How to Shop Online Safely: What Older Adults Should Check Before Entering a Card Number

Online shopping scams rank among the most commonly reported fraud types affecting older adults. The FTC’s 2024 data shows that online shopping fraud cost Americans over 60 millions of dollars — and the tactics have become more convincing than ever. Fake websites look indistinguishable from real ones. Advertisements on Facebook and Google lead to stores that take your payment and disappear. Understanding what to check before entering your card number is one of the most practical things you can do to shop online with confidence.

The Five Checks to Make Before Every Online Purchase

Check 1: Look at the web address before doing anything else. The address bar at the top of your browser shows you exactly which website you’re on. Before entering any personal or payment information, look at that address carefully. A legitimate retailer’s address starts with “https://” (the “s” matters — it means the connection is encrypted) and the name in the address matches the store you intended to visit. A scam site might use an address like “amazon-deals.shop” or “walmart-clearance.net” — neither of which is actually Amazon or Walmart. If the address looks unfamiliar or contains extra words and hyphens around a brand name, close the page and navigate directly to the real site by typing its address yourself.

Check 2: Search for the store independently before purchasing. If you arrived at a store through an advertisement — on Facebook, Google, or anywhere else — don’t purchase from that tab. Instead, open a new tab, search for the store’s name in Google, and see what comes up. Legitimate stores have reviews, a Wikipedia page, or news coverage. If a search for the store name turns up nothing or returns results about scams, that’s your answer. A good rule is: if you’d never heard of the store before the ad appeared, verify it independently before giving them your credit card.

Check 3: Read the return policy and contact information before purchasing. Legitimate online stores have a clearly stated return policy and a way to contact them — a real email address, a phone number, or a contact form. Scam sites frequently have no return policy, no contact information, or contact details that lead nowhere. If you can’t find how to reach the company and what happens if your order doesn’t arrive, that’s a significant warning sign. Scroll to the bottom of any store’s website and look for an “About Us,” “Contact,” or “Return Policy” page before purchasing.

Check 4: Be skeptical of prices that seem dramatically lower than usual. If a product you know well — a name-brand appliance, a piece of jewelry, a popular medication — is being sold for 60 or 70 percent less than its normal price, treat that as a warning rather than an opportunity. Scam stores attract victims by offering prices no legitimate retailer could match. A real store running a sale might offer 20 to 30 percent off. A price that’s half the normal market value for a new product from a store you’ve never heard of is almost certainly too good to be true.

Check 5: Use a credit card, not a debit card or wire transfer. When you do purchase from a new or unfamiliar online store, use a credit card rather than a debit card. Credit cards offer legal protections that allow you to dispute a charge if the product never arrives or isn’t what was described — a process called a chargeback. Debit cards offer fewer protections, and wire transfers offer none at all. If a store asks you to pay by wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency, stop immediately — no legitimate retailer requests these payment methods.

Shopping Safely on Well-Known Sites

Even on legitimate sites like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart Marketplace, caution is needed. These platforms allow third-party sellers — individual businesses or people — to sell products alongside the platform’s own inventory. The platform itself is trustworthy, but individual sellers vary significantly.

Before purchasing from a third-party seller on any platform, check the seller’s ratings and read recent reviews. Look specifically for reviews that mention whether the product arrived as described and whether customer service was responsive when something went wrong. Sellers with very few reviews, or recent negative reviews about non-delivery, are worth avoiding even if their price is attractive.

On Amazon specifically, look for the label “Sold by Amazon” or “Fulfilled by Amazon” near the purchase button. Products sold or fulfilled by Amazon directly carry stronger consumer protections than products sold by third-party sellers and shipped independently.

What to Do If You Think You’ve Been Scammed

If you place an order and it never arrives, or the product is completely different from what was described, act quickly. Contact your credit card company first and report the charge as fraudulent — most companies have a 24-hour fraud line on the back of the card. Ask them to open a dispute and explain that the seller did not deliver what was purchased. Your credit card company is your strongest ally in recovering the money.

Also report the fraudulent site to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. This takes about five minutes and helps the FTC track patterns — when enough people report the same site, the agency can take action to have it shut down and warn others. If you paid by debit card, contact your bank the same day and explain the situation; some banks will still initiate a dispute process, though protections are more limited than with credit cards.

Online shopping is genuinely convenient and safe when done with the right habits. The five checks above add less than two minutes to any purchase and dramatically reduce the chances of becoming a victim. The sites that scammers build are designed to look trustworthy — the protection isn’t in your instincts, it’s in the specific things you verify before entering your card number.