Technique

Fake E-commerce Site

Also known as: Fake E-Shop, Fake Online Store

DELIVERY

Cloned or fabricated online stores that steal payment information or never deliver purchased goods. Scammers create professional-looking storefronts using stolen product images, fabricated reviews, and counterfeit trust badges. They lure victims via social media ads and SEO manipulation offering ste…

Common attack flows

How it fits in a scam

This technique shows up duringDELIVERY

Before

This is often where the scam begins.

After

Defense

How to defend against this

How to spot it

  • URLs with misspellings
  • extra characters
  • or unusual domain extensions (.shop
  • .top
  • .xyz)
  • Unrealistically steep discounts on high-demand or luxury items
  • Missing or fabricated contact information
  • physical address
  • or return policy
  • No independent reviews or only suspiciously perfect ratings
  • Blurry logos
  • stolen product images
  • or poor-quality page content
  • Pressure tactics like countdown timers or limited-stock warnings
  • Insecure or unusual payment methods (only wire transfer
  • gift cards
  • crypto)
  • Recently registered domain (WHOIS lookup shows creation within past few months)
  • No HTTPS or SSL certificate issues on checkout pages

Tools you can use

Steps you can take

Further reading