Australians have been warned about shopping at alleged “ghost stores”, websites which masquerade as local businesses.

The ACCC accuses four fake store operators of misleading consumers by posing as local Australian businesses about to close, offering what they claim to be high-quality clothing and footwear.

Instead, the consumer watchdog claims, the stores are based overseas, not closing down anytime soon, and are drop-shipping low-quality products.

The ACCC’s warning follows an increased number of consumer reports to the watchdog in recent months about online ghost stores.

Since early 2025, the ACCC reports receiving at least 360 complaints about 60 online retailers, though media coverage indicates that the actual number may be higher.

There have also been complaints about alleged ghost stores refusing to provide refunds or not responding to complaints.

These deceptive stores often attract buyers via social media advertisements and frequently shut down and reopen under new names, using different Australian place names to seem “local”.

“We urge all Australians to think twice before clicking on ads they see on social media which claim to be from a boutique business based in a local town or city,” Lowe said.

“Often ghost stores will share an emotional story on their social media or website that they are a small, locally operated business, needing to close for financial reasons.

“They will claim they are having a ‘closing down sale’ as a result, with all stock heavily discounted and available on a very limited basis.”

Ghost stores sometimes use a name that is similar to that of a genuine local boutique, leading to competitive and reputational harm for those businesses.

The ACCC said ghost stores used targeted paid advertisements on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram, and often appeared to use the Shopify e-commerce platform to host and operate their webstores.

“We have written to both Meta Platforms (as the owner of Facebook and Instagram) and Shopify to request they scrutinise and take appropriate action against the operators of ghost stores,” Lowe said.

“We want to increase public awareness of these dishonest businesses so that Australians know how to spot them and can avoid being deceived into buying an inferior product.”