Guide
"Deceptive site ahead" on my website
Facts checked Oct 9, 2026
"Deceptive site ahead" or "Dangerous site" means Google found something harmful on the site, often put there by a hacker. Act today.
Which warning is it?
- A red page: "Deceptive site ahead" or "Dangerous site"
- Google's Safe Browsing found pages that trick people (fake log-ins, fake downloads) or harmful software. Chrome and several other browsers use the same list.
- "This site may be hacked" under your site in Google results
- Google thinks someone changed your pages or added spam pages. The steps below are the same.
- "Did you mean…?" or "Is this the right site?"
- Your address looks like a famous site's. A different problem: follow the link on the warning to ask for a review.
- "Your connection is not private"
- Not this at all: it's the padlock certificate. See Your connection is not private.
If you're visiting someone else's site
Go back, and don't sign in or download anything there. If you know the owner, tell them: they may not have seen it, because it often hides from the people who run the site.
If it's your site
- Confirm it. Type your address into Google's Safe Browsing site status page. A scary email about your site isn't proof: scammers send fake ones.
- Call your web host and your web person today. Not sure who hosts it? Who hosts this website? tells you.
- Lock the doors. Change the passwords for the website's admin, the hosting account, the domain and the email. Turn on two-factor authentication. Remove any admin users you don't recognize.
- See what Google found. In Google Search Console (Google's free tool for site owners), open Security issues. It lists the problem and sample pages. Check those pages on your phone on cellular data: hackers can hide their pages from the site's owner. No Search Console yet? Your web person can set it up; if you have it, remove any users you don't know.
- Clean the whole site. Your web person removes what was added, restores a clean backup if there is one, updates everything, and finds how they got in. Fixing some pages isn't enough: the review fails if any are left.
- Ask Google to check again. In Security issues, choose Request review and say what was wrong and what you fixed. Google says it can take several days, sometimes weeks. Don't send it again while you wait: that can slow it down.
The warning comes down once the review passes.
Send this to your web person
Not sure what to say? Copy this into an email, add your website's address, and send it.
Hi, Our website, [your website address], is showing a warning: ["Deceptive site ahead" / "Dangerous site" / "This site may be hacked"]. I saw it on [the date]. Google's Safe Browsing site status says: [what it says]. Could you, today: - find and remove whatever was added, across the whole site - update everything and close the way in - check the admin users and change the passwords (I'll change the hosting, domain and email ones) - send me the sample pages from Search Console's Security issues report - request a review from Google when it's clean, and tell me what you found Thanks
What PageKiwi can and can't see
PageKiwi doesn't read Google's warning lists, so our checks can't tell you whether your site is flagged. Use Google's site status page for that. After the cleanup, a Full Check looks for broken links and pages, and Site Watch emails you if your site stops loading or its padlock is about to run out.