Online shopping has made buying clothes easier than ever. But it's also made it easier for scam fashion brands to take your money and disappear. Every year, thousands of Australians lose money to fake clothing websites that look professional on the surface but deliver poor quality garments, wrong sizes, or nothing at all.
The fashion industry is particularly vulnerable to this because clothing is visual, emotional and hard to assess before it arrives. A scam fashion brand can steal product images from legitimate stores, run aggressive social media ads, and look completely convincing until the package turns up and the fabric, fit and quality are nothing like what was advertised.
The good news is that scam fashion brands almost always leave the same telltale signs. Once you know what to look for, they're easy to spot before you hand over your card details. This guide walks through the most reliable ways to check whether an online fashion brand is legitimate, and what a genuinely trustworthy clothing store looks like in practice.
Check Their Reviews, and Check Them Properly
Reviews are the first thing most people look at, and scam fashion brands know it. That's why fake reviews have become one of the most common tools in their playbook. A dodgy clothing brand can buy hundreds of five-star reviews overnight, and to the untrained eye they look convincing.
Here's how to tell the difference between real reviews and manufactured ones.
Fake reviews tend to be vague. They'll say things like "great product, love it" or "amazing quality, highly recommend" without mentioning what they actually bought, how it fits, or any specific detail about the experience. They often appear in clusters, with dozens posted within the same week or even the same day, and then nothing for months.
It's also worth watching for AI-generated reviews, which are becoming increasingly common. A single customer using AI to help write a review isn't a concern on its own. But when you see dozens of reviews with the same sentence structure, the same tone, and the same generic phrasing, that's a strong sign they've been bulk-generated rather than written by real people. AI-written reviews tend to follow a predictable pattern: a positive opening line, a vague compliment about quality, and a neat conclusion. They rarely mention anything specific about the product, the fit, or the experience. If every review on a site reads like it was written by the same person, it probably was. Real reviews are messy, specific and human. They'll mention the exact product, talk about how it fits their body, compare it to other brands they've tried, and sometimes include complaints alongside the praise. A store with a mix of five-star and three-star reviews is almost always more trustworthy than one with nothing but perfect scores.
Look for reviews that mention specifics: "I normally wear a 32 waist and these fit perfectly" or "the fabric is softer than I expected but the colour was slightly different to the photos." That level of detail is very hard to fake at scale.
It's also worth checking multiple platforms. If a brand has reviews on their own website but nothing on Google, Trustpilot or ProductReview, that's worth noting. A legitimate brand that's been operating for years will have a trail of customer feedback across several places, not just their own site.
Look for Authentic Customer Photos
Photos tell you more than words ever can. A trustworthy brand will have customer-submitted photos showing real people of different body types, ages and builds wearing the products in real-world settings. These photos should come with date stamps and be spread across different products and time periods, not uploaded all at once.
Be cautious of review sections where the only photos are professionally shot studio images or where every photo looks like it was taken by the same person in the same location. If the only images you see are of the brand owner and their mates, that's not genuine social proof. Real customer photo reviews come from a diverse range of people, taken in bedrooms, bathrooms, offices and backyards. They're not polished and that's exactly why they're trustworthy.
Also watch for AI-generated product images in listings or social media. If the models look slightly off, the backgrounds are inconsistent, or the clothing details don't quite make sense, the brand may not even have real products to photograph.
Look for Real Contact Information
This is one of the simplest and most effective checks you can do. Scroll to the bottom of the website and look for three things: a phone number, a physical address, and an email address.
Scam fashion brands almost never list a phone number because they don't want to be contacted directly. A physical address is even rarer. If the only way to reach a clothing brand is through a generic contact form or a Gmail address, that's a significant red flag.
A legitimate business will make it easy for you to get in touch. They'll have a proper customer support email, a phone number with business hours, and a physical address or at least a registered business location. They want you to be able to reach them because their business depends on repeat customers, not one-off transactions.
If a brand does list a phone number, call it. If a real person answers or you get a professional voicemail with a callback, you're probably dealing with a real business. If the number doesn't work or goes to an unrelated line, walk away.
Read the Returns Policy Carefully
A returns policy tells you more about a brand's confidence in their product than almost anything else on their website. A brand that stands behind what they sell will make returns straightforward. A brand that doesn't will bury their policy in fine print or make the process so difficult that most people give up.
