Recommendation

Caution

Overall Summary

Safe

Why we think so

KBB.com (Kelley Blue Book) is an established automotive information site with very high US traffic (~18M monthly visits) and a long-standing trademark. The domain uses enterprise-grade infrastructure (Akamai CDN/DNS, valid DigiCert TLS) and shows no Google Safe Browsing or crypto-blacklist hits. That said, there are recurring consumer complaints about KBB’s Instant Cash Offer process and multiple documented scams that impersonate KBB’s branding; those impostor sites have caused real financial loss to some users. Overall the official kbb.com domain appears legitimate, but exercise caution when sharing personal or payment details and always verify you’re on the real site (look for https://kbb.com and the DigiCert certificate). 🛡️

Confidence Score

89%

Risk Insights

⚠️

Impersonation scams targeting KBB users

KBB has publicly warned of fake sites using its branding to run escrow-style scams.

Victims of impostor sites have reported real financial losses.

Always confirm the URL and certificate before sharing money or personal details.

Contradictory Signals

The official site shows enterprise-grade evidence of legitimacy, while some service flows (instant offers) and external impostors have created real user risk — the problem is operational/third-party, not domain authenticity.

Signal A: Strong legal and technical signals (USPTO registration, Akamai CDN, valid TLS)

Signal B: Consumer reports of misleading Instant Cash Offers and third-party impersonation scams

Category Scores

Identity 90/100

Reputation 75/100

Technical 95/100

Content 90/100

Legal 85/100

Business Validity 88/100

Red Flags & Warnings

Multiple consumer complaints (BBB and forums) about Instant Cash Offer values being reduced at dealership — may cause perceived financial loss.
Documented impersonation scams using KBB branding and fake escrow flows have caused real losses to victims; these are external criminal actors, not the official site.

🔎 Detailed Checks & Analysis

Domain & ownership (WHOIS, registrar)

Score: 90/100

Passed

"WHOIS shows CSC Corporate Domains as registrar and UltraDNS name servers; no obvious privacy redaction and DNS TXT entries include legitimate verification tokens."

Reason: Registrar is a corporate registrar (CSC) and DNS records point to stable enterprise name servers, consistent with corporate control.

Brand & trademark

Score: 92/100

Passed

"Trademark registration (serial 85345472 / reg 4098630) shows first use in commerce in 2008 and active post-registration maintenance events."

Reason: USPTO lists a live registration for KBB.COM owned by Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc., supporting legal ownership of the brand.

Traffic & reputation signals

Score: 88/100

Passed

"Similar sites and top keywords align with Kelley Blue Book brand; presence in news and awards (Consumer Choice Awards) further supports reputation."

Reason: High monthly visits (~18M) and healthy engagement metrics indicate a large legitimate audience.

Blacklists & phishing warnings

Score: 90/100

Passed

"Google Safe Browsing returned no matched threats and crypto scam check was negative, indicating no active platform-level blacklist flags."

Reason: No Safe Browsing matches and crypto-scam scanner returned negative for the domain.

Consumer complaints & fraud reports

Score: 60/100

Failed

"BBB and other consumer complaint records document disputes where online quotes did not match dealer offers; KBB also published warnings about third-party scam sites."

Reason: There are multiple consumer complaints about discrepancies in Instant Cash Offers and external reports of impersonation scams.

Your Next Steps

1

Verify you are on the real site: check the browser URL is https://kbb.com and the TLS certificate is issued to *.kbb.com by DigiCert.
2

If using an Instant Cash Offer, get the offer in writing and confirm with the dealer directly before transferring a vehicle or personal info.
3

Never send money to escrow/buyer-protection services that claim to be from KBB — KBB has warned these are scams.
4

Report suspicious look‑alike sites or fraudulent listings to KBB (via their media/press contact) and to IC3 (ic3.gov).
5

Search recent BBB complaints or news articles about KBB offers when you rely on a high-value quote.

Evidence & Citations

SimilarTech site profile for kbb.com (traffic & tech stack)
SimilarTech data shows ~18M monthly visits, US-leading audience, and use of Akamai CDN plus enterprise ad/analytics tools.
Website traffic metrics (Alexa, bounce rate, keywords)
Traffic metrics show strong engagement (daily time on site ~3m32s, low-ish bounce ~38%), and relevant search keywords like "kelley blue book."
WHOIS, DNS and SSL details for kbb.com
WHOIS lists CSC Corporate Domains as registrar; TLS certificate is DigiCert Global G2 (valid wildcard for *.kbb.com).
USPTO record: KBB.COM trademark
USPTO shows a live registration for KBB.COM assigned to Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc., with first use in commerce documented in 2008.
KBB press releases and fraud warnings / news
KBB has publicly warned customers about fraudulent sites impersonating KBB and clarified it does not offer escrow buyer-protection services.
Google Safe Browsing / blacklist check
No matched threats were returned by Google Safe Browsing for the official kbb.com domain at time of check.

🕵🏻 Keep investigating

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