Listen to this post: How to Tell if an Online Shop Is Legit or a Scam (UK Checklist)
You’ve seen it: a slick ad, a “final clearance” banner, and a price that feels like someone’s made a mistake. Your finger hovers over Buy Now, and then the doubt arrives in a split-second. Is this shop a hidden gem, or a trap dressed up as a bargain?
The good news is you don’t need to be a tech expert to work it out. Most dodgy shops leave little clues, and once you know what they look like, you can spot them quickly.
This guide gives you a calm, UK-friendly checklist you can run in under five minutes, before you hand over your money, your card details, or your trust.
First impressions that usually tell the truth
Photo by Gustavo Fring
A scam shop rarely looks like a cartoon villain. It often looks “fine” for the first ten seconds. Clean layout, glossy product photos, and a checkout that works. The trick is that the details don’t hold up.
A fast 60-second scan helps you decide whether it’s worth going deeper:
- Does the offer feel rushed or emotionally loaded?
- Does the site explain delivery, returns, and contact details clearly?
- Do the words sound like a real person wrote them?
- Do you recognise the payment options and the business name?
If two or three parts feel off, treat that as your early warning. People lose money online because the site pushes them to act quickly, not because they failed some advanced internet exam. Your aim is simple: slow the moment down and force the shop to prove itself.
Price traps, countdown timers, and other pressure tactics
Scam shops love urgency because urgency cuts corners in your brain. Watch for:
Too-good-to-be-true prices: A new season item at 70% off, or a £140 trainer “today only” for £29.
Fake scarcity: “Only 3 left!”, “17 people are viewing”, “Sale ends in 09:58”.
Checkout pressure: Pop-ups that follow you, timers that reset, or aggressive “last chance” warnings.
A quick sanity-check takes less than a minute. Pick the exact product name (or model number) and compare across two or three places you already trust: a major UK retailer, the brand’s official site, and a marketplace listing from a well-known seller. If the “deal” is wildly lower than everywhere else, the most likely explanation isn’t luck. It’s bait.
Also watch for tricks that change the value in your head. A shop might list a “was” price that looks inflated, or show a massive percentage discount that doesn’t match the real market price. If you can’t explain why the price is so low (end-of-line, refurbished, clearance from a known retailer), don’t treat it as real.
The site itself: web address, design slips, and missing basics
Start with the web address. Scam shops often use domains that mimic real brands with small swaps: extra words, odd spellings, or a random country add-on. A common pattern is “brand-uk” plus an unfamiliar ending.
Also, don’t let a padlock icon lull you into trust. HTTPS is a minimum standard, not a guarantee. A fake shop can have HTTPS in place and still be a fraud.
Look for these quick red flags:
Broken basics: About pages that 404, policy pages that don’t load, or empty “Contact us” forms.
Messy writing: Strange grammar, clumsy product descriptions, or mismatched currencies.
Copied imagery: The same glossy photos used across many products, with no real-world pictures.
Missing clarity: No clear returns policy, no delivery times, no mention of who the courier is, and no proper address.
If you want an extra cross-check, compare the site’s warning signs to consumer guidance such as Which? advice on spotting scam websites. You’re looking for consistency: real shops behave in predictable ways, because they expect customers to ask reasonable questions.
Proof checks you can do in five minutes (even if you’re not “techy”)
When a shop is new to you, don’t rely on vibes alone. Do a quick proof routine: search, verify, and test whether a real business sits behind the site.
Here’s a simple flow you can repeat every time:
- Search the shop name (plus “reviews” and “scam”).
- Check independent sources, not just the site’s own testimonials.
- Verify contact details (address, email, phone).
- Ask one basic question and see how they respond.
- Check UK registration if they claim to be UK-based.
This isn’t about being suspicious of every small business. It’s about noticing when a shop avoids being pinned down. Real companies don’t fear traceability, they lean on it.
For broad, plain-English guidance on safe online buying habits, it’s worth keeping NCSC tips for shopping online securely bookmarked. It reinforces the same idea: slow down, confirm who you’re dealing with, and pay in ways that protect you.
Search beyond the shop’s own reviews
On the site itself, reviews can be anything. Scam shops can paste five-star praise in bulk, use fake names, and recycle the same lines: “Amazing quality!”, “Fast shipping!”, “Highly recommend!”
When you search, try two phrases:
- “ShopName reviews”
- “ShopName scam”
Then skim the first page of results. You want patterns, not one loud complaint. Signs the reviews aren’t trustworthy include:
All five-stars, no detail: Real buyers mention sizes, delivery days, packaging, and quirks.
Same wording repeated: Like a script copied and pasted.
Fresh profiles only: A flood of brand-new accounts praising a shop at the same time.
No photos in the wild: No customer photos, no unboxing shots, no mentions of courier delays, nothing messy.
The most believable review streams usually include mixed feedback: some people happy, some annoyed about slow delivery, someone mentioning customer service fixed a mistake. That normal friction is a good sign.
If you’re unsure how to judge a suspicious offer, Citizens Advice guidance on checking scams is a solid reference point. It helps you separate “unfamiliar but fine” from “unfamiliar and risky”.
