How to check whether an online shop is genuine in the UK

Convincing fake shops can reproduce branding, product photographs, policy wording and even customer reviews. At the same time, a small genuine retailer may have an ordinary website, few reviews and no limited-company registration because it trades as a sole trader. The aim is therefore not to reward a polished appearance. It is to establish who is taking the money, what they promise to supply and whether the evidence agrees across sources the shop does not control.

A ten-minute genuine-shop check

Step 1: inspect the exact domain, not the page design

Start with the address bar. Criminal shops can duplicate a legitimate retailer’s colours and marks while operating from a lookalike domain. The National Cyber Security Centre warns that deceptive addresses may add a sales word or a small spelling variation. If a link arrived through an advert, email, text or social post, do not assume its position or presentation makes it official. Search independently or type the known address yourself.

Read the registered domain from right to left. In shop.example.co.uk, the controlling domain is normally example.co.uk; words placed before it are subdomains. A long address that merely contains a famous retailer’s name can still belong to an unrelated domain. HTTPS and the browser padlock mean the connection is encrypted. They do not confirm that the merchant is trustworthy, solvent or even the business it claims to be.

Look for abrupt domain changes between product, basket and payment pages. A recognised external payment processor can be legitimate, but the transition should be expected and the merchant identity should remain clear. Do not approve a banking prompt until the payee and amount match the purchase.

Step 2: identify the legal seller

Find the footer, contact page, terms and privacy notice. A UK distance seller should make key pre-contract information clear, including its business identity and contact details, the product or service, total price, payment method, delivery arrangements and cancellation information. GOV.UK’s distance-selling guidance also states that customers should be told about the usual 14-day cancellation right for relevant online orders, subject to exceptions.

The trading name on the logo may differ from the legal entity. Record both. For a claimed limited company, note the exact company name and number. For a sole trader or partnership, there may be no Companies House entry, but the trader should still identify itself and provide meaningful contact information. Absence from Companies House is therefore not automatically proof of fraud; falsely claiming limited status or using another company’s number is much more significant.

Test contact routes before a high-value purchase. A real geographical address, an email on the shop’s own domain and a working telephone number are more useful together than a contact form alone. Search the address independently. A virtual office can be legitimate, but it gives less evidence of fulfilment capacity than a consistent business history, warehouse or shop presence.

Step 3: use Companies House correctly

The Companies House Find and update company information service is free. It can show a company’s registered name, number, status, registered office, incorporation date, officers, filing history, overdue markers, charges and insolvency information. Compare those fields with the website rather than merely confirming that a number exists.

Check whether the company is active, whether its trading activity is plausible, whether the website’s legal name matches exactly and whether the registration predates the claims made on the About page. A recently incorporated company is not necessarily dishonest, but it cannot support a claim of decades of trading under that entity without further explanation.

Companies House itself cautions that its information is not comprehensive and that filings receive limited checks. Registration is not a quality mark, licence or consumer guarantee. Fraudsters can copy details from an innocent company, so confirm that contact details and domain appear connected to the registered business through more than the suspicious site itself.

Step 4: read the offer like a contract

Check the exact product, variant, condition, seller and fulfilment route. Marketplace listings may be supplied by a third-party trader even when the platform looks familiar. For refurbished or used goods, identify the condition grade, battery or wear policy, warranty provider and return address; our refurbished versus second-hand guide explains why those labels are not interchangeable.

Read delivery charges and times before entering payment details. “Dispatches in 24 hours” is not the same as arriving tomorrow. Check whether goods ship from outside the UK, whether import VAT or duties could apply and who bears the return postage. A policy copied from another retailer may contain the wrong company name, currency or jurisdiction. Search a distinctive sentence in quotation marks if the wording feels generic.

Separate voluntary promises from statutory rights. A shop’s “guarantee” does not replace consumer law, and a manufacturer warranty may require a valid authorised seller. Our UK warranty and guarantee explainer helps identify who is actually responsible.

