To determine if a website or online entity is legitimate ("legit"), there is no single definitive tool, but several reliable methods can collectively help assess legitimacy:
- Use tools like WHOIS lookup to check domain registration details (age, registrar) and see if the site is newly created or suspicious.
- Check for an SSL certificate with https in the URL, but note this alone does not guarantee safety.
- Review the website’s design for poor grammar, spelling, or broken links which may indicate fraud.
- Verify contact information and physical location details provided by the site.
- Search for reviews on external platforms such as Trustpilot or social media presence of the company.
- Utilize scam detection websites such as ScamAdviser, ScamDoc, URLVoid, and Get Safe Online's Check a Website tool.
- Avoid sites with pricing too good to be true or suspicious payment options.
- Google’s Transparency Report and URL checker tools can help identify unsafe content on a site.
These combined steps and resources help build the evidence needed to decide if a website is likely legit or a scam.
If there is a specific website or item to check for legitimacy, these tools or services can be used to perform a more focused assessment.
