Online check: is the retailer trustworthy or a fake shop?

As a result of the corona pandemic, global supply chain problems and increased energy prices, many products are difficult to obtain or only available at high prices. So you’re happy when the goods you’re looking for are suddenly available again in an online shop – and even cheaply and in the desired variant. At this point at the latest, your own alarm bells should ring and you should ask yourself why this particular dealer should now have the product in stock and also offer it at a reasonable price.

Is it possibly a so-called fake shop – i.e. a replica website that looks exactly like a normal online shop and initially works like that with order and payment, but which does not deliver any goods?

Advice on recognizing fake shops is often not very helpful

Fake shops are not a new phenomenon, but the sometimes tense supply situation is currently making it particularly easy for fraudsters: If the long-awaited item is finally available, you have to order it as quickly as possible before someone else gets there. At this moment, even enlightened consumers, who in principle know about these dangers, ignore the risk of being taken in by a fake shop.

A lot of previous advice on protection against fraudsters, such as the presence of an imprint, terms and conditions, data protection declaration, seal of approval, etc. was and is well intentioned, but only that – after all, the fraudsters are not stupid either. Up to now, it has hardly been possible to carry out an in-depth examination of your own. For example, how are you supposed to find out quickly whether the sales tax ID provided is correct or whether the domain was only recently registered? The only option left was to look up lists of fake shops that had already been reported, such as Trusted Shops.

Fakeshop finder shows result in seconds

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The fake shop finder of the consumer advice center NRW.

The new fake shop finder from the consumer advice center NRW does extensive research for you and shows in a matter of seconds whether an internet retailer is serious or not. To do this, enter the shop address to be checked at www.verbraucherzentrale.de/fakeshopfinder and start the check by clicking on “Check shop URL”. In the background, a search is now made to determine whether the shop page has typical characteristics of dubious providers. In addition to using domains that have already been reported, the fake shop finder uses artificial intelligence to constantly search for fake shops on the Internet itself. The test criteria include non-existent VAT IDs as well as technical, linguistic and structural features that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

From these criteria, a probability is calculated as to whether the address entered is a dubious provider. The result of the check appears in the form of traffic light colors: red stands for a clear warning, yellow as an indication to take a closer look before ordering, and green if everything is in order. If the dealer address entered has not yet been checked, the online tool immediately scans the website for these characteristics. The consumption center gives further tips for recognizing fraudulent shops here.

Tip:

The emergency tips from the experts: fake shops & co.