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ACCC Exposes Four Deceptive ‘Ghost Stores’ and Urges Meta and Shopify to Act

The consumer watchdog has called on major platforms to clamp down on overseas operators peddling low-quality drop-shipped goods.

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AI or nah? (Source: Double Bay Boutique)
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Overview

  • The ACCC has publicly warned Australians about four websites—everly-melbourne.com, willowandgrace-adelaide.com, sophie-claire.com and doublebayboutique.com—masquerading as closing-down local boutiques.
  • Since January, the regulator has fielded at least 360 complaints about roughly 60 ghost stores operating from overseas.
  • This week the ACCC wrote to Meta Platforms and Shopify demanding they identify and remove deceptive operators from their services.
  • Investigators say ghost stores exploit targeted social media ads, AI-generated imagery and frequent rebranding under Australian suburb names to appear authentic.
  • Consumers are being advised to look for “.com.au” domains, verify physical addresses and be wary of steep closing-down sale claims before buying online.