Help! A fake online shop is misusing my name

The Dutch police have warned of an increase in the number of fake webshops. In 2025, 10% of Dutch people aged 15 and over were scammed online (in Dutch). This often takes the form of purchase fraud: you buy a product from a fake online shop and receive nothing. Scammers may also use your company name for a fake online shop. This can cause you a lot of trouble.

This is how it works

Here is how fake online shops work: a scammer starts a fake online shop under your company name, and claims to sell popular products such as facemasks, cleaning products, or energy drinks. A customer buys something, the scammer does not deliver, and you get angry calls because the scammer has used your company name.

Prevention is difficult

Unfortunately, it is difficult to prevent misuse of your company name. Doing these 3 things will make it less likely:

• Set up a Google Alert. You will be automatically notified when your company name is mentioned on the internet. That way, if someone creates a site with your name, you will see it immediately. You can also opt for SIDN BrandGuard. This service enables SIDN to track down domain names that resemble your company name.
• Register all your websites with KVK. That way, everyone can see which sites belong to your company and what you sell.
• Register relevant domain names for your business, even if you are not (yet) using them. Fraudsters often look for businesses that do not have a domain name or email account. They misuse the name of such a business to set up a fake online shop.

Damage to your company’s image

Fake online shops are a real problem. Not only for customers, who are unlikely to get their money back, but also the owners of businesses whose names are misused. This kind of online shop fraud. damages their image, wastes time, and causes headaches.

KVK adviser Jacob van der Vis sees a rise in the number of business owners who experience this kind of misuse: “For example, a business owner called because he was suddenly getting calls from abroad about undelivered goods, even though he has a service business and sells nothing online. It turned out his company name was being used by a fake online shop to scam people. And he is not the only one.”

Almost the same URL

Even if you own an online shop under your company name, you may be affected by fraudsters who misuse your name for a fake online shop. A scammer opens an online shop with a web address similar to yours. For example, suppose your online shop is called bloomingflowers.nl. Scammers could then set up online shops such as bloomingflowers.com, bloomingflowersdeal.nl, or bloomingflowers.amsterdam.nl. The police maintain a list of the URL's and bank account numbers of parties known by them to be dishonest and warn not to do any business with them. 

Fake ads

“Some scammers even buy ads, so they can appear higher up in search-engine listings with their fake online shop than your real one”, Van der Vis says. As a result, your customer unknowingly orders products through the fake website. When the customer does not get the order, you seem to be the culprit. You can report such abuse to the search engine. You will be better protected if you register your business name as a trademark.

Have you been the victim of this kind of scam?

Is your company name being misused by a fake online shop? Here are 2things you can do:

• Check whois.com to see who runs the site. Then ask the administrator of the domain name to take the site offline. To do this, follow the steps in the notice-and-take-down procedure.
• Misuse of your company name falls under business identity fraud and is a criminal offence. File a report with the police. Your declaration allows the registrar of the domain name to take the website offline.