--- title: "Fake Online Shop Red Flags Guide | Foxglove Goods" description: "21 warning signs of a fake online shop, from impossible prices and look-alike addresses to bank-transfer-only checkouts, each with what to do about it." url: https://foxglovegoods.shop/fake-shop-red-flags/ --- # Fake shop red flags The signs that give fake online shops away, grouped by where you meet them: the offer, the website, the company, the checkout, the adverts and what happens after you order. - Serious Prices and offers ### Everything is 60 to 90% off Real shops discount some lines, rarely the whole range, and almost never the newest or sold-out items. **What to do:** Compare the price with two shops you know. If nobody else comes close, assume the goods do not exist. - Serious Prices and offers ### Sold-out items are suddenly in stock Fake shops target whatever is hard to find this season, because desperate buyers check less. **What to do:** Check the maker's own site or official stockists before believing a stranger has stock. - Warning Prices and offers ### Countdown timers and 'only 2 left' everywhere Pressure stops you checking. Many of these timers simply restart when the page reloads. **What to do:** Reload the page and see whether the clock or the stock count resets. Then slow down. - Warning Prices and offers ### A 'closing down' sale from a shop you have never heard of It explains away low prices and gives a reason why the shop will not be there for complaints later. **What to do:** Search the shop's name with the word review and see how long it has really been trading. - Serious The website ### The address is close to a famous brand, but not quite Extra words like outlet or sale, a swapped letter, or an unusual ending are how copycat shops borrow trust. **What to do:** Type the brand's address yourself or use a search engine, instead of following the advert or message. - Serious The website ### The domain was registered only weeks ago Scam shops are set up quickly and thrown away when complaints build. A big 'since 1998' badge means nothing if the domain is new. **What to do:** Look up the domain's registration date before paying. Treat a very young domain selling famous brands with suspicion. - Warning The website ### Copied pages, placeholder text or another shop's name Rushed fake sites reuse templates and forget to change the details. **What to do:** Read the About, Terms and Returns pages. Wrong names, odd grammar in legal pages or 'Lorem ipsum' are giveaways. - Warning The website ### Relying on the padlock alone The padlock means the connection is encrypted. Scam sites get certificates easily too, so it says nothing about honesty. **What to do:** Treat https as the minimum, then do the other checks. - Serious Contact and company ### No company name or address anywhere Without them you cannot return goods, complain or take any action if something goes wrong. **What to do:** Look in the footer, Terms and Imprint pages. If the shop will not say who it is, do not give it your money. - Warning Contact and company ### Only a contact form or a free webmail address Established shops usually have customer service at their own domain and often a phone line. **What to do:** Send a question before you order and judge the reply: is it quick, specific and from a real person? - Warning Contact and company ### Glowing reviews only on the shop's own pages Reviews on the shop's own site can be invented, and badges for review services can be pasted in as pictures. **What to do:** Look for reviews elsewhere, read the negative ones first, and click any review badge to see if it leads anywhere real. - Serious Paying ### Bank transfer, crypto or gift cards only These payments are very hard to reverse. A card payment can be disputed with your card issuer; a transfer usually cannot. **What to do:** Do not pay. A genuine shop will take a card or a payment service with buyer protection. - Serious Paying ### Card payment 'fails' and you are offered a transfer instead A common trick to move you to an irreversible payment method after you have committed to the order. **What to do:** Stop there. Do not retry with a transfer, and check your card statement for any test charges. - Serious Paying ### Checkout jumps to an unrelated website Card details typed into a page on an unknown address can be collected and used elsewhere. **What to do:** Check the address bar at the payment step. If it is not the shop or a payment service you recognise, close the page. - Warning Paying ### An extra discount for paying by transfer Honest shops rarely reward you for giving up buyer protection. **What to do:** Pay by card even if it costs a little more. The protection is worth more than the discount. - Warning Adverts and social media ### You found it only through a social media advert Adverts are cheap to run for a few days, and fake shops buy them in bursts before a holiday. **What to do:** Search for the shop independently and check how long its social pages have existed. - Warning Adverts and social media ### Comments switched off or full of 'where is my order?' Complaints in the comments are the fastest warning you will get; hiding them is a warning in itself. **What to do:** Read the comments under several adverts, not just one. - Warning Adverts and social media ### Celebrity endorsement you cannot find anywhere else Famous faces are pasted into fake adverts without permission. **What to do:** Check the person's own channels. A real endorsement will be there. - Warning After you order ### Tracking that never moves, or tracks a different parcel Fake tracking numbers buy time until the window for disputing a card payment has passed. **What to do:** Check the number on the carrier's own site. If nothing happens for a week, contact the shop in writing. - Warning After you order ### A cheap substitute arrives, and returns go abroad at your cost Sending something worthless lets the shop claim it delivered; expensive returns make you give up. **What to do:** Photograph what arrived, keep the packaging, and dispute with your card issuer if the shop will not put it right. - Serious After you order ### The site disappears or stops answering Once the complaints pile up, fake shops shut down and reopen under a new name. **What to do:** Contact your card issuer straight away; dispute windows are limited. Report the site to your national fraud or consumer body. ## Using the guide Each sign is marked **Serious** or **Warning**. A serious sign is, on its own, a good reason not to pay. A warning is worth checking: honest shops sometimes have one or two, but several together tell a story. Filter by where you are in the purchase, or search for a word such as "transfer" or "tracking". The most reliable clues are the ones a fake shop cannot easily change: how long its domain has existed, how it wants to be paid, and whether anyone outside the shop has heard of it. For a scored verdict on a particular shop, answer the questions in the [shop safety checklist](https://foxglovegoods.shop/). If you have already paid and something feels wrong, act quickly: the [chargeback timeline](https://foxglovegoods.shop/chargeback-timeline/) shows how long you have to dispute a card payment, and the [refund request letter](https://foxglovegoods.shop/refund-request-letter/) puts your request to the shop in writing. ## Questions **What is the single strongest warning sign?** Being pushed to pay by bank transfer, crypto or gift cards. Those payments are very hard to reverse, which is exactly why fake shops prefer them. **Is a shop safe if it has the padlock?** No. The padlock means the connection is encrypted, and fake shops get certificates as easily as real ones. **Where should I report a fake shop?** To your national fraud or consumer reporting service, and to the platform that showed you the advert. Tell your card issuer too if you paid.