Most women, they say, would do anything for a pair of killer heels, the kind they see on the red carpet, as worn by their idols and fashion icons like Sarah Jessica Parker, Victoria Beckham, Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox and the other female stars who have made a reputation for themselves for their fashion choices. Precisely because of these, sites selling what they claim are genuine Louboutin shoes have increased in number considerably over the past months, so much so that the Louboutin label itself was prompted to issue a warning regarding it.

According to statements recently released, as well as to several reports in the media, over the past months, there has been a steady increase in the number of these websites, all of which claim to be boutiques able to sell Louboutin shoes at remarkable discounts because they come “straight from the production line.” What they actually are, Louboutin says, is cheap workshops in China that manufacture knock-offs that are later sold all over the world as the real deal.

What they represent is criminal activity and attorneys working for Louboutin have already started taking down some of these sites, and are trying to find those responsible behind them. Still, the label says, customers should pay due attention when seeing these items online and consider several aspects before placing an order. Obviously, the first one would be the unbelievably cheap price tag they come with: whereas a pair of Louboutin normally goes for well over £400, anyone with some spare time on their hands will undoubtedly also find variants that go for as little as £120+.

Secondly, there is the inferior quality of the shoe itself, but customers only get to verify that once their package is in the mail and it’s all been paid for. As Louboutin underlines, the heel, the stitching and the leather of the shoes now available online (and different from the real deal) leave much to be desired. Then, as a spokesperson for BragItUp tells the Daily Mail, there are many other clues that should show women they are not paying for a genuine Louboutin as they might believe.

“At first look these sites look genuine, each packed with pages and pages of images of Louboutin shoes with prices slashed by at least 50per cent. To reassure the customer, the sites all offer free shipping and no tax, the sites are stamped with money back guarantees and a multitude of payment options and prices are available in a number of currencies. But there are a number of tell-tale signs that these deals are too good to be true. There’s a repetitive theme about safety of online shopping, the copy is littered with grammatical and linguistic mistakes. Also, contact is via email only. It is very rare to find a telephone number.” the spokesperson for BragItUp explains.

For more information on where you can get the real Louboutin creations, see here.