One in Three Americans Has Been Scammed Shopping Online. Here’s How to Avoid It.

If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or clicked a link from a social media ad and ended up on a site that looked real but wasn’t, you’re not alone. New data from the Pew Research Center shows that about a third of Americans say they’ve experienced an online shopping scam. That’s roughly 33 percent of U.S. adults—and the number may be higher since many scams go unreported.

The findings come from a larger Pew study on online scams and cyberattacks, released in late 2025. The survey asked Americans whether they’d ever personally fallen victim to an online shopping scam, which includes non-delivery of goods, fake websites, phishing emails that mimic retailers, and payment app fraud. The results confirm what many consumer protection groups have warned: scams are no longer rare events limited to the technically naive.

What happened

Pew’s report, based on a nationally representative survey, found that 33 percent of U.S. adults have had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s the highest rate among several types of online fraud measured in the same study. The next most common categories—phishing and identity theft—affected fewer people.

The research also identified groups that are particularly vulnerable. Younger adults (ages 18–29) reported higher rates of being scammed than older age groups. Frequent social media users were also more likely to have encountered a scam, likely because they encounter more ads, influencer recommendations, and links to unfamiliar stores. And people who use payment apps like Venmo or Cash App for shopping were at greater risk, partly because those platforms offer less fraud protection than credit cards.

Why it matters

Online shopping scams are effective because they play on the same behaviors we all rely on for convenience: searching for the best deal, trusting a familiar platform, and acting quickly before a sale ends. Scammers create convincing replicas of legitimate stores, use fake reviews to build credibility, and pressure shoppers with limited-time offers. The result is that people hand over money for goods that never come, or worse, hand over credit card numbers and personal information that can be used for identity theft.

The scale of the problem matters for two reasons. First, it shows that the risk is widespread—nearly one in three adults has been burned. Second, it means that even cautious shoppers can get caught. Scams have become sophisticated enough that a single mistake, like clicking the wrong link or assuming a site is real, can lead to a loss.

What readers can do

You don’t need to stop shopping online, but you do need to adopt a few habits that will dramatically reduce your risk. Here are the most effective steps, based on common patterns in the Pew data and recommendations from consumer agencies.

First, always verify the seller before you buy. If you’re on a site you don’t know, search for the store name plus “scam” or “review” to see if others have reported problems. Check the URL closely: scammers often use addresses that look like the real thing but with small misspellings (e.g., “amaz0n.com” instead of “amazon.com”). Look for a physical address and customer service phone number, and test it—if you can’t find a way to contact a real person, that’s a red flag.

Second, pay with a credit card. Credit cards offer stronger fraud protections than debit cards, bank transfers, or payment apps. If the item never shows up, you can dispute the charge with your card issuer. Debit cards and payment apps like Venmo, PayPal “friends and family,” and Cash App often have little to no recourse if something goes wrong. The Pew data specifically noted that payment app users were more likely to be scammed, in part because of this lack of protection.

Third, use purchase alerts and monitor your accounts. Many banks and card issuers let you set up instant notifications for any transaction over a certain amount. That way, if a scammer gets your card number, you’ll know right away. Check your statements monthly, or even weekly during peak shopping seasons.

Fourth, be skeptical of deals that seem too good to be true. Scammers rely on the lure of an unbelievably low price—a new iPhone for $200, a designer handbag for $20. If the price is far below what you’d expect from reputable retailers, assume it’s a scam until you can prove otherwise.

Finally, know how to report a scam if you do fall for one. Contact your bank or credit card issuer immediately to freeze the card and start a dispute. File a report with the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If the scam happened through a platform like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Instagram, report the seller to the platform. The more reports are filed, the more likely authorities can track and take down scam operations.

Sources

Pew Research Center. “About a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them.” November 2025. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/ (full report linked in the article summary).