Dutch retailers launch scam monitor after 1.2 million victims of fake webshops

Shopping cart symbol on the keyboard - Credit: - License: DepositPhotos Crime Business Friday, 9 October 2026 - 22:00

Dutch online retailers are joining forces against fake webshops after the number of people in the Netherlands scammed by such sham stores rose to 1.2 million last year. This was reported by the industry group Thuiswinkel.org on Thursday.

Fraudsters reportedly rely on professional-looking sham stores and copies of established shops. Thuiswinkel.org is launching Thuiswinkel Scam Protection, a system that continuously monitors for scam shops and fraudulent brand domain names.

Each year, the police and the Landelijk Meldpunt Internet Oplichting (LMIO) record tens of thousands of complaints about buying-and-selling fraud. In 2024 there were more than 40,000 such reports, with about 16,000 of them involving webshops.

In 2024, reports of internet fraud rose to 45,000, more than 20,000 of them tied to webshop fraud, which is nearly half of all internet-fraud complaints. The true number of victims could allegedly be substantially higher than what the figures suggest.

Not every victim files a complaint, with shame and relatively small losses reported as some of the reasons. Lack of confidence in the authorities being able to solve the issue is also a factor.