How to Check if a Suspicious Website Existed Before Last Month
Patrick Bushe
August 17, 2024 · 5 min read
Many scam shops and fake sites are only weeks old: they appear, take orders and vanish. Checking how long a site has existed takes a minute and is one of the best quick tests before you buy or sign up.
1. Check the domain's registration date
- Go to the ICANN lookup at lookup.icann.org, or any WHOIS lookup site.
- Enter the site's domain, such as
example.com. - Look at the creation date.
A domain registered in the last few weeks, selling big brands at huge discounts, is a strong warning sign. A new domain alone doesn't prove a scam; new businesses start every day. But it should make you check further.
2. Check the Wayback Machine
Search for the site on the Wayback Machine and look at the date of its first capture. Wayback Quick Access shows a "?" badge on sites with no archived copy, a quick hint that a site is new or little-known.
3. Watch for reused old domains
Scammers sometimes buy expired domains, so the registration date looks old. Open a few old captures. If the site used to be a bakery blog and is now a sneaker outlet, the age means nothing. See checking a domain's history.
Other warning signs
- Prices far below everywhere else, often 50 to 90% off.
- No real contact details: no address, only a form, or a free email address.
- Payment only by bank transfer, gift card or crypto.
- Reviews only on the site itself, or none anywhere else.
- Copied product photos and text, or spelling that doesn't match the brand.
More quick checks
- Search the site name plus "scam" or "reviews".
- Check Google's Safe Browsing site status in its Transparency Report.
- For a well-known brand, go to its official site directly rather than following an ad.
If you still want to buy
Pay with a credit card or a payment service with buyer protection, never by bank transfer. Keep screenshots of the product page and your order. If something goes wrong, contact your card provider quickly.
If you've been scammed
Contact your bank or card provider, change any password you used on the site, and report it to your country's fraud reporting service. For other scams to watch for, see QR code scams and fake update popups.
