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I just happened to stumble across a fraudulent Leica Store claiming to be an “official Leica Store”.

The drastic discounts, incorrect translations and poor design quickly made it clear that this could only be a scam.

I contacted Leica, who immediately sent me a statement to that effect. To summarize: Hands off...

The official statement:

Beware of Fake Stores – How Leica and Our Customers Stay Protected

In recent weeks, the number of fraudulent online shops operating under the Leica name has risen significantly. These fake stores lure unsuspecting customers with supposed “special offers” and steep discounts that Leica never provides. Their goal is to deceive customers and steal sensitive data or money.

To protect both our brand and our customers, we have implemented several measures:


Measures Already Taken

Information page on leica-camera.com At leica-camera.com/important-notice-beware-fake-leica-websites, customers can find clear guidance on how to identify fake stores. This page is searchable via Google and other search engines, but it is intentionally not linked directly from our website to avoid confusion.

Direct reporting option Through our partner tool Marqvision, suspicious websites can be reported quickly and easily. Each report helps us take action against fraudsters.

Active takedown management We consistently work to shut down fraudulent sites. Numerous fake stores have already been taken offline.

Public relations Our PR teams have prepared an official statement, which has already been picked up by U.S. media outlets such as Petapixel and Digital Camera World. This helps raise public awareness of the issue.

Customer support Our global Customer Care teams have been briefed and are prepared to respond to related customer inquiries.


How You Can Help

  • Stay alert: If you come across a suspicious Leica website, please report it directly using the Marqvision reporting form.
  • Do not share personal data: Never enter personal information or payment details on such sites.
  • Pass on the information: If customers contact you about potential fake shops, please refer them to our official information page: Official Notice.
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Thank you for sharing this important announcement Andreas. 

I also notified Leica a few weeks ago. 

As a general principle, if a store is selling a Leica M11 in glossy black finish for $2,306.33 with a whopping $9,225.32 discount, it's a scam. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

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40 minutes ago, theseahawk said:

These are all over Instagram - with no easy way to report that could see before I bailed. 

You can report on Instagram, I do it fairly often when I see "too good to be true" prices. Because if it's too good to be true, it is certainly a scam. Only dummies would fall for that.

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These scams using a very similar web address's to established businesses were highlighted in a thread not to long ago, was it is Barnacks Bar? But if it's too good to be true it isn't true.

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Please do me a favor and Do Not post links to these fake stores.

Of course no member would be dumb enough to use them – but links lead search engines to rank them higher.

Andreas

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Posted (edited)

If something looks to be too good to be true, it probably is.

I have a large quantity of assorted steel girders for sale.

Location: Paris.

Some disassembly required.

Price: €2,500.

Edited by Viv
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14 hours ago, TheGodParticle/Hari said:

Thank you for sharing this important announcement Andreas. 

I also notified Leica a few weeks ago. 

As a general principle, if a store is selling a Leica M11 in glossy black finish for $2,306.33 with a whopping $9,225.32 discount, it's a scam. 

Thanks, Hari. We all know that if it looks too good to be true, it isn't, but Leica needs to avoid any reputational damage. Most of us here are on Leica mailing lists and I would suggest that a general reference to this practice goes out on the next general email issue. The difficulty for Leica is that someone who gets caught by a fake, but slightly altered, email or URL, or even a 'captured' one, may shout very loud about what Leica did or did not do about this. 

It is good that Andreas has highlighted this, but this may not go away. The next scam might be 20% off instead of 80%. The high price of new Leicas gives the perpetrators a lot of scope.

We all need to remain vigilant. 

William 

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16 hours ago, theseahawk said:

These are all over Instagram - with no easy way to report that could see before I bailed. 

Instagram reporting is a woke waste of time, its better to take a screenshot and send it to leica

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17 hours ago, TheGodParticle/Hari said:

As a general principle, if a store is selling a Leica M11 in glossy black finish for $2,306.33 with a whopping $9,225.32 discount, it's a scam. 

Or a stolen camera.

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I just tried to report it via the mechanism you suggest, and it wouldn't go through.  this is what I wrtoe in the text portion of the form:

On Instagram with the "address" of:
Leica Camera 100th Anniversary Sale

I've captured their screen image and can send it to you, but to where?  I also reported it to Instagram as a scam

Below is the image I captured

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

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I’ve seen someone who was caught by one of these scams commenting that they were prepared to do whatever they needed to track down the person behind the ad and get their camera!

They didn’t understand that there are no cameras, just adverts for stuff that doesn’t exist and a well hidden trail to ensure they never have to return the money! 
 

Always do your due diligence when buying something online!! 

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17 hours ago, stuny said:

I just tried to report it via the mechanism you suggest, and it wouldn't go through.  this is what I wrtoe in the text portion of the form:

On Instagram with the "address" of:
Leica Camera 100th Anniversary Sale

I've captured their screen image and can send it to you, but to where?  I also reported it to Instagram as a scam

Below is the image I captured

 

I've also seen a few similar on Instagram during the last weeks.

Best

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Folks, again:

Am 27.8.2025 um 07:08 schrieb LUF Admin:

Please do me a favor and Do Not post links to these fake stores.

Of course no member would be dumb enough to use them – but links lead search engines to rank them higher.

I just removed another post.

Andreas

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Posted (edited)
On 8/26/2025 at 11:40 PM, Viv said:

If something looks to be too good to be true, it probably is.

I have a large quantity of assorted steel girders for sale.

Location: Paris.

Some disassembly required.

Price: €2,500.

Steel yourself for some leg pulling 😎

Edited by lykaman
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