How the scam works

The pattern is almost always the same. Security researchers who investigate fake web stores, and the brands themselves, describe the same funnel again and again:

1. The ad. A sponsored post on TikTok, Facebook or Instagram shows popular disposables – Elf Bar, Lost Mary, Vapsolo, Geek Bar or no-name “40,000 puff” devices – at a price that makes you stop scrolling. Typical hooks: “Warehouse Sale”, “Limited Time”, “Last 50 pieces”.
2. The copied shop. The link opens a polished store built from a template. The product photos, videos and logos are copied from the real brand, the reviews are fake and the legal pages are pasted from other sites.
3. The checkout. You pay by card – and your card details and address are collected along the way.
4. The result. Most buyers receive nothing at all. Others get a counterfeit, a used product or something completely unrelated. In one case Vapsolo describes, a customer who ordered “Vapsolo” vapes at a rock-bottom price received a speaker.

When customers complain, the support address goes quiet, refunds require shipping the item back to China at your own cost, and after a few weeks the site disappears – only to return under a new domain.

The price is the biggest red flag

Large-puff disposables cost real money to make: a battery, several tanks of e-liquid, a display and a chip. If a 40,000- or 80,000-puff device is offered for a few dollars, the seller is either not sending a product or sending a dangerous one.

• Hungarian consumers have reported Facebook ads offering a Vapsolo 80,000 for around 1,760 Ft (about €4.50) and TikTok shops selling unknown 40,000-puff devices for around 8,500 Ft.
• Vapsolo’s own anti-fraud notice quotes fake offers such as “one piece $5, buy 10 get 5 free” and states that its official prices are never below the market price.
• Scam shops investigated by MalwareTips advertised discounts of “up to 90% off”.

Rule of thumb: if the price is less than half of what established shops charge, assume it is a scam until proven otherwise.

Watch list: sites flagged by brands and investigators

We collected web shops and fake verification sites that have been publicly flagged – by the brands themselves (Vapsolo, Geek Bar, Elf Bar), by published security investigations, or by large numbers of consumer complaints. Do not order from them and never enter a security code on them.

12 red flags of a scam vape shop

1. The price is far below the market price – especially “up to 90% off” on brand-new models.
2. You found it through a social media ad, not through a shop you already know.
3. The domain imitates a brand – brand name plus “-vape”, “-usa”, “-store”, “-shop”, or a misspelling such as one changed letter.
4. It claims to be the “official store” on a domain the brand does not list. Vapsolo, for example, lists only vapsolo.com, vapsolo.co and vapsolowholesale.com as official channels.
5. Cash on delivery on an “official” brand store – Vapsolo states that its official store does not offer it.
6. No company details: no registered company name, address, VAT number or phone number – only a contact form or a free email address.
7. The domain is only a few weeks or months old. You can check the registration date with any free WHOIS lookup.
8. Copied content: the same photos as the brand’s website, legal pages that mention another shop’s name, or text with odd machine-translated phrases.
9. Perfect 5-star reviews on the site itself, but nothing – or only complaints – on independent review sites.
10. Fake urgency: countdown timers, “only 3 left”, “sale ends tonight”.
11. No age check – legitimate vape retailers are required to verify your age in most countries.
12. Returns only to China or “processing” that never turns into a tracking number.

How to check a shop in 2 minutes

1. Type the brand’s website yourself (for example elfbar.com or vapsolo.com) and look for its list of official sellers or channels.
2. Search the shop’s domain together with “scam” or “reviews”. Check independent review sites, not the reviews on the shop.
3. Look up the domain age with a WHOIS tool. A “huge discount store” registered last month is a warning sign.
4. Read the imprint and terms: a real business names its company, address and country.
5. Pay safely: a credit card or PayPal gives you a chance to dispute the charge; bank transfers, crypto and gift cards don’t.

