Shopping Safety

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online – What You Need to Know If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true deal on social media, paid for an item through a peer-to-peer app, or ordered from a site that looked professional but turned out to be fake, you’re not alone. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. With holiday shopping in full swing and more transactions happening outside traditional e-commerce platforms, understanding the scope of the problem and how to protect yourself has never been more timely. ...

Online Shopping Scams Are Still Common: What to Watch For Every year, millions of Americans shop online for everything from groceries to gifts. The convenience is real, but so are the risks. Scammers have become skilled at impersonating legitimate stores, payment portals, and even government agencies. Recent warnings from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) remind us that these threats aren’t going away. Whether you’re a frequent online shopper or just browsing occasionally, knowing how to spot a scam is the best way to protect your money and personal data. ...

Spotting Fake Prom Dress Websites: A Shopper’s Guide Prom season is here, and along with the excitement of finding the perfect dress comes a familiar risk: online shopping scams. Every year, scammers set up websites that look like legitimate dress retailers, offering too-good-to-be-true deals on formal wear. The Better Business Bureau recently issued an alert for shoppers in the Hudson Valley, warning that fake prom dress sites are circulating again. If you’re shopping for a prom or formal dress online, here’s what you need to know to avoid losing your money—and what to do if you’ve already been tricked. ...

How to Spot Fake Prom Dress Websites Before You Get Scammed Prom season is in full swing, and for many families that means searching for the perfect dress online. But the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has issued a warning that scammers are taking advantage of the rush, setting up fake websites that look legitimate but are designed to steal your money and personal information. An alert recently published by 101.5 WPDH detailed how these fraudulent sites are targeting shoppers in the Hudson Valley, though the problem is national. Here’s what you need to know to avoid getting taken. ...

One in Three Americans Has Been Hit by an Online Shopping Scam: 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 fake storefront, you’re not alone. According to a Pew Research Center survey published in November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s 33 percent of U.S. adults—a figure that should give any regular online shopper pause. ...

Prom Dress Scams Are Real: How to Spot Fake Websites and Shop Safely Prom season brings excitement — and, unfortunately, an uptick in scam websites designed to look like legitimate dress retailers. The Better Business Bureau recently issued an alert warning shoppers in the Hudson Valley about fake prom dress sites, but this problem isn’t limited to one region. Scammers nationwide are setting up storefronts that take your money and deliver nothing — or a knockoff that looks nothing like the photo. ...

Fake Prom Dress Websites: How to Spot and Avoid Online Shopping Scams This Season Prom season is here, and with it comes the annual rush to find the perfect dress. But scammers are counting on that urgency. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently alerted shoppers in the Hudson Valley—and the warning applies nationwide—about fraudulent websites posing as prom dress retailers. These sites are designed to look legitimate, but they exist only to take your money and personal information. ...

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. ...

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Hit by an Online Shopping Scam: Here’s What the Data Says If you’ve bought something online and never received it, or paid with a payment app only to find you can’t get your money back, you aren’t alone. According to a Pew Research Center study published in November 2025, about a third of U.S. adults report that they have experienced an online shopping scam. ...

One in Three Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online: How to Stay Safe What Happened According to a November 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, about one in three U.S. adults say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. That’s roughly 33% of Americans—a figure that underscores just how common these scams have become. The same survey found that younger adults, particularly those under 30, were even more likely to report being targeted, though no age group is immune. ...