Watch out for fake stores: how to protect yourself when shopping online

Have you ever ordered something online and never received the goods? Or have you suddenly had strange charges on your credit card? Then you may have fallen for a fake store. Fake stores are fraudulent online stores that only aim to take your money or your data. They are often difficult to recognize because they look like real stores. We show you how to recognize a fake store and introduce you to the fake store finder from the consumer advice center, which can help.

Table of contents

1. Why is it important to detect fake stores?
2. How to recognize fake stores!
3. How does the fake store finder work?
4. Tips for safe online shopping
5. How to look through fake stores afterwards

There are several features that can indicate that an online store is a fake store:

1. Prices that are too good: If the offers are much cheaper than elsewhere, you should be suspicious.
2. Strange domain names: Does the domain (the part of the Internet address that gives the store its name) match the name of the store? Are unusual endings such as ".de.com" used, which suggest a German site but then use an international ending?
3. No imprint: Reputable stores always have an imprint with contact information for the person responsible and their commercial register number, as this information is mandatory for providers.
4. Strange payment methods: If only insecure payment methods such as bank transfer are offered at the end of the ordering process (e.g. prepayment), or payment methods other than those previously specified, caution is advised.
5. No HTTPS: Make sure that the store address begins with "https://". The "s" stands for "secure" and shows that the connection is encrypted, which at least indicates increased security and reliability.

Other features are not always easy to recognize. This is where the Fakeshop Finder comes into play: you can use it to quickly obtain a free assessment of an online store.

The Fakeshop-Finder is a free online tool from the Verbraucherzentrale NRW e.V. It checks whether a store has typical characteristics of a dubious provider. This is how it works:

1. Enter the address: Enter the Internet address of the store at www.fakeshop-finder.de.
2. Wait for analysis: An artificial intelligence (AI) checks the site. It scans the site for known fake store features and checks whether the site is on reputable fake store lists. This only takes a few seconds.
3. Result received: You receive an assessment in traffic light colors:

• Red: Clear warning, better not to order here.
• Yellow: You should take another close look here.
• Green: Everything is fine, the Fakeshop Finder has found no signs of a fake store here.

The Fakeshop Finder database is constantly growing, with more than 1,000 new fake stores added every month. So far, more than 60,000 detected fake stores have been stored in it - from German-speaking countries alone. The tool is very user-friendly and can help you decide whether a store is trustworthy. The NRW Consumer Advice Center and the Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia support this project.

In addition to the fake store finder, there are other things you can do to shop safely online:

• Read reviews: Look at customer reviews, but be wary of too many gushingly positive reviews as these could potentially be fake.
• Pay attention to seals of approval: Certifications such as "Trusted Shop" can indicate reputable stores, but it cannot be ruled out that this seal has also been copied or falsified. If the seal is not clickable, it indicates a fake.
• Use secure payment methods: Prefer credit card or PayPal, as these often offer buyer protection and do not require direct bank details.
• Check the URL: Make sure you are on the correct page, the URL points to the correct store and you have not been redirected to a third party site.
• Be suspicious of pressure: If a store puts a lot of pressure on you to buy immediately, you should be skeptical.

Sometimes it just has to be quick, the order is clicked together quickly and then after the online purchase there are doubts about the seriousness of the store. There are also a few criteria you can look out for after you have placed your order:

• Strange email addresses: reputable providers use reputable email addresses for corporate communications. An order confirmation from a random email address (e.g. susanne88a7667k@web.de) is therefore an indication of a dubious or fake store.
• Missing order confirmation: If you have not received an order confirmation email at all, you should be vigilant. This can also happen in reputable stores, but it doesn't hurt to follow up.
• Unexpected debit: Make sure that the correct amount for your order is debited and that there are no hidden costs.

Even if checking a store requires a few research steps, it is important that you play it safe. If you have actually ordered from a fake store, it may be difficult to get your money back. For example, it may be that the operators of a fake store manage to verify themselves as reputable with the cooperating payment service providers (e.g. Klarna) and it may take longer to get your money back. You should always file a criminal complaint with the police, even if this is often unsuccessful. If you have paid by credit card and have the feeling that you have been taken in by a fake store, you should also have your credit card blocked by your bank. This will prevent fraudsters from using your credit card or charging you even more money.

If you want to know more about this topic, take a look at www.fakeshop-finder.de . There you will also find lots of useful tips and information about fake stores.

This text was written in cooperation with Oliver Havlat. Oliver Havlat heads the "Fakeshop-Finder" project at the NRW consumer advice center.

Status: 21.08.2024