On a phone, press and hold the page text, choose Select all, then Copy. The check reads it here; it does not visit the shop.
How old is this web address? Check it yourself
This page does not look the address up, so that the check stays on your phone. To see the date yourself, type https://lookup.icann.org into your browser, enter the shop’s address, and read the date beside Created or Registration. The lookup is run by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the body that coordinates web addresses worldwide.
Why the date matters. Fake shops are registered in bulk just before big sales. In 2025 the security company Netcraft counted about 54 new Black Friday fake-shop addresses a day in mid-October, 74 a day by the end of October and about 306 a day from 3 to 6 November (Netcraft, 24 November 2025; Netcraft sells security services). An address registered in the last few weeks or months is a warning sign, not proof: a genuine new business also starts with a new address.
Before you pay
- Type the brand’s web address yourself, or use its official app, and compare it letter by letter with the one you were sent.
- Search for the shop’s name together with the word “scam” or “reviews”, and read reviews on sites the shop does not control.
- Pay with a card or a method that offers a refund route where you live. Stop if the only choices are bank transfer, cryptocurrency or gift cards.
- If a friend’s social media account is selling something, contact your friend by phone or text first: accounts are sometimes taken over to post fake sales.
- Already paid? The first-hour guide puts the steps in order for your country.
What you paste stays on your phone
The check runs on your own phone or computer, inside this page. The page’s security setting (a Content Security Policy, a rule the browser enforces) blocks it from connecting to any server after it has loaded, so what you paste stays on your device.
- No account, no sign-up and no cookies.
- Press Clear or close the tab, and what you pasted is gone.
- You can test it: switch the internet off once the page has loaded, and it still works.
What the check looks for
In the web address
- Copies of brand names, such as a letter swapped, added or missing (johnlew1s), numbers in place of letters (amaz0n), or a brand with extra words (brand-outlet, brand-official, brand-blackfriday, brand-sale).
- Look-alike letters from another alphabet, and encoded names that start with xn--, which a browser can show as a perfect copy of a famous name.
- A brand name at the front of someone else’s address, as in amazon.com.deals-today.xyz, where the real website is deals-today.xyz.
- Unusual endings that cheap fake shops often use, and long names stuffed with sale words.
In the text you paste
- No physical address, no returns policy, no email address or phone number, or a free personal email account.
- Payment only by bank transfer, cryptocurrency or gift cards, or a discount for paying that way.
- Very deep discounts, “was” prices, closing-down stories and countdowns.
In search results, lookalike addresses such as johnlew1s.co.uk and argos-black-sale.com have been pushed up the rankings for deal searches (Scottish Daily Express, 6 November 2025). National Trading Standards in England says it now regularly takes down shops built with artificial intelligence tools that pose as family-run British firms (25 November 2025).
What this check cannot do
It reads the address and any text you paste. It cannot see who owns the shop, whether goods ever arrive, what other buyers say, or hidden code on a real shop’s payment page that copies card details as they are typed. It never says a shop is safe, because no checker can promise that. A clean result means only that the signs it looks for were not found.
Questions and answers
Is this website legit for Black Friday?
No tool can prove a shop is real, but a lookalike web address, a very recent registration date, no returns policy and payment only by bank transfer, cryptocurrency or gift card are the strongest warning signs. Paste the address and the shop’s contact or returns page into the check above to see which signs it shows.
How do I check how old a website is?
Type https://lookup.icann.org into your browser, enter the shop’s address and read the date beside Created or Registration. A very recent date is a warning sign, not proof, because genuine new businesses also start with new addresses.
Is the padlock a sign a website is safe?
No: the padlock and “https” show only that the connection is encrypted, and fraudulent sites use them too.
Is it safe to buy from an Instagram or Facebook advert?
Check the shop before paying: the Federal Trade Commission found that more than 40% of people in the United States who lost money to a scam that started on social media in 2025 had ordered from an advert. Open the link in your phone’s own browser to see the full address, then paste it here.
Why does this page not look up the address for me?
Looking up an address means sending it to an outside service. This page keeps the whole check on your phone, so it shows you where to look the date up yourself instead.