Just had a family member get scammed by a fake online store. Looking back the web looks legit but red flags were so obvious: no company info, no address, no company details in the legal notice, no cookie banner (yep, fraudsters don't take the effort to place them), zero transparency.
And yeah, this is where everybody loves to joke about EU bureaucracy but here's the thing: in the EU real online stores have to tell you who they are, company details, contact info, legal terms, privacy policies, the works, and it is not simple paperwork, but if you’re handing over your money, you should at least know who’s taking it.
Does this stop every scam? Nope, as you see. But does it make it way harder to set up a fake shop? Absolutely.
So next time someone rolls their eyes at EU rules on disclosures, VAT numbers, or cookie popups, remember: the alternative is typing your credit card into a site run by some anonymous stranger halfway across the world.
Faking fiscal data in an e-shop is obviously possible, but also makes it easier for the authorities to freeze merchant accounts, domains and take similar actions.