Already ordered? What to do

1. Contact your bank or card issuer straight away and ask for a chargeback; also ask whether the card should be blocked if you entered its details.
2. Keep evidence: screenshots of the ad, the shop, the order confirmation and every email.
3. Report the ad on TikTok, Facebook or Instagram so it is taken down for others.
4. Tell the brand. Vapsolo asks for screenshots and links at service@vapsolo.com; Elf Bar takes reports at legal@elfbar.com; Lost Mary at support@lostmary.com.
5. Report it to your national consumer protection authority or police fraud unit.
6. If a product did arrive, do not use it until you have checked it. Verify the security code on the official site – our guides for Elf Bar, Vapsolo, Lost Mary and Geek Bar show you how.

Fake checkers: the second trap

Some scam operations do not just sell fakes – they also run fake “verification” sites. A cloned QR sticker on a counterfeit box sends you to a look-alike checker that always says “genuine”. Geek Bar and Elf Bar have both warned about such domains. That’s why it matters where you check: open the brand’s verification page yourself, or use VapeVerify, which only ever links to the official pages.

Bought a vape online? Check its code on the official site in two minutes. Read more: How to spot a fake Vapsolo · How to spot a fake Elf Bar · How to spot a fake vape.

Sources

• Vapsolo – Anti-fraud notice
• Geek Bar – Warning about fake verification sites
• 2Firsts – Elf Bar combating fake e-cigarettes and fake websites
• MalwareTips – Fake online store investigations
• Megbízhatóbolt.net – Consumer warning about cheap vape shops (Hungarian)
• Media Matters – Black-market vapes on TikTok Shop

How many fake Elf Bars are out there?

There is no exact count of fakes on the market, but Elf Bar’s published enforcement figures show the scale:

• Since its anti-counterfeiting campaign began in June 2021, Elf Bar says it has acted against more than 120 counterfeit production and sales targets – factories, warehouses, logistics and trading companies – and seized more than 2 million fake finished products, plus millions of packaging boxes and counterfeit anti-counterfeit codes.
• In 2024 alone, Elf Bar and its sister brand Lost Mary supported authorities in shutting down 15 clone factories, with over 90,000 fake vapes seized.
• In early 2025, at least 50,000 counterfeits were seized in hundreds of retail stores across markets including the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and Spain. In one case, more than 30 retailers along the German–Czech border sold fakes with packaging deliberately localised for the German market.
• The brands also won 119 domain-name disputes and removed nearly 300 infringing web links – fake shops are part of the problem, too.

Note: Elf Bar says that any Elf Bar-branded product currently sold in the US is not made or authorised by the brand, since it stopped supplying the US in February 2023.

Why fakes are worth avoiding

Elf Bar warns that counterfeits typically use poor e-liquid, low-quality materials and substandard batteries that are prone to malfunctioning or overheating. Independent tests back this up: Derby City Council’s Trading Standards team had a seized counterfeit vape tested in an independent lab, and it was found to contain arsenic, lead and formaldehyde, among other substances. Read more in why fake vapes are dangerous.

Step 1: Check the security code – correctly

Elf Bar states that a product is only genuine if its security code is verified on ELFBAR.COM. Because counterfeiters also copy codes, how you check matters:

1. Find the authentication label on the box.
2. Scan the QR code – Elf Bar recommends it, because old and new code formats are both in circulation and the QR scan gives the most accurate result.
3. Or enter the code on our Elf Bar verify page, which sends it straight to elfbar.com.
4. Check the address bar: the result must be on www.elfbar.com. Fake QR stickers often lead to look-alike sites that always say “genuine”.
5. If a brand-new, sealed device shows that its code was already checked many times, the code was most likely copied onto a fake box.

Step 2: Check the physical security features

Elf Bar labels also carry physical anti-counterfeiting technology that is very hard for clone factories to copy. The two official Elf Bar videos below show how it works.

• UV light test: shine a UV (blacklight) torch on the label. On a genuine label the hidden ELFBAR marking becomes visible. A label that stays completely plain is a red flag.
• Marker test: as shown in the video, shading the label with a marker and wiping it reveals the ELFBAR text on a genuine label. Do this only after you have checked the code, so the code stays readable.

