Fake shops on the internet are difficult to spot. Fraudsters are making them increasingly professional. An app from the consumer advice centre helps to expose fake shops.
The app, which is updated monthly, is easy to use. To find out whether an online shop is legitimate, simply enter its internet address (URL). The finder then checks this web address. The result is displayed after a short time.
Green means the shop is on the whitelist
It’s a bit like a traffic light. If the green dot appears, the shop has not attracted any negative attention so far and is on a so-called “whitelist”. A brief overview also tells users the criteria used by the consumer advice centre to arrive at its assessment.
Yellow and red warn of caution
A yellow or even a red dot are warning or stop signals. If the dot is yellow, customers should check the shop again themselves and, for example, not pay in advance. If the dot is red, the online shop may be a fake. The aim of the consumer advice centre is to enable everyone to use the results of the fake shop finder to assess for themselves whether they should refrain from placing an order with the shop they are looking for.
To access the Fake Shop Finder, a list of fake shops, frequently asked questions and the podcast “How do I shop safely on the internet?”, click on the link:
https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/fakeshopfinder-71560
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