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Meta and Shopify urged to act as scale of ‘ghost stores’ preying on Australian online shoppers revealed
- Over 140 'ghost' stores in Australia deceive online shoppers with poor quality products or fail to deliver, prompting calls for action from Meta and Shopify.
- The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating the surge of complaints about these deceptive online retailers.
- These 'ghost' stores falsely market themselves as local businesses with fake closing-down sales and stories.
- Experts highlight the responsibility of platforms like Shopify and Meta in enabling fraudulent online stores to operate.
- Many of these sites use similar copy, sell comparable products, and provide misleading information about their locations.
- Customers have faced challenges in seeking refunds for substandard products or non-deliveries from these deceptive online retailers.
- The majority of identified ghost stores are found to be using the Shopify e-commerce platform.
- Consumer advocates emphasize the urgency for digital platforms and regulators to combat digital retail fraud effectively.
- Despite efforts to report misleading ads, platforms like Meta have been criticized for not taking sufficient action against these deceptive online stores.
- Calls for increased responsibility, coordination, and action from digital platforms and regulators to protect consumers from online fraud are growing.
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