Fake-Shop Detector takes 1st Place at the Constantinus Award

UBIT awards Fake-Shop Detector first place in the digitalisation category

The groundbreaking work of Fake-Shop Detector, an AI-based technology in the fight against fraudulent online shops and cybercrime, was awarded first place in the “Digitalisation” category at the prestigious Constantinus Award ceremony held at the Graz Congress on June 13, 2024. After receiving the eAward and the State Prize for Digitalisation, the interdisciplinary team, consisting of the Linz-based technology solution provider X-Net, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, and the Austrian Institute for Applied Telecommunications ÖIAT, can now celebrate its third award and recognition of its pioneering work.

What is the Fake-Shop Detector?

The aim of the Fake-Shop Detector is to use artificial intelligence to check unknown online shops for more than 21,000 characteristics in real time. If a shop is suspicious, the detector issues a warning. The tool identifies fake shops with almost 100 percent accuracy. The plugin is available free of charge for Firefox, Edge, and Chrome in the browser stores and at www.fakeshop.at.

The damage caused by fake shops in Austria runs into the millions. Every year, tens of thousands of reports are received by Watchlist Internet. Once payment has been made, the money is often lost. By the time the fraud is noticed, the shops have usually already disappeared. This makes prevention all the more important: Our Fake-Shop Detector is a unique and free AI tool that automatically protects against online shopping fraud. With over 21,000 features, the system checks suspicious shops, identifies them with almost 100 percent accuracy, and warns users in real time via a traffic light system. Free fraud protection in your own internet browser that respects your privacy, that's what Fake Shop Detector promises and delivers.

“Being able to use artificial intelligence in prevention is immensely important to us at Watchlist Internet. We combine our many years of experience in this field with the latest technology. At the heart of this is ongoing manual quality assurance by our experts,” says Louise Beltzung, Head of Research at ÖIAT.

We developed the Fake-Shop Detector in close cooperation with AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria's largest non-university research institution, and the Austrian Institute for Applied Telecommunications (ÖIAT). The Fake-Shop Detector (https://www.fakeshop.at/) emerged from several Austrian security research projects (including SINDBAD and RIO) and was financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions, and Tourism as part of the KIRAS funding program.

The Fake Shop Detector is a highly effective AI-based tool for consumers and online retailers to ensure a secure digital shopping experience. The State Prize for Digitalisation helps raise public awareness of the threats in e-commerce and demonstrate the capabilities of trustworthy high-tech AI developments “made in Austria.” A special feature of this AI solution is the manual quality assurance that is continuously carried out by experts from Watchlist Internet. This enables the use of transparent and trustworthy AI, which generates significant added value for the Fake-Shop Detector as a security-related service and is aimed at consumers who are actively protected in this way while shopping online.

Helmut Leopold, Head of the Center for Digital Safety & Security at AIT, emphasized the importance of joint efforts in the fight against cybercrime: “The growing threats posed by disinformation, hate speech, and fraudulent attacks on the Internet require joint efforts to provide digital users with tools and resources to maintain their sovereignty.”

The Constantinus Award

Austria's major award for consulting, accounting, and IT has been organised annually since 2003. A high-caliber jury determines the most creative, innovative, and sophisticated projects in the Austrian consulting, accounting, and IT industry (UBIT) in a two-stage process. The Constantinus Award is presented in a different federal state each year.

“We are delighted to receive this special recognition, which encourages us to continue promoting the successful combination of research and development in Austria. Winning the State Prize for Digitalisation confirms our ongoing commitment to providing consumers both nationally and beyond Austria's borders with a secure and trustworthy online experience,” said Nikolaus Dürk, Managing Director of X-Net.

Further information:

• https://www.fakeshop.at
• Fake-Shop Detector wins state prize of digitalisation
• Fake-Shop Detector achieves top result in AV-Comparatives test
• https://www.constantinus.net/

Photo credits: (c) ACR-OeIAT, (c) GEOPHO, (c) Salon Deluxe