Sales Scams

The most common phony sales scams—online and in person—include fake product sales, impersonation of government officials, fraudulent charities, and deceptive telemarketing. Federal agencies such as the FBI, DHS, CISA, FTC, FCC, Secret Service, and NSA all warn that these scams rely on urgency, impersonation, and “too good to be true” offers to trick victims.

Key Red Flags

  • Too good to be true deals (luxury goods, investments).
  • Urgency or threats (“act now or face arrest”).
  • Requests for unusual payment methods (gift cards, crypto, wire transfers).
  • Impersonation of officials (such as IRS, Court, law enforcement, store security).
  • Unverified websites or spoofed phone numbers.

Scams thrive because they weaponize psychology—not because victims are careless or unintelligent. By exploiting urgency, authority, and emotional triggers, scammers bypass rational defenses. Recognizing these tactics is the first step toward resilience.

Common Sales Scams

Sales scams have been around for generations and take advantage of people’s inherent good nature or concern for others.   The types of scams change slowly over time. They take place in the physical world and with growing frequency online.  Some of the common sales scams as noted by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies include the following.

  • Non-delivery scams. These scams involve you paying for goods online that never arrive.  This type of scam is common in online markets where sellers are private individuals or small companies in other countries.
  • Counterfeit goods. Fake luxury items or electronics sold online using deceptive advertising and sales practices.  Look for some independent guarantee of authenticity (such as the real manufacturer) and know who the seller is and their history.  High value items such as brand name luxury goods often bear a unique logo, stamp or are serialized as proof of authenticity.
  • Phishing & spoofing. Fake websites or emails offering products that are hard to find or at prices that are very low are used to trick buyers into giving their payment information.  These sites and messages can appear very professional, especially with increasing use of AI, and are very easy for scammers to set up.
  • Holiday scams. Seasonal sellers appear around major holidays to sell goods and services that convey the positive aspects of the holiday.  Fake charities, delivery scams, and seasonal job scams are examples.
  • Investment fraud. This is a broad category that consists of many different techniques used to trick people into providing payments in return for a large return that is often too good to be true.  They are especially effective at times of the year when people are assessing their financial status (such as around the New Year) or may have come into some cash (such as tax season).
  • Impersonation scams. While not unique to an attempt to buy goods and services, this type of scam, in which criminals pose as figures of authority can be used in a sales process.  Someone posing as a police officer, court officer or security agency could contact you related to a purchase that they claim violated some law or that you were accused of stealing by a retailer you visited.  This type of scam usually ends with a request for money to either pay a fine or make a violation go away.
  • Voice recording scams. Scammers will often call and try to confirm a person’s identity or status in order to record their response.  This technique is used to trick victims into saying “yes.”  The recording voice is then used at retailers, credit card companies or loan services as a way to authorize the creation of fraudulent accounts that can then be used to buy things or take out loans.
  • EBT fraud. This technique has the scammers placing a phony physical card reader at an EBT terminal to capture the card information and to steal benefits.  This technique is used at other types of payment terminals such as ATMs and gas station card readers.
  • Fake free trials.  Legitimate free trials are a good way to test out a product to see if you like it.  Unscrupulous sellers can use this to embed hidden recurring charges after the “free” trial period that stay in place even if you decide not to keep using the product or service.
  • Sweepstakes scams.  Winners of fake sweepstakes are usually told to wire money to cover taxes or administrative fees on fake winnings.  The victim is strung along for as long as possible, paying a continuing set of fees and ultimately never receiving any winnings.
  • Telemarketing fraud: Robocalls, fake debt relief, and bogus product sales all fall into this category of scam.  Telemarketing scams attempt to engage with people and then use high pressure techniques to get them to buy real or fake products that typically don’t get delivered and end up costing more than the initial promised price.

Rules to Remember

  1. You don’t need anything that badly that you have to decide NOW!
  2. Your family will still be your family and your friends will still be your friends even if you don’t buy them that once in a lifetime gift. Love and trust cannot be bought.
  3. People forget. The Internet does not.  Don’t leave your information where it could be disclosed for scammers to find.
  4. Know who you’re buying from and what they look like online.
  5. Research. Research. Research. Then make the purchase.
  6. Know who has your credit card number. And never let anyone store your debit card.

How to Stay Safe

Scams thrive on urgency and impersonation, and succeed because they exploit universal human psychology—fear, urgency, trust, and the desire for quick gains—rather than technical weaknesses. Even savvy individuals can be manipulated when scammers trigger emotional responses or cognitive biases.

Prevention hinges on skepticism, verification, and reporting. If something feels rushed, secretive, or “too good to be true,” it almost certainly is. Staying alert and using official channels is the best defense against phony sales scams

  • Research sellers and websites before making purchases; avoid deals that seem “too good to be true” and know who you’re buying from
  • Beware of sites that try to look like legitimate retailers.  Only deal with sellers who have a known history and presence (online, physical or both).  Look for misspellings in website URL’s and in promotional emails that will attempt to take you to fake websites.  Beware of phone calls or texts purporting to be from a retailer you may or may not have done business with in the past.  Always connect with a retailer/seller in a manner that you initiate (i.e., web lookup, phone call, physical visit) and not through the special offer email, text message or phone call that you receive.
  • Use secure payment methods.  Credit cards are the preferred method of payment as credit card authorizers offer protections in the event of fraud.  Payment using gift cards, crypto currency or wire transfers reduce your protection because the transfer of funds is instantaneous so it is almost impossible to get your money back.
  • Be cautious with charity donations—Always deal with a charitable organization that is registered with the state attorney general’s office and ideally has year-round operations.  Examples include Aloha United Way, Hawaii Community Foundation and Catholic Charities.  Charities that appear around specific holidays or events can be legitimate, but are difficult to verify given their ability to appear and disappear without notice.  Avoid donating money at the time of request and ask for more time to consider a donation.
  • Stay vigilant against online auction fraud.  Buying things at auction can often result in huge savings.  Only deal with legitimate and verifiable auctioneers to avoid not receiving goods you paid for or not getting paid for goods you auctioned off.
  • Practice cyber hygiene.  Utilize strong passwords (long, but something you can remember), software updates/patches, multi-factor authentication and secure browsers whenever dealing with money.
  • Report scams to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov).  There is a strong likelihood that the FBI can recover at least some of the money lost to scammers if reported within 72 hours of occurrence. The FTC has a “report spam” feature that can be used to report attempts to get your information.

Scammers are successful because they adapt quickly to changes in behavior exhibited by their potential victims and make good use of technology to target large audiences since they only need a few victims out of a large group to make their efforts worthwhile.  The holidays are an especially good time for them to strike because many people experience feelings of isolation or loneliness and want to make themselves feel better by believing in the fairy tales that scammers weave.  Victims are often hesitant to report getting scammed out of feelings of shame, which make them excellent targets to be victimized over and over again.  Even highly educated, successful individuals end up falling victim to these types of scams.  Which goes to show that everyone has emotional triggers that scammers can exploit.