As online shopping becomes a staple for families, experts warn that increasingly sophisticated scams on legitimate marketplaces threaten consumers, emphasising the importance of scepticism and careful scrutiny before clicking ‘buy’.
Online shopping has become part of everyday family life, but it has also created a fertile environment for fraudsters who hide behind legitimate-looking marketplaces. According to guidance from SCNow, the most common third-party seller scams on major retail sites involve prices that look too good to be true, bogus tracking details, rigid no-return policies and requests to complete payment off-platform. The result can be a deceptively polished purchase that never arrives, arrives damaged or is impossible to return.
The risk is not trivial. SCNow cited a TransUnion study showing that 18% of consumers who were targeted by online fraud said they had been caught up in third-party seller scams on legitimate e-commerce sites. That figure underlines how easily shoppers can mistake a marketplace listing for a direct sale from a trusted brand, especially when the page design looks familiar and the checkout process feels routine.
For parents, the practical response is to slow the transaction down. SCNow advises checking whether the seller is actually the retailer, reading reviews with care, confirming return terms and using a credit card rather than a debit card or payment transfer service. Those steps do not eliminate risk, but they can improve the odds of recovering money if a purchase goes wrong.
The broader lesson is that online scams are increasingly built to resemble normal shopping. That makes scepticism an everyday consumer skill rather than an optional precaution. In a market where a fake listing can look as convincing as a genuine one, the safest purchase is often the one you inspect twice before you click.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
