People search · 4 min read

How to check if a business or online store is legit

Short answer

Look the business up in the Secretary of State registry for its state, search the name with "scam" and "complaint", check BBB and independent reviews, confirm a real phone number and address, and pay by credit card so you can dispute charges.

Checklist

  1. State registration: every state's Secretary of State has a business entity search. A registered company has a filing date, status and registered agent.
  2. Reputation: search the name + "scam", "complaint", "reviews"; check the BBB.
  3. Contact details: call the number. Look it up first: a business line, carrier and location that match the company are good signs.
  4. Website: brand-new domains, prices far below everyone else, and no physical address are common in fake stores.
  5. Payment: pay by credit card. Avoid wires, gift cards, crypto and payment apps for purchases from businesses you do not know.
Look up the business phone number

Private search. Nobody is notified.

Questions

What if a store only accepts Zelle, crypto or gift cards?

Walk away. Those methods are hard to reverse and are favored by scammers.

Know who you are dealing with

Search a name, phone number or email to see public profiles and records.

Sources

Keep reading

People search
How to verify a contractor before you hire them
People search
How to look someone up by email address
People search
How to verify a Marketplace buyer or seller before you meet
Phone scams
Amazon scam calls and texts: suspicious purchases and fake refunds
All people search guidesFree toolsArea code lookup

Published 2026-10-28 by the TrueSearch Safety Team. General information, not legal advice. In an emergency call 911.

TrueSearch is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Do not use TrueSearch or anything on this page to make decisions about employment, housing or tenant screening, credit, insurance, or any other FCRA-covered purpose. Results come from publicly available information and licensed telecom data and may be incomplete or out of date.