Scam watch: how to sniff out a phoney company

If I buy from an unknown company I always check them out.

First stop is to check the address on goggle maps. Very often it turns out to be a residential house. Depending on the business it may or not be a bad thing. A building with the company’s name on it is a good start. Many industrial estates won’t let you goggle walk around them but there is usually a sign at the front where you might be able to read the names or there might be a website listing all the companies that trade there. If you can’t confirm the company is where is says it is, that could be a warning they are fake.

Search reviews, the company name, address, email address, phone numbers, people, vat number if there is one, anything that might give you information.

Sometimes the search confirms a legitimate company, other times it unveils a whole nest of intrigue and is probably best left alone.

There are many companies that trade under different names across the internet.

Sometimes they have different websites for different types of product, other times they sell the same products at different prices and a product will have a high price tag on one site and a low price on another site.

I assume the reason for having different company names selling the same products is so a company appears to only have a small turnover so avoids taxes.

I have bought from one company website, payment has gone to another company name, and emails have had a different name again. Can all this be legal?

We all keep quiet about it as we have got what we wanted or got a good deal but internet companies are killing off bricks and mortar shops as they manipulate the system to sell cheaper products. Given the choice, I would much rather go and inspect a product before I buy but many products are only available on the internet these days.

It is time internet selling was better regulated to protect purchasers from fraud any maybe save some of our High Street shops.

Roll your mouse pointer over a link to reveal its true destination– check if there is no padlock in the browser window to signify its a secure link there should be one when you attempt to log-in /registrar. Be sure the padlock is NOT on the page itself (scam ) . Websites which request more personal info. than you would be expected to give are probably malicious . Avoid pharming by checking the address in your browsers address bar after you arrive at the website to make sure it matches the address you typed .This will avoid ending up at a fake site even though you entered the address for the authentic one . The web address should begin with =https:// . Use a secure browser ,in this case we are not looking for to hide your IP address /etc but to let you know if the site is a scam so we are not talking of private browsing being used . The latest scams use virtual windows that look like the real thing as opposed to the less tech . copies of a website so they might look genuine at first glance . Use a browser that has built in virus protection if you are not using other means like a Internet virus protection app/programme like Yandex or others . I use multiple blockers , like a proven good one called -ublock origin which blocks malware sites as well as whole host of other features

First thing I’d do would be to do a domain check of the URL, its amazing how much info criminal types put into their registration details.

Then as alfa says use google maps to see what at the address they use.