# The shopping sites that are misleading customers

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/which-1173816/the-shopping-sites-that-are-misleading-customers
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/which-1173816/the-shopping-sites-that-are-misleading-customers.md
Podcast: [Which?](https://stenobird.com/podcast/which-1173816)
Published: 2026-07-05T23:15:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.which.co.uk/podcasts
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/c9973440-4c20-41c8-9e97-f207309be6ef.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/which-1173816/episodes/the-shopping-sites-that-are-misleading-customers
Duration seconds: 1207

## Resource

Online fashion boutiques claiming to be independent, UK family businesses are popping up all over social media, but are they actually legitimate? In this episode, Erica McKoy sits down with Which? retail expert and senior researcher Hannah Walsh to discuss her investigation into bogus boutiques. She reveals how these misleading websites sell cheap items for a premium price under the guise of being an independent business. We also chat about the clever tactics used to lure shoppers in, from fake countdown clocks to convincing AI-generated family sob stories. Plus, Hannah shares advice on how to use tools like reverse image search and exactly what to do with your bank if you’ve been caught out. Read more about her investigation on our website & sign up for our free weekly scoop newsletter Get in touch with us via email - podcasts@which.co.uk Podcast listeners can get 50% off an annual Which? membership

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/which-1173816/episodes/the-shopping-sites-that-are-misleading-customers/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/which-1173816/the-shopping-sites-that-are-misleading-customers.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.