Guides
How to report a lookalike of your store
A lookalike is a site that uses your store's name, look or pages to seem like you. Several companies can act on one, and each sees only its own part. This guide covers what to save, where to send a report and what each report can and cannot do. It is general information, not legal advice.
Save the evidence first
Lookalikes change and disappear, so record what you see on the day you find it.
- Write down the exact page addresses, not only the domain name. The people who review reports look at pages.
- Take full-page screenshots with the date and time showing.
- Save each page from your browser (File, then Save page as).
- Note what the site shows: your own products and store, or a different store using your name.
- Keep everything in one folder, labeled with the date you found it.
Do not contact whoever runs the site, and do not offer to buy the domain. It tells them you have noticed, and paying can invite the next one.
Find who serves it and who registered it
Two companies are usually involved: the one that serves the site and the registrar that sold the domain. A free public registration lookup shows the registrar, its abuse contact, the date the domain was registered and its name servers. The name servers show who runs its DNS, which is not always the company serving the site. A lookup of the site's IP address shows the network that serves it.
Write both names down next to your screenshots. Every report below asks who you are reporting and which pages you mean.
Where to report
- The company serving the site. Most have an abuse form. Pick the category that fits: phishing, trademark, or copied photos and text. Give specific page addresses, since a bare domain name gives the reviewer little to check.
- The registrar. Use the abuse contact from the lookup. Say what the domain does, and attach the page addresses and screenshots.
- Shopify. If the lookalike sits on a Shopify store, report it through Shopify's abuse process with the store address.
- Google Search. If pages that imitate yours are listed in results, Google has request forms for removing them from search.
- Browser makers. A site that asks for logins or payments while pretending to be you can be reported to the warning programs browsers use.
What each report can and cannot do
- The serving company can review the pages and act under its own rules. It cannot hand you the domain, and it may ask for more detail.
- The registrar can suspend a domain that breaks its terms. It will not settle a trademark dispute, and many act only on clear abuse such as phishing.
- Shopify can act on a store that runs on its platform. It cannot act on a site that runs elsewhere.
- A Google Search request can remove listings from results. It does not take the site down.
- A browser warning can warn visitors before they load the site. It does not remove it.
Every report is a request. Each company decides for itself and on its own schedule, and none is bound to act. File each one, keep a dated note of what you sent and when, and follow up with the desk if you hear nothing. A new lookalike can also appear after one is dealt with, so keep your folder.
If you are weighing a legal dispute
A trademark or other intellectual property claim is a different route from an abuse report. An intellectual property lawyer can tell you whether it is worth filing. The folder you built above is what they will want to see.
Where Lookalikely fits
Lookalikely watches other endings of your store name. When it can show a site is proven serving the real store, you get a dated check and a report ready to send to each desk. Nothing is sent unless you send it. Lookalikely is not live yet; the card below is how to hear when it is.
Lookalikely is made by Intake.