Payment Security

One in Three Americans Reports an Online Shopping Scam: What to Know and How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever clicked on a too-good-to-be-true deal and ended up with nothing but an empty bank account, you’re not alone. According to a Pew Research Center study published in November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly 33% of U.S. adults who have lost money or had their personal information stolen while trying to buy something online. ...

AI-Powered Fake Online Shops: How to Spot and Avoid Payment Data Theft In recent weeks, authorities in Thailand have issued fresh warnings about a surge in fake e-commerce sites that use artificial intelligence to appear legitimate. The Anti Online Crime Center (AOC) has noted that these shops are becoming harder to distinguish from real stores, and they are designed specifically to steal credit card information. If you shop online—especially through social media ads or search results for deals—this is a scam trend worth understanding. ...

AI-Powered Fake Online Shops Are Stealing Payment Data: How to Spot Them If you’ve shopped online recently, you’ve probably noticed how polished even small e‑commerce sites can look. That’s partly thanks to AI tools that generate product photos, write descriptions, and even produce believable customer reviews. Unfortunately, scammers now use the same technology to create fake storefronts that look almost identical to legitimate retailers. Their goal is to get you to enter payment details—and then disappear with your data. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed Shopping Online: What You Can Do If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or paid for a product that turned out to be a counterfeit, you are far from alone. According to a new study from the Pew Research Center published in November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That figure cuts across age groups, though younger adults and people who use payment apps like Venmo or Cash App report even higher rates of victimization. ...

Warning: Facebook ‘Aldi meat box’ scam steals your payment info – here’s how to stay safe A new phishing scam is making the rounds on Facebook, targeting anyone looking for a deal on groceries. According to a report published by Security Boulevard on May 19, 2026, scammers are running fake ads that promise steep discounts on Aldi meat box bundles. Clicking the ad leads to a convincing-looking phishing site, where victims are asked to enter their credit card details—only to have that information stolen and used for fraudulent charges. ...

1 in 3 Americans have been scammed while shopping online. Are you next? If you’ve ever bought something online and never received it, or clicked a link in a text about a package delivery and later saw strange charges on your card, you are not alone. New data from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, shows that roughly one in three American adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That number is high enough that it’s worth understanding what these scams look like and how to avoid becoming part of the statistic. ...

Online shopping scams hit 1 in 3 Americans: Here’s how to spot and avoid them If you’ve bought something online that never arrived, or clicked a link that led to a fake checkout page, you are far from alone. According to a new survey from the Pew Research Center, roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That number is a reminder that fraudulent listings, phony storefronts, and payment app tricks are no longer rare — they’ve become a standard risk of digital commerce. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Hit by an Online Shopping Scam: Here’s What You Can Do Intro New data from Pew Research Center shows that online shopping scams are far from rare. According to a survey published in November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That statistic alone is worth pausing over—especially if you regularly buy things through social media ads, secondhand marketplaces, or payment apps. The good news is that most of these scams follow patterns you can learn to recognize. Below is a breakdown of what the study found, why it matters, and the concrete steps you can take to avoid becoming part of the next statistic. ...

1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams: Here’s How to Avoid Them If you’ve ever clicked “buy” on a deal that seemed too good to be true, only to receive nothing—or worse, a knockoff—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 not a niche problem; it’s a widespread consumer risk that touches millions of households. ...

How to Spot Online Shopping Scams and Protect Yourself Online shopping has become a routine part of life, but it also attracts scammers looking to steal your money or personal information. Government agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have issued warnings about evolving tactics. For example, a January 2026 VA News alert reminded veterans to watch out for scams while shopping online, and an FDIC consumer article from August 2024 described fake banks that appear legitimate but are merely fronts for fraud. ...