Have a clear view but don't want to pay a lot? This is what a dubious online shop promises, which, upon closer inspection, can be revealed to be a fake shop even without glasses.
The online shop “henseler-pav.de” offers us branded glasses with a discount of over 90%:

Branded products that are massively reduced throughout: Often a clear sign that it is a fake shop.
But we don't want to judge too quickly. Maybe the retailer got the goods at a particularly low price and is now passing this discount on to its customers? That would be nice of him!
Then let’s take a look at who we have to thank for these great discount products and have a look at “Contact”:

Aha.
So the store is called “Store Name” on “Address” street in “Country”. We also find a “sample text” underneath.
Apparently the creator of the page completely forgot to fill out the relevant fields in the script for the page. It can happen sometimes. It's not so important whether customers can reach you.
Are there other shops hiding there?
Thanks to the GDPR, we cannot access the domain owner's data in this case. But what we could see: There are two other shops on the same IP. Both offer shoes, with one shop doing this in German and the other in French.

What they all have in common is that they offer branded products with over 90% discounts, and contact details are also missing in the other shops.
Contacts and payment methods
Another “More appearance than reality” can be found at the bottom right of the page:

Apparently you should be able to pay with Visa, Mastercard and PayPal.
There are also the icons of Facebook, Twitter and Google+ next to it: these buttons usually take you to a company's social media pages. But not here ! You end up on the main pages of Facebook, Twitter and Google+, there is no link to their accounts.
If you dare to order something there, some people fail with the payment method:

PayPal has been ignored and only credit cards are accepted.
All of these points taken together point to a fake shop!
The aim of these shops, which are quickly cobbled together with ready-made scripts, is consumers' credit card data. You definitely won't get any goods delivered, but your credit card will be overdrawn quite quickly. In addition, there is no contact person who can be accused in this regard; the operators of such sites are usually hiding somewhere abroad.
The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Criminal Police Office (LKA) have created an information list on the subject of fake shops, which we would like to share here:
Unmistakable identifying signs: none
- Even experts can hardly tell at first glance whether the offers in online retail are always legitimate. Internet counterfeiters who only want customers to make money are becoming more and more perfect and perfidious when it comes to their fakes: By copying or forging product images and information from real websites, a fake shop on the Internet often appears deceptively real. In order to give the impression of seriousness, the imprint with the dealer address or the general terms and conditions (GTC) are also copied from other sites or are fictitious.
Check all information
- Buyers should check the following points carefully in an online shop before placing an order: Are there several payment methods - including customer-friendly ones - and a verifiable provider address in the imprint? Are the offer and price provided with all necessary details, such as the nature of the product? Are delivery conditions and costs adequately presented? Are there general terms and conditions (GTC) and instructions on revocation? Is it advertised with a trustworthy seal of quality such as “Trusted Shop Guarantee” (Trusted Shops), “s@fer-shopping” (TÜV Süd) and “Verified Online Shop EHI” (EHI Retail Institute GmbH)? However, such seals only offer reliable orientation by clicking on the logo and being redirected to the testing company's homepage.
Be careful when paying in advance
- Customers are offered several – including customer-friendly – payment methods until they press the purchase button. Once they reach the checkout, customers suddenly have no choice: they only ask for an immediate transfer of the requested amount. Customers are on the safe side if they only order items from online retailers who offer several customer-friendly payment methods until they click on the purchase button. Payments are safe by invoice or direct debit. When paying by invoice, customers only have to pay when they have received the goods. If you pay by direct debit, the payment can be reversed for up to eight weeks.
Counterfeiters rip off things undetected
- If those who have been scammed contact the company using the contact details provided to get the correct goods or the money they paid back, they are repeatedly put off. Letters with repayment requests are returned as undeliverable or remain unanswered. In most cases, those affected have one bad experience, but are left behind.
Fake shop victims are not defenseless
- Anyone who has already transferred money should immediately ask their bank to reverse the payment. This is often still possible a few hours after an online order. With other payment methods, a payment can be reversed up to eight weeks after collection. The bank knows to what extent this applies. Basically, all receipts from online orders should be collected and saved. This includes the purchase contract, order confirmation, emails and a screenshot of the offer.
Those affected can have the printed documents checked at the NRW consumer advice center and file a criminal complaint with the police.
Tips from the NRW consumer advice center
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