Vet a company's legitimacy before you sign or pay

Check whether [company name and website] is legitimate before I [sign the contract, make a payment, or accept the offer]. Verify the basics: business registration in official state or national registries, how long the domain has existed, a real physical address, and named leadership with verifiable footprints. Check that what the site claims matches what public records show, and that customer logos and testimonials actually check out. Search court records, regulator actions, BBB complaints, scam-report sites, and news for red flags. Give me a verdict — looks legitimate, proceed with caution, or serious red flags — followed by the evidence for each check with links to registries and records. Be explicit about what you could not verify rather than assuming it is fine, and separate hard evidence from impressions. If anything matches a known scam pattern, say so directly and explain why.