Step 3: Look at the box

• Print quality: blurry logos, slightly wrong colours and fuzzy flavour names are typical of fakes.
• Spelling and spacing: look for typos in flavour names and uneven letter spacing in the nicotine warning – a detail counterfeiters often get wrong.
• Local requirements: a box sold in the EU should carry the health warnings and language required in that country. Be aware that some fakes are now localised too, so this alone is not proof.
• Compare with elfbar.com: model names, flavours and colours should match the official product pages exactly. An “Elf Bar” model or flavour that does not exist on elfbar.com is a giveaway.

Step 4: Look at the price, the seller and the device

• A price far below the normal market price, or an unknown online shop, should make you check twice.
• On the device: leaks, a burnt or chemical taste from the first puff, loose parts or a battery that dies long before the rated puff count all point to a counterfeit.

What to do if your Elf Bar is fake

1. Stop using it.
2. Keep the box, the receipt and a screenshot of the failed code check.
3. Ask the seller for a refund.
4. Report it to Elf Bar through the Report Counterfeits page on elfbar.com or by email to legal@elfbar.com.

Check yours now: verify your Elf Bar code here. For a quick printable list, see our Elf Bar real vs fake checklist.

Sources

• ELFBAR – Verify product
• ELFBAR – Statement on global anti-counterfeiting
• PR Newswire – ELFBAR and LOST MARY report latest results against counterfeit vapes (April 2025)
• Derby City Council – Fake vapes warning

How many fake Vapsolos are on the market?

Honest answer: nobody publishes a reliable number. Vapsolo has not released seizure statistics, and customs authorities rarely break down confiscated vapes by brand. What we do know comes from two directions:

• Vapsolo’s own warning. Vapsolo has published an anti-fraud notice saying that “a large number of fake vapsolo websites” have appeared. These sites copy Vapsolo’s product photos, videos and logo, and lure buyers with very low prices. In one case Vapsolo describes, a customer who ordered from such a site received a speaker instead of a vape.
• The wider market. For comparison, Elf Bar – the most copied disposable brand – reports that it has helped seize more than 2 million fake finished products, plus millions of counterfeit boxes and anti-counterfeit codes, since 2021. Counterfeiters follow demand, so as Vapsolo’s large-puff models become best-sellers, the same factories and fake shops have every reason to copy them.

So instead of guessing a percentage, assume that any Vapsolo bought outside an established shop needs checking – and the check only takes a minute.

The deciding test: the Vapsolo security code

Vapsolo runs its own verification system at vapsolo.com/verification. Vapsolo states that it keeps updating this system, so you may find several different code sticker designs on its boxes – and all of them are originals. That matters: a different-looking sticker is not a sign of a fake on its own.

1. Find the security sticker on the Vapsolo box and reveal the code (remove the scratch layer if there is one).
2. Enter the code on our Vapsolo verify page – we pass it straight to the official Vapsolo checker.
3. Make sure the result is shown on www.vapsolo.com, not on a look-alike site.
4. A code that cannot be found, or that has clearly been checked before on a sealed box, is a strong sign of a counterfeit.

Can you see it on the packaging?

Often, yes – but carefully. Counterfeit boxes are usually printed cheaply, so look for:

• Print quality: blurry or pixelated logos, colours that are slightly off, and smudged flavour names.
• Text errors: spelling mistakes in flavour names or warnings, and uneven letter spacing in the nicotine warning.
• Missing security sticker: a Vapsolo box without any code sticker should not be trusted.
• Model details that do not add up: each Vapsolo model has fixed specs. The SIXER, for example, is a 6-in-1 device with six tanks rated at 180,000 puffs, the Quads has four tanks and the Triple Pro three. If the box, the number of flavours and the puff count do not match the model name, be suspicious.

Good fakes can look almost identical, which is why packaging is a warning signal – not proof. Always finish with the code check.

