Online shopping has become central to consumers’ lives across the European Union, and as cross-border e-commerce continues to grow, so too do opportunities for fraud. In 2024, nearly half of EU consumers encountered online scams. Among the most damaging forms is the fake web shop: a site or seller listing that presents itself as a legitimate online retailer but is designed to deceive consumers.
To support evidence-based policymaking in this area, Visionary Analytics has published a new study for the European Parliament examining how fake web shops operate, why they remain difficult to tackle, and how the EU’s consumer protection framework could be strengthened to better protect consumers.
Why fake web shops remain difficult to stop
Fake web shops exploit the same digital infrastructure as legitimate businesses, including online advertising, search engines optimisation, payment systems and parcel delivery networks. Fraudulent operators generally follow a consistent sequence: attracting consumers through impersonation and manipulated advertising, converting that engagement through deceptive pricing and fake reviews, and then, after payment, delivering nothing, delivering unsafe or counterfeit goods, or actively obstructing the consumer’s ability to obtain a refund.
EU has relevant legal hooks covering most of the practices related to fake web shops operations. However, most trader-facing obligation presuppose an identifiable, reachable trader who often no longer exists. Speed of fraud when it comes fake web shops hinders effective enforcement. Fraudulent websites can be created, monetised, and relaunched within hours, making traditional enforcement approaches focused on removing individual websites increasingly ineffective. Additionally, effective disruption of fake web shops fraud requires several actors to move together but the operational pathway for doing so remains fragmented.
Recommendations for a stronger EU response
The study recommends shifting the focus from pursuing fraudulent operators alone towards disrupting the wider ecosystem that enables online fraud. It calls for closer cooperation between consumer authorities, Digital Services Coordinators, payment service providers, advertising platforms, hosting providers, and domain registrars to ensure a more coordinated response.
The study proposes moving the protection upstream, before consumers pays, by introducing proportionate ex ante obligations at the points where the fraud first reaches the consumer. It suggests aligning intermediaries’ responsibilities with the infrastructure they provide, including risk-based verification of paid placements directing consumers to online shops, along the lines of the trader checks already required under DSA Article 30 for marketplaces.
The findings contribute to ongoing discussions on the Action Plan on Fighting Online Fraud, the Digital Fairness Act, and future reforms of the EU’s consumer protection framework, supporting efforts to create a safer digital marketplace for consumers across Europe.
Read the full publication!
