How ShopCheckr grades shops

Every shop starts at 100 points. Each warning sign we find takes points off, and the total becomes a grade: A (90 and up), B, C, D or F. A shop on Google's threat list, or confirmed as a scam by our team, gets an F.

The checks are automatic and look only at public information: the shop's own pages, its domain registration, its security certificate and email setup, and lists of known threats. Our team reviews shops people report, and owners can find their shop and request a review.

What we check

• Listed on Google's threat list (−100)Google's Web Risk service lists this site as deceptive or dangerous. Don't enter payment or personal details.
• Copy of a known scam shop (−40)Its product catalog or store policies match a site we've already identified as a scam. Scam operators run many copies of the same shop under different names.
• Brand-new web address (−25)Scam shops are often bought, advertised and abandoned within weeks, before complaints catch up with them.
• Imitates a well-known brand (−25)The address looks like a famous brand's, but it isn't the brand's official site. Counterfeit shops borrow trust this way.
• Sells prescription drugs (−25)It sells prescription-only medicine without asking for a prescription. Sites like this are usually unlicensed, and many ship fake pills or nothing at all.
• Address looks fake (−20)The business address on the site is a known fake, an empty lot or a home rather than a real business.
• Stolen product photos (−20)Our team found product photos or videos copied from other brands or creators.
• Shoppers report problems (−20)Several shoppers reported that it misrepresents its products or doesn't deliver them.
• Prices too good to be true (−20)Most of the catalog is marked down 60% or more. Real retailers rarely discount everything that deeply; fake shops use huge sales to rush people.
• No secure connection (−20)The site isn't served over HTTPS, or its certificate is expired, self-signed or for a different site. Card details typed here aren't properly protected.
• No trusted checkout found (−15)We couldn't see a known payment provider such as Shopify Payments, Stripe or PayPal. Some real shops load theirs only at checkout, but fake shops often use their own card forms.
• Support uses a free email address (−15)Real stores almost always use an address on their own domain, not Gmail or Yahoo.
• Its domain can't receive email (−15)The web address has no mail servers, so any email address on it can't work.
• Brand-new store on an older address (−15)The address has existed for a while, but everything in the store was added in the last few weeks. Scammers buy expired domains so their shop looks established.
• Sends you to a different site (−15)The address forwards visitors to an unrelated website. Check the address of the page where you actually pay.
• Dead social media links (−10)Its links to Facebook, Instagram and the like go nowhere, which is common with copied shop templates.
• Leftover template text (−10)The site still has placeholder text from the template it was built from, a sign it was put together in a hurry.
• Fake urgency tricks (−10)Countdown timers that reset and "only 2 left" messages are meant to rush you into paying.
• Security certificate days old (−10)The site's certificate was issued in the last few days, typical of a site that just went up.
• Registrar popular with scammers (−10)The address was registered through a company that scam networks favor for its lax checks.
• Registered in a high-risk country (−5)The address is registered in a country often tied to fake-shop networks. That matters most when the shop claims to be local.

What a grade isn't

A grade is our opinion, based on these signals on the day we checked. A brand-new honest shop can score low, and a careful scammer can score well. Pay with a card or PayPal so you can get your money back if something goes wrong.