Wilko collapsed into administration last week, with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) appointed as administrators. It has since stopped all online sales, home deliveries and click and collect services. However, goods are still for sale in Wilko’s 400 stores.

PwC has warned that at least copycat websites have sprung up that look very similar to Wilko.com. They claim to be selling under the Wilko brand and offer very low prices. But these websites have nothing to do with Wilko. The administrators are trying to get the sites shut down.

Goods for sale on the fake sites included a sofa for £4.99 – even though Wilko doesn’t sell sofas – and an adult’s electric bike for £25. Others offered discounts of “up to 90%”, telling consumers that “because there are still a lot of goods piled up in the warehouse, we are going to sell at a super low price”.

A PwC spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of a number of fake Wilko websites which are offering Wilko products at heavily discounted prices. These websites are not genuine and have been set up to scam users, the only legitimate Wilko website is www.wilko.com.

“We are in the process of working with the relevant authorities to have these websites removed. We would like to remind our customers that all Wilko sales are now in-store and you are unable to purchase items online.”

Nick Drewe, retail expert and founder of online discounts platform Wethrift, said: “If a deal you see circulating online looks too good to be true, that means it probably is. A product for what seems an excessively low price can be a sure indicator of a potential purchase scam. Always trust your gut and use logic for whether a deal is legitimate or not, regardless of whether a retailer is having ‘closing down sales’ or not. In this case, one fake Wilko website is offering shoppers up to 90% off products in a fake clearance sale.”