At £28.13, the deal looked almost too good to ignore: an energy-efficient air conditioner and heater set, marked down from £64.44, with only five units left in stock. As temperatures across the UK climbed toward record highs and genuine retailers sold out of cooling equipment, thousands of shoppers searching online encountered exactly this kind of offer — posted on what appeared, in every visible detail, to be the Aldi website.

The logo was authentic, the product photographs were real, and a live visitor counter created the impression of fierce competition. Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, which uncovered the fraudulent network, confirmed that buyers who completed a purchase handed their card details directly to criminals. The mechanics of the scam are carefully calibrated to defeat rational thinking. A second fake listing on the same site advertised a "3-in-1" portable air conditioner with dehumidifier for £149.

99 — a fraction of the £474.99 the counterfeit page claimed was the standard retail price — with 11 units supposedly remaining. Countdown timers and artificial scarcity warnings were embedded throughout, tools that researchers have long identified as reliable triggers for impulsive financial decisions. Aldi was the most recognisable brand exploited in the examples reviewed, though it was not the only retailer whose identity was appropriated.

Olga Altukhova, a researcher at Kaspersky, explained the underlying psychology with precision.