Recognize a fake shop

Signs that this could be a fake shop:

• Payment only by prepayment with a transfer to a foreign bank account.

• Missing or incorrect imprint (compulsory content: address, authorised representative, e-mail, entry in the commercial register)

• Missing contact options or only abroad or only by e-mail

• Missing or faulty general terms and conditions

In the case of offers via the large mail order companies such as Amazon or E-Bay:

• Request to be contacted before ordering

• Conspicuously low-priced offers in all product areas

• The provider's user account is fairly new

Further tips:

• Look for reviews for the shop in question

• Every shop must provide a VAT ID; you can enter this in a search engine and see if it has not been copied from another shop.

• The validity of the VAT ID can also be checked online.

• Check the encryption certificate of the website for security/validity. To do this, click on the lock in front of the website address in the browser and call up further information).

• If a seal of approval such as "Trusted Shops" is available, check whether the seal is linked to the provider of the seal.