Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Have Experienced an Online Shopping Scam: What to Watch For

Introduction

If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true deal on social media or received an email about a package you didn’t order, you’re far from alone. According to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center, about a third of U.S. adults say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly 80 million people. With holiday shopping already underway and more purchases migrating to phones and apps, the risk isn’t going away. This article walks through what the data shows and what you can actually do to avoid becoming the next victim.

What Happened

The Pew Research Center survey, fielded in fall 2025, asked Americans about their exposure to various online scams. The headline finding: 32% of adults reported that they personally experienced a shopping scam while buying something online. This figure cuts across age groups, though younger adults (18–29) reported slightly higher rates. The survey also dug into related behaviors: about 1 in 5 Americans have used cryptocurrency, and many people expressed concerns about the security of payment apps like Venmo and Cash App. Separately, Pew found that phones are now a common shopping tool, and influencers play a growing role in purchase decisions—especially for younger shoppers—which may create new avenues for scams.

The most common types of online shopping scams include:

  • Fake websites that look like legitimate retailers but never deliver the goods.
  • Phishing emails or texts that pretend to be from a shipper or seller, asking for login or payment details.
  • Non-delivery scams where you pay but receive nothing in return.
  • Counterfeit goods sold as authentic on marketplace platforms.
  • Payment app fraud, where scammers trick you into sending money via Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App with no buyer protection.

Why It Matters

Online shopping scams are not just a minor annoyance. They can drain bank accounts, compromise credit card numbers, and steal personal information used for identity theft. The one-in-three statistic shows how widespread the problem is. Many victims never report the crime, partly because the dollar amount per incident is often small enough that law enforcement doesn’t pursue it. But the cumulative damage is enormous. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 2.4 million fraud reports in 2024, and shopping-related complaints were among the top categories.

The trend is also accelerating because scammers are getting better at mimicking real sites and using social engineering. With the rise of AI-generated content, fake product listings and phishing messages are harder to spot than ever.

What Readers Can Do

You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to reduce your risk. Here are practical steps organized by when in the shopping process you are.

Before you buy

  • Check the seller. If it’s an unfamiliar website, search for “[store name] scam” or “[store name] reviews.” Legitimate businesses will have a track record.
  • Look for red flags: no contact information, poor grammar, a domain that’s only a few months old, or prices that seem impossibly low.
  • Use a credit card instead of a debit card or payment app. Credit cards offer stronger fraud protection under federal law.
  • Avoid paying via wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency. Scammers prefer these because they’re nearly untraceable.

During the purchase

  • Only use secure websites (look for “https://” in the address bar, but note that a padlock icon alone doesn’t guarantee legitimacy).
  • Be wary of unexpected pop-ups urging you to download an app or enable notifications.
  • If you’re checking out on a third-party platform like Facebook Marketplace or eBay, communicate and pay through the platform’s official system—never go off-platform.

After you buy

  • Keep all confirmation emails and receipts. They prove what you purchased and what you were promised.
  • Monitor your bank and credit card statements for unauthorized charges.
  • If you receive a suspicious email or text about a shipping delay or a problem with payment, do not click links. Go directly to the retailer’s website and log into your account.

What to do if you’ve been scammed

  • Immediately contact your bank or credit card company to dispute the charge and freeze the card if needed.
  • Change your password on the site where the scam occurred, and any other site that uses the same password.
  • Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Your report helps them track patterns and stop scammers.
  • If you sent money via a payment app, contact the app’s support team. They may be able to reverse the transaction if you report within a few hours.
  • Consider placing a fraud alert on your credit file if you shared personal information like a Social Security number.

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, “About 1 in 5 Americans have used crypto; Republicans’ use has ticked up,” June 2026.
  • Pew Research Center, “Payment apps like Venmo and Cash App bring convenience – and security concerns – to some users,” September 2022.
  • Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024.