Check who’s behind the business (and whether they’re reachable)
A UK-facing shop should be easy to contact. That doesn’t mean they need a fancy office, but they should offer real-world routes to reach them:
- A working email address on the same domain (not a random free inbox)
- A phone number that connects to something other than a dead line
- A clear returns process (where items go, how long you have, who pays postage)
- A physical address that looks like a genuine trading address, not a vague location
Do a quick test: send a short message before you buy. Ask something simple, like “What’s the delivery timeframe to Manchester?” or “How do returns work if the size doesn’t fit?” A trustworthy shop replies with clear timings and steps, not a copy-paste paragraph that avoids the question.
If the shop claims to be a UK limited company, search it on Companies House. You’re checking for mismatches: the legal name doesn’t match the checkout name, the address is different, or the company is newly formed with no footprint. A brand-new company isn’t automatically bad, but a shop that acts like it’s been around for years while the paperwork says otherwise should make you pause. If you want extra context on how Companies House can be misused by fraudsters, see this overview of Companies House fraud protection.
Payment and checkout choices that separate safe shops from risky ones
When scam shops can’t win your trust, they try to win your payment. The payment method is often the clearest signal of all.
A genuine retailer wants a checkout that feels familiar and protects both sides. A scam shop prefers methods that are hard to reverse, hard to trace, and easy to move on from.
Recent UK reporting has also highlighted how online shopping scams often start with social ads and “limited stock” posts, sometimes even using AI-made celebrity clips to push a product. The site might look polished, but the payment step tells the story.
Safer ways to pay in the UK (cards, PayPal, and what to avoid)
For UK shoppers, credit cards are often the safest option for bigger buys. If the item costs over £100 and under £30,000, Section 75 protection may apply when you pay directly with a credit card. It can give you a stronger route to a refund if things go wrong.
For smaller purchases, chargeback (often available on debit and credit cards) may help, depending on your bank and the situation. Time limits vary, so don’t sit on it.
PayPal can add an extra layer, as long as you’re paying for goods properly and not using a “friends and family” option.
Be wary if the site pushes any of the following:
- Bank transfer as the main method
- Gift cards as payment
- Crypto payments for everyday shopping
- Strange payment links that don’t match the shop name
Those methods are favourites with scammers because once the money’s gone, it’s hard to pull back. For more UK-focused pointers on verifying businesses before you pay, Money.co.uk’s guide to checking legitimacy lays out sensible checks in plain terms.
Checkout red flags: weird add-ons, subscription traps, and data grabs
Even if the shop seems fine, the checkout can turn nasty. Watch for:
Surprise extras: “Shipping insurance” added by default, odd handling fees, or inflated delivery charges that appear at the last step.
Forced account creation: Some shops do it, but scam sites use it to grab data and make you feel committed.
Pre-ticked boxes: Marketing consent already ticked, or “add VIP membership” slipped in quietly.
Subscription traps are common because they turn one mistake into a monthly drain. It might look like a cheap “trial” for delivery perks, then convert into a recurring charge with a vague merchant name on your bank statement. If the checkout mentions membership, benefits, or “priority processing”, slow down and read every line around pricing.
Also, don’t hand over information the shop doesn’t need. A normal retailer doesn’t need your date of birth to deliver socks. If a basic purchase asks for extra personal details, treat it as a warning.
If you think you’ve been scammed, act fast and limit the damage
Panic wastes time. Speed saves options.
If you’ve ordered from a shop and the confirmation email looks odd, or your bank shows a payment you don’t recognise, take action straight away. In early 2026, UK fraud reporting has shifted towards the Report Fraud service run by City of London Police (the Action Fraud brand has been changing), and banks continue to push faster reporting because it improves the chance of stopping a payment.
The aim is to freeze the money route, collect proof, and lock down your accounts before the problem spreads.
Your first 30 minutes: freeze payments, save evidence, change passwords
Do these steps in order:
- Contact your bank or card provider and explain it’s a suspected scam purchase. Ask to stop or dispute the payment.
- Check for subscriptions linked to the same merchant and cancel anything you didn’t agree to.
- Take screenshots of the product page, checkout page, order confirmation, emails, and the full web address.
- Change passwords, starting with your email account first (email is the key to password resets).
- Turn on transaction alerts in your banking app, so you see new charges quickly.
If you entered the same password on the scam site that you use elsewhere, change it everywhere. That single habit blocks a lot of follow-on damage.
Report it the right way in the UK and try to get your money back
Report the incident to Report Fraud (City of London Police) by phone on 0300 123 2040. You can also report the advert or listing to wherever you found it (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, a marketplace, or a search ad). Platforms don’t catch everything, so user reports matter.
Then go back to your bank with your evidence. Chargeback rules and time windows vary, but acting quickly gives you the best chance.
If your bank refuses a claim and you think they’ve handled it unfairly, you can escalate through their complaints process and then to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Keep it simple: dates, amounts, and what you did as soon as you realised.
Conclusion
A legit online shop can still be new, small, or unfamiliar. A scam shop usually depends on one thing: rushing you before you’ve had time to notice the gaps.
Use a three-part method: a quick scan (pressure and missing basics), proof checks (search and verify), and safe payment (methods you can dispute). That routine takes minutes, and it can save weeks of stress.
Screenshot this mini checklist:
- Look for urgency tricks and prices that don’t make sense
- Check delivery and returns info is clear and complete
- Search “shop name + scam” and “shop name + reviews”
- Confirm real contact details, then send a test question
- Pay by card or PayPal, avoid transfer, gift cards, crypto
- Watch for subscription add-ons and pre-ticked boxes
- If it goes wrong, report and dispute payments fast
