My FICO logo $$$$$$$$$$$ 9876 5432 1234 5678 CREDIT CARD KELLY SMITH 11/26 My FICO logo
SCORE
Skip Navigation
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  • Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Member Dashboard
  • Log In Log Out
  • Start Plan
 
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  •  
  • Education
    • Credit Education
    • Credit Scores
    • What Is a FICO Score?
    • FICO Scores vs Credit Scores
    • FICO Scores Versions
    • New FICO Scores
    • How Scores Are Calculated
    • Payment History
    • Amount of Debt
    • Length of Credit History
    • Credit Mix
    • New Credit
    • How to Improve Your Score
    • How to Build Credit
    • Credit Reports
    • What's in Your Report
    • Credit Bureaus
    • Inquiries
    • Errors on Your Report?
    • Blog
    • Calculators
    • Loan Savings
    • Vehicle Payments
    • How Much Can I Borrow?
    • Should I Consolidate My Credit Cards?
    • Know Your Rights
    • Identity Theft
    • FAQ
    • Glossary
  • Community
  • Support
  • Member Dashboard
  • Log In Log Out
  • Our Products
    • Ongoing Credit Monitoring Track your FICO® Score & identity
    • One-time Credit Reports Be prepared for important transactions
  • How Can We Help
    • Monitor Credit & Identity
    • Mortgages
    • Credit Cards
    • Auto Loans
  • Credit Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Our Products
    • Ongoing Credit Monitoring Track your FICO® Score & identity
    • One-time Credit Reports Be prepared for important transactions
  • Credit Education
  • Credit Scores
    • What Is a FICO Score?
    • FICO Scores vs Credit Scores
    • FICO Score Versions
    • New FICO Scores
    • How Scores Are Calculated
    • Payment History
    • Amount of Debt
    • Length of Credit History
    • Credit Mix
    • New Credit
    • How to Improve Your Score
    • How to Build Credit
  • Credit Reports
    • What's in Your Report
    • Credit Bureaus
    • Inquiries
    • Errors on Your Report?
  • Blog
  • Calculators
    • Loan Savings
    • Vehicle Payments
    • How Much Can I Borrow?
    • Should I Consolidate My Credit Cards?
  • Know Your Rights
  • Identity Theft
  • FAQ
  • Glossary
View all Identity Theft articles

How I Fell for an Online Scam (and Got My Money Back)

Scammers will create fake online stores to steal shoppers' money and personal information. Stay safe by watching out for these red flags next time you're shopping online.

Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels

While my work primarily focuses on learning and writing about personal finances, I've delved into the world of scams and fraud recently. It's always been my mission to help others save money, and teaching others to detect and avoid scams is perfectly in line with this goal. However, in spite of my newfound interest, I still fell victim to an e-commerce scam. Learn from my mistakes, and don't ignore the red flags next time you're tempted to click buy.

How the scammers got to me

The scam started when I was shopping for a solar generator — a rechargeable battery with outlets on it that you can connect to a solar panel for off-the-grid power. I was doing a lot of comparison shopping and getting ready to make a purchase during a major retailer's site-wide sale.

Instead, I got pulled in by a targeted social media ad featuring a well-known solar generator brand and discounted prices "due to the company closing its retail stores." After clicking on the ad, I was sent to a website with the brand's information and logo, multiple products with in-depth descriptions and a countdown next to each type of generator. There were only a few left, and I watched as the available quantity slowly dropped.

Just as the scammers wanted, I felt the urge to act quickly. It seemed plausible, I told myself. The company sells its products online and through physical retailers, and the price was low but only slightly lower than the sale prices I was seeing on the other site. I wishfully thought that maybe they were saving money on fees or commissions and passing the savings on to me.

What was actually happening

Fake e-commerce websites are a popular type of online shopping scam. The scammers can quickly set up a website, or many sites, using stolen graphics and text from legitimate retailers' sites. They then drive traffic to their fake site by posting on social media, online marketplaces or using social media ads.

If you make a "purchase" on one of these fake sites, the scammers might steal your money outright or steal your payment information and use or sell it later. Or, in some cases, they may send you products that were stolen or bought through fraudulent means (such as using someone else's stolen credit card information).

In the days after I fell for the scam, I was repeatedly targeted by ads on Facebook for the same product. Some sent me to the same scam website, but others sent me to identical sites with different addresses. A few weeks later, I found that all these scam websites were taken down.