Watch out for these red flags in a returns policy:
No returns policy listed at all. If you can't find one, assume they don't offer returns. No refund options, only store credit. This locks your money inside their ecosystem even if the product is terrible. Returns only accepted within an unreasonably short window, like 7 days. Exclusions for anything purchased on sale or with a discount code.
A trustworthy brand will offer a clear, reasonable returns window (typically 30 days), provide a simple process for initiating a return, and give you the option of a full refund, not just store credit.
Investigate Their Social Media
Social media is one of the hardest things for a scam fashion brand to fake convincingly over time. A real clothing brand builds a social media presence over months and years. A fake one either has no presence at all or has an account that was created recently with a suspiciously high follower count.
Open their Instagram or Facebook and scroll back. How far does their posting history go? A brand that's been posting consistently for several years, showing real customers, behind-the-scenes content, and responding to comments is almost certainly legitimate.
Be cautious of accounts that only post polished product shots or AI-generated images and never show real people wearing the clothes. And pay attention to the comments. Are real people tagging friends, asking questions about sizing, or sharing their experiences? Or is the comment section empty or filled with generic bot responses?
Also check whether the brand has been featured in any media. A mention in a recognised publication, blog or news outlet is a strong credibility signal that's very difficult for a scam brand to manufacture.
Check How Long They've Been Operating
Time in business is one of the strongest indicators of legitimacy. A scam fashion brand operates on a short lifecycle. They set up a website, run aggressive ads on social media, collect as many orders as possible, and then disappear or rebrand before the complaints catch up.
A brand that's been trading for multiple years, with a consistent website, consistent branding, and a growing catalogue of products and reviews, is far more likely to be legitimate. You can check a website's age using tools like WHOIS lookup, or simply look at their oldest social media posts, earliest reviews, and any press coverage to gauge how long they've been around.
Be especially cautious of brands that are advertising heavily on social media but have no history. If you've never heard of a brand and suddenly their ads are everywhere, take a few minutes to investigate before buying.
Understand the Dropshipping Red Flags
Not every dropshipper is a scam, but the model is frequently used by brands that are more interested in margins than quality. Dropshipping means the brand never actually handles the product. They take your order and a third-party warehouse, usually overseas, ships it directly to you.
The problems with this model for consumers are real. Shipping times can be weeks or months. The product quality is often nothing like what was advertised. Returns are complicated or impossible because the product shipped from a different country to where the brand claims to be based. And customer service is limited because the brand has no direct relationship with the product.
Signs that a brand may be dropshipping include unusually long shipping times (2 to 6 weeks), products that look identical to items on AliExpress or other wholesale platforms, no mention of where products are shipped from, and prices that seem too good to be true for the quality being promised.
A brand that designs its own products, holds its own stock, and ships from a known location will almost always deliver a better and more reliable experience.
Use Facebook Groups and Media Articles to Your Advantage
One of the most underused tools for checking whether a fashion brand is legitimate is simply asking other people who've bought from them. There are active Facebook groups dedicated to calling out scam fashion brands, sharing experiences, and warning others before they get burnt. Groups focused on online shopping scams, fashion brand reviews, and even Australian-specific consumer protection communities can give you real, unfiltered feedback from people who've been through it.
Search for the brand name in these groups before you buy. If other customers have had bad experiences, there's a good chance someone has already posted about it. And if the brand has no mentions at all despite running heavy ads, that silence can be just as telling.
It's also worth doing a quick Google search for the brand name followed by "scam", "review" or "legit." Journalists and consumer media outlets regularly publish articles exposing scam fashion brands and the tactics they use. The ACCC's Scamwatch website is another useful resource for checking whether a brand has been reported. A few minutes of research can save you from a frustrating and expensive mistake.
The Quick Trust Checklist
Before you buy from any online clothing brand, run through these checks. They take less than five minutes and can save you real money and frustration:
Reviews: Do they have reviews across multiple platforms? Are the reviews specific and detailed, not just generic praise? Is there a mix of ratings, not just perfect five-star scores? Do the reviews look like they were written individually, or do they all follow the same AI-generated pattern?
Customer photos: Are there dated, customer-submitted photos from a diverse range of real people? Or are the only images from the brand itself?
Contact information: Is there a phone number, physical address and email? Can you actually reach a real person?
Returns policy: Is it clearly stated? Do they offer full refunds? Is the returns window reasonable?
Social media: How long have they been posting? Do they show real customers? Are comments turned on?
Business history: How many years have they been operating? Is there press coverage or media features?
Shipping: Do they say where products ship from? Are delivery times reasonable?
