Guvir

How to spot a fake shop

Fake shops copy the look of real shops perfectly. These ten signs reveal most of them, and most can be checked in two minutes.

  1. The price is too good

    Brand trainers at 70% off, sold-out consoles in stock, garden furniture at half price. If no other shop comes close, the price is the trap.

  2. The domain is brand new

    Fake shops live for weeks. Check the domain age: a shop registered last month that claims "since 1998" is lying.

  3. Only advance transfer at checkout

    The shop shows PayPal and card logos, but at checkout only bank transfer works. That is deliberate: transfers cannot be reversed.

  4. No real company behind it

    The legal notice is missing, vague, or names a company that cannot be found on a map or in a business register.

  5. Free mail contact

    A shop with its own domain but a gmail or outlook contact address did not invest in a real business.

  6. Odd domain name

    Brand plus "outlet", "sale" or a country word, endings such as .shop or .top, or a name that has nothing to do with the products.

  7. Copied texts and broken language

    Machine-translated sentences, terms that mention a different shop name, or returns policies copied word for word from elsewhere.

  8. Reviews only on the shop itself

    Five-star reviews embedded in the page prove nothing. Search independent review sites and forums for the exact domain.

  9. Pressure

    "Only 2 left", countdowns, and pop-ups announcing other buyers are designed to stop you checking.

  10. Social media ads only

    Many fake shops are found through ads on social networks. An unfamiliar shop from an ad deserves a check before payment.

Run the address through the Guvir check: it tests several of these signs automatically.