Fake store warning: the start of spring attracts criminals

Spring is on its way, which is why many people are on the lookout for seasonal products. They are looking for new bicycles, barbecues or lawnmowers, for example. Criminals take advantage of this and set up fake stores that lure victims in with cheap offers in order to trick them out of their money.

The North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center warns against this in a recent article. At the start of spring, there is an increase in demand, particularly for gardening items such as planters, sandpits, barbecues and lawnmowers, but also for products for outdoor activities such as camping, cycling and hiking. Fraudsters are taking advantage of this.

Warning about seasonal fake shops

Operators of fraudulent online stores are aware of this and adapt their product range accordingly, explains the NRW consumer advice center: "They often offer popular products at extremely low prices at –, but once payment has been made, the goods fail to arrive or are of poor quality."

The consumer protection organization has published a list of currently active fake stores that are looking for victims with such products at the start of spring:

• dailyessentialsmall.store
• vering24.de
• trend-handel.de
• chromasphere.store
• bergxperten.de
• chicandgo.com
• kamenik-at.com
• fahrradhandel-hartmann.de
• radbegeisterung.de
• fahrradhandel-kappler.de
• reinholdrasenmaher.com
• moro-fahrraeder.de
• wasserleben-handel.de
• hansrasenmaher.com
• adventure-shop.at

This is just an excerpt from the current list. If you are on the hunt for a bargain yourself, you can consult the fake store finder of the consumer advice centers with the URL to find out whether the online store is known to be fraudulent.

Recognizing fake stores

The NRW consumer advice center discusses a number of indicators that can be used to identify fake stores. For example, a missing or incomplete imprint indicates a dubious store. However, interested parties should also pay attention if payment is only possible in advance, the prices are extremely low or products are largely out of stock. Missing or even bad customer reviews online can also be useful indicators. Poor spelling and grammatical errors are also an indication.

Anyone who has already been taken in by a fake store should contact their bank and try to stop the payment. In addition, all relevant documents such as the purchase contract, order confirmation, emails and, if applicable, screenshots of the offer should be saved. These can be used as evidence when filing a criminal complaint.

c't recently published a more detailed explanation of how to recognize fake stores.

Fraudsters are very flexible with fake stores and always focus on products that are in demand at certain times of the year. Last fall, for example, criminal online stores lured victims with low prices for heating oil and firewood.

(dmk)