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Domain Due Diligence

Report for Scientificamerican.com

Report Date
October 20, 2025
Recommendation
Proceed
Overall Summary
Safe
  Why we think so? 

ScientificAmerican.com is a well-established science and education website owned by Scientific America Ltd, based in New York. It receives about 4.4 million visits monthly, mostly from the United States, with a strong reputation in its sector. The domain has been registered since 1997, uses recognized technology providers like Amazon and Google, and maintains valid SSL certification. Although it has faced a significant legal settlement regarding user privacy and data sharing with Meta, the site is not flagged for scam or malicious activity. Users have reported some issues with subscriptions and content quality but no evidence of fraud or financial scams exists. Recent news on the site reflects authoritative science reporting, maintaining its scientific focus.

Confidence Score
89%

Risk Insights

📊

Established Domain with High Traffic 📊

  • Domain created in 1997
  • Around 4.4 million monthly visitors
  • Majority traffic from USA
⚖️

Legal Privacy Incident ⚖️

  • Settled $850k lawsuit over data sharing with Meta
  • No fraud or scam evidence
  • Court mandated changes in privacy practices

Contradictory Signals

Despite privacy issues, site maintains high usage and traffic indicating general trustworthiness

Signal A: Strong reputation and traffic

Signal B: Privacy lawsuit settlement

Category Scores

Red Flags & Warnings

  • Class action lawsuit settled in 2025 over user data sharing with Meta without explicit consent.

🔎 Detailed Checks & Analysis

Domain Age Verification

Score: 10/100
Passed

"Older domain registrations generally imply credible entities."

Reason: Domain is registered since 1997, indicating long-term existence.

Traffic Volume and Quality

Score: 90/100
Passed

"High, consistent traffic suggests active, legitimate usage."

Reason: Monthly visits are approximately 4.4 million with well-distributed traffic sources, mainly from the US.

Technical Infrastructure

Score: 90/100
Passed

"Use of reputable tech providers reduces risk of scam."

Reason: Site uses known technologies like Amazon, Google services, and valid SSL certificates.

Blacklist and Scam Flags

Score: 10/100
Passed

"No detected cybersecurity flags for this domain."

Reason: No blacklist or phishing alerts found from Google Safe Browsing or crypto scam detection.

Legal and Customer Trust

Score: 70/100
Failed

"Privacy issues affect trust but no direct scam evidence."

Reason: Recent privacy lawsuit settled with $850k penalty but no fraud or scam allegations.

Your Next Steps

  • 1

    Use the site normally but be cautious with sharing personal data due to past privacy settlement.

  • 2

    Verify subscription details carefully before payment and monitor billing statements.

  • 3

    Follow official social media and contact support for subscription or access issues.

  • 4

    Stay alerted to ongoing legal developments and public announcements regarding privacy practices.

Evidence & Citations

🕵🏻 Keep investigating

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