To think that google should take responsibility for scam sites?

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

My daughter wanted to get her best friend some Kylie Jenner makeup for her birthday. She googled and clicked on the first link which came up and ordered £30 worth of cosmetics (money she'd saved up from pocket money and holiday jobs). She got a confirmation number with an order number and thought all was well. Except that her order never arrived.

She showed me the website she used and it's identical to the official site apart from xl at the end of the address - it even has https at the start.

If she'd paid by credit card she would be protected but as she's too young for a credit card she used her debit card so will never see the money again.

Aibu in thinking that google should do more to protect young consumers from fraudulent sites?

Google doesn't own the whole internet, so why are they to blame? What do you want them to do?

Google is only a search engine. They don't own the internet.

As others have said it's not Google's job to ensure our kids are educated. You should have helped her to order.

I's not google's fault.

I don't know if OP helping to order would have made a difference. It might be good for both of them to find out a bit more about how the internet works so they can protect themselves against phishing.

If you order via a shopping search on google rather than a general search they do cover you if something goes wrong

Until my Dc's got their own credit cards they would always come to me, or their Dad to purchase anything online. they always paid up and liked the fact that they only had to pay us when the card bill came in.

It's irritating to have crap sponsored links at the top of Google searches, but we should be doing more to teach people to understand how to evaluate websites and question anything fishy.
Using a debit card is foolish - could she have asked to borrow a credit card.

YABU. It's a search engine, they don't own the net. It's your personal responsibility to manage which sites you visit.

they don't own the internet, that's true. but they do prioritise websites. so if a scam is showing up as the number 1 hit it is a bit their responsibility.

"but they do prioritise websites"

No they don't - companies pay to have their website prioritized automatically. I am sat here doing it at the moment, Google have zero input (apart from the technology), there is an automatic bidding system.

I think that's what the OP is suggesting.

that Google should have some input.

I can't really see how this is googles responsibility or what they're supposed to do about it without generally biasing search results.

Sorry that your daughter has lost money though :(

Personally I won't buy from a website that isn't well known and reputable unless I can use PayPal.

Google have zero input (apart from the technology)

Not quite true ... they do pocket the money from advertisers.

But how do you check that:

Jennygreene.com is real but
Jennygreen.com is a scam and not just a website that has a similar URL to another site.

Or

Coleandabel.co.uk
Vs
Abelandcole.co.uk

Or

Example.com
Vs
Example.co

If a site is doing something illegal it can be taken down. I think you can tell their host or tell the real company is masquerading as them and they can have a Notice and take down issued (Chanel are hot on that).

safeweb.norton.com/

You can use this site or one of the many like it to check if a site is reliable. Also, look at a site's social media.

If they're not on Facebook and the like...and have plenty of action on there then avoid.

Google don't own the whole Internet or the World Wide Web (two separate things). However, they do own their famous PageRank algorithm that to summarise, enables the most popular sites that are linked to and from other sites, at the top of their searches.
Fraudsters know this and design their fake websites to exploit this feature.
However, just like your email provider bears no blame over scam emails, neither does or should Google. Education to spot fake websites is the key and your DD, if in Secondary School, would have been taught this.

She can try to get her money back even if she paid with a debit card.

I agree that Google has no responsibility here.

How is this their fault?
Sorry your daughter has lost her money but this isn't on them.
The fact that it was advertised for £30 should have given it away that things might not be right.

I think parents should take responsibility for their children and stop expecting others to do so.

The s in https is referring to the transfer of data as opposed to the legitimacy of the site.

Noitsnotteatimeyet

It's not the case with every search but I noticed you said she clicked on the first link Google showed. Sometimes the first few links are paid ads (sometimes legitimate, sometimes not). You can tell because they are highlighted in a pale yellow and have [ad] or [sponsored ad] or something like that.

Does it have contact details on there? Have you or heard tried contacting them? What is the website address?

also, there are other search engines. You don't have to use Google

duckduckgo.com/

Poor dd. 😟
It's a life skill that we need to teach our kids. Better £30 now than £100s or £1000 in the future.

Google don't own the Internet and can't check every site. Would sites like eBay be banned because some people are selling fakes? We have freedom of speech in the U.K. and access to the whole Internet. I wouldn't want to be like China and restricted in what I can view.

I wouldn't want to be like China and restricted in what I can view.

How do you know you aren't ?

I wouldn't want to be like China and restricted in what I can view.

Looks like you'll need to speak up then ...

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/theresa-may-internet-conservatives-government-a7744176.html

Government approved content .... hmmmmm