Signs on the device itself

• Leaking from the first day, or a burnt or chemical taste from the very first puff.
• One or more tanks that do not work, or flavours that taste the same.
• A display, airflow switch or charging port that does not behave as described for the model.
• A battery that dies long before the rated puff count – or gets hot while charging.

Fake Vapsolo shops: the bigger risk

According to Vapsolo’s anti-fraud notice, many fakes are sold through cloned websites and social media ads. Watch for these red flags:

• The domain: Vapsolo lists its official channels as vapsolo.com, vapsolo.co and vapsolowholesale.com. Anything else is not the official store (it may still be a legitimate retailer – but check its reputation).
• The price: offers such as “one piece $5, buy 10 get 5 free” are far below the real market price. Vapsolo says its official prices are never below market price.
• Ads promising “ultra-low prices” or “limited-time promotions” that lead to an unknown shop.
• Cash on delivery on a site that claims to be the official Vapsolo store: Vapsolo’s own store does not offer it.

If you find a suspicious shop or ad, Vapsolo asks you to send a screenshot and the link to service@vapsolo.com.

What to do if your Vapsolo is fake

1. Stop using it – counterfeit e-liquids and batteries skip every quality check.
2. Keep the box, the receipt and screenshots of the shop and the failed code check.
3. Ask the seller for a refund, and report the product and shop to Vapsolo.
4. In Europe you can also report counterfeit products to your national consumer protection authority.

Check yours now: verify your Vapsolo code here – it takes less than a minute. Not sure about another brand? Read How to spot a fake vape.

Sources

• Vapsolo – Anti-fraud notice
• Vapsolo – Product verification
• ELFBAR – Statement on global anti-counterfeiting

The good news: most counterfeits can be identified in a couple of minutes. Here are the ten warning signs to check.

1. The security code fails the official check

This is the single most reliable test. Almost every major brand prints a unique security code under a scratch-off coating on the box. Enter it on the manufacturer’s official website – or use the brand list on VapeVerify, which sends you to the right page. If the code is not found, the product is very likely fake.

2. The code was “already verified”

Counterfeiters often copy one genuine code onto thousands of fake boxes. If your sealed, brand-new device shows that its code has been checked before, be suspicious. Some brands, like Geek Bar, allow each code to be verified only once; others, like Stag Bar, show a query count.

3. The QR code opens the wrong website

A fake QR sticker can link to a cloned website that always says “genuine”. Before trusting the result, look at the address bar. The domain must be the brand’s official one – for example elfbar.com, lostmary.com or geekbar.com.

4. The scratch label looks wrong

Genuine labels are sharp, evenly coated and often have holographic or shimmer effects – Vaporesso and VOOPOO labels visibly change when tilted. Labels that peel easily, are already scratched or look flat and printed are a red flag.

5. Print quality and spelling

Compare the box with photos on the official website. Blurry logos, wrong fonts, misspelled flavour names and colours that are slightly off are classic signs of a counterfeit.

6. The price is too good to be true

Big discounts from social media sellers, marketplace listings without a real shop behind them or “wholesale” offers to consumers are common sources of fakes.

7. Missing legal and safety information

Genuine products sold in regulated markets carry health warnings, batch numbers, manufacturer details and compliance information for that country. Missing or foreign-language-only information is a warning sign.

8. Wrong puff count or tank size for your market

In many countries disposable vapes are limited in tank size and nicotine strength. A product advertising a puff count or capacity that is not legal where you live is unlikely to be the official local version.

9. Taste and performance

A burnt taste from the first puff, leaking, weak vapour or a battery that dies far too early can all point to a counterfeit.

10. The device feels cheap

Loose mouthpieces, rough plastic seams, LEDs that do not match the original and a lighter or heavier weight than expected are all worth noting.

What to do if your vape is fake

• Stop using the device.
• Keep the packaging and your receipt.
• Ask the seller for a refund and report the product to the brand.
• In many countries you can also report counterfeit vapes to consumer protection or trading standards.

