1 in 3 Americans Hit by an Online Shopping Scam – Here’s How to Stay Safe

If you’ve ever clicked on a too-good-to-be-true deal and ended up with nothing but a lost payment, you’re far from alone. According to a November 2025 Pew Research Center survey, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly 33 percent of U.S. adults — a reminder that fraudulent sellers and fake storefronts have become a routine part of the digital marketplace.

What Happened

The Pew study asked Americans about their experiences with various online scams. The result: one in three respondents reported that an online shopping scam had happened to them personally. This includes fake websites that take money without delivering goods, phishing emails that mimic legitimate retailers, and social media ads that lead to lookalike stores selling counterfeit or nonexistent products.

Earlier Pew research (published July 2025) on “Online Scams and Attacks in America Today” found a similar pattern: shopping scams were among the most common types of online fraud, affecting people across age groups, though younger adults were somewhat more likely to encounter them due to heavier social media and mobile shopping habits.

Why It Matters

Holiday shopping season is a prime time for scammers to ramp up efforts. With more people browsing for deals on their phones and relying on influencer recommendations, the chances of stumbling onto a fraudulent offer increase. The same Pew report notes that payment apps like Venmo and Cash App — often used for peer-to-peer purchases — bring security concerns, as many users assume they have the same protections as a credit card when they do not.

For consumers, the stakes go beyond losing money on a single purchase. Scammers can harvest personal information, such as addresses and credit card numbers, which they then use for identity theft. Understanding how these scams work is the first step to avoiding them.

What Readers Can Do

You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to shop safely. Here are concrete steps to reduce your risk:

Recognize the most common scams.

  • Fake websites that look nearly identical to well-known brands, often with slightly altered URLs.
  • Phishing emails or texts that claim you won a prize or need to “confirm your payment” on a link.
  • Social media advertisements for luxury goods at steep discounts, especially on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
  • Sellers who ask you to pay outside the marketplace (e.g., via wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency).

Look for red flags before you buy.

  • Prices that seem unrealistically low.
  • Poor grammar, spelling mistakes, or generic product descriptions.
  • No physical address or customer service phone number listed.
  • A website that lacks “https://” and a padlock icon in the address bar.
  • Very few reviews, or reviews that all sound similar and overly positive.

Use secure payment methods.

  • Credit cards offer the strongest fraud protection under federal law. You can dispute charges for items not received.
  • Payment apps like PayPal Goods and Services, or Apple Pay and Google Pay, also provide buyer protection in many cases.
  • Avoid using debit cards, wire transfers, or peer-to-peer payment apps (like Venmo or Cash App) for purchases from unknown sellers, unless you are sure the seller is legitimate.

Do a quick background check on the seller.

  • Search the company name plus “scam” or “complaint.”
  • Check the website’s “Contact Us” page for a real address and phone number.
  • Look up the domain’s age using a Whois lookup tool. A site that’s only a few months old should raise suspicion.

Enable transaction alerts.

  • Set up text or email notifications for your credit card and bank accounts so you see charges as they happen.
  • Check your statements regularly, especially during heavy shopping periods.

What to do if you think you’ve been scammed.

  • Contact your bank or credit card issuer immediately to dispute the charge and freeze the card if needed.
  • Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
  • If you shared personal information like your Social Security number, consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion).
  • Change your passwords for any accounts you used on the scam site.

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.
  • Pew Research Center, “Payment apps like Venmo and Cash App bring convenience – and security concerns – to some users,” September 2022.
  • Pew Research Center, “A majority of U.S. TikTok users are there for product reviews and recommendations,” November 2024.

The online shopping landscape is unlikely to get simpler anytime soon. But by staying alert to the patterns scammers use and sticking to safe payment habits, you can reduce the odds of becoming another statistic in Pew’s next survey.