Consumer Protection

Holiday shopping scams are booming — here’s how to protect your wallet Online shopping has made holiday gift-buying convenient, but it’s also become a feeding ground for scammers. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans reported losing $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024 — a record high. And the holiday season, with its flood of deals and stretched shoppers, is prime time for schemes ranging from fake websites to phishing emails that look like delivery notifications. This article walks through the most common holiday shopping scams and gives concrete steps to avoid them, based on FTC warnings and consumer protection advice. ...

How to Spot and Avoid Online Shopping Scams: Tips from the VA and FDIC Online shopping is convenient, but it also attracts scammers who are constantly refining their tactics. Reports of fraudulent websites, phishing emails, and fake customer support channels remain high. Both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have issued alerts in the past year warning consumers to stay vigilant. This article distills their guidance into actionable steps you can use right now. ...

One in Three Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online: How to Protect Yourself If you shop online, you’ve probably seen the warnings. But a new study from the Pew Research Center puts the threat in numbers: about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly 33% of U.S. adults—and the figure likely undercounts those who didn’t realize they were scammed or didn’t report it. ...

Illinois Advances New AI Safety Laws: What They Mean for Your Privacy Illinois lawmakers are moving a package of AI regulation bills that could change how consumers interact with chatbots, how companies handle personal data, and what protections exist for minors online. The proposals are still in early stages, but they represent one of the more concrete state-level attempts to address growing privacy and safety concerns around artificial intelligence. ...

New AI Laws in Illinois: Stronger Privacy, Chatbot Rules, and Youth Protections Illinois is moving toward one of the most comprehensive sets of state-level AI regulations in the country. A package of bills introduced by state Senate Democrats aims to address consumer data privacy, transparency from chatbots, and protections specifically for young people. While none of the bills are law yet, they have advanced through committee with bipartisan support, and their final shape could influence how AI tools operate not just in Illinois but elsewhere. ...

A Third of Americans Have Been Scammed Shopping Online — Here’s How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever clicked on a deal that seemed too good to be true and later realized you were out money with nothing to show for it, you’re not alone. According to a November 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly 33% of adults who have lost money or had personal information stolen while trying to buy something online. With holiday shopping, social media marketplaces, and payment apps making transactions faster than ever, the risk is real — but avoidable. ...

Online Shopping Scams Are Surging—Here’s How to Protect Yourself If you’ve been shopping online more lately, you’re not alone. But neither are the scammers. A recent report from Belarus documented 400 attempted online shopping frauds in a single day, a sharp spike that signals a broader trend. For anyone buying goods through websites, social media ads, or peer-to-peer marketplaces, the risk is real—and growing. ...

One in Three Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams: How to Stay Safe According to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have been the victim of an online shopping scam. That number may sound high, but anyone who regularly shops online—especially through social media or unfamiliar websites—knows how easy it is to get burned. As holiday shopping ramps up and social commerce continues to grow, understanding the landscape of these scams and knowing how to defend against them is more important than ever. ...

Online Shopping Scams Are Surging: How to Spot and Avoid Them If you were shopping online in Belarus in mid-May 2026, you might have been one of the hundreds of people who encountered a fraudulent offer. On a single day, authorities recorded roughly 400 online shopping scam attempts—a number that points to a wider problem that reaches well beyond any one country. ...

1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams: How to Spot and Avoid Them If you shop online, you’ve probably seen a deal that seemed too good to pass up—a designer handbag for $30, a new smartphone at half the retail price, or a “limited time” flash sale from a brand you’ve never heard of. According to new data from the Pew Research Center, roughly one out of every three U.S. adults has fallen for a scam like that, or at least had one attempted on them. ...