Online shopping scams cost consumers over $5.8 billion in 2025 alone, according to the FTC. Fake online stores are the fastest-growing form of e-commerce fraud — with thousands of new scam shops created every single day. Learning to spot them before you buy could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
The Most Common Types of Online Store Scams
Non-Delivery Scams
You pay for a product that never arrives. The store disappears after collecting payments from thousands of victims.
Counterfeit Product Scams
You receive a cheap knockoff of the luxury or branded item you ordered. Usually arrives with wrong branding or poor quality.
Dropshipping Scams
The store advertises branded goods but ships cheap AliExpress products (or nothing) after months of delays.
Data Theft Stores
The entire website is set up to steal credit card and personal data. No products exist — the "store" is just a phishing operation.
Subscription Traps
You sign up for a "free trial" and hidden terms enroll you in recurring monthly charges that are difficult to cancel.
Refund Fraud
The store makes returns impossible through vague policies, unresponsive customer service, or requiring the item to be shipped internationally at your cost.
How to Check if an Online Store is Legit (6 Steps)
Run an AI Trust Check on OnlyReputable.com
Paste the store's URL for an instant AI analysis covering domain age, reviews, policies, and 47 other trust signals. Takes 3 seconds.
Check How Old the Domain Is
Most scam stores are registered less than 6 months before they're shut down. OnlyReputable shows domain age automatically — anything under 1 year is a red flag.
Search Reddit for Reviews
Go to Reddit and search: "[store name] review" or "[store name] scam". Reddit is where real customers share honest experiences — including scam warnings.
Check Their Return Policy
Read the refund policy carefully. Legit stores offer clear return windows (14-30 days). Vague policies, international-return requirements, or no policy at all are major red flags.
Verify Contact Information
Does the store have a real address you can Google Maps? A real phone number? An email that gets responses? Scam stores usually have only a contact form that nobody monitors.
Question the Price
If a store is selling Nike shoes for $25 or iPhones for $150, it's almost certainly a scam. Prices dramatically below market rate are the #1 red flag for fake stores.
✅ Online Store Safety Checklist
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if an online store is legit?
Check the store's domain age (should be 1+ years), find real customer reviews on Reddit and Trustpilot, verify they have real contact information, confirm their refund policy is fair, and use OnlyReputable.com for an instant AI trust score covering 50+ signals.
What are the signs of a fake online store?
Prices 70–90% below retail, domain registered under 12 months ago, only 5-star reviews with no negatives, no real contact info, vague or absent refund policy, stock images stolen from other sites, and poor grammar throughout the website.
Can I get my money back from a scam online store?
Yes, often. If you paid by credit card, contact your card issuer immediately to dispute the charge — you typically have 60–120 days. PayPal purchases are also often reversible through buyer protection. Debit card and bank transfer scams are harder to reverse.
What should I do if I already gave my card details to a scam store?
Call your bank immediately and ask them to cancel the card and monitor for fraudulent transactions. File a dispute for any charges already made. Also change any passwords you may have created on the scam site.
Check Any Online Store Before You Buy
Free AI analysis in 3 seconds. Protect your wallet from scam stores.
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