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I recently stood up a WordPress site in a Docker container and enabled https with Let's Encrypt. Everything seems ok from an https standpoint.

Then I registered the site with Google Search Console, which immediately flagged the site as Deceptive. I did download and enable a few plugins, but I am not sure which of those, if any, might be the culprit.

How do I find this out? Google Search Console merely says:

"These pages attempt to trick users into doing something dangerous, such as installing unwanted software or revealing personal information."

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  • This is more of a Google question than a WordPress question. I'd recommend you ask on Webmasters SE which is more focused on running a website, SEO, etc.
    – Pat J
    Commented Aug 25, 2023 at 18:17
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    @PatJ I hear you but I sense because of WordPress's popularity and therefore, profile as a known target, that it's probably something about WordPress itself triggering Google, and that some experts here might be able to help...
    – Marcus
    Commented Aug 25, 2023 at 18:51
  • PatJ is right, this is not a Wordpress problem, millions of people build websites with WordPress and don't run into that problem....I have made literally hundreds of websites using WP, always enable https and register with Google, and never once received such a "deceptive website" warning. Definitely pursue this with Google Webmasters forums.
    – Trisha
    Commented Aug 29, 2023 at 18:34
  • @Trisha thank you, but I did get help from Roger below and this is now resolved. It is indeterminate whether a WordPress plugin that was enabled during time of first scan, an SSL cert issue at that time or otherwise was triggering Google.
    – Marcus
    Commented Aug 30, 2023 at 2:32
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    Yay! Very glad you got it resolved!
    – Trisha
    Commented Aug 31, 2023 at 16:21

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If you were in the process of making any changes when the bot came by, it may have picked up something bogus from the site.

You can request a review in search console, I think they should either green-light it or tell you more specifics on what the problem is.

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    Thank you, trying this now. Although Google provides scant detail on exactly why they flagged, they warn that falsely claiming to have fixed issues when requesting review will result in slower review times. Gotta love it!
    – Marcus
    Commented Aug 26, 2023 at 12:49

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