With the increasing shift of shopping and business processes to the internet, the threat of cybercrime is also growing, especially from fraudulent online shops. Fake shops cause major economic damage; a dark field study estimates that 320,000 consumers in Austria are directly affected and puts the amount of damage at 16 million euros. Conventional protection mechanisms are often unable to keep pace with the rapid development of this threat, so intelligent and automated solutions are essential. As part of the KIRAS security research programme, the AIT has jointly developed an innovative AI-based tool together with its partners that allows to effectively protect consumers in Austria against e-commerce fraud. By combining the expertise of Watchlist Internet, the Austrian Institute for Applied Telecommunications (ÖIAT), the IT specialist X-Net and the leading research team for machine learning at the AIT, it has been possible to create a highly precise solution for the real-time detection of fake shops. The independent system testing organization AV-Comparatives certified this technology as having the highest fake shop detection rate (over 90%) in international comparison. The Fake Shop Detector was officially certified in 2025. The Fake Shop Detector now protects around 10,000 daily users from cybercrime. The solution is continuously being further developed, including for the special requirements of investigations by the Bavarian Cybercrime Centre.
The aim is to expand to the EU market in order to protect even more people from fraudulent online offers. The Fake Shop Detector has received a great deal of national and international recognition and has already won several awards. It was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Digitalisation, came second in the Competence Centre for Secure Austria and received an international award in the form of the Constantinus Award 2024.
Free download: https://fakeshop.at
"Early access to domains and servers is crucial for the investigations of the Bavarian Cybercrime Centre (ZCB). The use of the Fake Shop Detector offers considerable potential for identifying fake shops at an early stage with the help of artificial intelligence. This gives investigators a valuable head start", Georg Eisenreich, Bavarian Minister of State for Justice.
