Domain Due Diligence
Report for Empower.com
Β Why we think so?Β
empower.com appears to be a large, legitimate U.S.-focused financial / retirement-services website with strong technical signals (valid SSL, Cloudflare, PayPal/Stripe integrations), high monthly traffic (~4M visits) and many corporate verification records. β That said, the brand has multiple recent regulatory and class-action style disputes, SEC enforcement activity, and consumer complaints about account handling β issues that raise reputational and legal concerns but do not, by themselves, prove the site is fraudulent. Proceed with caution: verify account communications and avoid sending money or sensitive credentials without direct account confirmation.
Risk Insights
Large, legitimate operator β but under legal scrutiny
- ~4M monthly visits and US-focused traffic suggest a major retirement-services provider.
- Robust technical controls and multiple verification records support authenticity.
- Recent lawsuits and SEC action lower trust in business practices; investigate before transacting.
Contradictory Signals
The site behaves like a major financial firm technically and operationally, but legal/regulatory problems mean you should treat account-level requests and unusual transactions cautiously.
Signal A: Strong enterprise technical footprint and high traffic (signals of legitimacy).
Signal B: Regulatory enforcement and multiple lawsuits alleging fiduciary and sales-practice issues (signals of reputational risk).
Category Scores
Red Flags & Warnings
- Multiple recent lawsuits and at least one SEC enforcement action alleging misleading sales practices and undisclosed conflicts of interest.
- Customer complaints about lost or misdirected transfers and slow or ineffective customer support at BBB and other forums.
- Some news/legal summaries describe alleged misuse of participant data and incentives tied to higher-fee products, a fiduciary concern for retirement providers.
π Detailed Checks & Analysis
Identity check (WHOIS, registrar, domain age, DNS)
Score: 80/100
Identity check (WHOIS, registrar, domain age, DNS)
"WHOIS shows registrar CSC Corporate Domains and Cloudflare NS; many vendor verification TXT records (Google, DocuSign, Adobe, OpenAI) indicate legitimate integrations and administrative control over the domain."
Reason: Domain is registered with a corporate registrar (CSC) and uses Cloudflare nameservers; multiple verification TXT records indicate active corporate controls.
Reputation check (news, lawsuits, complaints)
Score: 60/100
Reputation check (news, lawsuits, complaints)
"Google News yields multiple Empower press releases alongside reporting of ERISA-style lawsuits and SEC enforcement; consumer complaints at BBB describe lost/misdirected transfers and service failures."
Reason: The company has high visibility in news and press but also faces recent lawsuits, an SEC action, and customer complaints alleging problematic sales or processing; these materially lower reputation.
Technical check (SSL, CDN, security headers, integrations)
Score: 85/100
Technical check (SSL, CDN, security headers, integrations)
"SSL valid through 2025-11-27; presence of Cloudflare, ProofPoint and security-related TXT records and CDNs (Akamai) indicates mature operational security."
Reason: Valid SSL, Cloudflare CDN/DNS, bot management and other enterprise security tools detected; these are strong technical trust signals.
Content & contactability (site quality, official contacts, social accounts)
Score: 80/100
Content & contactability (site quality, official contacts, social accounts)
"Multiple corporate emails (info@empower.com, support addresses), phone numbers listed on contact pages, and active YouTube/LinkedIn channels increase traceability."
Reason: Site contains company content, press center, contact pages and multiple official support emails/phone numbers and active social channels.
Legal & trademark check
Score: 50/100
Legal & trademark check
"USPTO search returned no immediate trademark conflicts for the raw query, but public litigation and an SEC action are significant legal concerns."
Reason: No trademark hits for the exact query, but substantive legal actions and enforcement reduce legal trustworthiness until resolved.
Your Next Steps
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1
If you have an account: contact Empower using phone numbers or emails scraped from the official site (e.g., contact page) and confirm any unusual messages via the siteβs authenticated dashboard.
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2
Do not respond to unsolicited emails or texts claiming to be Empower without verifying sender addresses and logging into your account directly (not via message links).
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3
If a transfer or payout looks wrong, document dates and correspondence and file a complaint with your plan sponsor, the company, and (if appropriate) state or federal regulators; keep copies of call logs and confirmation numbers.
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4
For larger concerns (possible wrongdoing or lost funds), consult a qualified ERISA/retirement-plan attorney or report to the SEC/DOJ if you suspect regulatory violations.
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5
Monitor news and official press releases from Empower β legal/regulatory status can change quickly and affects risk to customers.
Evidence & Citations
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SimilarTech profile for empower.com β traffic, technologies
SimilarTech data shows ~4M monthly visits, US-leading audience and many enterprise technologies (Cloudflare, Drupal, Stripe).
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SimilarWeb domain analytics for empower.com β visits, geography, engagement
SimilarWeb lists ~4.0M visits (Sept 2025 snapshot), 96% US traffic, and engagement stats used to judge scale and user base.
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WHOIS / DNS / SSL snapshot for empower.com
WHOIS shows registrar CSC Corporate Domains; DNS uses Cloudflare nameservers; SSL valid (issued Aug 29, 2025).
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Contact details scraped from empower.com (support emails, phones, social links)
Site lists multiple official emails (info@empower.com, support addresses) and phone numbers used for direct verification.
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News & press from Empower and coverage of legal issues (press center)
Recent press releases confirm active business operations; external coverage notes lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny.
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Investigative summary and complaint aggregation (legal & BBB complaints)
Aggregated reports highlight BBB complaints and recent ERISA/SEC-related litigation alleging problematic sales and data practices.
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Google Safe Browsing & crypto-scam checks
No active phishing or crypto-blacklist matches were returned in checks performed.
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