Essential tips to stay safe when shopping online
Faye was Headline Money Consumer Money Journalist of 2023 and a Wincott Award finalist in 2025. She's been investigating scams for nearly a decade.
It can be difficult to spot a fake, fraudulent or scam website, as fraudsters can be very adept at mimicking official sites by copying their branding.
Website creator tools using artificial intelligence (AI) have made it easier than ever for criminals to set up a site online in minutes. The tools will even fill it with text and images.
However, there are often telltale signs that a site is a scam, as well as new ways to protect your card details when you're not sure.
Here, we've pulled together some straightforward checks we perform ourselves as Which? scam experts. Following them at home can help you work out whether an online retailer is legitimate before you part with your money.
Be sceptical of special offers
When you see very low prices or ridiculous discounts online, be suspicious. If prices seem too good to be true, they probably are.
Scam websites use extremely low prices to lure bargain-hungry shoppers into buying fake, counterfeit or even non-existent items.
You can use our tips on spotting a scam to help you identify whether something is actually a good deal or simply a con.
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Scrutinise the site
Broken English, spelling mistakes and poor grammar used to be a widely touted way to spot bogus online shops, but the world has moved on, and AI can now produce polished text in seconds. Unprofessional sites are rarer these days, although not unheard of.
One thing you can still look for is whether the website lists any contact information. Reputable and legitimate companies will always list ways to get in touch with them; if the website doesn’t have a ‘contact us’ page, it could well be fraudulent.
However, the presence of contact details isn't a guarantee of legitimacy, as you may later find they don't work or your messages go unanswered.
You can also use a domain checker, such as who.is, to see when the website was created. A recently registered website could indicate that it's a scam.
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Check reviews
Don't buy from a site unless you've read reviews from other shoppers on platforms such as Google and Trustpilot.
A large number of negative reviews can sometimes indicate a scam. However, positive reviews aren't a guarantee of legitimacy as they can be faked, too.
Watch out for multiple glowing reviews that use repetitive formats or language and/or are the only reviews those users have posted.
Be suspicious of adverts
Even if adverts appear in your search results, at the bottom of a news article or on major social media sites, it doesn’t mean legitimate companies are behind them. Anyone can pay to advertise products and services, and big tech platforms don't always spot or prevent scam ads.
When you use a search engine like Bing or Google, it will suggest a list of websites relevant to what you’ve searched for. Some results in the list will be paid-for adverts, and it can be tricky to spot the difference between these and genuine search results.
If you’re using Google, the ads usually appear at the very top of the search results list and are labelled ‘Ad.’ You might also see ‘shopping’ results, which show products being offered by retailers at competitive prices. These are also paid-for advertising.
AI summaries on search engines and chatbots may also suggest scam shopping websites. Don't assume they're genuine without doing the checks outlined in this guide.
On social media, checking the age of an advertiser's profile (it's usually in the 'About' tab) will sometimes expose clone scams. For example, major retailers like Currys or Russell and Bromley are very unlikely to have registered their Facebook profiles three days ago.
Pay with a digital wallet or virtual card
If you're unsure about a site, then it makes sense to minimise what you share. That goes for your card details, too.
Using a digital wallet such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or Samsung Pay ensures your card details stay private.
Several banks now also let you create virtual debit cards in your mobile banking app.
When you shop with one online, you don’t share the details of your primary physical debit card with the retailer. Some banks also let you set spending limits on the virtual cards, or ringfence them from your bank account balance by linking them to separate pots.
These features make them ideal for paying on sites you've never used before and don't yet trust.
However, in general, it's safest to stick to well-known retailers, using the checks outlined above to make sure it's the genuine firm and not a copycat.