UK consumers are being urged to exercise extreme caution with online advertisements featuring elaborate, heart-warming backstories, as a new wave of sophisticated scams impersonates genuine small businesses. These fraudulent operations use artificial intelligence (AI) and stock imagery to create a false aura of artisan authenticity, duping shoppers into buying substandard or non-existent goods.
The Elaborate Fabrication of Fake Family Businesses
Recent investigations have uncovered several dubious websites that expertly mimic beloved independent retailers. One such site, Melia & Co, presented itself as a small family-run studio. Its website featured a photo of a woman hand-knitting a Christmas sweater and a poignant caption stating that after decades of creating knitwear, she was closing her studio and the pieces were her last.
Similarly, the Olivia Westwood Boutique website claimed to be run by twin sisters honouring their mother's legacy, with a business "rooted in family, community and women uplifting women." It promoted a sale to honour the late founder's would-be 95th birthday.
However, neither store was genuine. Both displayed identical stock images of Icelandic and Nordic sweaters. Crucially, their website domains were registered in China in November 2025, just ahead of the peak holiday shopping season. A flood of negative reviews on consumer platforms like Trustpilot report receiving shoddy goods that were nearly impossible to return.
How AI and Sob Stories Are Weaponised Against Shoppers
Marketing Professor Seth Ketron from The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota explains that fraudsters are leveraging faster, more sophisticated digital tools. "Some vendors and fraudsters have taken advantage of AI-generated images to create websites that have an aura of artisan authenticity," he said. This makes it incredibly difficult for the average consumer to distinguish fact from fiction.
Deanna Newman, owner of the legitimate online jewellery retailer C'est La Vie in Ontario, Canada, experienced this impersonation first-hand. Scammers created copycat sites using her business's name, complete with fake brick-and-mortar locations in cities like Birmingham, England, and Dublin. The sites used emotional narratives, including fake bereavements, to lure customers. "Sometimes people were receiving products from China and very low-grade jewellery, and some people weren't receiving things at all," Newman reported.
The scale of the problem is significant. A Pew Research Center survey from April 2025 found that about 36% of Americans failed to receive refunds for online purchases that never arrived or were counterfeit.
Practical Steps to Protect Yourself from E-commerce Scams
Experts recommend several checks before clicking 'buy':
1. Verify the Details: Look for a verifiable physical address or phone number. Contact the owner directly; a genuine business owner will be happy to respond.
2. Be Sceptical of Sob Stories: Be wary of ads emphasising 'going-out-of-business' sales or stories of personal hardship, which are common ploys.
3. Check Third-Party Reviews: Professor Murat Kantarcioglu of Virginia Tech advises checking sites like the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot. "If the small business claims to be there for 30 years, they should have reviews from at least a couple of years back," he notes.
4. Look Up the Domain: Use a domain lookup service like ICANN, GoDaddy, or Whois. A site claiming to be a long-standing UK business but registered overseas or very recently is a major red flag.
5. Trust Your Gut: If a deal seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is. Professor Ketron warns: "As AI gets better... things are gonna look more and more convincing." If something feels off, walk away.
The consensus is clear: while scammers' tactics are evolving, a few minutes of diligent research can save shoppers significant money and hassle. Always look beyond the compelling story to the verifiable facts.
