How to Spot Online Shopping Scams

Fake shopping websites with big discounts are just one red flag

Deirdre van Dyk,

AARP

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En español

Published July 12, 2022

/ Updated October 29, 2024

a shopping cart with a phone that has a yellow sign on it with an exclamation point

AARP (Getty 2)

Online shopping helps us avoid a trip to the store, but shoppers may not avoid a scam. “We consistently see that online shopping scams are among the top reported, particularly buying a product through an online ad,” says Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

“A lot of it starts with passive scrolling through social media. We all do it,” says Melanie McGovern, spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau (BBB), who says that online shopping scams account for a third of the complaints on the BBB's Scam Tracker.

Many people keep payment information stored on their phone, so when they’re on the couch and see an ad for that perfect scarf, “It's easy to make a quick purchase without doing the due diligence — checking their website, BBB or (investigating) what the customer experience is with that company,” McGovern says.

As greater numbers of people turning to online to buy everything from food to fashion, it’s no surprise that the number of people who lost money to online shopping scams rose 25 percent year-over-year, according to Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2024 Identity Fraud Study. And it promises to get harder to detect by the use of generative AI says Jennifer Pitt, a cybersecurity and fraud analyst with Javelin.

“Criminals can use these tools to create perfect copycat websites of major retailers or create a site for a retailer that doesn’t exist,” says Stokes, “(AI) technology takes every red flag out of the equation — perfect grammar and contact information among them.”

How common online shopping scams work

Here are some common ways criminals try to get into your wallet.

Fake shopping websites. “Right now, websites are so easy to make look professional.” says Pitt. Some faux e-stores are invented from whole cloth, but many mimic trusted retailers, with familiar logos and a URL that’s easily mistaken for the real thing. To get you there, “They'll buy up every domain … that somebody could possibly mistype,” says Pitt. A simple slip of the keyboard takes you to a scammer’s website instead of the shop you intended to visit.

Knockoff products. Some copycats do deliver merchandise — shoddy knockoffs worth less than even the “discount” price advertised as a once-in-a-lifetime deal on, say, designer watches or boots. More often, you’ll wait in vain for your purchase to arrive.

Card declined scams. This is a new scam criminals have cooked up, says McGovern. You order something, put in your card information and you’re told that your card has been declined. If you put in information from another card to pay for the purchase, you’ll find that both cards have been charged.

Malware. You may have heard how scammers seed phony sites, apps or links in pop-up ads and email coupons with malware that infects your device and harvests personal information for use in identity theft. Unfortunately, according to Pitt, it’s still a problem. “That's why as fraud professionals we (say) ‘don't visit a website you're not familiar with.’ Anytime — even if you don't provide information — you click on that link you could essentially give a scammer access to your entire computer.”

Red flags

Prices are far below other retailers. Scammers tempt you with designer products far below their retail value.

Hard-to-get products are available. Everyone is sold out of this popular product but they have it — often at a bargain-basement price.

Reviews are consistently glowing. “Scammers have gotten really good at this. They're creating very well thought out reviews,” says Pitt.

Coupons and deals too good to be true. “Big discounts by text, email, social media and online ads just cannot be trusted. We suggest that shoppers not click on links but instead go to their web browser and type in the address of retailers they know and trust. That email from Amazon may not be from Amazon at all,” says Stokes.

Shady payment options are offered. Sellers who demand payment by wire transfer, money order or gift cards. Legitimate retailers don’t want payment in these ways.

They’ve won every award. Be skeptical too of sites that claim to have won every major award,“ that's a huge red flag,” says Pitt. “Most companies don't win best in everything.”

How to protect yourself

You don’t need to forgo the ease of online shopping, but take precautions to make sure you get what you pay for.

Go directly to trusted sites rather than through a search engine. Scammers can game search results to lead you astray, says Pitt. They also pay for placement — so their fake site may pop up at the top of search results. Avoid clicking on sites that say “sponsored” or “advertisement,” Pitt advises.

Research the retailer. Search for the name with terms such as “scam” or “complaint,” and check consumer safety sites such as the BBB’s Scam Tracker. McGovern suggests you also “search through social media to see if anybody's talking about problems.”

Comparison shop. Find out how the major retailers are pricing the same product. “I had my own near miss when buying a replacement water filter for my fridge,” says Stokes, “I came across a site that sure looked legit and the price was only $39. It usually costs $55 on Amazon. So I did a little digging and sure enough, it seemed to be a scam.”

Examine coupon offers. If the spacing is off, you notice a lot of letters and numbers in the sender’s email address or if it's coming from a free email domain, that coupon may not be real, says McGovern.

Carefully read policies. Make sure you understand exchange and return policies. “If you have questions, reputable retailers will answer them,” says McGovern.

Protect your information. Don’t provide more information than a retailer needs. That should be only your billing information and the shipping address.

How to report scams

Report the theft to local law enforcement, as well as the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, and your state's attorney general. The more information authorities have, the better they can identify patterns, link cases and ultimately catch the criminals.

Contact your bank to see if it can stop payment and put any necessary fraud watches on your account.

Call the free AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline (877-908-3360) to speak with trained specialists who can provide support and guidance on what to do next and how to avoid scams in the future. The AARP Fraud Watch Network also offers online group support sessions for those who have been a victim of a scam.

This story, originally published in 2019, has been rewritten and advice from experts has been added.

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Deirdre van Dyk is an AARP associate editor covering Social Security, caregiving, technology and fraud. She previously worked at USA Today and Time, where she covered business, government, sustainability and innovation.