Pew Research

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online: 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 counterfeit, you’re not alone. 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 a large enough number to suggest that virtually everyone who shops on the internet either knows someone affected or has been hit themselves. The question is: what can you do to avoid becoming part of that statistic? ...

How to Avoid Online Shopping Scams: What the Data Shows and What You Can Do If you shop online, you are not alone in worrying about getting scammed. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center, published in November 2025, found that roughly one in three Americans say they have experienced an online shopping scam firsthand. That figure is worth pausing over, especially as the holiday shopping season ramps up and scam artists become more active. ...

Avoiding Online Shopping Scams: What the New Pew Data Means for You If you shop online, the numbers are sobering. According to the Pew Research Center, roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That statistic comes from a survey published in late 2025, and it aligns with a broader trend: as online shopping grows, so do the tactics used to defraud buyers. With the holiday season in full swing, it’s worth understanding the scale of the problem and taking a few practical steps to protect yourself. ...

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online: How to Avoid the Latest Tricks If you’ve been the victim of an online shopping scam, you’re far from alone. New data from Pew Research Center, released in November 2025, finds 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 — a figure that should give any regular shopper pause. ...

One in Three Shoppers Has Been Scammed Online: Here’s How to Avoid Being Next If you’ve ever bought something online and never received it, or clicked a promising deal only to find your credit card charged for something you didn’t order, you’re not alone. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, roughly one in three Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That figure is a stark reminder that fraudulent sellers and bogus offers are not rare edge cases — they’re a regular part of the modern shopping landscape. ...

1 in 3 Americans have fallen for an online shopping scam – here’s how to avoid being next If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true deal on social media or received an email that looked like it came from a major retailer, you’re not alone. New research from the Pew Research Center shows that roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That number is a reminder that scammers are getting better at what they do—and that most of us are not as careful as we think. ...

1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams—Protect Yourself Now If you shop online, you’ve probably seen too-good-to-be-true deals or received an email about a package you never ordered. According to a November 2025 survey by Pew Research Center, 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 threat that affects people across age groups and income levels. This article explains what the data shows, why it matters, and what you can do to avoid becoming part of that statistic. ...

How to Spot and Avoid Online Shopping Scams (1 in 3 Americans Have Been Hit) A new survey from the Pew Research Center has put a number on something many shoppers have suspected: online shopping scams are distressingly common. According to the study, about a third of American adults say they have personally had an online shopping scam happen to them. That translates into tens of millions of people who have paid for goods that never arrived, clicked on fraudulent links, or handed over payment information to fake sellers. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online — Here’s What to Know If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or clicked a link in an email that looked like an order confirmation but turned out to be a phishing trap, you’re not alone. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, about a third of U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That’s roughly one out of every three online shoppers — and the numbers are worth paying attention to, especially as holiday shopping season ramps up. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed Shopping Online — 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 far from alone. A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That number is striking, and it suggests that nearly every regular online shopper either has been hit or knows someone who has. With holiday shopping and year-end sales approaching, it’s worth understanding what’s going on and how to protect yourself. ...