In this guide 10 sections
At a glance
The short version.
Watch for
- A discount far below the usual price, framed as a clearance or limited-time offer
- A web address that differs from the brand’s real one, reached only through an advert or message link
- A celebrity or influencer endorsement that you cannot confirm anywhere except the advert
Already acted?
Contact your card issuer, bank or payment service immediately through its official app or the number on your card, and ask whether the payment can be stopped, reversed or disputed.
See every recovery stepWhat is changing now
The current pattern.
Fake shops reach people through paid adverts in social media feeds and search engines’ shopping results, and through links in emails and texts. They copy the look of genuine retailers, offer steep discounts for a limited time and may add celebrity endorsements that were never given. Buyers then receive nothing, or a cheap item that does not match what they ordered, and the site can disappear soon afterwards.
How it works
How the scam unfolds.
Anyone can pay to place an advert in a social media feed, and platforms do not always thoroughly check the ads or the advertisers behind them. Fake shops use that reach — and search engines’ shopping results — to put steep discounts in front of people whose interests and shopping habits suggest they might buy. Some copy a real retailer’s design, logos and product photos under a web address that differs from the genuine one by a word or two. Others borrow trust from fake celebrity or influencer endorsements, sometimes with doctored video and audio that seems real.
The site can look polished, but appearance proves little: convincing shops can be set up and taken down quickly. Look closer and the details often fail. The web address may have been registered only recently, with the owner hidden behind a private registration service. The ‘Contact us’ page may list a real address and phone number that belong to someone else, or only a free email account. After payment, some buyers receive nothing. Others receive a cheap item unrelated to their order, or a counterfeit that can be poor quality and even unsafe, and complaints are met with a partial refund or an instruction to post the item overseas at their own expense.
Pet adverts follow a similar path. A cheap or free puppy or kitten is offered, then the seller asks for one payment after another — for shipping, vaccinations, certificates or insurance — and the animal never arrives. In every version, the useful question is not whether the shop looks real. It is whether you can check the seller independently, and whether the way you pay leaves you a route to dispute the charge if nothing arrives.
Warning signs
Reasons to stop and verify.
- A discount far below the usual price, framed as a clearance or limited-time offer
- A web address that differs from the brand’s real one, reached only through an advert or message link
- A celebrity or influencer endorsement that you cannot confirm anywhere except the advert
- A recently registered domain, hidden ownership, or contact details that belong to another business
- A request to pay by bank transfer instead of by card or a protected payment service
- New fees after the first payment, such as shipping, certificates or insurance for a pet
Spot the signs
What it can look like.
Highlighted phrases are warning signs; the numbered notes explain each one.
Bramwell & Hart Kitchen · Sponsored1 (warning sign 1)
CLOSING DOWN: EVERYTHING 80% OFF2 (warning sign 2)
Cast-iron cookware set, was £240, now £48. “The only pans I use at home” — TV chef Dana Royce3 (warning sign 3)
Final stock. Sale ends at midnight.4 (warning sign 4)
Shop now: bramwellhart-closingsale.example5 (warning sign 5)
At checkout
Card payments are temporarily unavailable. Pay by bank transfer for an extra 10% off.6 (warning sign 6)
- A paid placement
‘Sponsored’ means someone paid for the space. Platforms do not always thoroughly check advertisers, so an advert is not a sign that anyone has vetted the shop.
- A huge discount with a story
A closing-down or clearance story explains both the price and the hurry. Very large discounts are a recognised warning sign of fake and counterfeit shops.
- A celebrity endorsement
Fake celebrity endorsements, sometimes with doctored video, are used to borrow trust. Search the person’s name with the shop or product and ‘scam’ or ‘fake’.
- A deadline
A limited-time offer leaves no room to research the shop. That is usually the point.
- A look-alike web address
The brand’s name sits inside a different domain with extra words. Compare it with the address you reach by typing the brand’s site yourself.
- A push towards bank transfer
A ‘failed’ card payment followed by a transfer discount steers you away from the protection a card gives. Never pay a shop by direct bank transfer.
Reach the brand by typing its address yourself. If you cannot find the same offer there, do not buy through the advert — report it to the platform instead.
Composite example: names, numbers and “.example” addresses are fictional.
Worked example
A realistic pattern, separated into evidence.
This composite example is educational. It does not describe a real person or reproduce a live malicious message.
A clearance advert arrives after weeks of browsing
- 01The opening
After weeks of looking at garden furniture online, a reader sees a sponsored post for a well-known brand’s rattan dining set at 70% off in a ‘warehouse clearance’. The timing makes the advert feel relevant, and the brand name makes it feel safe.
