Irish consumers likely to be among 800,000 victims of fake online shops

Some 76,000 fake retail websites were set up by what appears to be a Chinese gang. Cyber Ireland chairman Pat Larkin said the key advice to avoid being scammed is: 'If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.' iStock 

Irish consumers are likely to be among more than 800,000 people defrauded by a vast network of fake online designer shops in what has been described as one of the world’s largest online scams.

Some 76,000 fake designer websites pretending to be major brands like Nike, Dior, Lacoste, and Hugo Boss were set up in languages including English by what appears to be a nefarious Chinese network.