On todays You and Yours programme they had a feature about how easy it is for scam websites to obtain a SLL certificate for only a few pounds.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qps9
An expert said that there is basically there is no way for the public to be able to tell the difference between legitimate websites and the scammers. All he could advise was for people to use well known trusted brands, but to check carefully as they sometimes clone proper websites, make a minor change like replacing an I with a 1 and register it for a SSL certificate so that people think it's safe to use.