Steps to Take After an Online Shopping Scam

Table of Contents

• Act Within the First 24 Hours
• Contact Your Bank or Card Issuer Immediately
• How to Get Money Back After an Online Shopping Scam
• Report an Online Shopping Scam to Authorities
• What to Do if You Gave a Scammer Your Credit Card Information
• Secure Accounts After an Online Scam
• Gather and Preserve Evidence
• Protect Yourself from Recovery Scams
• Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: October 12, 2026

Act Within the First 24 Hours

The first day after discovering an online shopping scam is critical: quick action determines whether you recover your money and protect your identity.

Document everything immediately: screenshots of the fraudulent website, order confirmation, bank statements, and messages from the scammer. Note the exact time you discovered the scam, this evidence becomes your proof later.

Contact your bank or card issuer within hours, not days, the sooner you report unauthorized activity, the faster they can freeze your account and investigate.

Here's what to do in your first 24 hours:

• Call your bank's fraud line immediately (the number is on the back of your card)
• Report the exact transaction amount and merchant name
• Ask them to freeze your account to prevent additional charges
• Request a new card with a different number
• Ask about their dispute timeline and what documentation they need
• Write down the name and employee ID of the person you speak with

If you used a debit card, act even faster, debit fraud offers less protection than credit cards, and prompt reporting improves your refund chances.

Contact Your Bank or Card Issuer Immediately

Your bank is your first line of defense: it can reverse fraudulent charges and issue new cards.

Call the number on the back of your card, never one from the email or website, so you reach your real bank, not a scammer impersonating it.

Tell them:

• You made a purchase from a fraudulent website or seller
• The transaction date and amount
• The merchant name as it appears on your statement
• That you did not authorize this charge

Your bank will verify your identity and may ask what you thought you were buying, how you found the seller, and what happened.

Request these specific actions:

• Dispute the transaction immediately. Your bank can file a dispute on your behalf, which starts the investigation process.
• Freeze your account temporarily. This prevents the scammer from making additional charges while you sort this out.
• Cancel your current card. A new card with a different number stops the scammer from using your old card details.
• Check for other unauthorized charges. Ask the bank to review your recent statement for any other suspicious activity.

Most banks reverse fraudulent charges within 10 business days if you report quickly. Credit card issuers offer stronger fraud protection than debit card issuers, so your outcome depends partly on which card you used.

How to Get Money Back After an Online Shopping Scam

Getting your money back after an online shopping scam takes persistence, and the method depends on how you paid.

If you used a credit card: Your credit card company must investigate your dispute within 30 days and typically issues a provisional credit.

If you used a payment app like PayPal or Venmo: Contact the app's support team and report the transaction as fraudulent or unauthorized.

If you used a wire transfer or sent cash: This is the hardest situation, once money leaves your account this way, it's nearly impossible to recover.

The key to getting your money back is documentation. Gather:

• Order confirmation from the fraudulent website
• Email receipts or messages from the scammer
• Screenshots of product listings that don't match what arrived (or didn't arrive)
• Your bank statement showing the charge
• Proof that the website is no longer active or has changed ownership
• Any communication where the scammer admitted the scam or refused refunds

Send this documentation to your bank when you file your dispute. The more evidence you provide, the stronger your case.

Report an Online Shopping Scam to Authorities

Reporting the scam creates an official record, helps authorities track scammers, and protects other shoppers from the same fraudulent website.

Report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC collects complaints about online fraud and shares patterns with law enforcement.

When you report, provide:

• The website URL or seller name
• The date and amount of the transaction
• How you paid (credit card, debit card, PayPal, etc.)
• What you ordered versus what happened (item didn't arrive, wrong item, counterfeit, etc.)
• Any communications with the seller or scammer
• Your contact information

Report to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at IC3.gov if the scam involved identity theft or significant financial loss.

Report to your state's Attorney General's office. Each state has a consumer protection division, search "[your state] Attorney General consumer fraud" for the reporting form.

Reporting doesn't guarantee you'll recover your money, but it does:

• Create an official record that helps authorities
• Warn other potential victims
• Help law enforcement identify fraud patterns
• Potentially lead to criminal charges against the scammer

What to Do if You Gave a Scammer Your Credit Card Information

If you gave a scammer your full credit card number, expiration date, and CVV, act immediately to prevent identity theft and unauthorized charges.

