How to Check a Website Before You Sign Up
Creating an account hands over an email address at least, and often much more. A ten-minute check first can save months of trouble.
Why check first
Signing up is easy; leaving can be hard. Once a service has your email, phone number or payment details, you depend on it to protect them and to let you go. Phishing, the practice of tricking people into revealing sensitive information through fake websites or messages, often starts with a sign-up page.
Step one: confirm you are on the right address
Read the domain from the right, as described in the lookalike address guide. Reach the site by typing its address or from a source you already trust, not from an advert or an unsolicited message.
Step two: look at the domain's history
WHOIS is a query protocol for looking up who registered a domain and when. Many registrations are now private, but the creation date is often still visible. A domain created very recently for a service that claims long experience is worth questioning. Remember too that a domain can change hands: an old domain may now belong to someone unrelated.
Step three: read the pages nobody reads
- Terms of service. Look for how to close your account and what happens to your data afterwards.
- Privacy policy. Look for who your data is shared with.
- Contact details. A real business usually gives more than a chat box.
- Fees and withdrawals. If money goes in, find out in writing how it comes out.
Step four: search for independent views
Search for the service's name together with words like "review", "complaint" or "scam" in your language. Look for detail and dates rather than star ratings, and be wary of pages that only praise. Public records can help: some government agencies publish open data on reported fraud.
Gambling sites are a sector where this check matters a great deal, because money moves both ways and brands often run under several domains. As an example of what a careful look can cover, this Traditional Chinese page asks whether one gaming brand is a scam, looking at what police open data shows, the several domains that claim to be its home and how readers can check for themselves (搖錢樹娛樂城詐騙). The questions it raises are useful for any service: which address is genuine, what public records say and what you can confirm yourself.
Step five: sign up carefully
- Use a unique password, ideally generated by a password manager.
- Consider an email alias, so you can switch it off if the service starts sending spam.
- Give only the details the service actually needs.
- Turn on two-factor authentication if it is offered.
Red flags
- Pressure to sign up or deposit "today only".
- Requests for documents before you know what the service is.
- Several sites all claiming to be the one genuine version.
- No clear way to close the account.
Last checked 2026-11-09