Pew Research

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed Shopping Online — Here’s How to Stay Safe If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true ad, entered your card info on a lookalike site, or paid a “seller” via a payment app for something that never arrived, you’re not alone. New research from the Pew Research Center shows that about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly one in three online shoppers who have lost money, had their identity stolen, or dealt with a fraudulent transaction. ...

3 in 10 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams: How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever clicked “buy” on a site that looked legitimate, only to receive nothing in return, you’re far from 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 U.S. adults—and the number is even higher among frequent shoppers and younger adults. ...

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Has Been Hit by an Online Shopping Scam – Here’s How to Stay Safe If you shop online, the odds are uncomfortably high that you’ve already been targeted. According to a November 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, about one in three U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That statistic alone should give anyone pause, but the real concern is that these scams are becoming more common and more convincing. ...

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online – How to Protect Yourself A new report from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, found that about a third of American adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. The statistic is a reminder that fraudulent purchases, fake websites, and phishing attempts are not rare events — they are part of the normal landscape of e-commerce today. Whether you shop on Amazon, Instagram, eBay, or a small boutique website, the risk exists. Knowing what these scams look like and how to avoid them can save you money and frustration. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Fallen for an Online Shopping Scam: How to Protect Yourself If you shop online, you are not alone in worrying about fraud. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, found that about one-third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That is roughly 33 percent of the adult population—a figure that gives any regular online shopper reason to pause. ...

Online Shopping Scams Are Rampant: How to Spot and Avoid Them If you’ve bought something online that never arrived, or paid through a peer-to-peer app for a product that turned out to be fake, you’re far from alone. A November 2025 survey by the Pew Research Center found that about a third of Americans — 33% — say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That’s a large enough share to make fraud prevention a basic skill for anyone who shops on the internet. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Hit by an Online Shopping Scam – Here’s How to Stay Safe About a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them, according to a November 2025 report from the Pew Research Center. That finding is a reminder that fraudulent sellers, fake websites, and phishing attempts are not rare—they’re part of doing business online for millions of people. With the holiday shopping season in full swing, knowing how to spot and avoid these scams has become a basic skill. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online. Here’s How to Stay Safe. A new report from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, finds that roughly a third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That figure is a reminder that fraud is not a rare or distant problem — it touches a large share of consumers, and the risk is only rising during peak shopping seasons. ...

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Hit by an Online Shopping Scam – Here’s How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or clicked a link in an email that turned out to be a phishing trap, you’re not alone. According to a November 2025 survey from the Pew Research Center, about one in three U.S. adults say they’ve personally experienced an online shopping scam. That number climbs even higher among younger adults and people who shop online frequently. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed Online – Here’s How to Avoid It Online shopping is now a daily habit for millions of Americans. But a new survey from Pew Research Center highlights a troubling trend: about one in three U.S. adults say they have been the victim of an online shopping scam. ...