September 11, 2026, 10:44 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Professionally designed shop pages and seemingly bargain offers attract buyers daily. Security researchers have now discovered one of the largest known networks of suspected fake shops.
The Munich-based security firm Nebty claims to have identified a massive network of fake shops. The researchers named the network “DoppelCart” and uncovered it during investigations of several companies. They repeatedly encountered similar technical features and shop structures.
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Subsequently, the experts analyzed public website scans and were able to link numerous additional domains. In total, Nebty attributes around 119,000 web addresses to the network. Based on the number of domains, the researchers say it is the largest known fake shop network to date. Particularly notable: 118,787 of the recorded addresses use the “.shop” domain extension.
The fraudulent sites appear convincingly real
For consumers, many of the sites are difficult to recognize as fakes. In the cases studied, the operators used product photos, descriptions, and item names from legitimate online retailers. In some instances, images were even directly loaded from the original providers’ image servers.
According to Nebty, the operators sometimes went a step further. Detailed product information was reportedly copied verbatim. Additionally, some fake shops adopt the contact and support details of real companies. When an order doesn’t arrive, affected customers often contact the wrong company, which then has to deal with complaints despite not having processed the sale or received payments.
Many domains remain accessible
Particularly problematic, according to the security researchers, is that a large part of the network is reportedly still online. Although not all assigned domains were accessible simultaneously, the experts still see a significant risk for consumers and businesses.
Therefore, Nebty has published the investigation results in a publicly accessible database. Companies can check there if their brands or domains are being misused by fake shops. Those who have already fallen for a fraudulent shop should act as quickly as possible. Banks or credit card providers may be able to help stop or recover payments. It is also advisable to secure receipts and purchase information and, if necessary, file a report with the police.