Fraudsters sometimes make millions with fake shops on the Internet. They sell goods online that they never ship.
In view of the World Cup, consumer advocates are warning against fraudulent offers of fan items and tickets. At their conference in Potsdam today, the consumer protection ministers of the federal states are dealing with online trading and the fight against fake shops.
Fake shops have become a dangerous mass phenomenon that repeatedly traps consumers and causes great financial damage, said Brandenburg’s Consumer Protection Minister Hanka Mittelstädt (SPD), who chairs the conference, to the German Press Agency. They and other federal states such as North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Thuringia are calling for more decisive action against fake shops.
How common is fraud via fake shops?
One in four consumers (24 percent) in Germany has already fallen victim to online fraud, according to a survey commissioned by Schufa among 1,000 adults in February 2025. Six out of ten fraud victims (61 percent) said they suffered financial damage – for example because no goods were delivered to them or they were delivered inferior goods.
Consumer advice centers received around 10,000 complaints about fake shops in 2025, according to the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations in Berlin. This is just “the tip of the iceberg,” said the association’s online shopping expert, Stefanie Grunert.
Thuringia alone reported damage of around 600,000 euros from fake shops last year.
What do the ministers want to achieve?
Ministers responsible for consumer protection are calling for more effective measures against fake shops. “It is not enough to selectively block individual providers – we need a comprehensive, national strategy to combat fake shops that the federal and state governments implement together,” said Mittelstädt. “In order to effectively combat fake shops, strategic coordination by the federal government is required.”
From a country perspective, an important component is stronger identity checks when registering Internet domains. The options for blocking fraudulent domains should also be improved, as Hesse’s Consumer Protection Minister Ingmar Jung (CDU) announced before the start of the conference.
Where do consumer advice centers see opportunities?
Taking a fake shop offline doesn’t seem to be easy, both legally and organizationally. The board of the Berlin Consumer Center also criticized the fact that police responsibilities and procedures differ in the federal states.
From the perspective of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, online platforms must fulfill their responsibilities more closely. Consumers repeatedly find fake shops via platforms and search engines, says Stefanie Grunert. “Very large online platforms and search engines are obliged to independently identify and mitigate systemic risks. This also includes fraudulent advertising.”
What is a fake shop?
According to state and federal police crime prevention agencies, fake shops are sales platforms that look deceptively real – sometimes copies of real websites. Operators who are often based abroad also illegally advertise with well-known or fictitious seals of quality. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, artificial intelligence has also made it easier to build a genuine-looking website for a fake shop.
According to the police, consumers should be suspicious if the only payment method left is advance payment or an immediate transfer. Purchasing on account is safer. Missing imprint information is also a warning sign.
How can fraud be recognized?
Consumer advice centers have created checklists that are intended to help identify fake shops based on various criteria. Current cases are also listed online as fake shop warnings.
Consumer advice centers recommend using a fake shop finder to check whether a provider is reputable before placing an order. In the event of fraud, you should save evidence such as order confirmations and other emails, take screenshots and file a report with the police. You should try to reverse the payment through the bank.
In May of this year, the police took action against a suspected leading operator of fake online shops – after years of investigations. The man from North Rhine-Westphalia is said to have defrauded around 1,000 people of some considerable sums of money. He was caught in Mallorca.