BBC Morning Live consumer expert Louise Minchin warned viewers on Tuesday 9 December that convincing-looking retail websites purporting to be “quaint UK businesses” can be entirely artificial and based thousands of miles away, and urged festive shoppers to check the origins of online retailers after uncovering an apparent Bristol clothing firm that was actually run from Hong Kong. According to the original report, consumer group Which? also cautioned shoppers to be wary of images that "look too perfect, cartoonish or overly airbrushed" and to use an image‑search tool to see if pictures appear elsewhere. [1]
That warning reflects a wider surge in AI‑assisted retail fraud this season. Industry research and cybersecurity organisations say fraudsters are increasingly using generative tools to create photorealistic product shots, lifelike storefronts and plausible business details to build “ghost” or spoof stores that mimic legitimate British retailers. The trend has prompted public advisories from national agencies and consumer groups urging heightened vigilance during peak shopping periods. [2][5][4]
Security firm McAfee’s 2024 Global Holiday Shopping Scams Study found a sharp rise in AI‑driven scams, noting that one in three Americans report increased concern about online scams because of AI deepfakes and that more than one in five survey respondents had been victim to such scams. Industry data and enforcement bodies paint a similar picture in other jurisdictions, where losses from online shopping scams and business impersonation have reached into the millions. [3][7]
Authorities recommend simple verification steps that can help consumers avoid falling prey to these sites: check for independent reviews, confirm company registration and postal addresses, verify contact telephone numbers, and compare images with a reverse image search to see whether pictures have been recycled from elsewhere. The National Cyber Security Centre and consumer protection divisions have issued similar guidance this season, stressing that authenticity checks are now an essential part of festive shopping. [2][4]
Regulators have also highlighted a geographic mismatch as a red flag: sites that claim a local presence but use overseas payment processors, obscure server locations or non‑local return addresses are frequently fraudulent. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and other agencies have specifically described “online ghost stores” that spring up for Black Friday and Christmas campaigns, then vanish after collecting payments. [5]
Banks and private sector actors have moved to raise public awareness. Santander UK ran a campaign creating fake AI‑generated social adverts to show how convincing such content can be, reporting that 74% of Brits were unable to correctly identify a fake AI advert for a popular Christmas gift. The campaign underlines why consumers should treat spotless, overly polished imagery and celebrity endorsements on social feeds with scepticism. According to the bank’s announcement, the exercise was designed to improve recognition of synthetic adverts before shoppers part with money. [6]
Practical precautions remain straightforward: buy from well‑established retailers, use card payments or trusted payment services that offer dispute protection, scrutinise seller credentials and shipping terms, and keep screenshots and receipts for any transaction. If something looks too perfect or the retailer’s details don’t add up, the safest course is to pause and verify , otherwise a seasonal bargain can quickly become a costly lesson. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
📌 Reference Map:
##Reference Map:
- [1] (The Independent) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 7
- [2] (ITV News) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 4
- [3] (McAfee) - Paragraph 3, Paragraph 7
- [4] (New York State Department of State) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 4
- [5] (The Guardian / ACCC) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 5
- [6] (Santander UK) - Paragraph 6
- [7] (Finger Lakes Daily News) - Paragraph 3, Paragraph 7
Source: Noah Wire Services