Australian consumers are being lured to fake websites imitating major labels such as Blue Illusion, Millers and Sussan that replicate their branding and advertise fictitious closing-down sales on social media.
After previously identifying more than 140 so-called “ghost stores” falsely marketing themselves as local brands, Guardian Australia has found the problem extends to more sophisticated sites impersonating well-known retailers.
Customers who have lost money on the scams have urged Shopify, Meta and PayPal to take action to stop fraudulent players from using their software to build and advertise their sites.
One Facebook ad reviewed by Guardian Australia on 16 May featured an image of a Blue Illusion storefront and the words: “Saying goodbye is tough, dear ladies … our Final Sale is on now – let’s make this chapter truly unforgettable.”
Clicking on the ad led to an e-commerce website that used Blue Illusion’s logo but had the domain name yayeco.top, which was registered on 10 May. The real Blue …