Overview
- A Forsa survey for the federal consumer association reports that nearly one in eight online shoppers in the past two years fell for fraudulent stores.
- The consumer group says about half of the fake shops it analyzed bought ads on major platforms such as Google and Meta, and it calls those companies responsible for curbing such placements.
- Police crime-prevention units caution that fraud also occurs on marketplaces like Amazon and advise against impulse purchases, urging buyers to compare sellers first.
- New resources include the Verbraucherzentrale’s Fake-Shop-Finder, browser extensions that flag risky sites, and curated warning lists, though newly created or very polished fakes may evade detection.
- Authorities recommend avoiding advance payments and services like Paysafecard or Western Union, preferring payment on invoice, and checking the shop’s imprint and return address to spot foreign fronts and difficult returns.