How to Avoid Online Shopping Scams: 1 in 3 Americans Are Victims

Intro

One in three Americans has experienced an online shopping scam, according to a November 2025 study from the Pew Research Center. The risk is especially high as holiday shopping ramps up, but the patterns are consistent year-round. Most scams follow a few recognizable templates, and knowing them can save you money and frustration.

This article covers what the data tells us about who gets scammed and how, then lays out practical steps to protect yourself.

What happened

Pew’s survey found that roughly a third of U.S. adults say they have personally encountered an online shopping scam. Younger adults were more likely to report being targeted than older ones. The researchers defined these scams broadly—anything from a phony store that never ships goods to a fake listing on a legitimate marketplace.

The most common methods include:

  • Fake websites that impersonate real brands with nearly identical domain names and designs.
  • Non-delivery scams where you pay for an item via an app or wire transfer and the seller simply disappears.
  • Payment app fraud, especially on platforms like Venmo or Cash App, where transactions are difficult to reverse.
  • Phony product listings on social media or third-party marketplaces, often with heavily discounted prices.

These scams aren’t rare. The Pew data is a reminder that they affect people across age groups, though younger adults may be more exposed because they shop more often on social media or through influencer recommendations.

Why it matters

Online shopping is convenient, but it also hands over your money and personal details to a merchant you may not be able to verify. Unlike buying from a physical store, you can’t inspect the goods or know if the business is legitimate. Scammers exploit this asymmetry.

The financial cost can range from a few dollars to hundreds or thousands. Beyond the money, victims may have their credit card information stolen, their identity used for further fraud, or they might end up locked out of payment accounts. And because many scams move fast—especially during limited-time “deals”—people often act before thinking.

The impact is not just individual. Widespread scams erode trust in online shopping overall, which hurts legitimate small businesses and the platforms that host them.

What readers can do

You can reduce your risk with a handful of habits. None are foolproof, but they make you a much harder target.

1. Stick to credit cards or trusted payment services.
Credit cards offer the strongest fraud protections under federal law (the Fair Credit Billing Act). Debit cards and peer-to-peer apps like Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App have weaker protections. When you use a peer-to-peer app for a purchase—especially with “friends and family” mode—you essentially waive the ability to dispute the transaction. If a seller insists on those methods, consider it a red flag.

2. Verify the seller before you pay.
Look for contact information beyond a web form. Legitimate businesses usually have a physical address and a phone number or customer service chat that actually works. Check the site for an “About us” page and look up the business on the Better Business Bureau or other review aggregators. Be wary of stores that have only been online for a few months.

3. Examine the website carefully.
While HTTPS (the padlock icon) is a basic security requirement, it doesn’t mean the site is trustworthy—scammers can get those too. More important: check the URL for typos, extra words, or a different domain suffix (like .shop instead of .com for a well-known brand). Read a few product reviews: if they are all five-star and sound identical, they are likely fake.

4. Be skeptical of deals that are too good.
Extreme discounts on in-demand items are a classic lure. If a new video game console is 70% off from an unknown seller, assume it’s a scam until proven otherwise. Cross-check the same item on a major retailer’s site to see a realistic price.

5. Act quickly if something goes wrong.
If you believe you’ve been scammed:

  • Contact your bank or credit card issuer immediately to freeze the card or dispute the charge.
  • Report the seller to the platform where you found them (e.g., eBay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace).
  • File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
  • If you used a payment app, contact the app’s support—though recoveries are rare, it’s worth trying.

No system is perfect, but these steps can limit the damage.

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, guidance on online shopping scams.