A trove of data examined by experts indicates the operation is highly organised, technically savvy – and ongoing.
Operating on an industrial scale, programmers have created tens of thousands of fake web shops offering discounted goods from Dior, Nike, Lacoste, Hugo Boss, Versace and Prada, as well as many other premium brands.
Published in multiple languages from English to German, French, Spanish, Swedish and Italian, the websites appear to have been set up to lure shoppers into parting with money and sensitive personal data.
However, the sites have no connection to the brands they claim to sell and in most cases consumers who spoke about their experience said they received no items.
In my experience, the AE customer support is quite customer friendly in its business. I don’t trust these stores for anything important, but when I need cheap shit, I tend to use AE to buy it from the source rather than spend three times as much on a local drop shipper.