The red flags I ignored

I knew enough to be suspicious from the start, but I ignored a few red flags because I wanted to get a good deal. Here's what you — and I — should keep a closer eye on.

  • The mismatched URL. The website's URL didn't include the brand's name. The company's logo, images and even an advertisement with a well-known celebrity were copied from the official website. But the mismatched URL was a big red flag.
  • The flimsy about page. The product descriptions and main pages on the website had well-written, and likely copied, text. But the other pages, such as the about and contact pages, lacked many details. It wasn't the case here, but I've seen some scam websites that copy the about page text from a competitor's website. For example, they claim to be Brand X but have an about page featuring Brand Y.
  • The details from the payment confirmation. Once I submitted my payment, I got an email confirmation from PayPal with the seller's information. I noticed it was a personal Gmail address rather than a business account.

I should have recognized the entire setup as a scam from the start, especially because it started with a social media ad. But seeing the recipient's personal information on the receipt was when it finally clicked.

How I got my money back

Although I was suspicious, I partially went through with the purchase because I was able to pay using a credit card via PayPal. I knew that if this wound up being a scam, I could dispute the purchase and likely get my money back.

A few minutes after checking out, I was convinced the seller was scamming me and I submitted a dispute to PayPal along with a description of what I thought happened and screenshots to back up my case. While the investigation took several weeks, I eventually got a refund.

Oddly enough, the seller still sent me a tracking code that showed the item was delivered the next week. But nothing was actually sent to my house.

Lessons learned

After reflecting on what happened, there are a few steps I'll take to avoid similar scams in the future, and I suggest you consider them as well:

  • Take a breath before buying. It was early in the morning when I fell for the scam, and I'd spent the previous few days trying to find the best deal on the solar generator I wanted. This all added to the sense of urgency. If I had taken a quick break and taken a few minutes to make coffee before coming back to my computer, I probably would have rethought my decision.
  • Listen to your gut. Even though the price wasn't outlandishly low, it was a surprising discount. It felt slightly too good to be true, and I should have trusted that feeling.
  • Consider the payment method. If I used a different payment method, such as a gift card, wire transfer, Zelle or cryptocurrency, there likely wouldn't be any way to get my money back. And if I had submitted my credit card information directly to the website, I could have become the victim of credit card fraud.

These same steps can also help you avoid losing money on other scams. However, scammers are always coming up with new ways to separate you from your money and personal information, and it's best to keep your guard up whenever you're asked to share info online.

Get your FICO® Score from FICO, for free. No credit card required.

Louis DeNicola

Louis DeNicola is a finance writer based in Oakland, California. He specializes in consumer credit, personal finance, and small business finance, and loves helping people find ways to save money. In addition to FICO, Louis works with a variety of financial services firms, credit bureaus, and educational websites, including LendingTree, Credit Karma, and Experian.

Estimate your FICO Score range

Answer 10 easy questions to get a free estimate of your FICO Score range

740 - 790
Estimate for Free

Instant Access to Your FICO® Score

90% of Top Lenders Use FICO® Scores. Do you know yours?

Get Access Now!

Page footer

Products

  • Home
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing

Learn

  • Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Blog

Company

  • About Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Program
  • Accessibility

Get Our App

  • Download iOS app on the App Store
  • fil_get
    Get Android app on the Google Play Store

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Credit Education

  • Credit scores
  • What is a FICO Score?
  • FICO Score versions
  • How scores are calculated
  • Payment history
  • Amount of debt
  • Length of credit history
  • Credit mix
  • New credit
  • Credit reports
  • What's in your report
  • Bureaus
  • Inquiries
  • Errors on your report?
  • Calculators
  • Know your rights
  • Identity theft
  • FAQ
  • Glossary

Copyright ©2001- Fair Isaac Corporation. All rights reserved.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, and may include additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies. Many factors affect your FICO Scores and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating. FTC's website on credit.

PRIVACY NOTICE: When you visit this website we collect your browsing activities on our site and use that information to analyze and research improvements to the website, and to our products and services. When you register for our products and services, we also collect certain personal information from you for identification purposes, such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, social security number, IP address, and date of birth. Further information is available in our FICO Data Privacy Policy. For visitors with visual disabilities, access to this website, including our FICO Data Privacy Policy, is available through assistive technologies, such as BrowseAloud, JAWS, VoiceOver, Narrator, ChromeVox, and Window-Eyes. More details on software and accessibility are available at WebAIM.org.