About the test
AV-Comparatives opens in a new tab tested NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus* from October 1 to October 7, 2026, throwing 500 fake shop test cases at it. The lab pulled these from a larger pool of fake shop URLs and kept only the ones still live at the time of testing — so the product had to catch sites that were still scamming people, not ones that had already been shut down. Every test ran on a fully patched Windows 11 machine, using Chrome as the browser.
AV-Comparatives also checked the opposite risk — flagging a real shop as fake. For that, it ran 100 popular, legitimate shopping sites through the same system to make sure none of them got mistakenly blocked.
To pass, a product needs to catch at least 80% of the fake shops in the test set and produce zero false alarms on the real ones. AV-Comparatives points out that this bar looks easy to clear on paper, but few security products even attempt fake shop detection, and getting it right consistently is hard — fake shops change their domains, designs, and tactics constantly. NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus hit the mark and was named in the report as one of the certified products for this round, alongside a small number of other security tools that met the same 80% threshold with no false alarms.
NordVPN is no stranger to this kind of test. AV-Comparatives first evaluated NordVPN’s fake shop detection back in June 2024. The October 2026 test is a fresh, separate round, run specifically on NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus.
Learn more about the test on the AV-Comparatives website: https://av-comparatives.org/tests/fake-shops-detection-certification-2026-nordvpn-next-gen-antivirus/ opens in a new tab
*NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus is a digital threat protection tool that’s available on Windows and macOS. Learn what it is and how it works in the next-gen antivirus whitepaper.
How fake shop detection works
NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus combines a continuously updated database of known scam sites with real-time, AI-assisted analysis of site characteristics against patterns typically seen in fake shops, such as suspicious domain structures or traits shared with scam sites already on record. When it finds a match, it blocks the page before it loads and shows a warning explaining why, instead of letting you land on the fake checkout page unaware.
The warning doesn’t just say “unsafe.” It tells you what raised the flag so you can make an informed call — leave the site or continue anyway. You can mark the website as safe if you’re confident it’s legitimate, a useful option for smaller, lesser-known retailers that are real but new enough to look unfamiliar to the detection system. Scam and fraud alerts run automatically once switched on in the NordVPN app, checking sites as you browse rather than only at checkout. AV-Comparatives evaluated NordVPN’s scam alert feature across all 500 fake shop cases in its test.
Why are fake online shopping scams dangerous?
Online shopping scams, including fake shopping websites, are a growing problem for shoppers worldwide. These deceptive sites are made to look like real e-commerce platforms and often use professional designs, fake customer reviews, and tempting discounts to trick buyers. The goal of these scams is designed to catch out even the most cautious shoppers into making purchases or providing personal details. Unfortunately, the result is often devastating for the consumer — orders never arrive, financial information is stolen, and victims are left dealing with severe consequences like financial loss, identity theft, and immense stress.
Fake shops are especially dangerous because they are so convincing. These fraudulent sites usually impersonate legitimate brands and try to trick users by making subtle changes to their domain names. For example, they might replace “Amazon” with “Arnazon” or use short URLs to hide the actual web address. These small changes are easy to miss, especially when combined with professional-looking designs, fake reviews, and irresistible deals. Some sites even go as far as displaying counterfeit security certificates to further deceive users. Knowing what to look for is the first line of defense against these scams.
A rising number of fake shops
A third of U.S. adults say they’ve bought something online that either never arrived or turned out to be counterfeit, without getting their money back.¹ The same research found that 85% of Americans see scams and fraud as a problem on shopping sites and apps, with half calling it a major one.¹
Younger shoppers report falling for scams more often — 42% of adults under 30 say they’ve experienced shopping fraud, compared with 26% of those 65 and older.¹
Online shopping was the second most reported fraud category to the Federal Trade Commission in 2024, with reported losses totaling $432 million.² Total fraud losses across all categories reached $12.5 billion that year, a 25% jump from 2023, even though the number of fraud reports stayed about the same.² Most incidents never get reported at all — 74% of adults who say they’ve lost money to an online scam, shopping-related or otherwise, never reported it to law enforcement.¹
Fake shops are on the rise, especially during the sales season. Cybercriminals use advanced tools, including AI, to create fake shops that lure people with deals that are simply too good to resist. In fact, a survey conducted by NordVPN in 2023 revealed that one in four Americans who have fallen victim to online scams experienced them during shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Common tactics used by fake online shopping sites
Fraudulent shops rely on a handful of tactics that are much easier to spot once you know them:
- Prices that don’t add up. Popular products listed far below market price, with the site disappearing the moment payment clears.
