Three foreigners stole CZK 11.5 million via fake shops in Olomouc

Police in Olomouc have charged three foreigners with defrauding victims of CZK 11.5 million through fake online shops. According to investigators, the suspects operated from June 2023 to March last year, and none of them had a prior conviction. They face up to eight years in prison.

Individuals and companies lost money buying custom-made parts, as well as in bogus online shops selling electronics and building materials. “The criminal activity was very sophisticated: for their fraudulent websites they created, for example, positive reviews, and they even set up phone support for customers,” said Jiří Přecan, head of the cybercrime unit at the regional police directorate in Olomouc, on Wednesday.

First, the fake shops. Two foreigners, aged 29 and 37, set up three fraudulent online shops in Czechia. They pretended to sell building materials, sporting goods and electronics that they did not have. Almost 300 buyers fell for the trick, causing damage of CZK 5.5 million.

Then, a trap for companies. Last year a third foreigner joined the two. On 17 January the trio opened a fake online shop offering a blank made of a specific, hard-to-obtain material. “Then they started posing as a single person who approached companies and ordered the production of a part from this hard-to-obtain polymer. After placing the order, they recommended websites offering this polymer. In other words, they gave the contact details of their own fake websites,” explained police spokesman Libor Hejtman.

Companies ordered and paid for the polymer but never received it: the goods were fictitious. In total, from 17 January to 20 March 2025, a period of two months, the fraudsters deceived 51 companies and swindled them out of CZK 6 million.

For fraud committed in complicity, the accused face two to eight years in prison. “The 29-year-old man is in custody, the 33-year-old is being prosecuted at liberty, and the 37-year-old is wanted. A European arrest warrant has been issued for him,” the police spokesman added.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz