5 Ways to Check if a Business is Genuine

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5 Ways to Check if a Business is Genuine
5 Ways to Check if a Business is Genuine

Video: 5 Ways to Check if a Business is Genuine

Video: 5 Ways to Check if a Business is Genuine
Video: How to Ask Rich Person for Money? How Do I Ask a Billionaire for Money? Ask Rich People for Money 2024, March
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Scams are an unfortunate aspect of life. A company may appear genuine, but in reality, it may turn out to be a scammer. Fortunately, there are some warning signs that can help protect you from scams.

Steps

Method 1 of 5: Registration and Solvency

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 1
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 1

Step 1. Check the registration data from the company website

Occasionally, the name and information of the person who registered the site may be found, which will help in future searches. Look for the date of creation and possible expiration of the site. Sites created very recently and with an estimated expiration date soon are often used for scams.

  • Look for an advertisement with the secretary of state or a Federal/Federal Employer Identification (USA) Employer Identification number. An advertisement shows that they are likely to have a good reputation as a company.
  • Serious companies in Brazil have CNPJ. A simple Google search for the name of the company and the term CNPJ usually brings fruitful results.
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 2
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 2

Step 2. Check your national registration process for more details

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 3
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 3

Step 3. Check the IRS website

The lack of CNPJ here does not imply that the company is a scammer.

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 4
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 4

Step 4. Some sectors have regulatory bodies they need to be registered with or specific licenses to operate

It's worth researching the company's industry to see if it complies with such regulations.

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 5
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 5

Step 5. Use a business credit report to verify a company's legitimacy

Using a company verification service, you can confirm:

  • A company's credit rating.
  • Her contact information,
  • Financial performance;
  • The structure of the board;
  • How long have they been in the business and much more.

Method 2 of 5: Contact Information

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 8
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 8

Step 1. Search the website for a legitimate phone number and address

This is just a sign that this is a genuine company. If there is no way to contact this company outside of the digital world, that's a bad sign. Since emails and domain names are easy to obtain, having an email address is not as reliable as offline contact information.

Look in other cities to see if the same company is using the same website for the same business. Use your same search term with a different city name. If you find the same business page for another city, don't use them. Typically, these copied pages are used in many cities and are of little value. Many have broken links and poorly formatted images, which is a hint to a fake company page, or phishing

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 9
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 9

Step 2. Fake websites are usually created by an SEO expert and duplicated for many big cities

They almost always use email forms so you can't track them.

Usually all fake companies use a postal address or pay for a fake at a real company doing similar business. The company type can match even if the name is different

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 10
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 10

Step 3. Search the IICAN website using their Whols command

If the owner is paying to hide their name/address identity, then execute it as it is more likely to be a fake company. If it's registered to an LLC company, then look for them on the web and see who manages them. If it is located outside the country then do not use it. If it's in SEO or hosting companies, don't use it. If it has a fake postal address, don't use it.

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 11
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 11

Step 4. These fake company websites or "referral sites" are set up for one thing only

Which is tricking you into asking for their services, so they sell their leads to a real company and cut them off. These referral sites do nothing for the industry they claim to work for, but they raise the prices of services for everyone.

Note that both phone numbers and addresses are now super easy to forge. There's an entire industry providing area code and fake 800 numbers. Even Google does this now, so phone numbers are no longer a sign of a real business. Before doing business, call the chamber of commerce associated with the address and see if they are a real brick and mortar company or a denatured internet company with a false address and located in the United States or in distant countries

Method 3 of 5: How professional is the company website?

Step 1.

  • Browse the company's website in search of discrepancies and professionalism. If a website says something in one place and then contradicts itself in another, that's a red flag that the company is uncoordinated and could be a hastily mounted scam. If it's unprofessional (for example, there are stolen images and multiple typos), it shows that little attention or care has been placed on the site.
  • See terms and conditions. Legitimate companies will almost always have terms and conditions of use. If they have terms, read them carefully for things that sound suspicious.
  • Look for decent content. Fake company referral sites usually don't have much content about the site, and they usually have too many legitimate company and BBB logos to trick you into trusting them. A "big" tip are photos from image banks and "no" photos of the company building, employees or products. Avoid the company if all you see are stock photos of its so-called products––this is currently the easiest way to spot a fake web company!
  • If you have any questions about the company from the webpage, then your first impressions are usually correct. Avoid the company until you know it is genuine.

Method 4 of 5: Payment Methods

Step 1.

Consider how the company accepts payments. If they only accept payments through unsafe or obscure measures, this can be a red flag. PayPal is often considered a secure method. Look for payment methods that will allow you to get your money back if things go wrong

Method 5 of 5: Reviews

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 12
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 12

Step 1. Google your business name

You can find out some comments or information about whether the company is a scam or not. If you don't see anything, try "sham company name" and see if the results show up like that. While it's possible to manipulate a positive online presence, bad comments are harder to hide.

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 13
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 13

Step 2. Check out the company's customer reviews on review platforms

Unlike personal blogs, rating platforms reflect the opinions of multiple customers and generally provide an unfiltered view of a company's overall reliability. Reliable rating platforms will not censor comments in any way and fight hard against fake ratings.

Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 14
Check if the Company Is Genuine Step 14

Step 3. Ask for real brick and mortar references in your area

Call the reference and ask who actually did the work. If it was a different company, then it was to hire services from another company to which they sold the lead. This is an indication to avoid the company.

Tips

  • When you look at reviews, be aware of which reviews to trust. Some people don't follow all the guidelines they should follow or don't understand the product or terms and then complain even though the mistake was "theirs".
  • Some hosts keep domain owner information private. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a scam.
  • If you are looking for a business that is running from home or if it is really a small business, they may not have long-lived business or domain ads. Some people don't have the money to pay for it on top of other company expenses.

Notices

  • Be careful with your information. Don't provide more than is necessary, and use common sense when providing them. If you don't feel 100% sure the company is genuine, then find another one! With personal information that can ruin your life, it's better to be safe than sorry.
  • Some tools may not be available for things outside of America.
  • If it sounds too good to be true, assume it is.

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