That website has the exact thing you want at half the price. The design looks… okay. But something feels off. Learning how to check if a website is safe to shop on takes about two minutes and can save you from fake shops, stolen card details, and parcels that never arrive. I’ve nearly been caught myself — here’s the checklist I run through before entering card details anywhere unfamiliar.

How to Check If a Website Is Safe: The 2-Minute Checks

1. Check the URL carefully

• HTTPS and the padlock: the address should start with https:// (not http://) and show a padlock icon. This means your connection to the site is encrypted. No padlock on a checkout page = do not enter card details, full stop.
• Lookalike domains: scammers register domains like amaz0n-deals.co.uk, apple-store-sale.com or currys-deals.uk. Read the domain character by character — the real Currys is currys.co.uk, not currys-clearance-sale.com. If you arrived via an ad or social media link, navigate to the retailer’s site directly by typing the address yourself instead.
• Odd domain endings: legitimate UK retailers overwhelmingly use .co.uk, .com or .uk. A “UK shop” on a .xyz, .top or .buzz domain deserves extra scepticism.

2. Look for real contact details

A genuine business has nothing to hide. Check for:

• A UK address (not just a contact form). You can verify it on Google Maps — fake shops often list non-existent addresses or obvious mailboxes.
• A phone number that actually works. Call it if the order is large.
• A company number — UK limited companies must display their registered number. Look it up at Companies House (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk) — free, and it instantly exposes fake registrations.

No address, no phone number, only a Gmail contact address? That’s not a shop; that’s a trap.

3. Check reviews — properly

• Trustpilot: search the domain name. But read critically — a flood of 5-star reviews posted within days of each other, all with generic praise, is a bought-review pattern. Look at the 1-star reviews for the real story.
• Google the site name + “scam” / “reviews” / “trustpilot”. Victims talk; if it’s a scam, someone has posted about it.
• Check the site’s age: a “well-established UK retailer” whose domain was registered three weeks ago is lying. Free WHOIS lookup tools show domain registration dates.
• Social media presence: real businesses have history — posts going back months, genuine engagement. A Facebook page created last Tuesday with 12 followers is a red flag.

4. Sanity-check the deal

If a £1,200 TV is selling for £300, it’s not a bargain — it’s bait. Scam shops lure victims with impossible prices. Compare against known retailers: if the “deal” is 60%+ below everyone else, walk away. As our guide to budget smartphones shows, genuine bargains exist — but they look like 15–30% off, not 75%.

5. Check the payment options

• Card payments (Visa/Mastercard): good — you get Section 75 protection (credit cards, £100–£30,000) and chargeback rights (debit cards). Always prefer card over other methods.
• PayPal Goods & Services: good — buyer protection included. Never use PayPal Friends & Family for purchases (no protection, and legitimate sellers don’t ask for it).
• Bank transfer, crypto, gift cards, Western Union: massive red flag. These are irreversible — which is exactly why scammers demand them. A legitimate UK retailer will never ask for payment by bank transfer to a personal account.

Red Flags That Mean “Close the Tab”

• Prices dramatically below every other retailer.
• Countdown timers and “only 2 left!” pressure tactics on every product.
• No company information, or information that doesn’t verify.
• Recently registered domain posing as an established business.
• Payment only by bank transfer, crypto or gift cards.
• Stolen product photos (reverse-image-search a product photo — if it appears on ten other sites, it’s lifted).
• Broken English throughout, or terms & conditions copied from another site (Google a distinctive sentence).
• The site appeared via a social media ad for a brand sale that the brand itself isn’t advertising.

If You’ve Already Paid a Dodgy Site

Don’t panic — act fast:

1. Paid by credit card? Contact your card provider immediately about a Section 75 claim (purchases £100–£30,000).
2. Paid by debit card? Ask your bank about chargeback — time-limited (usually 120 days), so don’t wait.
3. Paid by PayPal Goods & Services? Open a dispute in the Resolution Centre.
4. Paid by bank transfer? Contact your bank’s fraud team immediately — recovery is harder but not impossible if you act within hours.
5. Report it: Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040), and report the site to the National Cyber Security Centre’s suspicious email/website reporting. Your report helps shut them down.
6. Watch your statements for further unauthorised transactions, and consider a new card number if you entered full details on a compromised site.

Safe Shopping Habits Going Forward

• Use a credit card for online purchases £100+ — Section 75 protection is free and powerful.
• Enable 2FA on shopping accounts storing your card details — see how to turn on two-factor authentication.
• Consider a virtual/disposable card number — many banks (Monzo, Revolut, Starling) offer these for online shopping, so the real number never touches the merchant.
• Keep devices updated and use an ad-blocker — malvertising (malicious ads on legitimate sites) is a real infection vector. Our laptop protection guide covers the fundamentals.
• Trust your gut. If something feels off, it probably is. The deal will still be there tomorrow after you’ve verified the site — scams rely on you acting before thinking.

Two minutes of checks — URL, contact details, reviews, payment method — filters out the vast majority of scam shops. Make it a habit, and shop with confidence. Citizens Advice has further guidance on your rights when online shopping goes wrong.

How to Check If a Website Is Safe to Shop On: FAQs

Is it safe to shop on a site with no reviews? Not necessarily unsafe — every legitimate business starts with zero reviews — but it means you have less evidence. For new sites, lean harder on the other checks: verifiable company details, Companies House registration, real contact information, and card-only payments that give you chargeback protection.

What does the padlock icon actually guarantee? Only that your connection to the site is encrypted — it says nothing about whether the business is legitimate. Scam sites routinely have valid HTTPS certificates (they’re free). The padlock is necessary but nowhere near sufficient.

Are marketplace sellers (eBay, Amazon Marketplace, Etsy) safe? Generally yes, because the platform holds the payment and offers buyer protection — you’re transacting with the platform’s safeguards, not the seller directly. The risk rises when sellers try to move the transaction off-platform (“pay by bank transfer for a discount”) — never agree to that.

Should I use a separate card for online shopping? It’s smart practice. Many UK banks offer virtual or disposable card numbers for online purchases — if the number is compromised, your main card is untouched. At minimum, prefer a credit card for the Section 75 protection on purchases over £100.