Fraud: Online shop, Germany 2026
At the end of February 2026, a supposed customer asked about a watch that the 83-year-old master watchmaker had never sold.
- Incident · 02.2026 · Rhineland-Palatinate (Mainz), Germany
- Evidence: one media report
- Fraud
As of
What happened
Fraudsters had copied his shop, including address and VAT ID, in a deceptively real way and demanded advance payment; according to Buse’s estimate, around 80 customers each paid 800 to 6'000 euros, and some wanted to hold him liable. He had the domain blocked via Denic; the public prosecutor’s office discontinued the proceedings after two weeks because the perpetrators could not be identified.
- Affected
- Master watchmaker Peter-Jesko Buse
- Industry
- Online shop
- Loss
- around 80 customers paying 800–6'000 EUR each (estimate of the person affected); reputational damage for the business
- Business interruption
- unknown
- Ransom demanded / paid
- unknown / unknown
- Data affected
- true
- Bankruptcy
- no
- Entry point
- Fake copy of his online shop (peterjeskouhren.de) with his real address and VAT ID
What would cyber insurance have paid?
That depends on the terms. Whether those affected were insured: unknown.
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Loss of income because customers stay away after the incident
Mostly no information 1 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
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Immediate help in an emergency
Hotline, IT forensics, crisis PR and legal advice
Mostly covered 7 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
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Paid, but nothing or the wrong thing delivered, fake shop
Mostly covered 24 of 29 private products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
Overview based on public policy terms, as of 06.11.2026. Only your policy and its general terms and conditions (GTC) are binding. No confirmation of cover.
What we can learn
Small businesses should regularly search the internet for copies of their name; customers recognise fake shops by advance payment only, without buyer protection.
Sources
- Uhrmacher kämpft gegen Fake-Shop (opens in a new window) Deutsches Handwerksblatt · 2026-05-01
«Man kann sich nicht richtig wehren, das ist das Problem,»