Nearly 26,000 Shopify stores are related to fraudulent practices, Fakespot says

Shopify, which provides the technology backbone for businesses to set up a store and sell their products online, has become valuable to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, because of its cheap and easy to set up services. However, the company said that it routinely monitors for fraud and other violations.

BBC reports that Fakespot analysed 124,000 Shopify stores and nearly 26,000 of them were ‘related to fraudulent practices’. Of those, about 39% were described as ‘problematic sellers’, with counterfeit issues, possible brand infringements or a poor reputation. Almost 28% were possible scam stores, with privacy leaks and suspiciously cheap listings. Just under 17% had negative reports from consumers, while 10% had no transaction history.