Safe Online Shopping Tips for Families: How to Avoid Scams

Shopping online is routine for most families now, from school supplies and birthday presents to the snacks that show up on the doorstep every other week. That convenience is exactly why scammers put so much effort into fake stores, phony delivery texts and too-good-to-be-true deals. The good news is that a few habits catch nearly all of it.

Here is what we recommend, whether you are buying for yourself or teaching a teenager to shop on their own.

Check the store before you check out

The most common online shopping scam is a store that looks real but never ships anything, or ships a cheap knockoff. These sites often appear through social media ads and sponsored search results.

Before buying from a store you have not used before:

1. Type the address yourself or use a bookmark for big retailers, rather than tapping an ad or a link in a text.
2. Look at the web address closely. Scam sites often use a brand name plus extra words, odd spellings, or unusual endings.
3. Search the store name plus "scam" or "reviews" and read what people say on independent sites, not just the testimonials on the store's own pages.
4. Look for real contact details: a physical address, a phone number, and a returns policy written in plain language.
5. Be wary of prices that are dramatically lower than every other seller. Deep discounts on popular sneakers, electronics or designer goods are the classic lure.

A padlock icon in the browser only means the connection is encrypted. Scam sites can have one too, so it is not proof a store is legitimate.

Pay the safer way

How you pay matters as much as where you shop.

• Credit cards offer the strongest protection for most US shoppers. Federal law limits your liability for unauthorized charges, and you can dispute charges for items that never arrive.
• Digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal keep your card number away from the merchant, which helps if the store is later breached.
• Debit cards work, but disputed money comes out of your bank account while the problem is sorted out.
• Never pay with gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency or payment apps meant for friends when buying from a stranger or an unfamiliar store. Those methods are hard or impossible to reverse, which is exactly why scammers ask for them.

Some families set up a separate card with a low limit just for online shopping, or use virtual card numbers if their bank offers them. Either way, a problem stays small.

Protect the accounts you shop with

Your Amazon, Target, Walmart or other store account holds your address, order history and often a saved card. Treat it like any other important account:

• Use a unique password, ideally stored in a password manager, or a passkey if the store supports one.
• Turn on two-step verification.
• Remove old saved cards you no longer use.
• Watch for order confirmation emails you do not recognize. They can be the first sign that someone else is in your account.

Watch out for delivery and "problem with your order" messages

Fake delivery texts are one of the most common scams of all. They claim a package is held up, a fee is due, or an address needs confirming, and link to a page that steals card details or login information.

• Real carriers will not ask you to pay a small fee by text to release a package.
• If you are expecting something, open the retailer's app or website yourself and check the tracking there.
• Do not call phone numbers in unexpected texts or emails. Look up the company's number independently.

The same goes for emails saying your account is locked, a refund is waiting, or a payment failed. Go to the site directly instead of clicking.

Shop on secure connections and up-to-date devices

Public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop or airport is fine for browsing, but for checkout it is safer to use your mobile data or a trusted home network. Keep your phone, computer and browser updated too. Updates fix security holes that scammers and malware rely on. Our guide to viruses, malware and hackers explains the basics.

Keep kids from making surprise purchases

Children rarely set out to rack up charges, but games and apps make spending very easy. A few settings prevent most surprises:

• On iPhone and iPad, turn on Ask to Buy through Family Sharing so purchase requests come to a parent first. Our walkthrough on restricting in-app purchases has the steps.
• On Android, use Google Family Link to require approval for purchases on a child's account, and require authentication for purchases in Google Play settings.
• On game consoles, use the console's family settings to set spending limits or require a password for every purchase.
• Do not save a card on shared devices or game accounts your kids can access without a parent.

For teens who are starting to shop on their own, a prepaid or teen debit card with parental controls can be a sensible middle step, paired with a conversation about the scams above.

Read the fine print on "buy now, pay later"

Installment plans are now offered at checkout on many sites. They can be convenient, but they make it easy to stack up several small payments without noticing. Check the payment schedule, late fees, and whether the plan reports to credit bureaus before agreeing. Teens in particular should understand that splitting a purchase into four payments still means paying the full amount.

If something goes wrong

Act quickly. The sooner you report a problem, the better your chances of getting money back.

1. Contact your card issuer or bank and dispute the charge. Explain that the item never arrived, was not as described, or was an unauthorized purchase.
2. Contact the seller in writing if it is a legitimate store, and keep copies of everything.
3. Change passwords for any account you used on the suspicious site, and for any other account that shared that password.
4. Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Reports help investigators spot patterns.
5. Watch your statements for the next few months for any further unexpected charges.

Before-you-buy checklist

• I reached the store by typing the address or using a trusted app, not through an ad or text link.
• The store has real contact details and a clear returns policy.
• The price is in line with other sellers.
• I am paying with a credit card or digital wallet, not a gift card, wire or crypto.
• My shopping accounts use unique passwords and two-step verification.
• Purchase approval is turned on for my kids' devices and game accounts.
• I know how to dispute a charge if something goes wrong.

Run through that list for any new store, and online shopping stays the convenience it is supposed to be.