders often pair their services with our Shipping Manager. This allows them to offer discounted parcel delivery services so that you can have the products you love shipped for less!

Does their website have contact information?

Before buying anything from a site you are not confident is legitimate, take a few minutes to browse and check they have some essential pages.

Reputable businesses always include ways that customers can get in touch with them. This usually comes in the form of a 'Contact Us' page. If it doesn't, this could be a sign of a scam website. If the website only includes a form to fill out in order to contact them, this is also a warning sign.

For businesses of all sizes, enabling customers to contact them about their products, services or orders through a phone number, email or live chat feature, is essential. If there is none of this information, or details that appear fake, you shouldn't buy products from them!

Do they have a returns policy?

If a business is selling legitimate products online, they will always have a returns policy of some kind for customers to use. For smaller businesses this may just be a section on their site or a form which outlines what their policy is and how you can follow it.

Returns policies show a business cares about their customer's experience and are open to help in the event of items being returned or exchanged. Returns policies can also come under the terms and conditions outlined during checkout so make sure that you check any information on your contractual rights when checking out with any online business.

Have they received online reviews?

Reviews are one of the most important aspects in e-commerce business. They can be the difference between a thriving company and a struggling business as they are a marker of legitimacy.

If you're about to buy products from a store you're unfamiliar with, reading online reviews are a great way to spot legitimacy. Reviews can help you identify a scam website if they have very few, very recent or very formulaic sounding testimonials.

Search for the company's name on sites like Trustpilot and Feefo to check what reviews they've received. You could also check the businesses social media accounts to see if activity is recent and consistent. This is also a great way to see if previous customers have posted negative feedback about them!

Keep in mind, fake reviews are common so to spot the ones that aren't real follow these guidelines:

• Are the reviews very similar?
• Are most of the reviews very recent?
• Are reviews very vague or overly specific?
• Do they have very few reviews?

If your answer to most of these points is yes, you could be seeing fake reviews created to trick shoppers into buying from scam websites - don't fall for it!

The online shopping market is full of wonderful, affordable products that are widening consumers' access to a vast range of goods. Although there will always be online scammers out there, you can stay vigilant and keep an eye out for these red flags when online shopping.