How to spot a fake online shop? 10 warning signs (2026)

• 1. A price detached from the marketA console or phone 60% cheaper than everywhere else is not a deal, it is bait. Compare the price across a few known shops - if one offer is a drastic outlier, that offer is the problem.
• 2. No full company detailsAn honest shop lists its legal name, address and tax ID in the terms or footer. A contact form and a Gmail address alone are a red flag.
• 3. Bank transfer onlyThe single most important sign. No card, no PayPal, but a "discount for a bank transfer" means the seller is avoiding payment methods that let you get your money back.
• 4. Account name does not match the shopA transfer to a private individual, or to a company with a completely different, often foreign name, is a classic pattern.
• 5. A very young domainScam shops live for weeks. Check the domain age in a whois lookup - a domain registered last month next to a claim of "trading since 2015" exposes the lie.
• 6. Copied photos and descriptionsRun the product image through a reverse image search. If the same shots appear across a dozen similar-looking shops, you found a network of clones.
• 7. Time pressure everywhereCounters saying "only 3 left", a countdown on every subpage and popups about other people buying exist to switch off your thinking.
• 8. Reviews only on the shop itselfCheck reviews outside the site: Google, forums, groups. Hundreds of five-star reviews on-site and silence everywhere else is a bad combination.
• 9. Copied or self-contradicting termsPaste a fragment of the terms into a search engine. Clauses like "we do not accept returns" contradict consumer law and tell you exactly who you are dealing with.
• 10. Contact channels that never answerCall before buying. A dead number, WhatsApp only, or replies in broken language on a supposedly local shop is the final signal.

• Verify the company in a public registerTake the tax ID from the footer and look it up in the national business register. No entry, or details of a completely different business, ends the discussion.
• Check the domain ageA whois lookup shows the registration date. Compare it with what the "About us" page claims.
• Search the shop name with "scam" or "reviews"Warnings from other buyers usually surface faster than any official response.
• Check public warning listsFinancial regulators publish registers of domains suspected of fraud. Worth checking especially for offers that look too good to refuse.
• Test the checkout without payingGo to the last step. If all that is left is a bank account number and an amount, walk away.

• 1. Contact your bank immediatelyFor a transfer, report it the same day - if the funds have not been withdrawn from the recipient account yet, the bank may still stop them. For a card payment, file a claim and request a chargeback.
• 2. Collect evidenceScreenshots of the offer, the payment confirmation, all correspondence, the URL. The site can disappear within a day.
• 3. Report the fraud to the policeFile a report in person or online. The case number will help with the bank claim.
• 4. Report the site to your national CERTReporting helps get the domain blocked and protects the next buyer.
• 5. Notify the consumer protection authorityConsumer reports feed proceedings against dishonest sellers, and consumer advice services can help with your individual case.

On large platforms - AliExpress, Amazon, Allegro - the risk looks different. Money goes into the platform system rather than a private account, so you have buyer protection and a real complaints path. The risk here is not a vanishing shop but a product that does not match the description, or a counterfeit.

The rule is single and simple: never pay outside the platform. A seller offering "a better price if you transfer the money directly" is trying to move you outside the protection system. Same trick, different place.