AI Fraud Surge Fake Family-Run Shops Rip Off UK Buyers 1

United Kingdom : Unscrupulous foreign companies are increasingly using AI-generated photos and fabricated personal stories to pose as long-established, family-run UK businesses — deceiving online shoppers into buying cheap, poor-quality products shipped from warehouses in East Asia.

Customers who thought they were supporting small British boutiques say they feel “completely ripped off” after paying premium prices for what turned out to be mass-produced clothing and jewellery.

AI Deepfakes Behind ‘Family-Run’ British Brands

Among the most prominent examples is C’est La Vie, a supposed Birmingham-based jewellery store claiming to be run by a husband-and-wife team, Eileen and Patrick, for nearly three decades. In reality, the shop’s return address traces back to China.

Another company, Mabel & Daisy, markets itself as a “mother and daughter-owned” clothing brand from Bristol, yet its registered address is in Hong Kong.

Consumer advocacy organisation Which? warns that the growing sophistication of AI image generation tools is allowing fraudsters to mislead the public on an “unprecedented scale.”

The companies’ online shops and social media pages feature highly polished photos and emotional backstories, creating the illusion of authenticity. Yet behind the scenes, customers have reported low-quality goods, excessive return fees, and almost identical items appearing on other cheap e-commerce platforms.

Customers Duped by Emotional Fake Stories

The deception has gone as far as exploiting fake personal tragedies to lure customers into buying.

Recent Facebook adverts for C’est La Vie claimed the business was closing down after the death of Patrick, the fictional co-owner. “Grief has drained my strength, and I must close our doors,” read the ad, which offered an 80%-off “final sale”.

But instead of handmade jewellery, shoppers received what they described as “lumps of resin,” “plastic junk,” and “cheap metal rubbish.”

“If I could give zero stars, I would. It’s a complete scam — there’s no such company in Birmingham,” one angry reviewer wrote on Trustpilot.

Sunny Pal, owner of Astella Jewellery in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter, said such scams tarnish the reputation of genuine local businesses:

“These lies destroy trust. They blur the lines between legitimate family shops and fake ones, damaging the credibility of people who’ve worked here for generations.”

Following inquiries from the BBC, C’est La Vie’s website suddenly displayed a “sold out” message, claiming the business was permanently closed. The page then briefly rebranded as “Alice and Fred” before switching back to its original name — a telltale sign of ongoing deceit. The company did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment.

Shoppers Lose Money to Fake Boutique Sites

Customers of Mabel & Daisy shared similar experiences.

Justyne Gough, who spent £40 on a floral dress, said the garment arrived weeks late and was made of “awful material”, looking nothing like the elegant product pictured online.

“The website looked lovely and authentic, but it was a complete scam,” she said. “When I tried to return it, they demanded £20 postage. I eventually got only half my money back.”

Another customer, Emma from Birmingham, spent £50 on a jacket that arrived several sizes too big. When she requested an exchange, the company offered to send another size only if she paid an extra £10.

“That’s when I realised it wasn’t based in Bristol — Chinese characters appeared when my payment went through,” she said.

Mabel & Daisy also failed to respond to media questions.

Regulators Struggle to Keep Up with AI-Driven Deception

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which recently banned adverts from Marble Muse — another Chinese company pretending to be based in London — said that social media platforms like Facebook must share responsibility for the spread of misleading ads.

The BBC has reached out to Meta, Facebook’s parent company, for comment.

The ASA said it continues to crack down on misleading advertising, particularly when foreign retailers use British imagery, such as Union Jack flags, cobbled streets, or floral motifs, to appear local.

However, consumer advocates say regulators are under-resourced.

Sue Davies, head of consumer protection at Which?, said trading standards teams are stretched thin, leaving many scams uninvestigated:

“Although the burden shouldn’t fall on shoppers, there are steps people can take — like checking online reviews and reading the company’s terms and conditions to see where it’s actually based.”

Experts Warn: Spotting AI Fakes Is Getting Harder

Professor Mark Lee, an AI expert from the University of Birmingham, said that while older AI images were easy to spot due to flawed hand rendering or unnatural poses, newer ones look alarmingly realistic.

“These images look almost too perfect. They’re staged in ways that seem professional but lack the subtle imperfections of real photos,” he explained.

He advised consumers to look for varied backgrounds, identifiable UK locations, and multiple photos of the same person before trusting a brand’s story.

But, he warned, AI tools are advancing so rapidly that distinguishing real people from fabricated personas may soon become impossible:

“We’re approaching a point where the real challenge won’t be spotting AI-generated sites — it’ll be proving that any human involvement exists at all.”

A Growing Crisis in Online Trust

As AI-generated content becomes more sophisticated, scammers are exploiting emotional narratives and digital advertising to prey on unsuspecting consumers.

While regulators, platforms, and watchdogs scramble to adapt, thousands of shoppers continue to lose money — and trust — in what they thought were honest, family-run UK brands.

Consumer experts say urgent international cooperation is needed to regulate AI use in e-commerce, before fabricated business identities become an untraceable global norm.