Analyzes by the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office (LKA) show that fake shops (fake online shops) have become a mass phenomenon on the Internet.

Many people use online shops to make purchases quickly and easily. The Internet has now become a real alternative to local retail. And special days like “Black Friday” or the Christmas shopping season are also very popular, and not just in department stores. Offers and bargains are often offered by mail order and entice people to buy.

But criminals also use the Internet to defraud citizens. They are increasingly relying on fake shops, i.e. sales platforms on the Internet that look deceptively real.

Fake shops

With images of products, associated information, general terms and conditions and a fake imprint, fake shops are difficult to recognize at first glance. The fake online shops can also be copies of real websites. They therefore appear serious at first glance. In order to dispel any remaining doubts among customers, operators often advertise either with fictitious or – illegally – with well-known seals of quality, such as “Trusted Shops”.

Another lure is the seemingly particularly low price - especially high-demand products, such as the latest games console, the latest smartphone or trendy designer fashion, are offered at the "best price" - even if the competitors have long since sold out or are no longer selling items Are available. The fraudsters are “up to date” and quickly adapt their lure offers to current demand.

Fake shops are now a mass phenomenon on the Internet, as the figures from the LKA Lower Saxony also show. Since 2020, fraudulent sales platforms in the lower four-digit range have been reported to the police every year. This trend can also be observed this year.

High damage, difficult prosecution

The amount of damage has risen almost into the millions since 2020. There are also signs of this trend for 2022.

Prosecution is difficult because the website servers are often located abroad and the individual fake shops are only online for a relatively short time. The flow of money often does not flow directly into the criminals' accounts; rather, the fraudsters use so-called financial agents, some of whom transfer the funds almost anonymously via various payment service providers and thus carry out money laundering.

This is a lucrative scam for criminals. They either send inferior goods at an inflated price or do not deliver the product at all after an advance payment. If those affected threaten to cancel the transfer, delivery problems are often feigned.

Tips before shopping online

In order not to fall for a fake shop during special offers or general online shopping, it is worth taking a close look at the shop before making a purchase and taking the following criteria into account:

  • Pay attention to the language. Numerous fake shops still have a problem with the German language. Translation programs have now become better, but the quality on the other subpages in the shop is neglected, such as: E.g. the terms and conditions, which are written in poor German or in another language.
  • Check the imprint. Use search engines like Google to find out more about the company name, people, address or telephone number. You may also find warning messages from other buyers, official bodies such as the police or consumer advice centers and quality seal operators. Map services (including Street View) can also provide an initial assessment. If a real online shop was copied by the suspects and posted online under a similar web address, the search may also reveal the provider's real website, which already warns about these fake shops. In some cases, manufacturers themselves provide information about reputable providers or fake sites.
  • Check the commercial register number and VAT ID: On www.handelsregister.de you can at least check the existence of a specified number free of charge. However, specific information may only be available for a fee. If the number is not assigned, this is an indication that it may be forgery. The same applies to the sales tax ID, which can at least be checked for validity on https://ust-id-pruefen.de/. But be careful: positive results do not mean that the shop is real. Scammers like to misuse such information from genuine sites.
  • Just give us a call. If there is a phone number on the website, ask by phone. Many fake shops invent phone numbers that lead nowhere. You may be able to find additional phone numbers to contact in online telephone directories or using a search engine.
  • Don’t be fooled by the “s” in https. The “s” simply stands for an encrypted connection. The customer data you enter will be transmitted securely. Many years ago, the relevant certificates could only be obtained with a lot of effort and testing. These are now also offered free of charge and without testing.
  • Be careful when paying in advance. If the shop suggests various payment methods with numerous logos and at the end of the ordering process the only option left is advance payment - possibly to a bank account abroad - then you should not transfer the money to an unknown seller.
  • Does the web address match the product being sold? The suspects repeatedly reactivate old domain names that have already been canceled by other owners in order to be easier to find in search engines. Sold e.g. If, for example, a website whose address suggests a restaurant or architectural office suddenly contains women's handbags or electronic items, you need to be vigilant!
  • Do the cross-checking of quality seals. Criminals like to use fictitious seals of quality and customer reviews. Real logos are often illegally displayed on websites. If there is a logo, you should click on it to be redirected to the provider's real page and to be able to check the current certificate. Another indication of a fake shop: fake customer reviews and opinions. Relying solely on the only positive reviews within a shop is dangerous.

The bargain and availability lure you into the trap. Professional fake shops do not necessarily lure consumers with particularly attractive offers, but also with goods at normal prices in order to maintain the appearance of a reputable shop. Products are often offered that appear to be out of stock in other online shops, for which there are time-limited discounts with a countdown or short-term delivery options.

The same tips also apply to shops on trading platforms. If the seller there demands payment outside of the platform, you should stay away. The purchase is then not secured and fraudsters can obtain your money and your personal data by paying in advance.

You can also find detailed tips on fake shops in the Internet Crime Guide from the LKA Lower Saxony .

The consumer advice center offers a fake shop finder , which can also give an initial assessment.

Source:

Press portal
You might also be interested in: Black Friday: Hunt bargains carefully


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