Fake website exploits Danes' sympathy for Greenland

What do Else from Kolding and Bodil from Herning have in common?

They have both bought sweaters with a Greenlandic pattern on the website sostreneniviogaja.dk – and according to the website, they are extremely satisfied with their purchase. The two are not alone. A total of 10 happy customers praise the company Søstrene Nivi and Aja on the website.

"I have never bought clothes online before. My daughter helped me order. We were both a bit nervous – but the package arrived and we opened it together. We both fell completely silent when we picked up the sweater. It is so beautiful and so soft. I have since ordered another one – and this time I ordered it myself", says Else from Kolding.

The same goes for Bodil from Herning, who tells a similar story.

It all seems trustworthy – and there is even a photo of Else and Bodil in their new sweaters.

There is only one problem. The photos do not show Else and Bodil. They are Sofia Rossen from Nuuk and Dorthe Ivalo Jensen from Sisimiut, judging by the slightly blurry photos.

- I was amazed to say the least when I saw the photo, says Sofia Rossen.

- The photo is a selfie that I took at home in the hallway when I had bought a sweater knitted by Lisa Sólrun Christiansen.

- To me, there is something terribly wrong with that website, says Sofia Rossen.

Scam and scam

Rossen is absolutely right. The website is nothing but a scam and a scam – created solely to trick money out of gullible and well-meaning knitting enthusiasts, who became interested in Greenland when the country was mentioned in media around the world earlier this year.

The website of sisters Nivi and Aja was created on February 16. It tells the story of two sisters who have been knitting since they were little and have sold their knitwear to friends and acquaintances. When Greenland came into the world's spotlight in January, something happened:

"Suddenly everyone wanted to know who we were. What we were worth. It was a tough period. Insecurity was in our bodies. Fear of the unknown whispered in the back of our minds. But in the midst of all that, we felt something warm — Denmark was looking towards us.

We had been knitting for decades. Now it was time. We packed our sweaters, cardigans, socks and knitted clothes — and sent them to Denmark for the first time. Not as a business. But because warmth must be shared throughout the kingdom," reads the touching story on the website.

This is a professionally set up website with online sales. It is clearly not a web amateur who is behind it.

At the top of the page, a nice photo of Nivi and Aja, you would think. Then follows a series of offers on sweaters and cardigans – all with designer names like Silaqaq, Imaq, Qaleralik and Qanoq and large photos. At the bottom of the website are the recommendations from Else in Kolding and Bodil in Herning as well as the obligatory bottom bar with a menu, terms and conditions, privacy policy and the address of the business, which is supposedly Aqqusinersuaq 12 in Nuuk.

Artificial intelligence

But the problems with the website already begin with the top photo of Nivi and Aja – two younger women photographed outdoors with an older KGH red house in the background.

The image is made with artificial intelligence – and a complete fake.

One of the models is Josepha Kûitse Kunak Thomsen. She happened to discover the picture on the Facebook profile of Sisters Nivi and Aja, because the scam company also has one.

Josepha Kûitse Kunak Thomsen is amazed.

- I haven't knitted a sweater for almost two years, is her blunt comment.

Josepha Kûitse Kunak Thomsen has reported the picture to Meta, which owns Facebook. However, there was no help available, she tells Sermitsiaq.

- Considering that they used my face, I think it's really annoying that Meta reports back that there is no problem. That makes it a huge problem when you obviously don't have digital ownership of your face. It's disgusting to know that you are being used like this to lure money out of people, says Josepha Kûitse Kunak Thomsen.

Sermitsiaq has shown the website of Sisters Nivi and Aja to Lisa Sólrun Christiansen. She runs the company Sólrun Design Greenland, which produces knitting patterns and knitwear inspired by the Greenlandic national costume. She is outraged.

- I can see that many of the items on the website are mine – and I have nothing to do with that company. I sell my things myself and through a few dealers with whom I have a close relationship. I have never heard from Sisters Nivi and Aja or made any kind of agreement with them. This is pure fraud, says Lisa Sólrun Christiansen to Sermitsiaq.

Who is behind it?

So who is behind this big scam?

Using the search engine whois.com, we have found that the domain sosterneniviogaja.dk is owned by Jamal Ranj Hameed Rasul, who lives in Brøndby Strand near Copenhagen. According to the CVR register, Jamal Ranj Hameed Rasul runs the company The Fasion in the industry "retail footwear". When the company was established in 2023, it was named CloseEffect.

We have tried to get a comment from Jamal Ranj Hameed Rasul on the telephone number that, according to Krak.dk, is linked to his address in Brøndby Strand, but the calls are not being answered.

Sermitsiaq is continuing to work on the story.