Fake Shops Surge Before Black Friday: AV-Comparatives Test Shows Which Products Protect Shoppers

Seven security products earn the Fake-Shop Detection Certification 2026 as reports of fake holiday webshops multiply

INNSBRUCK, Austria, Nov. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of Black Friday on Nov. 27 and the holiday shopping season, AV-Comparatives has published its Fake-Shop Detection Test 2026. Seven consumer security products earned certification for reliably warning users about fraudulent webshops. Full results are available at https://av-comparatives.org/fake-shops-detection-test-2026/.

At a glance:

Reports of fake holiday-themed online shops have grown fivefold within 60 days, according to a recent industry report.
AV-Comparatives tested security products against 500 live fake-shop URLs and 100 legitimate shopping websites.
Seven products earned the Fake-Shop Detection Certification 2026.

How big is the fake-shop problem this season?

In its 2026 Holiday Shopping Scam Report, published Oct. 20, U.S. company Savi Security states that users of its Scamwise service report a new fake store roughly every three minutes, about 500 per day. The number of reported holiday-themed fake stores grew fivefold within 60 days. According to the report, 85% of fake stores disappear within two weeks.

Why do short-lived fake shops call for automated protection?

Shops that vanish within days are hard to block in advance, and familiar warning signs such as spelling mistakes or poor design are becoming less reliable. Security software that analyzes websites as they are visited can close this gap.

"Fake shops have become so convincing that even experienced online shoppers can fall for them, especially when Black Friday, Black Week and the holiday season put everyone in bargain-hunting mode. Security software that warns you before you enter your payment details adds a valuable layer of protection," said Thomas Uhlemann, cybersecurity evangelist at AV-Comparatives.

How did AV-Comparatives test?

From Oct. 1 to 7, 2026, AV-Comparatives tested products against 500 fake-shop URLs, randomly selected from a larger pool of URLs that were still online at the time of testing. A false-alarm test with 100 popular legitimate shopping websites was also conducted. To be certified, a product had to detect at least 80% of the fake shops without a single false alarm.

Which products were certified?

Avast Premium Security, Bitdefender Total Security, F-Secure Internet Security, Kaspersky Premium, NordVPN Next-gen antivirus, Norton 360 Deluxe and Norton VPN Ultimate.

What else can consumers do?

Check web addresses for misspellings, be wary of extreme discounts and pay with methods that offer buyer protection.

Full results, product reports and further tips are available at https://av-comparatives.org/fake-shops-detection-test-2026/.

About AV-Comparatives

AV-Comparatives is the leading independent cybersecurity testing organization, evaluating security solutions that have evolved far beyond traditional antivirus software. Its systematic testing assesses modern endpoint protection, threat detection and mobile security across PC, Mac, Android and IoT devices. Using one of the world's most relevant and sophisticated threat collections, AV-Comparatives creates real-world testing environments for comprehensive evaluation. Test results are freely accessible worldwide, and AV-Comparatives certification provides a globally recognized seal of approval for proven cybersecurity performance.

www.av-comparatives.org