Most scams don’t need a fake company. They borrow a real one. A genuine registration number, copied from CIPC, makes a fly-by-night seller look like it has been trading for years. That is why checking that a business exists isn’t enough. You need to check that the business in front of you is the one making this offer.
This guide shows how to check if a business is legit in South Africa using free public tools: what each one shows, what it can’t prove, and how to put the pieces together into a decision. It ends with a worked example and a checklist you can use before you pay.
The test that matters
Every check below feeds into one question: can someone reached through a separate, independent contact route confirm this particular offer? Not just that the company exists, but that it issued this quote, employs this salesperson, and owns the bank account you are being asked to pay.
A scammer can copy a registration number, a logo and an address. It is much harder to fake the company’s own switchboard confirming the deal.
Free tools to check if a business is legit
1. CIPC company search: does the company exist?
Search the company name or registration number (format 2019/123456/07) on CIPC’s BizPortal. You may need a free account. Check the exact registered name, whether it is “In Business” or being deregistered, and the registration date.
What it can’t prove: that the person you are dealing with works for that company. Registration numbers are easy to copy. A director search can also be revealing: one name behind many unrelated companies, or a registered address that turns out to be a private home, deserves a closer look, as we learned in our own repair-service case.
2. WHOIS: how old is the website?
Look up when the domain was registered. For .co.za, .org.za, .net.za and .web.za addresses, use the ZARC WHOIS lookup, run by the ZA Registry Consortium, which operates those domains. For .com and most other domains, use ICANN Lookup. Owner details are often hidden for privacy, so focus on the creation date.
What it can’t prove: a new domain doesn’t mean fraud, because businesses do launch new websites. But “15 years in business” on a site registered three months ago raises a question that needs an answer.
3. Wayback Machine: does the history match?
The Wayback Machine keeps snapshots of websites over time. Check the earliest snapshot and compare versions. Has the business always sold what it sells now, under the same name?
What it can’t prove: no snapshots doesn’t prove a site is new. The archive may simply have missed it. Treat missing history as an unanswered question, not evidence.
4. Google Maps and Street View: does the address fit?
Look up the physical address. Does a business that says it has a warehouse operate from a warehouse, or from a shared office, a house or an empty plot? Check whether the Maps listing has a history of reviews and photos.
What it can’t prove: businesses move, and listings are created by the businesses themselves. A listing confirms what the business told Google, not what is true.
5. Reviews and complaints
Search Hellopeter and Google reviews, and simply “[business name] scam”. One complaint can be a misunderstanding. Several recent complaints describing the same problem, such as “paid, never delivered”, are a pattern. Watch out for fake praise too: our guide to fake online reviews explains how to spot it.
6. The register for that industry
Many businesses must be registered with a regulator, and these registers are the hardest evidence to fake:
- Investments, insurance and financial advice: the FSCA register, or call 0800 110 443. Report unauthorised operators to 0800 313 626 (FSCA contact details).
- Estate and letting agents: the PPRA, which urges consumers to confirm a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate and a registered trust account before paying. Call 087 285 3222.
- Home builders: the NHBRC’s online services portal. Its fraud hotline is 0800 203 698.
- Credit providers and debt counsellors: the National Credit Regulator, on 0860 627 627.
- Attorneys: the Legal Practice Council.
7. The payment details
The bank account name on the invoice should match the business you are contracting with. A different beneficiary, a personal account, or a last-minute “our banking details have changed” are among the most serious red flags of all. See our guide to invoice fraud and changed banking details.
Verify a business: make contact independently
This is the step most people skip, and the one that answers the real question.
Find a contact route with a separate origin
Search the exact legal name and registration number, then compare contact details across a regulator’s record, a Google Maps listing with an established history, older website snapshots, dated third-party references such as a manufacturer’s list of authorised dealers, and the company’s LinkedIn page. Favour a number that appears consistently in older, separate sources.
