Identifying Shady Shopping Sites
I don't know about you, but social media is always showing me ads with cool stuff that I actually consider buying. The problem is that so many of them are sites that can't be trusted - they may be knock-offs and not the original, they may be scammers, they may have terrible reviews, or they may be shipping from a foreign country without disclosing it. Here's a prompt that I use to ensure my shopping is safe: I saw this product in an online ad and want to avoid scams, knockoffs, or shipping from questionable foreign countries. Product: [name] Link: [URL] Please: - Identify the legitimate or original seller - Confirm whether the brand is real and reputable - Find official or trusted retailers selling the same item - Warn me about likely fake or low-quality versions - State whether verified buyer reviews exist and summarize them by source - Identify likely shipping origin and expected delivery timelines Be cautious and flag risks clearly.