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An online fashion retailer accused of “unconscionable conduct” is under investigation for allegedly profiting off the Bondi terror attack.

NSW Fair Trading issued a public warning about “ghost store” Isla & James, which said it was holding a closure sale due to the mass shooting on December 14 and made “false claims” about being based in Bondi Beach.

The site claimed one of the co-founders, James, was “shot” in the massacre and there was no “moving on” after the shooting.

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann said the agency now believed it was a “ghost store operating from overseas”.

“We think they’re using the Bondi Beach terror attack to really try and exploit the grief of our community to try and profiteer,” she said.

Samia Goudie was one of the customers who was duped by Isla & James last month, after coming across an emotionally-charged advertisement on Facebook.

They emphasised the business, once their “dream”, was closing down that night and the prices had been slashed so they could “start out [their] new lives”. The site also featured an an AI-generated image of the pair.

“Looking back, if it hadn’t had that emotional hook, I probably wouldn’t have looked at it,” she said.

Ms Goudie said she did “periphery checks” but the site looked “sophisticated”, with a map pinned to Bondi and a correlating Instagram page.

She spent $250 in her order, saying she did not “have the ability really to spend a lot of money” but wanted to support a good cause.

Ms Goudie even emailed the store to express her sympathy and when they replied to say they were not closing down at all, the first red flag went off.

The order has not been sent out, and she later found out the items were likely from an e-commerce platform.

“It wasn’t even like for myself, like, I’ve fallen for this. That was much later, you know, how stupid am I? … I felt like an idiot.

“It’s just a reminder to people … to double-check what they’re donating to.”

Concern others ‘may take similar approach’

The website appears to have been registered on December 23 from an IP address in Arizona, in the United States.

NSW Fair Trading said there was no contact number or trading address in the state, “nor any other evidence that the store is associated with a trader at Bondi Beach”.

Other warning signs for ghost stores can include no Australian address, no phone number or “.au” domain, or if the ABN cannot be verified.

Ms Mann is now warning the public about dealing with Isla & James, who she said may have engaged in a range of contraventions of Australian consumer law, including “misleading or deceptive conduct” and “unconscionable conduct in connection with the sale and supply of goods”.

She said ghost stores could claim to be closing down due to a tragedy to pressure people into buying goods, but were often selling low-quality goods or sometimes, nothing at all.

“These ghost stores often are using really emotional stories to try and get consumers to rush into a purchase,” she said.

“The difficulty is that the operations are based overseas to avoid returns and refunds, which means that consumers are left in the lurch.”

Its website has now been taken down in a “welcome outcome”, but NSW Fair Trading has warned the retailer may crop up again under a different URL or “other traders may take a similar approach”. 

“Our investigation will focus on making sure that this one remains shut down and actively monitoring to make sure that others do not arise also,” Ms Mann said.

“The main message to consumers is just really be vigilant when you’re engaging with online traders.”

President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Daniel Aghion, said at a time Jewish businesses were facing “victimisation and attacks” as well as closures, it was “callous that somebody somewhere in the world [was] trying to make money off the misery of others”. 

“I feel for the shoppers that genuinely tried to support Bondi traders and victims of Bondi, but ended up being deceived.”

NSW Fair Trading has urged anyone who was not satisfied with their interaction with Isla & James to lodge a complaint with them or Service NSW.

It said any suspicious stores, fundraisers or offers linked to the Bondi attack should also be reported to Scamwatch.