Scam Sites Are Everywhere: Spot Fake Shops Before It’s Too Late

Fake online stores are showing up everywhere. They offer huge discounts on trendy items, but they either ship nothing or send cheap junk. These scam sites are getting harder to detect because they copy the look and feel of real stores. With names like Honerages, Girlscosmo or Thursdaye, they change domain names often and use paid ads on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to lure people in. Knowing how these scam websites operate and recognizing their patterns can help you shop safely and protect your personal information. How These Scam Stores Operate: Same Strategy, Different Name The fraudsters behind these sites follow a familiar playbook: Launch a brand-new website with a generic name Fill it with product images stolen from legitimate stores Advertise heavy discounts (60% to 90% off) Take your money or info, then disappear Some buyers get nothing. Others receive cheap garbage or unrelated items. These shops rarely allow refunds or have real customer support. These scams are often run by larger networks, many operating out of China. Once exposed, the scammers rebrand the website with a new name and repeat the process. The Red Flags: What Every Scam Shop Has in Common After analyzing more than a dozen scam sites, we found repeating signs: Domain registered within the last few months No physical contact information or company address Legal pages (like Terms of Service) copied from other sites Fake or stock customer reviews No social media presence or interaction No Archive of their activity on the internet or wayback machines Sites like Vizuliz[.]com, Karen-bags[.]com, and Zazazen[.]com all followed this pattern. They look different on the surface, but under the hood, it’s the same scam model. Real Examples We’ve Investigated Here are some sites we've covered in previous investigations: Honerages[.]com : Sold a wide variety of products, but buyers received nothing or unrelated junk. Thursdaye[.]com : Used professional-looking templates and social media ads, but scamme...