Monitor your account closely for the next 90 days. Check your statements every few days, not monthly. Look for:

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• Charges you don't recognize
• Small test charges (scammers often make tiny purchases to verify the card works)
• Subscription charges you didn't authorize
• Charges from unfamiliar merchants

Place a fraud alert on your credit report. Contact Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion and ask for a fraud alert on your file.

Check your credit report for new accounts. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and request your free credit report from all three bureaus. Look for accounts you didn't open.

Consider a credit freeze if the scammer also got your Social Security number. A credit freeze prevents anyone from opening new accounts in your name.

The risk of giving a scammer your full card information is that they can:

• Make unauthorized purchases
• Open new credit accounts in your name
• Sell your information to other criminals
• Use it for identity theft

Acting fast, within 24 hours, significantly reduces this risk.

Secure Accounts After an Online Scam

Once you've dealt with the fraudulent charge, protect your other accounts from the same scammer.

Enable two-factor authentication on your important accounts. This adds a second layer of security. Even if a scammer gets your password, they can't log in without a code from your phone. Enable it on:

• Your email account
• Your bank account
• Your shopping accounts (Amazon, eBay, etc.)
• Your social media accounts
• PayPal or other payment apps

Check your email account for unauthorized access. Review recent activity for logins from unfamiliar locations or devices. If anything looks suspicious, change your email password immediately and enable two-factor authentication.

Review connected accounts and apps. Check which third-party apps have access to your email and remove any you don't recognize or no longer use, scammers sometimes gain access through connected apps.

Update your security questions and recovery options. If the scammer has your personal information, they might reset your passwords via security questions.

Gather and Preserve Evidence

Evidence is what convinces your bank to issue a refund and helps authorities prosecute the scammer.

Start collecting evidence immediately:

• Screenshots of the website. Capture the product listing, price, checkout page, and order confirmation, with the URL visible. Fraudulent sites often disappear, so screenshots are your only proof they existed.
• Order confirmation and receipt. Save any emails or confirmation pages that show what you ordered, when, and how much you paid.
• Communication with the seller. Save any emails or messages with the scammer, they often contain admissions of guilt or refusals to refund.
• Bank statements and transaction history. Print or download statements showing the fraudulent charge.
• Tracking information (or lack thereof). If the seller provided a tracking number that never updated, save that. If they never provided tracking, document that too.
• The item you received (if anything). If you received a counterfeit or wrong item, keep it unopened and unused, your bank may ask to see it as proof.
• Photos of the item (if applicable). If you received a counterfeit or wrong item, photograph it with the original packaging. Show the condition it arrived in.

Store this evidence in multiple places:

• Print important documents and keep them in a folder
• Save digital copies to your computer and cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.)
• Email yourself copies so you have a dated record

Your bank will ask for this evidence when you file your dispute. The more complete your documentation, the faster they can resolve your case.

Protect Yourself from Recovery Scams

After you've reported a scam, someone may contact you claiming they can recover your money. These are recovery scams, a second fraud on top of the first.

Red flags for recovery scams:

• Someone contacts you claiming to be from a "recovery service" or "claims agency"
• They ask you to pay an upfront fee to recover your money
• They guarantee they can get your money back
• They ask for personal information like your Social Security number or bank account details
• They pressure you to act quickly
• They contact you through email, text, or social media (not official channels)

Legitimate recovery is free: your bank doesn't charge to investigate fraud, the FTC doesn't charge to file a complaint, and law enforcement doesn't charge to report a crime.

Protect yourself:

• Don't respond to unsolicited messages about recovery services
• Never pay upfront fees to recover fraud losses
• Ignore emails or calls claiming to be from recovery agencies
• Report recovery scam attempts to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• Stick with official channels: your bank, the FTC, and law enforcement

At OG Gilmore Girl, we encourage you to shop with confidence. Shopping with trusted retailers and verifying websites before entering payment information helps you avoid most scams.

Discovering an online shopping scam is stressful, but you have real options for recovery.