The AFP have also said that they anticipate that Australian consumers will be lured by the strength of the Australian dollar to shop online this year and late last week issued a warning to shoppers.
The sites currently under investigation, have .au registered domain and are part of a larger investigation which has seen Scotland Yard close down more than 1000 sites in the UK during the past week. Among the items being sold were fake iPhones, iPods, and branded notebooks not made by the listed manufacturer.
According to Australia Federal Police sources, hundreds of Australians have ordered goods from the sites, which, while having an .au address, are hosted in Asia by criminal gangs, who are also selling the credit card details lodged by Australians that have purchased goods from the sites.
Intelligence gathered by the Metropolitan Police's Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) has already been made available to Australian authorities.
The Australian Federal Police first became aware of the sites after several Australian shoppers complained that the goods they ordered were fake and of a poor quality when they arrived.
Other consumers said that they had placed an order using a credit card, but failed to get any goods at all.
The AFP and the Australian Bankers' Association said that they expect that the strength of the Australian dollar will this year prompt more online Christmas shopping with merchants located overseas and are encouraging consumers to protect themselves when making any online purchases.
AFP National Manager High Tech Crime Operations Neil Gaughan said: "Shopping online, while often a convenient and cost effective way to purchase products requires consumers to safeguard their personal information as they would when shopping at a physical store."
According to The Times newspaper in the UK, the PCeU worked with Nominet, the body responsible for UK domain name registrations and one of the world's largest internet registries, as well as Consumer Direct, Trading Standards, the Office of Fair Trading and manufacturers, to help to identify the fraudulent websites.
In Australia, several major organisations, including jewellery company Tiffany, Apple, Nokia, Louis Vuitton, Polo Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss, as well as several fragrance brands, have complained to the Australian Federal Police about their brand being used on goods sold online and in markets across Australia.
Federal Police officers have also been working with eBay to eliminate the sale of fake and stolen items.
Recently eBay warned its customers that Australian Customs will seize products and destroy them if they are caught selling fake merchandise.
eBay wrote, "There are many listings on eBay that are illegal—the sellers who are selling illegal goods usually do not admit they are selling illegal goods, a lot of pirated or fake goods come from Asia. If you have bought a brand name item on eBay, for example, a Louis Vuitton hand bag or a piece of jewellery which the seller states is Tiffany & Co and when you get the item it turns out the seller sold you a fake, means the seller sold you an illegal item."
Illegal items should be destroyed, by law one is not supposed to be in possession of illegal items. If the person selling to you is a regular seller on eBay or is or appears to be conducting a business, lodge a written complaint with the Office of Fair Trading and Consumer Affairs.
According to Scotland Yard, The PCeU de-registered 1219 domain names. Detective Superintendent Charlie McMurdie, head of the PCeU, said: "Fraudsters target the victim's desire to buy designer goods at reduced prices, particularly at this time of year.
"The risk begins when your desire to purchase blinds your judgment or leads you to illegal websites. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is."