- 02The escalation
The link opens a site with the brand’s logo and photos under a slightly different web address. A countdown says the offer ends at midnight. At checkout the card payment ‘fails’, and a message offers an extra 10% off for paying by bank transfer instead.
- 03The decision point
The advert’s timing reflects the reader’s own browsing, not the seller’s honesty. The address does not match the brand, the countdown discourages checking, and the switch from card to bank transfer removes the protection that would matter if nothing arrives.
Independent verification
Test the request without using its evidence.
These checks deliberately move the decision away from the person, link, number or account that introduced the request.
- 01
Go to the brand yourself
Type the retailer’s known web address, or search for it and read the results rather than clicking the top item. A genuine promotion should be easy to find on the real site.
- 02
Look up the web address
A domain registration lookup (often called WHOIS) shows when the address was registered. A very recent date or hidden ownership does not prove fraud, but alongside a deep discount it is a strong reason to stop.
- 03
Check the shop from the outside
Search its name with ‘scam’ or ‘complaint’, read reviews on independent consumer sites rather than the shop’s own pages, and check that the address and phone number actually belong to it.
- 04
Choose a payment you can dispute
Use a credit card where you can, and check what cover a payment service such as PayPal provides. Never pay a shop by direct bank transfer.
Prevention
Make the next attempt harder.
- 01
Start from the shop, not the advert
When an advert catches your eye, note the product and look for it later by typing the retailer’s address or opening its app. Look-alike sites then never enter the path.
- 02
Keep a protected way to pay
Use a credit card for online purchases if you have one, check out as a guest where possible, and do not let shops or your browser store your card details.
- 03
Know the usual price
Before buying, check what the item normally costs at established retailers. A price far below that range deserves extra checks, however professional the site looks.
- 04
Review your advert settings
Check the privacy and advertising settings in your browser, phone and social apps. Fewer personalised adverts means fewer offers aimed at whatever you have just been browsing.
If you already acted
Protect access and contact the real provider.
- Contact your card issuer, bank or payment service immediately through its official app or the number on your card, and ask whether the payment can be stopped, reversed or disputed.
- If you entered card details on a site you now doubt, tell your bank so it can block the card if needed.
- Do not pay any further fee for shipping, insurance or paperwork, however the request is explained.
- Keep the advert link, the web address, your order confirmation, the payment record and any messages from the seller.
- Report the advert using the platform’s own report option. In the UK, also report it through the Advertising Standards Authority, and report the website to the NCSC.
- Report the fraud to the national service where you live — for example Report Fraud or Police Scotland in the UK, ReportFraud.ftc.gov or IC3 in the US, or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Common questions
Short answers to real doubts.
How can I tell if a shopping website is legitimate?
No single check proves a shop is genuine, so combine several. Reach the brand by typing its address yourself and compare it carefully with the one in the advert. Look up when the domain was registered, search the shop’s name with ‘scam’ or ‘complaint’, and read reviews on independent consumer sites rather than the shop’s own pages. A polished design proves little: convincing sites can be set up and taken down quickly.
Practise reading a web addressI paid and nothing arrived — can I get my money back?
It depends on how you paid, so act straight away. Contact your card issuer, bank or payment service and ask whether the payment can be stopped, reversed or disputed. In the UK, many credit card purchases are protected under the Consumer Credit Act, and debit card payments may be refunded through the voluntary chargeback scheme. If you paid by bank transfer, tell your bank immediately and report it as a crime.
Who to contact by payment methodAn advert shows a celebrity recommending the product. Does that mean it is real?
No. Scammers use fake celebrity and influencer endorsements, sometimes with doctored video and audio that seems real, and the technology to make them keeps improving. Social media platforms do not always thoroughly vet adverts either. Search the person’s name with the product or company and words such as ‘scam’ or ‘fake’, and judge the shop on independent checks rather than the endorsement.
Is it safe to pay a deposit for a puppy I found online?
Be very cautious. Fake pet adverts offer cheap or free animals, then ask for repeated payments for shipping, vaccinations, certificates or insurance, and the animal never arrives. Check the seller independently before paying anything, pay only in a way you can dispute, and treat each new fee as a warning sign. If the seller is an individual on a marketplace or classified site, the marketplace guide covers that route too.
Read the marketplace scams guideSources
Official guidance used for this article.
Stop & Verify summarises these sources for general education. Reporting routes and legal protections vary by location.