Pew Research

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online: How to Stay Safe A new survey from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, puts a number on something many of us have suspected: online shopping scams are remarkably common. According to the data, 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 figure high enough to warrant a closer look at how these scams work and what you can do to avoid becoming the next victim. ...

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 Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online: How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or paid for a deal that turned out to be fake, you’re far from alone. According to a new Pew Research Center survey from November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve experienced an online shopping scam. With the holiday shopping season ramping up, the risk of running into a fraudulent seller or too-good-to-be-true offer is higher than usual. Here’s what the data shows and how to shop smarter. ...

1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams: How to Protect Your Wallet A new report from the Pew Research Center confirms what many of us have likely suspected: online shopping scams are remarkably common. According to the study published November 19, 2025, about a third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That’s roughly 85 million people — and younger adults (18–29) are especially likely to report being targeted. ...

Nearly One in Three Americans Has Experienced an Online Shopping Scam If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived—or received a knockoff that looked nothing like the photo—you’re far from alone. A new survey from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, found that about a third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed Shopping Online – How to Protect Yourself If you shop online, the odds that you’ve run into a scam are higher than you might think. According to a July 2025 survey from the Pew Research Center, roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That number climbs among younger adults—those aged 18 to 29 report even higher exposure, likely because they spend more time on social media platforms where fraudulent listings and fake storefronts are common. ...

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. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Experienced an Online Shopping Scam: What to Watch For If you’ve ever clicked “Buy Now” on a deal that seemed too good to be true, only to receive nothing—or something that looked nothing like the photo—you’re not alone. According to a November 2025 survey from the Pew Research Center, roughly one-third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That number is a reminder that scammers have gotten better at blending in. ...

1 in 3 Americans Report Online Shopping Scams: How to Protect Yourself If you’ve been the victim of an online shopping scam, you’re far from alone. According to the Pew Research Center, about one in three U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That statistic comes from a larger report on online scams and attacks, updated with shopping-specific data in November 2025. The numbers are a reminder that online fraud is not a rare edge case—it touches millions of ordinary people. ...

One in Three Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online — Here’s How to Avoid It If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true ad on social media, bought something from a seller with no reviews, or received a shipping notification for an order you never placed, 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. That’s roughly one in three adults — a number that has grown as more of our shopping moves to phones, apps, and auction sites. ...