How to Take Down a Scam Website in 5 Steps

As the world digitally advanced and became engrossed in the internet, con artists found a new way to deceive users, i.e., by creating scam websites. These sites are typically designed to impersonate legitimate businesses, offer counterfeit goods, steal the users’ business, or just steal users’ financial data, personal information, or even money. Whatever the purpose is, it leads to the exploitation of the trust of online shoppers and financial losses and reputational damage to genuine brands.

A 2022 report by the Anti-Phishing Working Group stated that over 1.3 million scam websites were detected, showcasing how alarming this issue is. Therefore, there is an increased need for companies to step forward and remove scam websites to ensure brand protection.

This step-by-step guide will discuss how brands can preserve their integrity and protect the customer experience by taking down scam websites.

Identifying Scam Websites

The first line of defence you can deploy to protect your brand from scam websites is knowing how to recognize them. Most scammers often use methods like ‘domain name squatting’ to imitate a brand’s website. What they do is register a domain name that closely resembles those of legitimate businesses, often with slight misspellings or added characters. These fake sites deceive customers into believing they are interacting with the real brand and, thus, exploit them by selling counterfeit goods, phishing for personal or financial information, or stealing their money.

Usually, scam websites are categorized into the following:

• Phishing Websites: Designed to mimic verified sites, tricking users to enter their personal or financial information, such as account numbers, passwords, social security numbers, or credit card information. Often, scammers use fraudulent emails or messages to lure users to phishing websites.
• Counterfeit Retail Sites: These websites sell fake or non-existent versions of branded products, often at seemingly attractive prices, to lure unsuspecting shoppers. While their layouts and branding may appear legitimate, the products delivered are often substandard, unsafe, or non-existent. Victims not only lose money but may also unwittingly support criminal enterprises involved in large-scale counterfeiting.
• Tech Support Scams: These scams claim to offer technical assistance while secretly stealing data, installing malware, or demanding payment for non-existent problems. They often target users through pop-up ads, fake error messages, or cold calls, creating a sense of urgency to prompt immediate action. Victims may unknowingly grant access to their devices or pay for unnecessary services, putting their information at further risk.
• Fake Review Platforms: These platforms are designed to mislead consumers by publishing fabricated reviews that praise fake products, services, or scam websites. These platforms can also post false or defamatory reviews about competitors to damage their reputation.

Tips to Identify and Avoid Scam Websites:

• Check the URL Carefully: Look for misspellings or extra characters in the domain name.​
• Verify SSL Certificates: Legitimate websites usually have HTTPS and a padlock icon in the address bar.
• Look for Trust Seals: Authentic websites display verified seals from organizations like McAfee or Norton.
• Analyze Content: Poor grammar, spelling errors, and low-quality images can be red flags.
• Inspect Contact and Product Information: Genuine sites provide verifiable phone numbers and addresses. Also, authentic e-commerce sites display product verification details.​

5 Steps to Take Down a Scam Website.

Is your brand being threatened by a look-alike, fraudulent website? Are you thinking of solving this problem once and for all by taking down the scam website? This section outlines five key steps that can help take down scam sites, ensuring brand protection:

1. Send the Domain Registrant a Letter of Ceasing:

First, you need to identify the domain registrant using tools like Whois Lookup or ICANN. Once identified, draft a formal letter of ceasing that clearly outlines the fraudulent activities of the website and your demand to cease operations. If needed, you can also include evidence of how the domain is being used maliciously and explain the potential legal consequences if the activities continue.

This step often acts as a warning and can prompt the registrant to take action. However, if you don’t receive the desired response, continue with the following steps.

2. Send a Cease-and-Desist Letter to the CMS Platform

If the scam website uses a content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Shopify, consider sending a cease-and-desist letter to the platform. In the cease-and-desist letter, you should outline how the website violates its terms of service by engaging in fraudulent activities.

To make your plea stronger, you can provide documentation, including screenshots and URL links. CMS platforms usually have strict policies against scams and can take down websites upon verification.

3. Demonstrate to the Website Host

If the abovementioned steps don’t work, you can look for the site’s host. Contact the host with comprehensive evidence of fraudulent activities to pressure them to remove their site. Evidence can include transaction records, customer complaints, screenshots showing impersonation, counterfeit sales, or anything that doesn’t appear right, such as dubious links, misspellings, or domain name variations.

