1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams – Here’s How to Protect Yourself
If you shop online, the odds that you or someone you know has been targeted by a scam are higher than you might think. A new Pew Research Center survey found that about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. For a country where most adults buy something online at least occasionally, that numbers sobering.
The same survey, published in November 2025, doesn’t distinguish between a lost payment and a near miss. But the Federal Trade Commission’s 2023 data offers a parallel: Americans reported losing more than $8.8 billion to fraud that year, with online shopping scams consistently ranking among the top categories. These aren’t just isolated stories—they represent a widespread and growing problem.
What Happened: The Size of the Problem
Pew’s finding that roughly one in three U.S. adults has experienced an online shopping scam is based on a nationally representative survey conducted in fall 2025. The researchers asked respondents whether they had ever personally been the victim of such a scam, not just whether they knew someone. The result confirms what many consumer protection agencies have been warning: fake websites, non-delivery of paid goods, and fraudulent payment app transactions are now routine threats.
Common scams include:
- Fake storefronts – Websites that look legitimate but never ship anything you order.
- Non-delivery scams – Sellers on platforms like Facebook Marketplace or eBay who take payment and disappear.
- Payment app fraud – Transactions through Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle where the buyer has little recourse because these services lack strong purchase protection.
- Phishing for card details – Emails or texts pretending to be from a retailer, asking you to “confirm” your payment information on a fake login page.
Why It Matters
Online shopping is not going away, and neither are the scammers. The convenience of buying from your phone can make it easy to let your guard down. Moreover, social media platforms and influencer recommendations have blurred the line between genuine products and paid promotions. A separate Pew study from 2024 found that a majority of TikTok users rely on the platform for product reviews—an environment where fake endorsements can flourish.
The financial impact is bad enough, but the hassle of disputing charges, replacing a compromised card, or dealing with identity theft can be far worse. And because many scams target small amounts—$50 here, $100 there—they often go unreported, allowing scammers to keep operating.
What Readers Can Do: Practical Prevention
You don’t need to avoid online shopping altogether. But you can lower your risk by following a few concrete steps.
Research the seller before you buy. If you’re on an unfamiliar website, search for the business name plus “scam” or “review.” Look for independent feedback, not just testimonials on the site itself. Check for a working phone number and physical address—missing contact info is a red flag.
Use a credit card, not a debit card or payment app. Credit cards offer stronger fraud protection under federal law. With debit cards or payment apps, the money leaves your account immediately, and getting it back can be difficult. If a seller insists on Zelle or a wire transfer, walk away.
Watch for too-good-to-be-true prices. Scammers lure buyers with steep discounts on popular items. If a new gaming console is half the retail price from an unknown seller, it’s probably fake.
Check the checkout page. Legitimate sites use HTTPS (look for the padlock icon in the address bar). But even that isn’t foolproof—some scam sites also have HTTPS. More important: avoid entering payment details on pages that look cluttered, contain typos, or have unusual URLs.
Enable purchase alerts. Most banking apps let you set notifications for transactions over a certain amount. This gives you a chance to catch fraudulent charges quickly.
Use browser tools. Ad blockers and anti-phishing extensions (like uBlock Origin or the built-in protections in Chrome and Firefox) can flag known scam sites. A password manager also helps because it won’t autofill credentials on a lookalike domain.
If You Are Scammed
Even cautious shoppers can be tricked. If it happens to you, act quickly.
- Contact your bank or credit card issuer immediately to report the charge and request a dispute. Many issuers have a limited window for reporting.
- Freeze your card if the scam included your card number. Your bank can issue a replacement.
- Change passwords for any accounts you may have entered on the scam site.
- File a report with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) if the loss is significant.
These reports help authorities track scam patterns—and they may eventually lead to recoveries or prosecutions.
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.
- Federal Trade Commission, “Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2023,” February 2024.
The data is clear: online shopping scams are now a common experience. By staying alert, choosing your payment methods carefully, and knowing what to do if something goes wrong, you can shop online with much less worry. Share what you’ve learned—it might save someone else the trouble.