Fake online shop: I paid and nothing arrived – what now?

First: save the evidence

Scam websites and listings disappear fast, and fake seller profiles get deleted along with your conversation. Before anything else, save:

• the website address or the link to the listing, plus screenshots of the offer,
• the order, the confirmation email or invoice and the delivery date you were promised,
• every message with the seller – emails, marketplace messages, texts, chats,
• proof of payment – your bank or card statement, the account details you paid to, any transaction ID.

Your bank, card provider and the police will all ask for these.

Paid by credit or debit card

1. Write to the seller first. Both the FTC and Citizens Advice say to contact the seller before anything else and keep a copy of what you send. Email is best – it gives you a dated record. If the shop turns out to be fake, there will be no reply, but you'll have shown you tried.
2. Contact your card provider. Use the number on the back of your card or the official app – never contact details from the shop or from a message.
   • UK, credit card: if a single item cost more than £100 and no more than £30,000, you can make a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act – the card company is equally responsible with the seller. Citizens Advice notes that Section 75 usually doesn't apply if you paid through a third party, such as a marketplace or PayPal.
   • UK, debit card (or a credit card where Section 75 doesn't apply): ask for a chargeback. It's a voluntary scheme run by the card networks, so your bank doesn't have to agree – but there's no minimum amount.
   • US, credit card: under the Fair Credit Billing Act, an item that wasn't delivered as agreed counts as a billing error. The FTC says you must dispute it within 60 days of the date your first statement showing the charge was sent to you. File the dispute online or by phone, and also send a letter to the card company's billing-disputes address.
   • US, debit card: protection is weaker. The FTC warns you may not be able to get a refund for non-delivery, so contact your bank as soon as you notice the problem and ask what voluntary protection it offers.
3. Expect it to take a while. The dispute goes through the card network to the seller's bank. Answer your bank's questions promptly and send the evidence you saved.

Paid with PayPal

Open a dispute in the PayPal Resolution Center. According to Citizens Advice, you have 180 days from the date you paid to open a dispute. Check PayPal's own terms for what your purchase is covered by.

Paid by bank transfer, gift card or crypto

These are the payment methods scammers prefer, because the money is hard to get back. The NCSC advises never to pay a shop by direct bank transfer for this reason. Act anyway – speed matters:

• Bank transfer (including Zelle in the US): call your bank immediately, report the fraud and ask it to recover the payment. Ask whether you are entitled to a refund – the rules differ between countries and banks.
• Payment app (Venmo, Cash App and similar): report it in the app and ask for the payment to be reversed.
• Gift card: contact the card issuer using the number on the back, say a scammer tricked you into giving them the card number and PIN, and ask for a refund. Keep the card and receipt.
• Crypto: contact the exchange or crypto ATM operator, tell them the transaction was fraudulent and ask them to reverse it. The FTC points out that crypto payments don't have the same legal protections as card payments.

Report it

• UK: report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). In Scotland, contact Police Scotland on 101.
• US: report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Report the fake website so it can be taken down: in the UK use the NCSC's suspicious website form – copy and paste the address rather than clicking it. Found the seller on a marketplace or social media? Report the listing or profile there too.
• Elsewhere: contact your local police and your national consumer protection authority.

Did the "seller" also get your email password or ask you to log in somewhere? Secure your accounts with Account hacked: how to get it back.

How to spot a fake shop next time

Citizens Advice and the NCSC list the same warning signs:

• The price is too good to be true – big brands at a fraction of the usual price.
• No real address. A genuine business gives a street address, not just a PO box. In the UK you can also check whether the company is registered.
• Reviews only on the shop's own site. Look for reviews on several independent sites.
• A padlock in the address bar doesn't mean the shop is genuine. Scam sites have HTTPS too.
• A lookalike address – a copied logo on a slightly different domain. Type the retailer's address yourself instead of clicking an advert or link.
• Unusual payment requests – bank transfer, gift cards, crypto or money transfer services instead of card payments, or pressure to pay quickly.

When you do buy, the NCSC recommends paying by credit card where possible, filling in only the required fields, checking out as a guest and not letting the shop or your browser save your card.