Step 5: challenge the price and urgency

A low price can be real, but it should survive comparison. Search the exact model code, size, condition and delivery cost at established sellers. Our guide to checking genuine discounts shows why a crossed-out reference price is weaker evidence than a like-for-like market comparison.

Fraudulent shops often combine a large discount with a countdown, “only one left” message or social advert that discourages verification. Pause when the offer is far below the normal market and every product appears discounted by the same percentage. Include mandatory fees, delivery, accessories and likely return cost in the total; use the total-cost framework for expensive or service-dependent products.

Step 6: investigate reviews without counting stars

Search the shop name, legal entity, domain and telephone number with terms such as “reviews”, “refund”, “complaint” and “scam”. Read the dates and detail. A useful review describes the ordered item, timing, contact and resolution. Repeated generic praise, identical phrasing, sudden clusters or reviews covering unrelated businesses should carry little weight.

Do not treat one review platform as a regulator, and do not let an empty history decide the case alone. New genuine businesses start with few reviews. The stronger question is whether independent evidence agrees with the domain age, company history, product range and stated location. Also check whether negative reviews describe ordinary service disagreements or the more serious pattern of no delivery, counterfeit goods, fake tracking and blocked refunds.

Step 7: choose a payment route with proportionate protection

The NCSC advises using a credit card where available, checking the protection offered by payment services and avoiding direct bank transfer to an unfamiliar shop. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, a qualifying credit-card purchase may be covered when the cash price of a single item is more than £100 and no more than £30,000. The rules and creditor–supplier relationship matter, so confirm eligibility with the card provider rather than assuming every card transaction qualifies.

Chargeback is a card-scheme process rather than the same statutory right and can be available for some debit- or credit-card disputes, with time limits and evidence requirements. PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and marketplace programmes have their own terms. A payment logo on a page proves nothing until the checkout genuinely uses that provider.

Never let the seller move a marketplace conversation or payment off-platform in exchange for a discount. Do not send bank transfers, gift-card codes or cryptocurrency merely because the seller says card processing is unavailable. Use guest checkout when sensible, provide only required details and avoid saving card information on an unfamiliar site. The NCSC also recommends unique passwords and two-step verification for important accounts.

A risk-based decision table

What to save before ordering

Keep the product page, exact variant and stated condition; the legal seller and address; price, delivery and return terms; order confirmation; payment record; and important messages. A PDF or screenshot with the date can be useful because pages and policies change. For a gift, also record the recipient’s return deadline using our gift returns checklist.

Use a written shortlist rather than opening dozens of nearly identical offers. Our shortlisting method keeps evidence comparable, while the guide to common buying biases explains why urgency and social proof can override caution.

If you think you have paid a fake shop

1. Contact the bank or payment provider immediately using the number or site you already know, not details supplied by the suspected shop.
2. Explain the payment and risk clearly. Ask what can be stopped, disputed or protected and follow its evidence instructions.
3. Secure affected accounts. Change any reused password, enable two-step verification and monitor statements. If card details may be compromised, follow the bank’s advice.
4. Preserve evidence. Save the URL, advert, order, messages, payment reference and screenshots without continuing to engage unnecessarily.
5. Report appropriately. The NCSC accepts suspicious website reports. If money was lost, report fraud through the route for your nation: Report Fraud for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or Police Scotland in Scotland.

Do not pay a second person who promises to recover the money for an upfront fee. Recovery scams target people who have already reported a loss. Citizens Advice provides guidance on possible Section 75, chargeback and payment-service routes, but the bank or provider decides a claim on its facts.

Balanced verdict: what proves an online shop is genuine?

No badge, registration, review score or browser symbol proves a shop is genuine on its own. A credible decision is built from consistency: the domain makes sense, the seller is identified, official records support rather than contradict the claims, terms explain the full transaction, independent evidence has substance and the payment method offers a suitable route if supply fails.

A small shop does not need to look like a national chain. It does need to tell the truth about who it is and what it will do. If basic verification produces several mismatches or pressure replaces answers, leave. Explore more retailer research in our UK shop directory, compare buying methods in General Buying Advice, and use cost per use once legitimacy is established.