Malte ZanderContents
A fake shop using your brand takes money from your customers and leaves the complaints with you. You get it removed in six steps: capture evidence, frame the case, report to the host, registrar, DNS provider and Google in parallel, report the ads to the ad platforms, warn customers and follow up until the site is offline. One detail for .de domains: the registry DENIC cannot delete content, but it gives rights holders information about the domain holder.
- Almost one in eight online shoppers in Germany (12%) fell for a fake shop in the past two years, according to a Forsa survey for the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv).
- Of 653 fake shops that German consumer centers warned about in 2025, around half advertised on Google or Meta (vzbv).
- In the first three quarters of 2025, German consumer centers received more than 8,000 complaints about fake shops, after more than 10,000 in 2024 (vzbv).
- DENIC has no access to website content and cannot act against a fake shop, but holders of name or trademark rights can request information about the holder of a .de domain (DENIC).
Which fake shops hit your brand?
Two kinds, handled differently:
A copy of your store. Your logo, copy, product images and often even your imprint sit on a lookalike domain such as [your-brand]-shop.com or [your-brand]-outlet.net. Customers believe they are ordering from you.
Someone else's fake shop selling your products. A shop under its own name offers your brand at unrealistically low prices. It uses your brand as bait without copying your site.
Both deliver nothing or counterfeits. For a copy of your store, you are the most important reporter, because only you can prove that the logo, copy and images belong to you. Clone sites vs phishing pages explains how a copy differs from a phishing page.
How big is the problem?
Big and growing. In 2024, German consumer centers recorded more than 10,000 complaints about fake shops, 47% more than the year before. The five shops with the widest reach in the vzbv study achieved at least 134 million ad impressions on Google platforms (vzbv). For brands, that means a fake shop can reach more people through paid ads than some of the real shop's campaigns.
The playbook in six steps
Step 1: Capture evidence
Before you report anything, capture screenshots of the homepage, product page, cart, payment page and imprint, each with date and time, the full link, the ads that lead to the shop and the domain, DNS and hosting data. Don't order anything and don't enter any data. Securing evidence of a fake website shows the process.
Step 2: Frame the case
A copy of your store is brand forgery. For an exact copy of your copy and images, copyright comes in as an additional basis. If the shop asks for card details or credentials, the case is also phishing, and hosts give phishing reports top priority. See Takedown framing.
Step 3: Report in parallel
Report to the host, registrar, DNS provider and Google Safe Browsing at the same time. The host is the fastest lever: in the EU it has to process a notice that meets Article 16 of the Digital Services Act. The registrar can suspend the domain, and the browser warning protects visitors while the host is still reviewing. For .de domains, DENIC cannot remove content, but as a rights holder you can get information about the domain holder there, and a DENIC dispute prevents the domain from being transferred to third parties while it runs. How to take down a fake website shows the process.
Step 4: Report the ads and platform accounts
Because many fake shops win customers through advertising, a report to Google, Meta and other ad platforms belongs in every case. Google says it removed 602 million scam-related ads in 2025 (Search Engine Land). Also report social media profiles and marketplace listings that point to the shop. Brand impersonation in search ads shows how.
Step 5: Warn customers
List your official shop domains and payment methods on your website, give your support team a short text for inquiries and point to tools such as the German consumer centers' Fakeshop-Finder. Anyone who has already paid should contact their bank or payment provider right away, report the shop there too and file a police report. How to warn customers about a fake website includes a template.
Step 6: Follow up until the site is offline
Track which channel has responded and follow up where a response is missing. Once the shop is gone, keep the case under watch. German consumer advocates note that a shop template can be reused under a new address with just a few clicks (Verbraucherzentrale). See The resurfacing problem.
How do you prevent the next fake shop?
You can't prevent it entirely, but you can find it early and end it fast:
Monitoring for lookalike domains with your name plus add-ons like shop, store, outlet, sale or deals.
Watching ads, for example through the platforms' ad libraries, for your brand name in other advertisers' ads.
Publishing official domains and payment methods so customers can compare.
A reporting route on shop and support pages where customers can report a suspicious shop in one step.
Analyzing support requests. Questions about orders that never existed with you are often the first signal.
How does AI Fraud Protect help?
AI Fraud Protect finds copies of your store and lookalike domains that use your name. On a schedule, the domain scanner checks variants of your domains, and through the report widget on your website customers report a suspicious shop directly. The AI compares every finding with your real page and names what was copied. The evidence package with screenshots, WHOIS, DNS, hosting and trademark evidence is compiled automatically, the reports to host, registrar, DNS provider and Google go out in parallel after a person has reviewed them, and the live status shows where a response is missing.
Start the free fraud scan for a short report within 48 hours, or request a demo to see a complete takedown in the app.
FAQ
Can a domain registry shut down a fake shop?
Usually not directly. DENIC, the .de registry, manages domains but has no access to website content. Removal is a matter for the host and the registrar. As a holder of trademark or name rights, you can get information about the holder of a .de domain from DENIC.
Are we liable if customers ordered from a fake shop using our name?
Customers enter into the contract with the fake shop's operator, not with you. Whether any claims exist in an individual case is for your legal team to assess. This is not legal advice. Either way, a quick and friendly response pays off, because the people affected turn to you first.
What should customers do if they have already paid?
Contact their bank, card issuer or payment provider right away, report it to the police and keep all receipts. Consumer organizations can offer further advice.
Should we place a test order to secure evidence?
Usually not. Screenshots and domain data are enough for the reports. Whether a test purchase makes sense for legal proceedings is something to decide with your law firm.
Sources
vzbv: Every second fake shop advertises on Google or Meta, 6 November 2025