Fake online stores disguised as famous brands such as The North Face are rapidly increasing.

A few months ago, there was an article about an experience I had when I went shoe shopping and almost got deceived by a fake online store. A malicious online store linked to fraudsters stealing payment information has been identified. At the same time, fake stores appear to be on the rise. From Black Friday to the end of the year, special care is needed when purchasing gifts and party supplies.

EclecticIQ, a threat research institutediscovered a hacking attempt in October consisting of approximately 4,700 fake online stores. The website collects credit card numbers and other identifying information from shoppers in the United States and Europe, amassing vast amounts of information that can be used for identity theft and other fraudulent purchases. Based on IP information, the researcher estimated that the fraudulent site is operated for the following purposes.

EclecticIQ described several sophisticated methods used to create and distribute fake stores. First of all, it imitates famous brands such as The North Face, LL Bean, and IKEA. Many of these incorporate Black Friday into promotional images and URLs, can dynamically translate content based on a user’s location, and use the Stripe API system to retrieve and record personal information.

Even if you use a dedicated shopping app, you should be careful about all stores that appear in Google search results. There are cases where sites that are similar to official shopping malls but are fake are displayed. Google’s automatic authentication system also has many shortcomings. The same goes for any type of advertisement (especially social media) or links sent via email.

If you stock all sizes of a popular shoe and it’s half price or seems like a great deal, remember that’s likely to be the case during the sale from Black Friday through the end of the year. If you are not sure whether the product is genuine or an official store, take a moment to open a new browser tab and search again.

EclecticIQ recommended strengthening security by setting or changing spending limits with a virtual credit card, a type of ‘dummy’ card provided by banks.
dl-itworld@foundryco.com