Avoid “too good to be true” dealsīefore you shop, make sure you do your research and know the average market price for the product you’re looking for. Tip: Read carefully and take your time reviewing a site for any odd mistakes or phrases that don’t make sense. Spelling and grammar errors can indicate that a website went live quickly - sometimes in an attempt to take your money and run! That’s not to say legitimate websites will never have typos, but there will still be an effort to present a professional-looking website to potential customers. You can also open a new web browser window and Google what you are looking for, then navigate to your desired destination. Tip: When visiting a website, it's best to directly type the URL into your search bar versus clicking on a link you're unsure of. Common techniques used by criminals who want to send you to one of their fake sites include incorrect spelling, letters replaced by characters or numbers, special characters inserted, altered endings to URLs or adding an IP address. Even the slightest change in the address bar can redirect you to a different website entirely. Pay attention to the URL of the website you’re on.

So how do you tell a real site from a phoney one? While it's difficult nowadays as many fraudsters become more sophisticated in their work, there are still some telling signs you can watch out for to help keep yourself safe. They’re malicious sites created to steal your bank information and money. There are plenty of scammers building sites, especially this time of year, that look legitimate but are, in fact, fakes. With Black Friday officially here, the holiday shopping season is under way! And as many of us are confined to doing all our shopping online this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, it’s important to stay extra vigilant of the websites we’re surfing and purchasing from.

Fake shopping websites list 2020