- Products that never match the listing. Orders that do arrive turn out to be cheap knockoffs, or nothing shows up at all.
- Copied branding. Stolen logos, cloned designs, and domain names built to resemble a real retailer’s.
- Reviews built to deceive. Vague five-star reviews with no real detail, often piled onto a site that’s only weeks old. A brand-new domain with hundreds of reviews is a pattern worth noticing.
- Phishing as the way in. A convincing email or ad, styled to look like it’s from a brand you trust, that leads straight to the fake shop. Phishing attacks like this work because they borrow a brand’s logo, tone, and formatting closely enough to pass a quick glance.
Falling for any of these can lead to more than a lost payment. Scammers who collect your card details or personal information on a fake checkout page can use that data for identity theft, not just the original purchase.
How to recognize fake shops and protect yourself
Security software catches a lot, but it shouldn’t be the only thing standing between you and a scam. Combine good cybersecurity habits with knowing how to spot fake shops yourself. Below are some tips to help you identify scam websites and shop safely online:
- Be skeptical of unbelievable discounts. Deals that seem too good to be true often are. Check prices on trusted sites and be cautious of big discounts on popular items.
- Examine website quality. Look for poor grammar, low-quality images, or broken links. If something seems off, trust your instincts.
- Watch out for misspelled domains. Be cautious of domain names that are misspelled or seem suspicious, regardless of the top-level domain (TLD) used. Always check for a valid SSL certificate, indicated by “https://” and a padlock symbol, and ensure that the certificate is issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). You can also use a URL checker to verify that the domain is safe.
- Look for contact information. Legitimate websites will provide clear contact details, including a physical address, phone number, and email address. These details are usually found in the header, footer, or “About” page.
- Review privacy policies and terms. Ensure the website has a clear privacy policy and accessible terms and conditions for returns, refunds, and shipping.
- Avoid unusual payment methods. Be cautious if a site insists on unusual payment methods like wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Scammers favor these methods because they are harder to trace. On customer-to-customer marketplaces, use the built-in payment methods — for instance, your transaction on Mercari is safe and protected by the platform’s policies only when it’s made on the app.
- Research the retailer. Do a quick search online for the retailer’s name along with keywords like “reviews” or “scams.” Avoid sites with mostly negative or suspicious reviews.
- Be extra careful on your phone. It’s easier to tap a fraudulent pop-up or ad by accident on a small screen.
- Use cybersecurity and privacy tools. Cybersecurity tools like NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus block malicious sites, phishing scams, and malware to make your shopping experience safer.
If you’d like to learn more, here’s how to identify fake shopping websites.
How NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus keeps you safer
NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus combines scam, phishing, and malware protection with the benefits of VPN technology to help users stay safer online. Together, these features help defend against scams, phishing attacks, and other cybersecurity threats, including fake shops. On supported desktop platforms, it scans your downloads for malware, removes harmful files, and improves your browsing experience by blocking annoying ads and trackers that collect your personal information.
A significant advantage of the next-gen antivirus is its anti-phishing capabilities. It combines AI analysis with a database of known malicious sites, so it can flag threats that haven’t been reported yet.
NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus has previously been certified by AV-Comparatives for its effectiveness against phishing. After independent testing involving actual phishing attacks, NordVPN received AV-Comparatives’ anti-phishing approval for the third year in a row.
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References
- 1. Pew Research Center. (November 19, 2025). About 1 in 3 Americans say they experienced an online shopping scam. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/11/19/about-a-third-of-americans-say-theyve-had-an-online-shopping-scam-happen-to-them/ opens in a new tab
- 2. Federal Trade Commission. (March 10, 2025). New FTC data show a big jump in reported losses to fraud to $12.5 billion in 2024. Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/03/new-ftc-data-show-big-jump-reported-losses-fraud-125-billion-2024 opens in a new tab
