Creative scammers have come up with a new way to scam you when you shop online.  For years, I have warned you about phony retail websites that either appear to be that of legitimate retailers such as Wallmart or are just websites that come up high in a search engine search when you are looking to buy a particular item that offer great prices.  Unfortunately, this problem has gotten worse with scammers now able to use AI to create phony retail websites that look entirely legitimate.  Also, merely because a website comes up high in a search engine search does not mean that it is legitimate.  Scammers either pay for a high position or are sufficiently savvy to create a site that the search engines’ algorithms will pick for a high position in a search.

In the past, the scammers would lure you into providing your credit card or debit card (which you should never use for purchases because the law does not protect you as much from fraudulent use) and then use your card to make purchases or if you provided your debit card, they will then access your bank account.  Now, however, the scammer are getting greedy.  When you attempt to use your credit card on their phony website you will be told that your card has been declined and so you need to use a second card.  Once you do, you have now turned over two credit cards to the scammer to use for fraudulent purchases in your name.

So how do you determine if you are on a legitimate website?

TIPS

Look at the URL.  If you are making a payment, you would want the URL to be preceded by https rather than merely http.  The “s” means that your communication is being encrypted and while even some phony websites may go the extra step and use encryption, most do not and so this is an easy way to spot a scam.
Sometimes carefully checking the domain name for a counterfeit website will provide an indication that it is a scam.  If the domain name has nothing to do with the real name of the company, you can be confident that is a scam.  I would caution you however that merely because the name looks legitimate does not mean that it is.  Often scammers will create phony, but very legitimate appearing domain names.
The Google Safe Browsing Transparency Report is a terrific free service where you can type in the URL and learn if Google’s research indicates it is a scam.  Here is a link to it. https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search
You can also use Whois.com which is a free service that will tell you who owns a particular URL and how long it has been in service.  If your Walmart website has only been around six months and is owned by someone in Nigeria, it certainly is a scam.  Here is a link to Whois  https://whois.domaintools.com/
Finally, Google now is using AI to provide enhanced protection when using Google Chrome  to recognize scam websites and warn you about them.
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