Online Shopping Scams: How to Check a Seller Before You Pay

Often in a social media ad.

The FTC warns that scammers are everywhere online, especially on social media, where they sometimes impersonate real companies and run ads for brand-name products at unusually low prices. The link leads to a site built to take your money in exchange for a counterfeit, something that looks nothing like the picture, or nothing at all. Expensive brand-name items at bargain prices, the FTC adds, could be counterfeit or stolen.

Two minutes of searching.

Before you buy, search for the seller’s name and the exact web address the ad sends you to, plus words like “review,” “complaint,” or “scam.” Read reviews from several sources rather than trusting star ratings, which can be faked in both directions. Type the address of a store you know rather than following an ad, and look closely at the domain: look-alike spellings are a common trick, as the phishing guide explains.

A credit card, when possible.

Pay by credit card when you can. If you are charged twice, billed for something you never got, or sent a wrong or damaged item, you can dispute the charge with the card company. The FTC’s warning sign: if a seller says you can only pay with a gift card, wire transfer, payment app, or cryptocurrency, it is probably a scam. Those methods work like cash: once paid, the money is hard to recover. See gift card scams.

Sellers must ship when they said they would.

An FTC rule requires sellers to ship items as promised in their ads. If a seller does not promise a time, it has to ship within 30 days after it gets your order and payment, or give you the chance to cancel and get your money back. The site must also say whether you can return an item for a full refund. Before buying, find out who pays return shipping, how many days you have, and whether there is a restocking fee.

The confirmation number is your leverage.

Save the receipt, the order confirmation number, the product page, and any emails. If something goes wrong, those records help you get your money back from the seller or the card company. Shop on a network you trust, not open public Wi-Fi, when you are entering card details; see public Wi-Fi safety.

Dispute, report, and watch your accounts.

Contact the seller first with your records. If that fails and you paid by card, dispute the charge. If you entered card details on a site you now think was fake, call the card issuer to cancel and replace the card, and review the statement for other charges. Report shopping scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; ftc.gov/OnlineShopping has more.