Fake shopping sites that say "payment declined, try another card"

The Scam

According to Bryan Oglesby of the BBB serving West Florida, scammers use social media ads and search engine ads to draw holiday shoppers to websites that impersonate familiar retailers. In what he called a "double payment credit card trap," the fake site shows a message saying your payment was declined or there were insufficient funds, then asks you to enter a different card. He said these sites collect your credit card information and other data and use it for identity theft and credit card fraud. Shoppers may also pay for an item that never arrives or get something different from what was advertised. The same report cites Check Point Research finding a 29% increase in newly created Amazon-related phishing and scam domains compared with last year.

The Targets

Holiday shoppers who click shopping ads on social media or in search results, according to the BBB.

Red flags

• A checkout page that says your card was declined or had insufficient funds and asks for a different card
• A store you reached from a social media ad or search ad rather than by typing the address yourself
• A web address with an extra letter or a small difference from the real retailer's address
• No business name, street address, or contact information on the site

Your Move

• Don't enter a second card if a site you don't trust says your payment was declined
• Check the web address carefully, and remember that HTTPS doesn't prove a seller is real
• Search the store's name with the word "scam" or "complaint" and check its record at BBB.org before you buy
• If you entered card details on a fake site, contact your card issuer and review your statements for unauthorized charges
• Report the site to BBB Scam Tracker

More steps for any scam link: I clicked a scam link. What now?

Still circulating?

The BBB serving West Florida described this tactic in an Oct. 25, 2026 holiday shopping warning.