Online haunts: Watch out for ghost stores

Last updated on August 19th, 2025

Snapped up a bargain online from a local store only to find there is nothing local about it? Or that it doesn’t even exist? You are one of a growing number of Australians haunted by ghost stores.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said they had received an increasing number of reports about online ghost stores (also known as dark stores), with at least 360 reports about 60 online retailers since the start of 2025.

The consumer watchdog issued public warning notices about the operators of four websites – everly-melbourne.com, willowandgrace-adelaide.com, sophie-claire.com and doublebayboutique.com – with the ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe warning of the risks of buying from ghost stores.

“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,” Ms Lowe said.

What are ghost stores?

Ghost stores only exist online – and often only tenuously there, too – though they either say their shopfront is based in a particular town or city in Australia or give that impression.

They prey on our desire to support local businesses, often making an emotional sales pitch that tugs at the heartstrings, as well as the purse strings.

 

 

They pop up on social media platforms such as Tiktok or Instagram announcing their imminent closure with lines such as “it is with great sadness” or “with a heavy heart” and go on to talk about the decades of love and hard work they have put into their store. Except that store never existed.

Sometimes they use names and language that give the impression they call a certain part of Australia home, such as the Byron Bay boutique that is nowhere near the NSW beach haven.

The people represented in images promoting heart-wrenching closing-down sales are invariably AI generated or manipulated. And the local “bargains” you’re being offered are usually shipped from Asia, are often very poor quality and sometimes don’t arrive at all.

A Guardian Australia investigation identified more than 140 sites ghost stores, prompting calls for online platforms to do more to prevent “fraudulent players” from using their services to con consumers.

Cracking down on ghost stores

The ACCC said the four ghost stores that were the subject of the public warning notices were harming consumers with false representations.

“We are warning Australians about the risks of engaging with these four websites specifically, which we allege are not based in Melbourne, Adelaide or Double Bay, nor are they imminently closing down”, Ms Lowe said. “We further allege that the operators of these websites are supplying products which are not of the advertised quality”.

 

 

Consumers who receive products that are inferior to what was advertised are also finding it hard to get their money back, with some being refused refunds or only receiving partial refunds.

It can be hard to hold these dodgy operators to account under Australian Consumer Law, as they operate offshore. As soon as one is shut down, another pops up under a different name but with the same modus operandi.

Acknowledging the difficulty of traditional enforcement, the ACCC has written to social media and e-commerce platforms Meta (owners of Facebook and Instagram) and Shopify, urging them to take responsibility for enabling ghost stores and to do more to stop them from reaching customers.

“We are hopeful that by focusing on that part of the transaction, it will actually mean that we can reduce or stop the number of these (sites) getting to consumers in the first place”, Ms Lowe told Guardian Australia.

“We think the ball is firmly in the courts of the owner of these platforms to come and speak to us about actions that they can take”.

How to spot a ghost store

How the platforms respond to the ACCC remains to be seen but there are things you can do to protect yourself in the meantime.

If a bargain pops up in your feed purporting to be from a beloved local business, it is important to dig deeper. Start by checking the url (web address). Scammers often mimic real sites – you should see https in the browser and the spelling of the domain name should be accurate. Look it up directly by keying into your browser rather than going to it from a link in a social media advertisement.

 

 

While some sales pitches are more sophisticated than others, there are telltale signs that you’ve landed on a ghost store. Aside from the fake back story about a heartbreaking store closure, the ACCC suggests looking out for the following:

• • Use of AI-generated images, which you can sometimes find in the url
  • A returns policy with an overseas shipping address
  • No local number, physical address or any contact details on the website
  • No Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN)
  • A domain name ending with ‘.com’, rather than ‘.com.au’
  • Images that have been taken from other websites where the same product is advertised, often at a much cheaper price
  • How recently the website or Facebook page was created – ghost stores often appear out of nowhere around sales times and disappear just as quickly
  • Privacy policy or terms of service that refer to international regulations rather than Australian laws
  • Negative comments on review platforms like Trustpilot compared with what’s on the business website (usually full of glowingly unrealistic reviews)

 

 

Protecting your rights

The ACCC also recommends checking to see if the business name exists on the Australian Business Register (ABR), as well as doing a reverse image or Google Lens search to see if the products on the website have come from somewhere else (often a site where the items are much cheaper).

It can take more time than we often allow for online shopping but it pays to take these extra steps to protect yourself. All the extra steps can save you a lot of regret – not to mention money – down the track. Remember if something sounds too good to be true it probably is a scam.

If you have been hoodwinked by a ghost store, it can be hard to get redress but it is important to report the issue so we can continue to push for change. Make a complaint with us and we will help you handle it.