1 in 3 Americans Has Experienced an Online Shopping Scam — Are You Protected?

If you buy things online—whether from major retailers, social media marketplaces, or through a payment app—you’re not alone if something has gone wrong. A new survey from the Pew Research Center found that roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have personally had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s a high enough number that it’s worth stepping back and understanding what’s really going on—and what you can do to avoid becoming another statistic.

What Happened

Pew’s study, published in November 2025, asked Americans about their experiences with online scams. About a third of respondents reported falling for something that looked like a legitimate purchase but turned out to be fraudulent. Younger adults, particularly those under 50, were more likely to report being scammed, likely because they spend more time shopping on social platforms and using peer-to-peer payment apps.

The scams take many forms. Some people see a product advertised on Instagram or TikTok, click a link, and hand over payment details to a site that never ships anything. Others buy through Facebook Marketplace and get pressured into sending money via Venmo or Cash App, only to have the seller disappear. Phishing emails that look like order confirmations from Amazon or tracking updates from FedEx can also trick shoppers into giving up login credentials or payment info.

What makes these scams so effective is that they exploit trust—fake reviews, urgency (“only 2 left!”), and impersonation of well-known brands. The result is both financial loss and potential identity theft.

Why It Matters

One in three isn’t a fringe problem. It means that if you shop online, there’s a good chance you or someone you know has already been targeted. Beyond the immediate loss of money, these scams can lead to compromised financial accounts, stolen personal data, and months of hassle trying to recover.

The convenience of online shopping—especially with mobile payments and social commerce—has outpaced many consumers’ ability to spot red flags. Scammers are getting better at creating fake websites that look identical to real ones, and they’re exploiting payment systems that lack buyer protection. Venmo and Cash App, for instance, are designed for transfers between people who know each other, not for commercial transactions. Using them to pay a stranger is risky because there’s typically no recourse if the seller doesn’t deliver.

The bottom line: online shopping scams are now common enough that everyone should treat them as an inevitable part of digital life. The goal isn’t to be paranoid, but to be prepared.

What Readers Can Do

The good news is that most scams are avoidable with a few straightforward habits. Here’s a practical checklist for safer online shopping:

  • Verify the seller. If you’re buying from a site you don’t know, search for the company name plus “scam” or “complaint.” Check for a physical address and customer service phone number. For social media sellers, look for consistent posting history and real engagement from other buyers.
  • Use a credit card or a service with buyer protection. Credit cards typically offer chargeback rights if the product never arrives. PayPal Goods and Services, and some other payment platforms, also provide buyer protection. Avoid paying with standard bank transfers or peer-to-peer apps unless you know the seller personally.
  • Be wary of urgency and too-good-to-be-true deals. Scammers often create fake scarcity or massive discounts to push you into acting fast. Take a moment to step back and compare the price with what you’d expect from a legitimate retailer.
  • Enable two-factor authentication on accounts where you store payment info. This adds a layer of security even if your password is compromised.
  • Avoid making purchases on public Wi-Fi. Use your mobile data or a VPN if you must shop from a coffee shop or airport.
  • Check the URL. Look for misspellings or unusual domain extensions (e.g., “.co” instead of “.com”). Scammers often register lookalike domains.

If you do get scammed, act quickly:

  1. Contact your bank or credit card issuer to dispute the charge and freeze the card if needed.
  2. Change passwords for any accounts you used during the transaction, especially if you reused passwords.
  3. Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
  4. If you shared personal information, consider placing a fraud alert or freeze on your credit reports.

Sources

  • Pew Research Center, “About a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them,” November 2025.
  • Pew Research Center, “Online Scams and Attacks in America Today,” July 2025.
  • Additional reporting by Business Journal Daily and other outlets covering the survey results.

Online shopping isn’t going away, and neither are the scams that come with it. The key is to treat every transaction as something that requires a small amount of caution. A few seconds of extra verification can save you from becoming part of that one-in-three statistic.