Consumer Safety

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed Shopping Online — Here’s How to Avoid Being Next If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or paid for a product that turned out to be a counterfeit, you’re not alone. According to a 2025 Pew Research Center report, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. With holiday shopping season in full swing and deal-hunting at its peak, the risk is higher than usual. This article explains the latest data, why it matters, and—most importantly—how to protect yourself. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online – What to Watch For If you’ve ever clicked a tempting ad for a deal that seemed too good to be true—and later realized the item never arrived or the website was fake—you’re far from alone. According to a recent Pew Research Center report, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly one out of every three adults who regularly shop online. ...

How to Outsmart Online Shopping Scams and Stay Safe Online shopping scams are on the rise. The Federal Trade Commission reported that consumers lost nearly $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022, and shopping scams are a major piece of that. These days, phony websites, phishing emails, and fake social media ads are craftier than ever—AI-generated content makes them harder to spot. But you don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to protect yourself. Here’s what you should know. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online: What to Know If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or clicked a link in an email that led to a fake storefront, you’re not alone. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That figure—roughly 33% of U.S. adults—gives a sense of just how widespread these schemes have become. ...

1 in 3 Americans Hit by an Online Shopping Scam – Here’s How to Stay Safe If you’ve ever clicked on a too-good-to-be-true deal and ended up with nothing but a lost payment, you’re far from alone. According to a November 2025 Pew Research Center survey, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly 33 percent of U.S. adults — a reminder that fraudulent sellers and fake storefronts have become a routine part of the digital marketplace. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Experienced an Online Shopping Scam: Here’s How to Stay Safe If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true deal and ended up with nothing to show for it, you’re far from alone. A new Pew Research Center report, published in late November 2025, found that 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 numbers are even higher for younger shoppers. ...

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Hit by an Online Shopping Scam – Here’s How to Avoid Being Next Online shopping has become so routine that it’s easy to forget how quickly things can go wrong. A new study from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, puts a number on that risk: about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s not a small fringe problem—it’s a widespread issue affecting millions of consumers. ...

Online Shopping Scams Are on the Rise — Here’s How to Stay Safe Shopping online is convenient, but it also opens the door to scammers. In January 2026, the Department of Veterans Affairs published a reminder for veterans and their families to watch out for scams and stay safe while online shopping. Around the same time, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation warned about fraudsters posing as banks. These government alerts underscore a simple reality: online shopping scams are becoming more common and more sophisticated. ...

1 in 3 Americans Have Faced an Online Shopping Scam: How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever clicked “Buy Now” on a site that looked a little off, or sent money via a payment app for an item that never arrived, you’re far from alone. A new study from the Pew Research Center, released in late 2025, found that about a third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. With holiday shopping reaching its peak, that number is likely to climb. Here’s what the data shows and, more importantly, what you can do to keep your money safe. ...

Online Shopping Scams Are on the Rise: How to Protect Yourself In May 2026, Belarusian authorities reported that citizens logged roughly 400 online shopping scam attempts in a single day. That number is striking, but it’s not an isolated case—similar spikes have been recorded in other countries over the past year. Whether you live in Minsk, Manchester, or Manila, the tactics used by fraudsters are increasingly similar, and the risk for ordinary shoppers is real. ...