How Fakes, Frauds And Scams Came With Walmart’s Digital Boom

In its race to rival Amazon and become the next great “everything store,” Walmart leveraged its brick-and-mortar empire to grow into a major player online. And it didn’t take long for the world’s biggest retailer to build a massive digital marketplace with hundreds of millions of products and thousands of third-party sellers. But Walmart’s digital boom has a little known and much darker underside – where some sellers steal the identities of legitimate businesses so they can peddle counterfeit and sometimes dangerous products to unsuspecting customers. After CNBC shared its reporting with Walmart, the company began tightening its vetting process for both products and sellers and says it has a “zero-tolerance policy for prohibited or noncompliant products.” CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge has the story.

Correspondent: Gabrielle Fonrouge
Investigative Producer: Paige Tortorelli
Senior Investigative Producer: Scott Zamost
Senior Executive Producer: Ray Parisi
Editors: Candice Goldman, Richard Korn
Graphic Artist: Leslie Lillo
Deputy Business Editor: Jacob Pramuk
Senior Business Editor: Sara Salinas
Managing Editor: Jeff McCracken
Photojournalists: Van Applegate, Mark Aster, Alex Bedoya, David Grogan, Alex Herrera, Leroy Jackson, Gary Levens, Marco Mastrorilli, Oscar Molina, and Nate Silverman
Audio: Nate Cummin, Tony Stewart, Phil Turner, and Gary Wahlgren

» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
» Watch CNBC on the go with CNBC+: https://www.cnbc.com/WatchCNBCPlus

About CNBC: From 'Wall Street' to 'Main Street' to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.

Want to be your own boss? Sign up for Smarter by CNBC Make It's new online course, How To Start A Business: For First-Time Founders. Find step-by-step guidance for launching your first business, from testing your idea to growing your revenue. Sign up today with coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off the regular course price of $127 (plus tax). Offer valid September 16 through September 30, 2025: https://cnb.cx/4gEgnhO

Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC on Threads: https://cnb.cx/threads
Follow CNBC News on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC on WhatsApp: https://cnb.cx/WhatsAppCNBC

#CNBC

How Walmart’s Lax Marketplace Vetting Came With Growth And Scams

Post from CNBC on September 19, 2025

View Original Post