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10 Red Flags to Spot a Scam Website

1. No HTTPS or SSL Certificate

It's not safe if a website's URL starts with "http://" instead of "https://."  The little padlock symbol next to the site URL is your first line of protection.  Without encryption, your data might be exposed, or worse, the site doesn't care about keeping it safe. A bogus electronics shop that advertises big savings but doesn't have a padlock in the URL bar is an example.  That's a big warning sign.

2. Too-Good-To-Be-True Prices

We all want a good bargain, but if you find a $900 smartphone for $79, stop and think.  Scammers sometimes use big sales to get people to purchase things they don't need. Tip: Look at pricing at a few well-known stores.  If anything is a lot cheaper on a site you don't know, it's probably a fraud.

3. No Physical Address or Contact Info

A true firm should have a real location, a functional phone number, and a valid email.  Scam sites typically give either bogus or no contact information. Check: Use Google Maps to find the location or contact the number.  Be wary if it doesn't answer or goes to voicemail for a long time.

4. Poor Design, Grammar, or Broken Pages

Even while some scam sites appear amazing, a lot of them nevertheless show their true colors via bad design.  If you see typos, broken links, fuzzy pictures, or missing pages, that's a bad indicator. For example, one fake clothes business included a footer that said "Your Company Name Here," which is a clear clue that the template was cloned.

5. Limited or Suspicious Payment Options

If the site only takes wire transfers, crypto, or shady payment channels, be careful.  If anything goes wrong, it's hard to find or get back these ways. The best thing to do is to use sites that accept credit cards or reputable payment methods like PayPal.

6. No Refund or Return Policy

A clear return policy is always on real websites.  Either they don't have one or they make imprecise, deceptive remarks. If their policy is full of convoluted legalese or doesn't say when or how things will happen, don't trust it.

7. No Online Presence or Reviews

Use Google to look for the name of the site and the words "review" or "scam."  Stay wary if you can't discover any information or simply good (and probably fraudulent) reviews. Helpful habit: Before you purchase anything, check out review sites and forums to see what other people have to say about it.

8. Recent Domain Registration

Use Google to look for the name of the site and the words "review" or "scam."  Stay wary if you can't discover any information or simply good (and probably fraudulent) reviews. Helpful habit: Before you purchase anything, check out review sites and forums to see what other people have to say about it.

9. Copied Product Photos or Descriptions

A lot of fake websites take pictures and descriptions of products from real stores.  You might try running a reverse image search on the product photographs if you think they are false. If you see the same picture on a lot of different websites that aren't linked, it's an issue.

10. Urgency Triggers or Fake Scarcity

Scam sites typically utilize countdown clocks, messages that say "only 2 left in stock!" or popups that display false transactions to make you buy immediately. Why it matters: Urgency is a mental deception that makes you avoid doing your homework.  Don't fall for it.

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