Is this website fake? Paste the link and we’ll check it, and open the page for you
Scam links copy a real company’s name with one letter changed, a number in place of a letter, or extra words such as “kyc” or “support”. Paste a link, a website name, the sender’s email address or a “support” phone number. We check whether it copies a well-known brand, whether a regulator has put it on a public warning list, and whether a phone number is one the company really publishes. We show when a domain was registered and whether Google lists it as harmful, and, if you want, open the page on our side and show you a screenshot and what it asks you to type.
- 1Compare the address or number
We check whether a link copies a well-known brand, bank or agency, and whether a phone number is one the company really publishes.
- 2Read the public records
When the domain was registered, where it is hosted, how popular it is, and whether Google lists it as harmful.
- 3Open the page for you
We open the site on our side and show you a screenshot and what it asks for, so you never have to open it.
What this check can and cannot tell you
It can
- Confirm an address is the official one of a well-known company, bank or agency.
- Spot an address that imitates a well-known brand with a typo, look-alike letters, added hyphens, extra words or the real name placed in front of another domain.
- Point out address tricks such as link shorteners, free site-builders and a fake name before an @ sign.
- Look up public records for the domain (registration date, first security certificate, hosting, popularity, email protection, Google’s phishing and malware lists).
- Tell you when a regulator such as the RBI (India), MAS (Singapore) or the Central Bank of Ireland has put the address on its public warning list.
- Check a phone number against the thousands of support numbers banks, shops, airlines and couriers publish on their own websites.
- If you ask, have a reading service open the home page and report what it asks for: passwords, card details, how it wants to be paid, and who it says it is.
It cannot
- Say a site is safe. Finding no red flags is not proof of anything, and a real company can have an address that looks odd.
- Check who really owns a site, read pages behind a login or beyond the home page, or find brand-new scam sites that do not copy a verified name and are not yet on any list.
- Replace your own judgement. It never calls a business a scam: it compares addresses and shows what it found.
How to check a website yourself
- Go to the company yourself. Type the address into your browser or open the company's own app. Do not use the link in the message, ad or search result that sent you.
- Read the address from the right. The part just before the ending is the real owner. In paypal.com.verify-login.xyz the owner is verify-login.xyz, and in amazon.in the owner is amazon.in. Everything to the left can be anything the sender likes.
- Be wary of pressure and unusual payment. Countdown timers, "your account will be closed" and requests for gift cards, crypto or a transfer to a personal account are the pattern on fake shops, refund and support scams.
- A padlock does not mean the site is real. HTTPS only means the connection is encrypted. Fake sites use it too, so it says nothing about who runs the site.
- Check the company's contact details. A real shop lists a working address, phone and returns policy. Compare numbers with the verified ones in our directories rather than searching for them, because fake support numbers are advertised on search results.
- Look for a track record. A shop that appeared last month with deep discounts and no independent reviews or history deserves caution. Search for the exact address together with "reviews" and read what independent people say.
- Pay in a way you can dispute. A credit or debit card payment can often be disputed with the card issuer. A bank transfer, gift card or crypto payment usually cannot be recovered.
Questions people ask
How can I tell if a website is fake?
Check the address from the right: the part just before the ending is the real owner, so in paypal.com.verify-login.xyz the owner is verify-login.xyz. Then look for a typo or number swapped for a letter, a domain registered only days ago, pressure to act now, and payment by gift card, crypto or bank transfer. Website Check does the address and records checks for you and can open the page so you never have to.
Can Website Check tell me that a site is safe or a scam?
No. It never says a site is safe, and it does not call a business a scam. It tells you what it found: whether the address copies a well-known brand, what public records show and what the page asks for. Finding no red flags is not proof of safety.
Is a website safe if it has a padlock or HTTPS?
No. HTTPS only means the connection is encrypted. Fake sites use it too, so it says nothing about who runs the site.
What does "Open the page for me" do?
A reading service opens the site's home page on its own servers and returns a screenshot and the page's text. Website Check then reports what it asks you to type (passwords, card details, one-time codes), how it wants to be paid, who it says it is and whether it redirects. You never open the site yourself, and nothing is kept.
Does Website Check open the link I paste?
Only if you press the button, and then it is opened by the reading service, not by your device or our server. The address check and public records are looked up without opening the site.
Can I check a phone number?
Yes. Paste the number, with its country code if you have it. If it is a number a bank, shop, airline or courier publishes on its own website, we tell you whose it is. If not, we say we have no record of it, which is not proof it is fake, and point you to the real number. Fake support numbers are placed in search ads and messages, so never call a number a message or a caller gives you.
What are regulator warning lists?
Regulators publish lists of unauthorised or imposter firms and websites to warn the public. When an address you check appears on one we read, we show which regulator lists it, the entity named, and a link to the list. A listing is a public warning, not a court finding, and a list that does not name a site is not a clean bill of health.
What if I already paid or typed my details?
Call your bank or card issuer straight away, change the password anywhere you reused it, and report it to the police. Our Bank Fraud Help and cyber agencies directories list the official numbers and portals by country.
If we got something wrong, tell us. We log the domain you check and the result, but not your IP address or anything else about you. To look up a domain we ask public registration records (RDAP), the Tranco popularity list and Google Web Risk; Google receives the web address you pasted, without anything after a ? mark. If you press “Look at the page”, the home page address of the site is sent to Firecrawl, a web reading service, which opens it and returns its text; we do not keep it.