WebVetted Beta
Recommendation
Proceed
Overall Summary
Safe
Why we think so

SonicDriveIn.com is the official website of Sonic Drive-In, a popular American fast-food chain specializing in drive-in burger and fries service. The site attracts around 7 million visits monthly, mostly from users in the United States. It uses reputable technologies like Amazon hosting and Cloudflare, and is supported by multiple trusted marketing and analytics platforms. No direct scam or fraud reports target this website, though Sonic Drive-In faced a major payment card data breach affecting in-store customers in 2017, leading to legal settlements. The website itself is well-secured with valid SSL and clean WHOIS records. Social media links and physical store presence further support its legitimacy. There are ongoing legal issues related to marketing text practices and franchisee employee matters, but these are unrelated to the website’s authenticity or typical user experience.

Confidence Score
88%

Risk Insights

🛡️

Strong Technology and Traffic Profile

~7M monthly visits mostly from US users
Uses Amazon hosting and Cloudflare
Valid SSL certificate protects users

No Scam or Blacklist Flags

Clear on Google Safe Browsing
No crypto scam blacklist entries
No USPTO trademark conflicts
🏪

Legacy Brand with Physical Stores

Physical Sonic Drive-In locations verified
Consistent business branding across channels
Active social media presence

Contradictory Signals

The website remains safe though Sonic faced breach issues at in-person locations unrelated to online activities.

Signal A: No scam reports on official website

Signal B: Significant 2017 data breach at physical stores

Category Scores

Identity 85/100
Reputation 90/100
Technical 90/100
Content 85/100
Legal 85/100
Business Validity 90/100

Red Flags & Warnings

  • Past payment card data breach at Sonic physical locations caused fraud on customer cards, unrelated to the website itself.
  • Ongoing legal class action for unsolicited marketing texts alleges TCPA violations by Sonic, which could affect user experience.
  • Some franchisee-related employment legal disputes and lawsuits exist but do not implicate site authenticity or consumer fraud.

🔎 Detailed Checks & Analysis

Domain age and registrar reputation

Score: 90/100
Passed

"This long history supports trustworthiness and reduces likelihood of scam."

Reason: Domain sonicdrivein.com was registered in 1996 with a reputable registrar and shows consistent long-term use.

Website traffic and user engagement

Score: 85/100
Passed

"Traffic metrics are consistent with a popular national business."

Reason: Site attracts about 7 million visits monthly with low bounce rate and healthy page views per visit, indicating genuine interest.

Technical security and infrastructure

Score: 90/100
Passed

"These technologies reflect corporate-grade website infrastructure."

Reason: Site uses valid SSL certs, Amazon hosting, Cloudflare CDN, and multiple standard security and analytics services.

Blacklist and scam reports

Score: 95/100
Passed

"This low risk status supports site safety."

Reason: No blacklist flags or threats detected by Google Safe Browsing or crypto scam databases.

Contact and business identity consistency

Score: 85/100
Passed

"Presence of accurate contact data promotes trust."

Reason: Contact emails, phone numbers, and social media links are official and match the business brand identity.

Trademark conflicts or impersonation

Score: 100/100
Passed

"Ensures brand legitimacy and no known impersonation."

Reason: No trademark conflicts or confusingly similar marks found in USPTO search for sonicdrivein.

Real world presence and customer feedback

Score: 85/100
Passed

"Physical operations reinforce website authenticity."

Reason: Google Places listings show multiple physical Sonic locations with ratings and reviews, confirming existence and consumer engagement.

Legal disputes and negative reports

Score: 70/100
Passed

"Know legal issues but no direct website fraud risk."

Reason: While Sonic has faced lawsuits related to data breach and marketing texts, these do not pertain directly to website fraud or scams, and many consumer claims were settled or ongoing.

Your Next Steps

  • 1
    Use the official website (sonicdrivein.com) for online ordering or information only.
  • 2
    Monitor your payment statements after any in-person visits due to past data breach history at physical locations.
  • 3
    Beware of phishing or scam attempts using similar but fake domains impersonating Sonic Drive-In.
  • 4
    Verify contact information directly from the official website before making any transactions.
  • 5
    Avoid sharing sensitive payment data outside official channels linked from this site.

Evidence & Citations