Be careful: a directory entry or Maps listing can simply repeat what the business supplied, so appearing in two places doesn’t automatically make a number independent. And a landline alone doesn’t prove legitimacy.
Phone first, then get it in writing
Call the established switchboard and ask for sales or accounts. A useful opening:
“I’ve received quotation [reference] from [person or email] for [item]. Before paying, can you confirm that this person represents your company, that you issued the quotation, and that the payment beneficiary belongs to the company supplying the goods?”
Then ask about the transaction itself:
- What is the contracting company’s full legal name and registration number?
- Is the item physically in stock? Where can it be inspected or collected?
- What delivery date can you commit to, and what happens if you miss it?
- If the beneficiary name differs from the quotation: what is the relationship between those entities?
Ask for an email confirming the answers and the quotation. If VAT is charged, ask for the VAT number. For a large order, ask for a customer reference you can contact independently, or to inspect the goods. Letterheads, certificates and delivery receipts are supporting material only, since they can be copied or fabricated. Put more weight on a reference you can verify or goods you can see.
How to read the answers
- Reassuring: the company, reached independently, recognises the salesperson and the quotation, explains any discrepancies clearly, and confirms consistent terms in writing. Offering an inspection or a verifiable reference adds confidence.
- Pause: an ordinary employee can’t answer basic questions about the order or the account.
- Walk away: the company denies issuing the quote or knowing the salesperson, can’t say who will receive the money, pressures you to pay before you’ve checked, keeps contradicting itself, or won’t explain a beneficiary mismatch.
A worked example
This is a composite example, based on patterns we see, not a real supplier. An online equipment supplier claims 15 years in business. Here is how the checks line up:
| The claim | The check | What it showed | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| “15 years in business” | CIPC | The registration number matches a real company | Supports the claim, but doesn’t prove this seller is that company |
| WHOIS | The website domain was created three months ago | Raises a question; it doesn’t settle it | |
| Wayback Machine | No older website found | Strengthens the question, though the archive may have gaps | |
| “Our warehouse” | Google Maps | A shared office | Contradicts the claim |
| Track record | Hellopeter, Google | Several recent “paid, never delivered” complaints | A pattern of non-delivery |
| Payment | The quotation | Names a different beneficiary | Serious red flag |
| Contact | Independently found details | Asked about the entities, the warehouse and recent orders | Unexplained means don’t pay |
No single finding proves fraud. Together, if the discrepancies stay unexplained, the honest conclusion is: insufficient confidence to transact. That is not an accusation. It is a decision not to pay until the questions are answered, and it is enough.
Checklist: check if a business is legit before you pay
- Registered on CIPC, under the exact name on the quote?
- Website age matches the years in business?
- Address fits the business it claims to be?
- Recent complaints that follow the same pattern?
- On the regulator’s register, if the industry has one?
- Bank account in the same name as the business?
- Confirmed by phone through an independent number?
Your money is worth a few uncomfortable questions. A business that wants your money can answer your questions. Don’t let the pressure to pay outrun the time to check.
Where AdUncovered fits
These checks take time, and knowing what each result means takes practice. Start with our free Quick Check, a quick, shallow screen of a website or listing link, so a clear result is not a green light. When the amount matters, a Comprehensive Report does this research for you: company registration, website age and history, address, complaints and public warnings, with every finding linked to its source and its limits stated. Like the worked example above, we don’t give verdicts. We set out the evidence so you can decide whether you have enough confidence to pay.
Check before you pay
About to pay a seller or business you don’t know? Start with a Free Quick Check of the advert link. It screens for common warning signs and shows where each result came from.
If you need the seller researched, a Quick Report or Comprehensive Report brings together source-linked Search Results on the seller and the offer. Neither gives a verdict: you check the sources and decide for yourself.
This article provides general information about checking businesses in South Africa, not legal or financial advice. Sources and official tools are linked beside the claims they support and were checked in October 2026; contact details and access rules can change, so confirm them with the body concerned. The worked example is a composite and does not describe any real business.
