ATHENS – Online fraud is rampant in Greece, with legitimate looking sites enticing people to give their bank and personal information and in many cases just stealing the money without delivering the orders, with more than 50 shut down so far.

The so called e-ghost stores look real on the Internet but are set up to defraud would-be customers, said Kathimerini, sometimes delivering goods before walking away with the money and personal data that could be used to steal more.

The paper said sources it didn’t identify had reported that the Development Ministry‘s General Secretariat of Trade and Consumer Protection has conducted investigations leading to the closing, with no reports if anyone was prosecuted.

The fake online sites don’t have a Value Added Tax (VAT) number but use advertisements often mimicking big brand names to lure unsuspecting customers to get their credit and debit card information, data, and money.

There’s said to be more out there with the ministry trying to keep up with the numbers of fake sites that keep popping up, bilking people and disappearing, no reports how much it has cost customers and if the operators got away.

Shortly before end-June, the General Directorate of Market and Consumer Protection of the General Secretariat of Commerce imposed a fine of 120,000 euros ($130,800) on one company JMC SA, which maintained the online store www.jmctech.gr which didn’t deliver orders nor give any refunds.

The problem for authorities is that as soon as a fraudulent site shuts down it’s replaced by another, with the digital world now making it easier to steal money online with a click and transfer of numbers instead of cash paid in person.