Norton: Average holiday shopping scam loss totals almost $400
Almost one-in-three consumers has been targeted by a scam while shopping online, and Norton data shows the losses can be steep.
Nearly half (48%) of surveyed U.S. consumers are more worried about online scams this holiday season than last. There is good reason for this, as the “2026 Norton Insights Report: Holiday Scams” survey indicates 30% of respondents say they have been targeted by a scam while holiday shopping online, and more than half of them (54%) fell for it.
Almost nine-in-10 (88%) respondents who has fallen victim to a holiday shopping scam has lost money, with an average loss of $394. Close to half (47%) were scammed on a social platform.
[READ MORE: Scams are getting harder for consumers to detect – here’s why it matters]
Yet 30% of respondents say they take more risks shopping online during the holidays than the rest of the year and 35% have bought from a website or seller they thought might be a scam because the deal was too good to pass up.
In addition, 40% of respondents are seeing more scam ads on social media this year than last year. More than seven-in-10 (72%) say they're swayed by deals during the holiday season. Two-in-three (65%) respondents would buy from a website they had never heard of if the price is right.
Among U.S. holiday scam victims, 47% say they were scammed on a social platform with the top holiday scams being online shopping scams (32%).
Gen Z respondents are the most likely age demographic to take more risks during the holidays (45%) and to have bought from a seller they suspected was a scam (49%). A higher percentage (57%) of Gen Z respondents are also more concerned about scams this year than last.
Holiday shoppers use AI despite concerns
While 83% of respondents say they would use an AI assistant to shop, only 42% of them are confident it would recognize and avoid a fraudulent website. Sixty-three percent have used an AI shopping assistant or agent, and 42% plan to use a tool like ChatGPT for holiday shopping this year.
Fake online stores surge
New data from Norton parent Gen Threat Labs reveals a 129% increase in fake shop activity compared to the start of the 2025 holiday season, with Gen company ies including Norton blocking nearly 25 million attempted visits to fraudulent shopping sites in the last month. Fake online shops doubled to 526,000 during the 2025 holiday season compared to 260,000 2024.
Across the most-blocked fake shops in 14 countries, nearly two-in-three (64%) were still being blocked six months after first detection. In the U.S., fake shops stayed in operation for about seven months.
The US survey was conducted online by Dynata on behalf of Gen from Sept. 10-21, 2026, among 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.
