Online Shopping Scams Hit 1 in 3 Americans: How to Shop Safely This Season

If you’ve ever clicked a “too good to be true” deal and ended up with nothing but an empty bank account, you’re not alone. A new survey from Pew Research Center, fielded in November 2025, found that about one-third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. The numbers are a reminder that, even for careful shoppers, fraudulent sites and offers are increasingly common.

With holiday sales and seasonal discounts underway, knowing how to spot a scam before you hand over your card details is more important than ever. Here’s what the data shows—and what you can do to protect your money.

What Happened

Pew surveyed thousands of American adults and asked whether they had ever been the victim of an online shopping scam—defined broadly as paying for something online that was never delivered, was counterfeit, or was misrepresented. Roughly one in three respondents said yes.

Younger adults, frequent online shoppers, and those who use payment apps like Venmo or Cash App were more likely to report having been scammed. The survey also noted that while scams can happen to anyone, certain behaviors—like clicking on unsolicited links or paying via wire transfer—increase risk.

This is not a one-off finding. A separate Pew report from July 2025 on “Online Scams and Attacks in America Today” found similar patterns, and earlier data from 2022 highlighted growing security concerns around payment apps. The trend is consistent: online shopping fraud is pervasive and evolving.

Why It Matters

Online shopping scams are not just a nuisance—they can be financially damaging and hard to recover from. Unlike a lost credit card, where fraud protections often limit your liability, many payment methods used in these scams (especially peer-to-peer apps and wire transfers) offer little to no recourse. Once the money is sent, it’s often gone.

The problem is compounded by the sheer volume of phony storefronts and phishing emails. Scammers create realistic-looking websites that mimic well-known retailers, run ads on social media with deep discounts, and send emails that appear to come from legitimate companies. Many of these tactics are designed to exploit urgency (“Sale ends tonight!”) to override a shopper’s caution.

What Readers Can Do

Here are concrete steps to reduce your chances of being scammed—and to limit damage if something goes wrong.

1. Verify the seller before you pay

  • Check for working contact information (a phone number and physical address) on the website. If none is listed, treat it as a red flag.
  • Search for reviews of the site or seller. Look beyond the site itself—use third-party review platforms and forums to see if others have reported problems.
  • Be skeptical of deals that are 50–70% off retail prices on items usually stable in price. If it looks like a mistake, it’s often a scam.

2. Use secure payment methods

  • Credit cards offer the strongest fraud protection. Under U.S. law, your liability for unauthorized charges is typically capped at $50, and most issuers waive it entirely.
  • Avoid wiring money, using cryptocurrency, or paying with peer-to-peer apps (Venmo, Cash App, Zelle) for online purchases from unknown sellers. These methods are designed for people you trust, not for buying goods from strangers.
  • When possible, use payment services like PayPal Goods and Services, which include purchase protection.

3. Look for site security cues

  • Check that the website URL starts with https:// and shows a padlock icon. This means the connection is encrypted, though it doesn’t guarantee the site is legitimate.
  • Be cautious of sites with misspellings in the URL, poor grammar on the page, or oddly placed buttons. Professional retailers invest in decent design.
  • If you receive an email or text offering a “limited-time deal” from a retailer you don’t regularly use, do not click any links. Instead, go directly to the retailer’s website by typing the address yourself.
  • Scammers often send phishing messages that look like order confirmations or shipping updates. If you didn’t place an order, ignore and delete.

5. Act quickly if you suspect you’ve been scammed

  • Contact your bank or credit card issuer immediately to report the transaction and request a chargeback.
  • Change the passwords on any accounts that may be compromised. Use unique passwords for each site, preferably stored in a password manager.
  • File a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC aggregates these reports to help track and shut down scam operations.
  • Monitor your bank and credit card statements for any unauthorized charges over the following weeks.

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)

The full Pew reports include additional breakdowns by age, income, and online behavior. While the survey relies on self-reporting and may undercount scams that people never recognized, it provides a useful baseline for how widespread the problem has become. Stay cautious, and when in doubt, trust your instincts—if a deal feels off, walk away.