What a Scam Ad Campaign for a Fake Online Store on Facebook Looks Like in 2025: The Case of “Jana Praha”
Over the past few months, dozens of ads have flooded Czech Facebook feeds, promising clearance sales from small boutiques—often accompanied by a heartfelt story about a store closing down and bidding farewell to loyal customers. At first glance, these ads look like genuine local sales. But a closer look reveals a sophisticated scam campaign, often powered by AI-generated images and spread through hundreds of variations.
In this article, we’ll dive into one such campaign running under the name “Jana Praha” to uncover why it’s so dangerous and how to recognize it before you fall victim.
How the Scam Works
Imagine scrolling through Facebook and seeing an ad from what appears to be a small fashion brand. The message is emotional and believable:
“It is with great sadness that I must announce something very difficult. After many years of love and dedication to my boutique Jana Praha, the time has unfortunately come to say goodbye. As a small business, I’ve always struggled against the big chains, which are increasingly dominating the market thanks to their huge budgets and influence. Sadly, it’s no longer financially sustainable for me. The world is changing—and I just can’t keep up…”
The story sounds authentic, the name Jana is familiar and the photo shows a woman standing outside a boutique storefront. But here’s the catch—the woman isn’t real. These images are AI-generated, changing subtly across different ads and the storefronts don’t exist in reality.
No real map locations, no customer reviews, no store history. The contact information listed in the terms shows a suspicious business registration and address unrelated to the Czech Republic:
Business name: Riet E-com
Company ID: 95561110
VAT ID: NL005161660B82
Customer support email: podpora@jana-praha.cz
Business address: Tessenvijverstraat 3, 4885BC Achtmaal (in the Netherlands)
The Facebook Pages Behind the Scam
This fake e-shop is promoted through multiple Facebook pages—like Jana Praha Boutique, Jana Praha Fashion and Jana Praha—all of which share one thing in common: they have no organic posts, only thousands of ads.
Clicking the ads redirects people to a fake Shopify-based online store translated into Czech. Enter your payment details here, and you risk losing money, immediately or later through unauthorized use.
How Many Ads Are There?
Meta’s Ad Library reveals hundreds of campaigns running simultaneously. One page might have hundreds of active ads at once, each with slight variations in images and text. In total, thousands of ad versions rotate continuously to flood Facebook and avoid detection.
Each ad targets a limited audience for a short time to prevent negative comments from accumulating and warning others.
Why the Scam Works
Several psychological and technical tricks make this scam effective:
Emotional storytelling: Stories of family struggles, “doing it for the kids,” and thanking loyal customers
Urgency: Phrases like “final clearance” and “last pieces” pressure people to act fast
Familiarity: Common Czech names like Jana, Petra and Martina boost trust
AI visuals: Photos look real enough but are difficult to verify
User behavior: Most people don’t check if the store actually exists or if photos are genuine
What Was Suspicious About This E-Shop?
The photos were almost too perfect. Models with flawless smiles, pristine dresses and clean backgrounds, but with inconsistencies in storefront signage and surroundings.
The boutique’s “closing” story clashed with an always-stocked e-shop boasting “new arrivals” in every size. Promises like “Ships today if you order by 11 PM” are unrealistic for a small local store.
Package tracking was offered, but the tracking page’s browser tab read “Vlog de bestelstatus - Juno mode”, a sign the site was hastily copied from a foreign template.
No legitimate contact info or store address, only an email that went unanswered. The terms listed a Dutch business address, further increasing suspicion.
Customer reviews appeared as simple quotes on the site, with no independent verification. Claiming “4,500 satisfied customers” seemed inflated for a supposed small boutique.
A WHOIS lookup showed the domain was registered just in March 2025, contradicting the brand’s claim of a long tradition.
A quick Google search found no trustworthy references to the store, only a Facebook post from the real owner of a similarly named boutique warning about stolen photos and brand identity misuse.
What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?
- Don’t click on emotional ads promising unbelievable deals without verifying the source.
Check for real social media posts, trusted reviews and a website history.
Be wary of strange domain names and photos that seem too perfect.
Report suspicious ads to Facebook to help protect others.
The “Jana Praha Fashion” case shows how easily the public can be manipulated with a mix of AI, emotional storytelling, and targeted advertising. Scam campaigns aren’t spreading through phishing emails or SMS anymore—they’re coming directly through ad systems that have massive reach and user trust.
To protect yourself, stay vigilant. If you come across something suspicious, report the ad. And if this topic concerns you—it’s time we start talking about it more publicly.