Website quality: Does the site feel professional? Are there spelling errors, broken links, or missing pages? Is there a proper About Us page with a real story?
Community and media: Has anyone in Facebook groups or consumer forums mentioned the brand? Have any journalists or media outlets covered them, positively or negatively?
If a fashion brand ticks all of these boxes, you can buy with confidence. If several of them raise concerns, your money is better spent elsewhere.
How Kojo Fit Measures Up
We wrote this guide because we know how much trust it takes to buy clothing online, especially from a brand you haven't tried before. We also know that the best way to earn that trust is to be completely transparent about who we are and how we operate.
Here's how Kojo Fit stacks up against every point in the checklist above.
Reviews: At the time of writing in February 2026, We have over 6,000 verified store and product reviews on our website with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. These are from real customers who've bought and worn our products, and they include detailed feedback on fit, fabric, comfort and sizing, often with customer-submitted photos from a diverse range of body types and settings. You can also find independent reviews of Kojo Fit on Trustpilot and ProductReview.com.au. We don't cherry-pick. The good, the bad and the in-between are all there.
Contact information: Our Australian customer support number is 1300 304 200. Our email is support@kojofit.com. Our mailing address is PO Box 185, New Lambton, NSW 2305. We respond to enquiries quickly, and you'll deal with a real person, not a chatbot.
Returns: We offer 30-day returns with the option of a full refund, exchange or store credit. The process is handled through our online returns portal and we keep it as straightforward as possible.
Social media: We've been active on social media for years. You can scroll back through our content and see real customers, real products, and real conversations. We don't use AI-generated images and we don't turn off comments.
Business history: Kojo Fit is Australian owned and has been operating since 2018. That's over seven years of designing, selling and shipping our own products. We've been featured in Men's Health magazine and have built a loyal customer base across Australia and internationally.
Shipping: Every order ships from our warehouse in Sydney, Australia. Australian orders over $150 ship free. International orders ship via DHL Express with all duties and taxes included at checkout, so there are no surprise costs on delivery.
Our guarantee: Every product comes with our 100% Fit, Comfort & Quality Guarantee. If you don't love what you ordered, return it for your money back.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if an online fashion brand is legitimate?
Check for real contact information (phone number, physical address, email), read reviews across multiple platforms, look at how long the brand has been operating, review their returns policy, and check their social media history. Legitimate fashion brands are transparent about who they are and easy to contact. It's also worth searching for the brand name in Facebook consumer groups and checking media articles for any scam reports.
Is Kojo Fit a legitimate brand?
Yes. Kojo Fit is an Australian-owned clothing brand that has been operating since 2018. We have over 6,000 verified customer reviews, an Australian phone number (1300 304 200), a physical mailing address in NSW, and ship all orders from our Sydney warehouse. We've also been featured in Men's Health magazine.
What are the biggest red flags for scam fashion brands?
The most common red flags include no phone number or physical address, no returns policy or a policy that only offers store credit, reviews that are all five stars with no specific details or that follow identical AI-generated patterns, a brand new social media account with a high follower count, and unusually long shipping times suggesting the product is being dropshipped from overseas.
Are dropshipped fashion brands always scams?
Not always, but the dropshipping model does create more risk for consumers. Products may not match what was advertised, shipping times are often much longer, and returns can be difficult when the product ships from a different country to where the brand is based. Brands that hold their own stock and ship from a known location generally offer a more reliable experience.
How do I spot fake reviews on a fashion brand's website?
Fake reviews are usually vague, overly positive, and lack specific product details. They often appear in large batches on the same day or week. Increasingly, scam brands use AI to bulk-generate reviews. These tend to follow the same sentence structure, tone and format across dozens of entries. Real reviews mention specifics like sizing, how the product fits their body type, fabric feel, and whether they'd buy again. Look for dated customer photos from diverse, real people. Check for reviews on third-party platforms like Google, Trustpilot and ProductReview, not just the brand's own website.
What should a good returns policy include?
A trustworthy returns policy should clearly state the returns window (30 days is standard), offer a full refund option rather than only store credit, explain the process simply, and not exclude items purchased on sale. The easier a brand makes it to return a product, the more confidence they have in what they're selling.
Does Kojo Fit offer returns and refunds?
Yes. Kojo Fit offers 30-day returns with the option of a full refund, exchange or store credit. Returns are managed through an easy online portal. Every product is also backed by our 100% Fit, Comfort & Quality Guarantee.