In addition, explain how the scam website violates the provider’s terms of service and request its removal. If the web hosts are convinced that the specific website is phoney, they will cooperate with you and remove the unlawful site from their network.

4. File a Complaint with Domain Registrars

Domain registrars are responsible for managing domain names and have the authority to suspend or remove them. You can file a formal complaint with the registrar registering the scam website’s domain. To support your claim, try to provide detailed evidence and explain how the domain is being used for illegal or unethical activities. Many registrars have abuse-reporting mechanisms to address such issues efficiently.

5. Notify Search Engines

Lastly, you can report the scam website to major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo if your brand still faces problems. For instance, consider using tools like Google Safe Browsing to report Google phishing or fraudulent activities.

If the search engines are determined the site to be unlawful or a scam, they can blacklist it, ensuring it doesn’t appear in search results and reducing its visibility to potential victims. This step will help disrupt the scam site’s operations and limit its ability to attract traffic and exploit users.

Practical Tools to Take Down Scam Websites

Technology plays a pivotal role in identifying and dismantling scam websites. Here are some effective tools to assist you:

1. Google’s Content Removal Tool

Using this tool, you can report harmful or scam websites, such as phishing sites that impersonate brands, outdated sites, or websites hosting stolen content or engaging in criminal activities, to Google for removal from Google’s search results.

How to Use:

1. Visit the Google Content Removal Tool.
2. Choose the appropriate request type, such as “Phishing” or “Unauthorized Use.”
3. Fill out the required fields and submit supporting evidence.
4. Monitor updates from Google for the status of your request.

2. ICANN WHOIS Lookup

The ICANN WHOIS Lookup is a key tool that can provide details about domain ownership, including the registrar, registration date, and contact information. These details are essential for sending cease-and-desist letters or reporting abuse to domain registrars.

How to Use:

1. Go to the ICANN WHOIS Lookup.
2. Enter the domain name of the suspected scam website.
3. Review the results to identify the domain registrar and owner’s contact information.
4. Use the information to file complaints or send legal notices.

3. PhishTank

PhishTank is a community-driven platform where users can report phishing websites and verify suspicious URLs. It helps build a database of known scams and supports their takedown.

How to Use:

1. Register for a free account on PhishTank.
2. Submit the URL of the suspected phishing website.
3. Check the status of URLs to confirm if they are flagged as phishing sites.
4. Share the results with relevant authorities or hosting providers.

4. DMCA Notice Generators

Users can use these tools to generate compliant or file notices asking to request the removal of scam content. A DMCA notice is particularly effective for content theft and copyright infringement cases.

How to Use:

1. Use free tools like DMCA.com to draft a notice.
2. Enter your details, the infringing URL, and a description of the violation.
3. Send the notice to the website host or domain registrar.
4. Follow up to ensure action is taken promptly.

5. Truviss

​Acviss Truviss is a cutting-edge online anti-counterfeiting solution that can scan cyberspace to identify fake listings, websites, ads, offers and applications. This enables brands to automatically monitor the digital world 24/7 without any manual intervention as Truviss can automatically identify and report immediately upon encounter.

What Truviss Does?

• Brand Monitoring: Truviss uses AI-driven algorithms to scan online platforms, including websites, marketplaces, and social media, to detect counterfeit listings and unauthorized sellers.
• Proactive Protection: It identifies and takes down fake product listings, scam websites, and misleading ads to safeguard your brand identity.

How to Use Truviss?

1. Integrate Truviss with your brand’s online monitoring and compliance systems.
2. Set up automated alerts to track and act against counterfeit activities in real-time.
3. Leverage Truviss's analytics dashboard to gain insights into fraudulent activities and enhance protection strategies.

Secure Brands’ Against Scam Sites!

With the increasing number of scams, unlawful, or fraudulent websites, brands’ integrity, and financial security, along with consumers' trust, have taken a back seat. Identifying and taking down these malicious platforms is critical to preserving brand integrity and customer confidence. However, dealing with these scammers is not a one-time job, as they might launch another fraudulent site within a few days with a different domain name.

So, brand protection requires continuous monitoring and action by leveraging Acviss tools. Get in touch with us and take charge of protecting your brand today. Explore Acviss’s innovative solutions to secure your brand’s online presence!