Scam Awareness

How to Spot and Avoid Online Shopping Scams: Advice from the VA Online shopping has become routine for most of us, but the convenience comes with a persistent risk: scams. Every year, fraudsters invent new ways to separate shoppers from their money and personal information. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has published several recent articles warning about these threats, focusing on how veterans and the general public can stay safe. This guide distills that advice into a straightforward set of practices you can use right now. ...

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 Faced an Online Shopping Scam: Here’s How to Protect Yourself The convenience of buying everything from groceries to electronics with a few clicks has made online shopping a daily habit for millions. But that convenience comes with a real risk. According to a Pew Research Center survey published in November 2025, about a third of Americans say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That is not a small fraction of unlucky people—it is a widespread problem that touches nearly every demographic. ...

Meta Under Fire for Not Stopping Online Shopping Scams: What You Need to Know If you buy or sell items on Facebook Marketplace or Instagram, you’ve likely seen the warning signs—posts that look too good to be true, sellers who push for payment outside the platform, or messages that disappear after a transaction goes wrong. Now, Dutch regulators are publicly calling out Meta for not doing enough to stop these scams from happening in the first place. ...

How to Spot and Avoid Shopping Scams on Facebook and Instagram Right Now If you’ve bought or sold anything on Facebook Marketplace or Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that scams are everywhere. Dutch authorities recently made that official: after an investigation, they concluded that Meta isn’t doing nearly enough to protect users from online shopping fraud. For shoppers, that means the responsibility falls back on you. Here’s what’s happening, why it matters, and—most importantly—how to keep your money safe. ...

How to Spot Online Shopping Scams and Stay Safe — Practical Tips Online shopping is convenient, but it also attracts scammers. Phishing emails, fake stores, and too‑good‑to‑be‑true deals are common year‑round. Government agencies such as the VA, FDIC, and Federal Trade Commission regularly issue warnings about these threats. This article compiles practical advice from those sources to help you recognize scams and protect yourself. ...

How to Watch Out for Scams and Stay Safe While Online Shopping Online shopping has become a routine part of life for most people. But as e‑commerce grows, so do the number of scams designed to separate you from your money or steal your personal information. Recent alerts from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA News) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) highlight the need for shoppers to stay alert year‑round, not just during the holidays. ...

Almost 1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed Shopping Online: Here’s How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true ad on social media or bought something from an unfamiliar website only to receive nothing—or a counterfeit—you are far from alone. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That figure puts the problem squarely in the mainstream, not on the fringes of the internet. ...

1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams: How to Shop Safely Now If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or clicked a link that looked like a major retailer but turned out to be a fake, you’re far from alone. According to new data from the Pew Research Center, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That figure—roughly 33% of U.S. adults—is a reminder that these frauds are not rare outliers. They happen to ordinary people, often when they’re just trying to grab a deal or buy from a brand they trust. ...