As the rise of online shopping took hold during the pandemic, so did the rise of fake online shops and products.

SR Labs is a German-based cyber security company that consults with clients in more than 21 countries. The company last week announced the findings of a three-year study, which found that one Chinese criminal organization was linked to more than 75,000 fraudulent online shops.

The group, dubbed "BogusBazaar," mostly runs websites claiming to sell items like designer clothes at cheap prices. Instead, the sites harvest credit card details and collect payments for the fake merchandise.

The fake shops processed over $50 million in orders between March 2021 and April 2024.

A spokesperson for SR Labs noted that, since every successful order does not conclude with successful payment, the immediate monetary damage to the victims is likely lower than the figures suggest. But the exposure of credit card details to the scammers will likely "add to the overall damage."