Introduction
Hi everyone, I wanted to write a post as one more warning about fake/scam stores. As we are close to the holidays now, at the end of the year, discounts get bigger and bigger. And with that, it is a peak season for fake/scam stores. As they can blend in more with offers that can pass as great, but you just lose money in the end. And this post is more oriented to customers than the store owners, but if you just pass a few words to your friends and family, it would matter. Just spreading a word may help someone to think twice before leaving personal and credit card details to a suspicious store.
Red Flag #1: Prices That Are Insultingly Low
Black Friday deals for years have not been what they used to be. But people still expect 60-70% discounts. Chance to grab something good for an affordable price. But you have to think a bit before clicking that add to cart button. What made a seller to lower the price to a value that is lower than what he got it from the supplier? So the seller is losing money? Is something wrong with the product?
Real brands don’t destroy their margins; scammers don’t care. But the first step would be comparing prices with known big stores, Amazon, Walmart, and AliExpress. If the majority of prices are much higher, why think some not-so-known store could offer it for much less? One other example: supplier price $10, seller sets discount price for $35, and the old price to $125. So huge discount? But that old price is completely random in most cases. Or bundle offers: “But 3 for a big discount” “Most popular”, why would anyone buy 3 jackets, a TV, and shoes? To scammers, it is just extra money, as they would not deliver it.
Red Flag #2: Domain Age
Most people do not think about this, or that there is a way to check. But it is important as there is a high chance that if the domain is fresh, it is used just for scamming purposes. So if a domain does not have even 60 days, you can wonder if it is legit. And to check age, there are a few sites like: duplichecker, whatsmydns/domain-age, and others.
Red Flag #3: Contact Information That’s Clearly Trash
- No physical address, or a random Google-mapped building (check Street View).
- Gmail/Yahoo email, and not a professional domain email.
- Form only, no email at all.
- Phone numbers that never ring.
- Fake social media icons link nowhere.
Note that a lot of new legitimate stores have this same issue, especially if dropshipping. But also not a good sign.
Red Flag #4: Theme & Design Signs
Next, we have a choice of themes. A lot of fake stores are using free themes (Dawn-based, Horizon-based) with barely modified colors. And while this does not mean every store is fake, as using free themes is are first step for a lot of merchants, with other flags it just makes the picture clear. But there is one more theme that is popular with scammers: Shrine pro. It is a paid theme, but it also seems to be shared a lot on Reddit and other places illegally. To check the theme, open Developer Console and type window.Shopify.theme.schema_name
Other things to check:
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No real branding, no brand story, no About page. Some new/droppshinping stores can have the same. But again, their issue also.
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Broken links, lorem ipsum text. Default image placeholders. Some fake stores use images from other brands, just edited images replacing the brand.
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“Sales timers” and “only 3 left!” scripts that reset every time you refresh.
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Fake review apps showing impossible dates (“review posted last month on a 2-week-old domain”).
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Free shipping worldwide for heavy items.
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Us vs them sections where us usually have all features and “others” none.
The only payment method is Cash on delivery, and that is not even in the Shopify checkout but outside form. Be very careful with this one.
Red Flag #5: Fake reviews
Fake review apps showing impossible dates (“review posted last month on a 2-week-old domain”). All reviews on the same date.
Usually, there are reviews that are just entered as blocks in sections, so not using any app. But often reviews try to look like they are from TrustPilot, green square around stars, and even have the title “TrustPilot” reviews. But if you spend a few seconds and check the store on the Trustpilot website, in most cases, there are no reviews or some 1-star reviews only. For reviews, if they have person images, try reverse image search or Google Lens. A lot may be just free stock images or just AI-generated.
Red Flag #6: No Policies or Garbage Policies
Scam stores often:
- Copy/paste Shopify policy templates word-for-word.
- Sometimes they copy policies from other websites
- No returns except “damaged items only.”
- No shipping explanation aside from “14 to 30 days”
- Policies linking to 404 pages.
- Check what country law is mentioned. If it is vague like “in a country that brand is based on,” so not actually tell what country it is.
- Also check emails and other contact details if they match with rest of the site.
Policies are the backbone of trust. If they look lazy, the store is lazy or dishonest; both are bad.
Red Flag #7: Social Proof That Smells Fake
Most scam stores:
- Have 0 or near 0 real followers.
- Comments turned off.
- Recent posts only.
- Reels/images stolen from other brands.
- Fake review widgets with stock photo avatars.
Real brands show customer content; fake stores avoid it.
So in summary:
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Check domain age.
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Look for reviews outside the website.
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Reverse image search product photos.
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Search the store name + “scam”
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Check the brand on Trustpilot / Reddit.
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Pay only with protected methods (PayPal, credit card).
Conclusion: If Something Feels Off, It Usually Is
Scammers rely on urgency, greed, and holiday pressure. So you should try to slow down, think, and do a bit of research. Check for clues. If there are multiple red flags, skip the store and search elsewhere.
And if you have ordered something already, and your package is not coming, store owner is not responding, do report that merchant at
“Issue with an order” or “Fraud”, so Shopify can check it out.
There could be other red flags, so if I missed some, do comment.
