Who runs this site
FalseAds (falseads.com) is operated by Anderson Gomes Ferreira. contato@falseads.com
How it works
The lookup runs in your browser. It reduces the address to its registrable name (example.co.uk, not the path or the tracking parameters), reads the list of registry servers that IANA publishes, and asks the server for that ending directly. Our servers are never in the middle, so we do not see the addresses you check, and the shop’s own website is never opened, loaded or contacted.
What a registry returns is checked before it is shown: only a domain record with the name you asked for is accepted, dates must be valid timestamps, the size is capped, and nothing from the answer is treated as page code. Owner and contact details are never read, only the registrar’s name and the dates.
Every sign on the checklist is on a page of official guidance that we opened on 11 October 2026, and the page and its date are shown beside the sign. A sign with no such page is not on the list. The list is a set of things to look for, and the count of what you marked is only a count.
Where the data and rules come from
- FTC: Online Shopping — US consumer agency: payment demands, reviews, return policy
- FBI IC3: FBI Sees Rise In Online Shopping Scams (I-080320-PSA) — reported indicators of fake shops, including recent registration
- Swiss NCSC: Week 28, Spotting scam websites — domain registration date, reviews, contact details, terms
- UK NCSC: Shopping and paying safely online — lookalike domains and paying by card
- Europol: E-Commerce, tips and advice to avoid becoming a fraud victim — terms, address details, reporting to police and bank
- IANA: RDAP bootstrap file for domain names — which registry server answers for each ending
How we keep the content up to date
Every sign and every reporting step shows the date of the page it comes from and the day we opened it (11 October 2026). The pages are reopened and compared when an agency changes its guidance; what could not be opened is listed as not confirmed.
What this site is not
The age of a domain is a clue, not proof: a new shop is not a scam and an old one is no guarantee, and some registries show only the first registration. The tool cannot see inside the shop, cannot tell a copy of a brand from the brand, and does not check certificates, reviews or prices. Some endings (many country codes) have no RDAP server. Reporting channels are listed for the countries whose official pages we could open; the others say “not confirmed”.
Get in touch
Found a mistake, have a question or a suggestion? See the channels on the contact.
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