Shopping and delivery scams
Online Shopping Scams: Fake Stores and Delivery Texts
A great deal on social media, a store you’ve never heard of, or a text saying your package is stuck. Online shopping scams take your money and your card number, and the item never arrives.
Warning signs
- Prices that are much lower than anywhere else
- A new website or social media shop with no phone number or real address
- Payment only by gift card, Zelle, wire or cryptocurrency
- A text or email about a package you weren’t expecting, with a link to “reschedule delivery”
- Reviews that all sound the same, or no reviews at all
What to do
- Shop with stores you know, and type the website address yourself.
- Pay by credit card, which gives you the most protection if something goes wrong.
- Check delivery problems in the shipping company’s own app or website, not through a text link.
- If you were charged, call your card company and dispute the charge.
- If you already paid or shared information, see what to do right now.
Talk to us before you pay, click or share anything
Call for the fastest response, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. Serving San Diego County.
More from Wait, Check First
- Senior Scam Help in San Diego
- Think you’ve been scammed? What to do now
- How to protect an elderly parent
- Online scam course for seniors
- The grandparent scam
- Tech support and pop-up scams
- Asked to pay with gift cards?
- Medicare, Social Security and IRS scam calls
- Romance scams
- Investment scams targeting retirees
- Fake bank fraud department calls
- Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin ATM scams