What are fake shops?
Fake shops are fraudulent online shops. At first glance, they often appear professional, but they only deliver low-quality goods or none at all. Money you pay in advance cannot be reclaimed and data entered could be misused. In addition to fraudulent online shops, there are also an increasing number of complaints about problematic online shops. You can read more about problematic shops here!
Which fake shops does the Detector know?
We cooperate closely with the Watchlist Internet, an independent information platform on Internet fraud and fraud-like online traps from Austria. The Watchlist Internet receives around 500 suspicious reports from users every week, which are checked. Fake shops are listed on a public list of fraudulent online shops, other dubious shops can be found on the list of problematic shops.
This information is continuously transmitted to the Fake Shop Detector. When using the Fake Shop Detector, you will be continuously warned of current fake shops!
How does the AI come to the conclusion that a shop is fraudulent?
The Fake Shop Detector checks every online shop in two steps: First, a database of reputable and fraudulent online shops is searched, which is curated by experts. If an online shop is unknown, the second step is a real-time analysis by artificial intelligence (AI). In the automatic analysis of websites, attention is paid to the quality and traceability of the AI. It never learns unsupervised, but is subject to constant review and quality control by the Watchlist Internet experts. . Since the end of July 2020, 1 million shop evaluations have already been carried out via the Fake Shop Detector.
The Fake Shop Detector knows more than 10,850 fraudulent online shops and more than 25,783 trustworthy online shops in the DACH region.
You can find out more about how the detector works here.
Which reputable online shops does the Fake Shop Detector know?
We do not leave the Fake Shop Detector's assessments to an artificial intelligence alone. The Fake Shop Detector knows over 25,783 trustworthy online shops in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). They bear a quality mark, are in verified online shop directories or were manually added to the Fake Shop Detector database by the team. You can read details about data sources here.
How does the Fake Shop Detector deal with marketplaces?
The Fake Shop Detector only evaluates online shops and not individual traders on marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy, Ebay or Willhaben. We do not assume any responsibility for the seriousness of traders on marketplaces. Read more in our tips on marketplaces.
Is the Fake Shop Detector also available for smartphones?
The Fake Shop Detector is integrated in the Watchlist Internet app. You can download it from the Google Playstore and App Store.
You can have the artificial intelligence check online shops on your mobile phone at any time. To do this, copy the web address and paste it into the search field. Click here to go directly to our shop check