Is This Site a Scam?

Every day, thousands of new scam websites go live. They impersonate banks, online stores, cryptocurrency platforms, and government agencies. Knowing how to check whether a website is legitimate before you share personal information or send money is one of the most important skills you can develop online. The scam checker above lets you paste any URL and get an instant risk assessment backed by real threat intelligence -- not guesswork.

What Databases Does the Checker Use?

The tool does not rely on a single source. It queries multiple databases simultaneously to give you the most complete picture possible:

• Browser Threat Intelligence -- Continuously updated indexes of unsafe web resources, covering malware, social engineering, and unwanted software. This is the same technology that powers warnings in Chrome and Firefox.
• VirusTotal (70+ security engines) -- Every URL is scanned against more than 70 antivirus and security vendors in real time. If even a few engines flag a site, you will see it reflected in your results.
• PhishTank community database -- A collaborative clearinghouse where anyone can submit, verify, and track phishing sites. PhishTank is operated by Cisco and is one of the most established community-driven phishing feeds in the world.
• ScammerDetect's own database -- Our database of over 31,000 flagged domains, built from automated scanning, user reports, and intelligence gathered from law enforcement disclosures and blockchain analysis.

Beyond these database lookups, the tool performs its own domain intelligence analysis. It examines WHOIS registration data, domain age, TLS certificate details, DNS configuration, and hosting infrastructure to identify patterns that correlate with fraudulent websites.

Understanding Your Trust Score

After the scan completes, you receive a trust score between 0 and 100:

• 80-100: Confirmed scam. Multiple independent sources agree this site is fraudulent. Do not interact with it under any circumstances.
• 60-79: Strong fraud indicators. The site shares characteristics with known scams. Proceed only with extreme caution and independent verification.
• 40-59: Suspicious patterns detected. The site may be newly registered, use unusual hosting, or trigger a subset of fraud signals. Investigate further before trusting.
• 0-39: Limited signals found. This does not guarantee the site is safe -- it means our databases have not flagged it yet. Always apply your own judgment.

Tips for Manually Evaluating Websites

Even with automated tools, manual checks catch things databases miss:

1. Check the URL carefully. Scammers register domains that look like real brands: amaz0n-support.com, paypal-secure-login.net. The real domain is always the part immediately before the first slash.
2. Look up the domain age. Go to ICANN Lookup and check the creation date. A site claiming years of business history on a domain registered last week is a red flag.
3. Search for reviews. Search for the website name plus "scam" or "reviews" to find firsthand reports from other users.
4. Verify contact information. Legitimate businesses provide a physical address, phone number, and email. If the only way to reach them is a generic contact form, be cautious.
5. Check payment methods. Sites that only accept cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or gift cards and refuse credit card payments are significantly more likely to be scams.

The FTC and FBI IC3 both maintain resources for verifying businesses and reporting fraud. The APWG tracks global phishing trends and publishes quarterly reports on the threat landscape.

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