France takes aim at Wish, citing counterfeits and fraud

France has revealed a probe into US-based online retailer Wish, saying a year-long investigation has found evidence of the sale of products falsely claiming to be from major brands.

It also believes that Wish sometimes lists products indicating they are on sale, when in fact they are not being sold at a discount, reports ouest-france.fr. The Competition Directorate of Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) has forwarded its findings to the public prosecutor to see if a case can be brought against the company.

France’s digital minister Cédric O tweeted that Wish has already come under scrutiny this year for selling facemasks that did not meet appropriate standards, adding that people using the platform to find low-cost goods “will mostly find scams.”

The investigation comes after UK consumer group Which carried out test purchases of a number of items on Wish which turned out to be either fake, illegal, dangerous, never delivered, or arrived too late to be tested properly.

The embarrassing news flow comes as Wish has filed to raise around $1bn in a US initial public offering.