Fraud wave: China fake shops threaten Austria's online retailers!

Fraud wave: China fake shops threaten Austria's online retailers!

Österreich - In the past few months, a flood of fraudulent online ads from Asia has caused unrest in Austrian online trading. Fraudulent ghost stores, i.e. non-existent online shops, flood social media with deceptively real advertisements that endanger both consumers and established domestic companies. According to a report by Kosmo , over 3,500 such advertisements were canceled on almost 5.8 million Austrians from January to April 2025. These fake shops pretend to be traditional companies from Austria, attract new offers and seem legitimate at first glance.

One of the essential challenges is that fraudsters pretend to be renowned Austrian brands. Like Kurier , the lamp trade Lumelia, for example, has an address in Chaozhou, China, in the imprint. There are also shops without an imprint, such as the Schneider Salzburg clotheshop, which triggers distrust of consumers.

dangers and effects of the fake shops

The activities of these ghost stores have far -reaching consequences. Rainer Treelik, trade chairman in the Austria Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), emphasizes that such platforms not only endanger the competition, but also shake consumers' trust in the entire online trade. The returns of faulty or not delivered products often turn out to be expensive and complicated, which further tightens the situation. Trefelik therefore calls for stricter regulations against this dangerous development and supports measures such as the introduction of a processing fee for packages from third countries.

The legitimacy of platforms such as Temu and Shein, which also come from Asia, is also put in the foreground in the discussion. With 41 percent of Austrians who bought in 2024 in such platforms, the pressure on domestic online retail increases significantly. These offers are particularly popular with younger consumers between the ages of 16 and 24, where the number of buyers is almost par with those of Amazon.

How consumers can protect themselves

The online shopping offers a variety of options, but also carries risks. Consumer advice advises to be careful with particularly cheap offers and always pay attention to whether the bargains come from a trustworthy side. A way to react to fraudulent offers is according to the Consumer center to check the money, which is strongly from the used Payment method depends.