Check yours now: pick your brand on the VapeVerify homepage, enter the code and get the official answer in seconds.

Step 1: Verify the security code on elfbar.com

Every genuine Elf Bar box carries an authentication label with a scratch-off security code and a QR code. Elf Bar states that a product is only genuine if its code is verified on ELFBAR.COM.

1. Find the authentication label on the box.
2. Scratch off the silver coating.
3. Scan the QR code with your phone – Elf Bar recommends this while old and new code formats are both in use.
4. Or enter the code on our Elf Bar verify page; we send it directly to the official checker.

Step 2: Check the website address

If you scanned a QR code, look at the address bar. The page must be on www.elfbar.com. Counterfeiters create look-alike domains that always show “genuine”, so the domain matters more than the message on the screen.

Step 3: Read the result correctly

• Verified for the first time – your Elf Bar is original.
• Already checked – fine if you checked it yourself before; suspicious on a sealed, new device.
• Code not found – re-type the code. If it still fails, treat the device as fake.

Step 4: Inspect the packaging

Compare the box with product photos on the official website. Look for sharp printing, correct flavour names, consistent colours and the health warnings required in your country. Spelling mistakes and blurry logos are strong warning signs.

Step 5: Inspect the device

A genuine Elf Bar has clean seams, a firmly fitted mouthpiece and consistent branding on the body. Leaks, a burnt taste from the first puff or a very short battery life all suggest a counterfeit.

Elf Bar vs Lost Mary

Lost Mary is a separate brand with its own checker on lostmary.com and an 18-digit code. If you own one, follow our Lost Mary verify guide instead.

Quick check: verify your Elf Bar code here – it takes less than a minute.

What can go wrong with a fake vape

Unknown e-liquid

The ingredients, nicotine strength and quality of the e-liquid in a counterfeit are unknown. Independent tests of illegal and counterfeit vapes reported in the media have found products that did not match their labels, including nicotine levels above legal limits.

Poor-quality components

Cheap coils and materials can overheat, produce a burnt taste and break down faster. Some tests of illegal devices have reported metals at levels well above what is allowed in regulated products.

Battery risks

Batteries without proper protection circuits are more likely to fail. Overheating, swelling or leaking batteries are a real risk with uncontrolled products.

No support, no recourse

If something goes wrong, there is no manufacturer to contact and no warranty.

How security codes protect you

Brands fight counterfeits with unique codes printed on every box. Each code exists once in the manufacturer’s database. When you check it on the official website, the system confirms the code is real – and often how many times it has already been checked.

• Scratch-off coating keeps the code hidden until purchase.
• One-time or limited checks expose copied codes.
• Holographic labels are hard to reproduce.
• QR codes make checking fast – as long as you confirm the website domain.

Check before you vape

It takes about two minutes. Choose your brand from the VapeVerify brand list, follow the step-by-step guide and get the answer straight from the manufacturer.

Why brands track how often a code is checked

Counterfeiters cannot easily create new valid codes, so they copy real ones. One genuine code may end up printed on thousands of fake boxes. By counting checks, manufacturers can expose copied codes.

• Geek Bar allows each code to be verified only once. See our Geek Bar verify guide.
• Stag Bar shows a visible query count. See the Stag Bar verify guide.
• Vaporesso asks you not to check a code more than five times. See the Vaporesso guide.

When the message is normal

• You (or someone in your household) checked the code before.
• You scanned the QR code and then entered the code manually – that can count as two checks.
• The shop checked the product for you before selling it – ask them.

When it is a red flag

• The box was sealed and nobody checked it before.
• The query count is high, or the first check date is long before your purchase.
• The seller is a social media account or a marketplace listing with no real shop.

What to do next

1. Confirm you are on the brand’s official website.
2. Write down the check count and date shown.
3. Contact the seller with this information and ask for a refund.
4. Report the product to the brand using the contact shown on its verification page.

Not sure how your brand handles repeated checks? Find it in the VapeVerify brand list.