Fake stores and social media ads: how to check a Black Friday deal before you pay

What's happened

Online shopping scams were the most reported scams on social media in 2025, according to a Federal Trade Commission Data Spotlight published on April 27, 2026.

Nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam said it started on social media, and reported losses from those scams reached $2.1 billion, about eight times the $261 million reported in 2020. More than 40% of people who lost money to a social media scam said it began when they ordered something they saw in an ad.

Most of them paid for items that never arrived. When something did turn up, it was often counterfeit or nothing like the ad, frequently shipped from China, with return shipping so expensive that sending it back wasn't worth it. Many ads linked to unfamiliar websites, or to sites pretending to be well-known brands with big discounts. Facebook had the most reported losses of any platform, with WhatsApp and Instagram a distant second and third.

Who's affected

Anyone shopping from ads in their feed, and the risk rises in the weeks before Black Friday on November 27 and Cyber Monday on November 30, when big discounts look normal. Social media was the costliest way scammers reached people in 2025 for every age group under 80.

Signs a store may be fake

• A huge discount on a brand name. 70% or 80% off current, in-demand items is a warning sign, especially when a "closing down" or "warehouse clearance" story comes with it.
• A web address that's slightly off. Extra words, odd spellings or an unusual ending, rather than the brand's own site.
• A brand-new site. No reviews anywhere except on the site itself, or a contact page with only a form and no real address.
• Odd payment requests. Being asked to pay by Zelle, wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency, or getting a "discount" for paying that way.
• A countdown with no end. Timers and "only 3 left" banners that reset when you reload the page.

What it means in dollars: a worked example

This is an illustration, not a real case.

Dana sees an ad for a winter coat that normally costs $320, on sale for $79. The site looks professional. She pays $79 plus $9.95 shipping.

If she pays by credit card and nothing arrives, the Fair Credit Billing Act lets her dispute the $88.95 as goods not delivered as agreed. She has to write to her card issuer within 60 days of the first statement showing the charge. The issuer must acknowledge her letter within 30 days and resolve the dispute within 90 days, and she can withhold the disputed amount while it investigates.

If she pays by Zelle or bank transfer, there's no equivalent federal right, and the money is usually gone.

What to do now

1. Type the brand's address yourself. If an ad shows a deal from a store you know, go to its site directly and see whether the same deal is there.
2. Search before you buy. The FTC suggests searching the company or website name with words like "scam" or "complaint."
3. Pay by credit card. It gives you the strongest legal right to dispute a charge for items you never received. Avoid sellers that only take payment apps, wire transfers, gift cards or crypto.
4. Keep records. Screenshot the ad, the product page, your order confirmation and any shipping promise. You'll need them for a dispute.
5. Dispute fast if nothing comes. Contact the seller first, then call your card issuer and follow up in writing within the 60-day window.
6. Report it. Report the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and report the ad to the platform where you saw it.

FAQs

Does a padlock in the address bar mean a site is safe?

No. It means the connection is encrypted, not that the business is real. The FTC points out that scammers can encrypt their sites too.

What if I paid with a debit card?

Debit cards don't have the same federal billing-dispute right for goods that never arrive. Call your bank anyway, as many banks will try a chargeback through the card network, but it's at their discretion.

The item came but it's a cheap fake. Can I still dispute it?

Contact the seller first. If it won't help, call your card issuer. A credit card billing-error dispute covers goods that weren't delivered as agreed, so an item that's very different from what you ordered may qualify.

Ways to stay safer while you shop

A browser tool that warns you about bad sites adds a useful layer. Surfshark includes its Clean Web feature in all its plans, which blocks ads, trackers and malicious domains in its apps, and its browser extension also alerts you to malicious websites. No tool catches every fake store, so the checks above still matter most.

Sources: FTC Data Spotlight: reported losses to scams on social media eight times higher than 2020 (April 27, 2026), FTC: online shopping, FTC: using credit cards and disputing charges, Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 U.S.C. 1666, FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Rule, 16 CFR part 435, Surfshark: Clean Web