HOW TO DETERMINE FAKE WEBSITES
For the untrained eyes, websites have no difference in the legitimate sites. It is not true, of course, as scam sites have no reliable URL to keep you safe from fraud and other malicious software that will interconnect in the site. And many shopping sites are not a legitimate site, as many of these are just a scam site that offers cheap products in the market. Be aware of sites that offer cheaply priced products as it has a high possibility that you cannot have the product you have ordered and a guaranteed money loss. There are few ways on how to determine the illegitimacy of a website;
Cheaper products are not a good sign – stumbling across the sites that offer 50% to 70% off of the market product must raise your suspicions. Cheap products at a site are most likely to be nonexistent or fake; lower prices are made to encourage the unsuspecting shopper to order immediately before the site is detected by the security software as a fraudulent site. Compare the copyright date on the domain creation date – web sites that do not tally their domain and creation date is clearly a not true site. There is a big possibility that sites that shows different dates on copyright and creation date is a fraudulent site, its purpose is to attract unsuspecting victim and gain their trust. By making the site Copyright date look like it was created a few years ago, it gives an impression of a established sites to be trustworthy. Make sure that you check and compare the dates to ensure the legitimacy of the website.
Keep off to young sites – sites that are created or registered for only a month do not have details that would support its legibility, making it a potential scam site. It is highly recommended to do not make an order to these young sites avoid becoming a victim of fraudulent sites. Check out the site’s owner – it is best that you avoid ordering items on sites that is registered in China. If you are to order items, try contacting the nearest stores where you can easily call the owner or visit its store in case of a problem.
Visit and check for a valid contact page – websites that only has a contact form and has no information in regards to how to contact the company is a red flag. Legit websites includes working contact information that will enable its client to contact the owner for some inquiries or question about the product featured on the site. Remember that the most scam like dhgate scams are good at making the customer believe in its legitimacy. Examine the domain name string – legit website does not contain the brand name in the domain name and does not include the word “cheap”, “wholesale” and “cheapest”.
Google search the websites information – we all know that Google has all the answer; do not be afraid to use it in checking out a suspicious website. Email address, telephone number, organization name and even the previous user’s feedback can be searched via Google.
Resources: http://dhgatescam.org/ http://iliked.bravesites.com/entries/general/ways-on-how-to-determine-fake-websites