{
  "slug": "vetting-a-shopping-website-before-you-buy-during-holiday-sal",
  "url": "https://checklists.org/c/vetting-a-shopping-website-before-you-buy-during-holiday-sal",
  "markdown": "https://checklists.org/c/vetting-a-shopping-website-before-you-buy-during-holiday-sal.md",
  "title": "Vetting a Shopping Website Before You Buy During Holiday Sales",
  "description": "What to check before, during, and after ordering from an unfamiliar online store.",
  "category": "safety",
  "tags": [
    "online-shopping",
    "scams",
    "holiday-shopping"
  ],
  "version": "1.0",
  "updated": "2026-09-28",
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "FTC Consumer Advice: How to avoid an online shopping scam this holiday season",
      "url": "https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/11/how-avoid-online-shopping-scam-holiday-season"
    },
    {
      "name": "FTC Consumer Advice: Scams",
      "url": "https://consumer.ftc.gov/scams"
    },
    {
      "name": "Wells Fargo: 10 Tips to Identify Online Shopping Scams",
      "url": "https://www.wellsfargo.com/privacy-security/fraud/bank-scams/online-shopping-scams/"
    },
    {
      "name": "BBB: Shop like a pro and make the most of this holiday season",
      "url": "https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/23348-shop-holiday-season"
    },
    {
      "name": "ABC7 Chicago (BBB): Holiday shopping — don't let online grinches scam you this year",
      "url": "https://abc7chicago.com/post/holiday-shopping-dont-let-online-grinches-scam-year-better-business-bureau-warns/15523731/"
    },
    {
      "name": "Post and Courier (BBB): Shop safe and shop smart this holiday season",
      "url": "https://www.postandcourier.com/aikenstandard/aikenstandard/news/local/bbb-consumer-tips-shop-safe-and-shop-smart-this-holiday-season/article_19f5d7e6-a9ce-11ef-92da-0bd8c0a924bd.html"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bellator Cyber: How to Spot a Fake Online Shopping Website",
      "url": "https://bellatorcyber.com/blog/how-to-spot-a-fake-online-shopping-website"
    }
  ],
  "intro": "Holiday sales bring out the best deals of the year — and the most convincing fake stores. Scammers know you're in a rush and looking for a bargain, so they build slick sites, run ads that mimic real brands, and count on you clicking \"buy\" before you think twice. A few minutes of checking before you enter your card number can save you from a package that never shows up. Here's what to look at, roughly in order, from the moment you land on an unfamiliar site to after the order's placed.",
  "itemCount": 17,
  "essentialCount": 6,
  "sections": [
    {
      "title": "Before You Click \"Buy\"",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "12xrhsz",
          "text": "Search the seller's name plus the word \"scam\" before you order",
          "note": "Search for the seller and the word \"scam\" to vet them before sending money, rather than trusting only the reviews shown on the site itself."
        },
        {
          "id": "ecinor",
          "text": "Check the URL closely for extra words or misspellings added to a real brand name",
          "note": "Watch out for URLs that use the names of well-known brands along with extra words.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "1qjcsob",
          "text": "Confirm the address bar shows \"https\" before entering any payment details",
          "note": "The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. Note: this only means the connection is encrypted, not that the seller is honest."
        },
        {
          "id": "5lzfx4",
          "text": "Go straight to the store's own website rather than clicking through a social media ad or DM",
          "note": "Scammers are everywhere online — especially on social media. They sometimes impersonate real companies and run ads for brand-name products at unusually low prices.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "l87q7w",
          "text": "Treat unbelievably low prices as a warning sign, not a lucky find",
          "note": "Be suspicious of deals with unbelievably low prices that seem too good to be true."
        },
        {
          "id": "wu9ulh",
          "text": "Look the business up on BBB.org before ordering to see if it's listed and read what other buyers say",
          "note": "Before ordering, check out the business profile on BBB.org and read the reviews."
        },
        {
          "id": "1sh376",
          "text": "Cross-check any link you clicked against the real site's known address",
          "note": "Go directly to the official website; you can check their listing on BBB.org/search to verify you have the right one.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "wjnec7",
          "text": "Walk away from sellers using countdown timers or other pressure to make you buy immediately",
          "note": "Avoid sellers who use pressure tactics to get you to buy right away."
        },
        {
          "id": "9hzh77",
          "text": "Look for a real physical address, phone number, and clear return policy on the site",
          "note": "A store missing all three is a red flag, since scam sites are built to disappear after the sale."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Choosing How to Pay",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "19u759k",
          "text": "Pay by credit card rather than debit card, wire transfer, or a payment app when you don't know the seller",
          "note": "Use caution when doing business with sellers who insist on immediate payment through digital platforms such as Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, or online wire transfers, and pay with a credit card if you can. Credit cards give you dispute rights that other payment methods don't.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "1wjly86",
          "text": "Never hand over your bank account number, card PIN, or a one-time login code to a seller",
          "note": "Never give out sensitive information such as your bank account number, PIN, or one-time access code.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "pa4ibb",
          "text": "Message a friend directly on another channel before paying for items sold through their social media feed",
          "note": "Their account could have been hacked.",
          "when": "friend-selling-via-social-media"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "After You Order",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "1exb71q",
          "text": "Save a screenshot of the order confirmation, price, and any promised delivery date",
          "note": "You'll need this if you have to dispute the charge later."
        },
        {
          "id": "1shsftm",
          "text": "Note the ship-by date the seller promised",
          "note": "Sellers have to ship your order by the time they or their ads say they will — or give you the chance to get your money back.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "9oen3p",
          "text": "Go to the shipping carrier's own site and enter the tracking code yourself instead of clicking a link sent by text or email",
          "note": "Shipment tracking information can be faked. Look closely to make sure it is a legitimate business. Avoid clicking on the tracking link; go to the shipper's website and type in the code to see if it is real.",
          "when": "received-tracking-link-by-text-or-email"
        },
        {
          "id": "1sqprfb",
          "text": "Check your card statement against what you actually ordered once it posts, and dispute any mismatched charge right away",
          "note": "Waiting too long can cost you your chargeback rights."
        },
        {
          "id": "1oa51m2",
          "text": "Report a bad experience to BBB and the FTC so others get warned",
          "note": "Count on BBB to help you \"Shop Safe, Shop Smart,\" and report unsatisfactory purchase experiences to BBB, and tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov if you spot a scam."
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}