You think that a website is a fraud. Or, better yet, you are dissatisfied with a website. You tried to complain, or cannot get in touch with customer service. The website is hiding from your emails to them, or cannot find the proper email to get in touch with the m via email?? The telephone numbers listed on the website’s listings are not picking up the telephone?? You have the runaround!! You don’t have the information needed to get in touch with the proper persons or even at all. You know the scenario! I have been there before.

Now, a smarter approach, is to do some backhand investigating on your own. You can not only check out if a website’s credentials are good, you are able to obtain the information needed and get in touch with the webmaster of the website. Here is my favorite tool:

www.scamadviser.com

You not only get in touch with the webmaster, but the properties who owns the site. You are able to communicate through an email where Scam Advisor will give an email to the webmaster on their end, and you an automated response (no-reply) email with the auto-response of [domain_name.com]@contactprivacy.com. Please note that the domain name owners are not obligated to respond to from Contact Privacy’s  requests, but they will know that you are trying to get in touch with them. You have now started to pierce through their shell of “hiding”. You are able to do your own investigating by seeing the following information about the website because Scam Advisor/Contact Privacy gives you information like:

• The website name [domain_name.com]
• The website title, [Domain Name] and the nature of the content involved on the website
• The website description [Store, Shipping, Giveaways, Any Product, Any Service, etc.] is a…[Direct premise or mission involved with the website]
• The website domain age in years and days
• The website last refreshed date in days
• The website speed
• The website website value in US $
• The website organisation # on Contact Privacy Inc. Customer [##]
• The website owner name [John Doe]
• The website owner Address [123 Main Street]
• The website owner city: [Anytown]
• The website owner postcode: [00000 or 000-000]
• The website owner phone number: [+1.1234567890 |+44.123456789 | etc.] and country [Antartica]
• The website registered company’s phone type being a landline or cell and telephone company’s registered name.
• The domain email’s country of origin
• The website owner’s country, whether listed or hidden/unknown
• The website location country, and if unknown, the probable website origin in percentage between landmark countries and unknown countries.
  Notes of alert results showing that the owner of the website is using a service to hide their identity
• Analysis Details of whether the website is based in one country and if there are other countries involved and you should review this information carefully and decide if it is as you expect.
• Whether the website is using an anonymous service which prevents us from identifying the site owner. It will warn that this can sometimes be just so that the owner does not receive spam, but be aware that many scam sites use this as a method to hide their identify. Suggestion that if this is an eCommerce site to confirm the business address with the website owners.

Finally you are able to obtain the credentials of the websites:

• Owner
• Administrator
• Technical Contact
• Server
• Name Servers
• Whois

After you make the analysis from the information above you will be light years ahead of where you were before your started, and with this information, you are better able to go to the next level of investigation, whether it is where the website comes out of their shell and gets in touch with you, or whether it is legal action. You are better served knowing the information, and can now pursue real action to steps in rectifying runaround websites!!

Now you are in the hot seat of knowledge, and Fraudulent websites…Beware!! What you need to know to put them on call!