A cybersecurity survey has found that around 20,000 fake shopping sites were in operation in the second half of this year, Japan's National Police Agency said Thursday, warning that the sites are designed to swindle money from unsuspecting shoppers.

Most of the websites use a hyperlink with a fake ad to lead victims to a scam site, the NPA said, based on the survey by the Japan Cybercrime Control Center involving information security and online service providers.

Typically, victims are led to the fake sites after using a search engine to look for information about a product they want to buy and then clicking on a hyperlink that includes an enticing phrase, such as "brand wristwatch, high quality."