Pew Research

A third of Americans have faced an online shopping scam — here’s how to avoid being next If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or paid a seller who vanished after taking your money, you’re not alone. A Pew Research Center survey from November 2025 found that about a third of U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. The figure is striking, especially as holiday shopping ramps up and more people turn to social media platforms and payment apps to make purchases. This guide explains what the data shows, why it matters for everyday shoppers, and — most importantly — how to reduce your chances of being the next victim. ...

One in Three Americans Has Fallen for an Online Shopping Scam: Here’s How to Stay Safe A new survey from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, sheds light on a problem many of us have suspected: online shopping scams are widespread. Roughly one in three American adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That figure is not just a statistic—it reflects millions of real losses, ranging from a few dollars for a product that never arrived to significant financial damage from stolen payment information. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online – Are You Protected? A fresh study from Pew Research Center, released in November 2025, found that about one in three U.S. adults (33%) say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That is not a niche problem — it is a widespread hazard that touches every demographic. And with holiday shopping, deep discounts, and social media ads flooding inboxes, the risk only grows. ...

1 in 3 Americans Say They’ve Been Scammed While Shopping Online — Here’s How to Stay Safe New research from the Pew Research Center shows that online shopping scams are far more common than many people realize. According to a study released in November 2025, 33% of U.S. adults — roughly one in three — say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That number alone should make any regular shopper pause, especially with the holiday season approaching when deals and discounts flood your inbox and social media feeds. ...

One in Three Americans Has Fallen for 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 an empty mailbox and a drained bank account, you’re far from alone. According to a new Pew Research Center survey released in November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s a sizable number — and with holiday shopping already underway, it’s worth understanding what these scams look like and how to avoid becoming part of that statistic. ...

New Pew Data: One in Three Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online. Here’s What to Know. The numbers are striking. According to a November 2025 survey from the Pew Research Center, roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That’s about 32% of the population — a figure that should give any regular online shopper reason to pause. ...

Nearly a Third of Americans Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online – Here’s What to Know If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, paid for a “deal” that turned out to be a fake listing, or handed over your card details to a site that looked legitimate but wasn’t, you aren’t alone. According to a November 2025 Pew Research Center survey, about one in three U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That’s roughly 33 percent of American consumers. ...

One in Three Americans Has Been Hit by an Online Shopping Scam — Here’s How to Avoid It Intro With the holiday shopping season in full swing and online spending at record levels, a new survey from the Pew Research Center delivers a sobering statistic: about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. The data, collected in July 2025, underscores how widespread these schemes have become and why it’s worth taking a few minutes to review your own shopping habits before clicking “buy.” ...

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. ...

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed Online Shopping: Here’s How to Avoid It If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or paid for a product that turned out to be counterfeit, you’re not alone. According to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, roughly one in three American adults (35 percent) say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That number is high enough that most of us either know someone affected or have been affected ourselves. And with more people buying through social media ads, unfamiliar websites, and peer‑to‑peer marketplaces, the risk isn’t going away. This article explains the most common scams and what you can do to avoid them. ...