A fake website or shop is impersonating my brand. What now?

Confirm the address and the misleading claim

A copied logo, product gallery and business address can make a fraudulent shop look familiar. Start with the complete domain and page URL. Check whether it could be an authorised partner or an old company site before describing it as an impersonator. Identify the statements suggesting that the business operates or endorses it.

HTTPS is not proof of an honest seller. Genuine company details may also have been copied. Keep observations separate from assumptions: showing that a site presents itself as your official shop is different from proving who operates it. Avoid naming an alleged offender without reliable supporting evidence.

Do not investigate by making a test purchase

Do not enter payment details or company credentials, download unexpected files or proceed through a checkout to demonstrate that it works. Visible misuse can be documented without completing a transaction. Deeper technical analysis should be handled by someone equipped to do it safely and lawfully.

Preserve the URL, observation time, visible content and the advertisement or message that led to the site. Restrict access to customer payment evidence and collect only necessary details. If someone has paid or disclosed sensitive information, prompt contact with their bank and relevant authorities should not wait for the brand's reporting process.

Separate the domain from hosting and distribution

The registrar, hosting provider, intermediary service and website operator may be different organisations. Public registration tools, including ICANN Lookup for supported domains, can help identify relevant contacts. Some registration information is not public. Privacy protection alone is not evidence of fraud or a reliable way to identify an offender.

Establish which service a provider supplies before contacting its official abuse channel. Describe the specific conduct and supply precise URLs. A complaint to a technical provider does not automatically disable a website; procedures and responsibilities differ. Registration data helps route the report, not guarantee a particular outcome.

Match the report to the issue

Suspected phishing may warrant reports to relevant infrastructure providers and security teams. CERT Polska accepts incident reports in Poland. Google Safe Browsing has a phishing-reporting route; a browser warning, if applied, is not the same as removing a site from its server.

Misuse of a logo, photograph or trademark may require a different process and evidence of the relevant rights. Do not choose an inaccurate category because it appears faster. Domain disputes and compensation claims may need specialist legal advice. Technical documentation supports the case but does not itself decide ownership or legal responsibility.

Address advertising and search visibility too

Record each advertisement, profile or message found driving visitors to the site. Google advertising and Meta advertising have separate reporting routes. Reporting a destination domain does not mean every associated campaign will automatically be reviewed as a single case. Keep individual identifiers where available.

Search removal requests must meet the criteria of the applicable procedure. Even an approved Google request does not delete content from the source website. Track site availability, advertising and search visibility separately. The disappearance of one component should not be taken as confirmation that the other routes have stopped working.

Help customers verify the genuine offer

Make the correct domain and authorised sales channels easy to find on your own website. State relevant payment practices clearly. A warning can explain how to distinguish your offer without providing a clickable route to the fake shop or repeating its promotional claims at length.

Customer support needs a consistent response to suspicious order enquiries. Do not confirm an order absent from your system or promise reimbursement for money collected by another entity. Explain the situation, direct affected people to appropriate safety steps and preserve their report as part of the incident record with suitable privacy safeguards.

Verify outcomes and watch for recurrence

Record the report date, recipient, reference number, response and subsequent check. A temporarily unavailable page, suspended domain, removed advertisement and missing search result are different states. Be explicit about which one was observed and whether further verification is required before closing the matter.

Follow-up can include related domains, reused creative material and new profiles, with human review of every suspected match. A continuing service is useful when someone needs to coordinate these tasks across providers. It cannot promise that every similar domain is abusive or that no new copy will ever appear.

Frequently asked questions

Does removing a Google result remove the shop?

No. Search visibility and the source website are separate. Actions may also be needed with the relevant hosting or other service provider.

Can MB recover a domain or a customer's money?

We do not guarantee those outcomes. We can coordinate agreed technical reporting; domain disputes, financial recovery and legal claims require their own appropriate processes.

Sources and reporting routes

Reporting guidance checked on 13 October 2026. Platform options and requirements may change.

This guide covers technical and organisational steps, not individual legal advice. Rights, claims and formal evidence requirements should be assessed by an appropriate legal professional.