Free open API lets AI agents check if a recommended store is a scam

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A developer has released a free, no-authentication domain reputation API designed to help AI agents verify whether a recommended store or URL is potentially fraudulent. The tool, called the UTA Scam Checker, applies transparent heuristics including typosquatting detection, suspicious TLD flagging, punycode homograph analysis, and URL shortener identification. Unlike paid commercial alternatives such as WHOISXML or IPQualityScore, it requires no API key or registration and exposes the full reasoning behind every risk decision. The API returns a structured JSON response with a trust decision — TRUSTED, CAUTION, or SUSPICIOUS — along with the specific checks that triggered the result. The project is open source and positioned as a lightweight first-pass safety layer for AI agents that recommend products, stores, or affiliate links.

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