London, UK: April 9, 2026 – Consumer surveys from 2025 show that online counterfeits are far from rare. Pew Research Center found that 17% of US online shoppers had received a counterfeit product and been unable to obtain a refund, while Mastercard reported that 10% of surveyed Europeans had received counterfeit goods in previous holiday seasons.
These figures understate the impact because many shoppers never realise that an item is counterfeit, particularly in categories such as cosmetics, electronics accessories and apparel.
Counterfeit sellers rely on speed and volume. They list the same product under many accounts, accept a few takedowns as a cost of doing business and move to new domains and marketplace stores.
“The key to reducing losses is to make each new fake store harder and slower to set up, and to remove the network behind it,” says Daniel Hartley, Chief Revenue Officer at MarkScout.