Last Updated on July 25, 2025 by Mat Diekhake
Users want to learn two things related to website checking: is a site safe, and is a site legitimate (not a scam/fraudulent)? Those checking for safety want to know if they can visit a site without finding malware and important security issues, while those wanting to check if a site is legit want to know if a website is safe to buy from without being scammed. We give technical analysis to determine whether a site is safe and legitimate. These results are included in our assessment of a site before we give our final overall grade.
How to Check Out If a Website Is Legit / How to Spot a Fraudulent Website
Here is how you can tell if an online store is legitimate, including a subscription model for selling products or services:
- Step 1. Use our website checker search field above and search for the website.
- Step 2. On the website’s dedicated webpage, check under the “Is it safe to visit or use” heading section, where we analyze websites for you.
- Step 3. Check if any security vendors have flagged the domain as malicious or for phishing.
- Note: These will be listed as Malicious and Phishing directly.
- Step 4. Check our consumer reviews for user feedback.
Important: Our technical analysis tests whether a website is legit or a scam. If a website is known as a scam or an illegitimate site, it will be flagged by security vendors as a social engineering (phishing) scam or as malicious; when malware is found, it is usually designated as malware. Some online malware scanners also include a community score. We also have our in-house community score incorporated into the grading system, which is also useful in detecting illegitimate sites.
See also: Website Grading Standards