---
title: "Is this website legit? How to check a site you don't know | URLert"
description: "A link to a shop, a download, a form or a page you've never heard of. How to tell whether it's real before you sign in, pay or download, and what to do if you already did."
url: https://www.urlert.com/scams/unfamiliar-websites
mcp: https://www.urlert.com/mcp
---

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[All scam guides](https://www.urlert.com/scams.md)

# Websites you don't know

A link to a shop, a download, a form or a page you've never heard of. How to tell whether it's real before you sign in, pay or download, and what to do if you already did.

A link in a group chat

omg this site has the jacket for 70% off, sale ends tonight https://best-deals-outlet.example

## What it looks like

A link in a group chat

omg this site has the jacket for 70% off, sale ends tonight https://best-deals-outlet.example

A page opened from an ad

Official Store Clearance. Only 3 left! Pay by bank transfer for an extra 10% off.

A comment under a video

full version free here, no virus, 100% working: https://free-tools-hub.example/get

Examples. The names and amounts change; the shape doesn't.

## How to spot one

1. **You'd never heard of it** until a message, an ad or a comment sent you there.
2. **It's brand new.** Many scam sites are only days or weeks old. Real shops and services usually have years behind them.
3. **You can't tell who runs it.** No company name, no address, no way to reach a person, or details that don't match the name on the page.
4. **The price or the offer is too good,** or a timer says it ends tonight.
5. **It asks for more than it needs:** a sign-in for an account that isn't its own, a card number to “verify”, payment by bank transfer, gift card or crypto, or a file to download.
6. **The address is close to a name you know, but isn't it:** an extra word, a different ending, letters swapped.

## What to do

1. **Don't sign in, pay or download yet.** Close the page if it's rushing you.
2. **Go the long way:** type the address of the shop or service you know yourself, or search for its name, instead of following the link.
3. **Look it up:** search its name with the word “reviews” or “scam”, and read what people say on other sites, not on the site itself.
4. **Still not sure?** [Check the link](https://www.urlert.com/index.md). We open it on a phone and a computer, not yours, see how new it is and what it asks for, and tell you what we find.

### Already signed in, paid or downloaded?

- [I gave a password or a code](https://www.urlert.com/recover/password.md)
- [I gave my card details](https://www.urlert.com/recover/card.md)
- [I installed something](https://www.urlert.com/recover/installed.md)
- [https://www.urlert.com/recover.md](https://www.urlert.com/recover.md)

## Why it works

A site can be made in an hour and look as finished as a real shop. Most people judge a site by how it looks, and that's the easiest thing to copy.

## Similar scams

- [Fake shops and free trials](https://www.urlert.com/scams/fake-shops.md)
- [Fake sign-in pages](https://www.urlert.com/scams/fake-sign-in-pages.md)
- [Fake downloads and apps](https://www.urlert.com/scams/fake-downloads.md)

On this page

1. What it looks like
2. How to spot one
3. What to do
4. Already acted?
5. Why it works
6. Similar scams

[URLert home](https://www.urlert.com/index.md)

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