Cybersecurity experts reveal how BogusBazaar, a network of 22,500 fake online sales sites, works. In France, more than 170,000 people have already fallen into the trap.
When you make an online purchase, you surely turn to the large platforms known to everyone as Amazon, Rakuteneven eBay Or The good corner if second-hand items don’t scare you. But as comprehensive as they are, it sometimes happens that you do not find what you are looking for, or at a price that is too high for you. You then start doing Google searches and you come across sites you don’t know. This is usually where the trouble starts.
It is difficult tobe 100% sure of the legitimacy of a merchant site with whom we are not used to dealing. Especially when he’s actually part of a vast network of organized cybercriminals. The German firm SRL (Security Research Labs) thus reveals the existence of BogusBazaara group which since 2021 creates and manages tens of thousands of fake online sales sites worldwide. He started with more than 75,000 to drop today to 22,500. France is one of the countries most affected by these scammers.
Since 2021, a network of cybercriminals has defrauded hundreds of thousands of people via 22,500 fake merchant sites
Very organized, the BogusBazaar pirates seize expired domain names well referenced by Google. The fake sites are professional looking, with unique logos and names in the majority of cases, and most often offer of the half price clothes or shoes. “The core team is responsible for software development, backend deployment and customization of various WordPress plugins supporting fraudulent operations“, explains SRL.
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It does not manage many addresses, leaving this to decentralized units which use the tools made available to carry out the scams. Franchisees in a way. When the victim goes to the checkout, whether by card, PayPal Or stripe, his banking information is stolen to empty his account or sold on the Dark Web. In France, it is estimated that more than 170,000 people were fooled by BogusBazaar since the beginning of their activities. The sums stolen worldwide amount to more than 45 million euros. The list of sites has not been publicly revealed, so feel free to use services like signal-scams.com if you have the slightest doubt.