A new report says fake online stores now look polished and run paid ads, so a shop that seems real may not be. Check it before you enter card details.
Fake online stores are getting harder to spot just as holiday shopping begins. A report from Savi Security, called the Scamwise Holiday Report, says AI now lets scammers build whole fake shops, complete with product catalogs, return policies and paid ads. The report's headline claim is a new fake store every 3 minutes.
Scamwise is a tool that lets people send in shopping sites for review. Since March 2026, users have sent in more than 250,000 sites. More than 100,000 of them were judged "Definitely" or "Likely a Scam." The report also says ad fraud rose sharply in September.
The old advice was to look for typos or a sloppy design. That is no longer enough. A store can look professional and still be fake. Black Friday is Nov. 27 and Cyber Monday is Nov. 30, when many people shop fast and click on ads without a second look.
Anyone shopping online this season is a possible target. The risk is highest for people who click ads on social media and search sites, because that is where these fake stores are promoted. If you only buy from shops you already know and type the address yourself, you face less risk from this particular trick.
The alert box above lists the steps. The short version: do not trust a shop on looks alone, check unfamiliar stores before paying, and use a payment method you trust.
The material does not say how Scamwise decides which sites are scams, or how accurate its ratings are. It also does not say how many shoppers have lost money. Savi Security launched a free Chrome extension that flags suspect stores, but details on how well it works were not provided.
A polished store that found you through an ad can still be fake, so check it with a scam checker before you pay.
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