🛍️ Safe Online Shopping: Spotting Fake Stores Before You Pay: Free Lesson Plan
Learn how to check an online store, spot fake deals, and pay the safe way, just in time for holiday shopping.
Time: 45 minutes
Supplies
- One device on a big screen (TV or projector)
- Copies of the handout
- Pencils
- Optional: a printed holiday ad or two from a newspaper flyer
Goals
- Know the warning signs of a fake online store
- Check a store with a quick search and our free Website Checker
- Pay in a way that protects your money, and know what to do if something goes wrong
Step-by-step leader script
Step 1: Welcome (5 min)
Say: "Holiday deals are fun, but fake stores pop up this time of year too. Today you will learn a two-minute check to do before you buy from any store you don’t know." Ask: "Who has bought something online? Has anyone had an order that never came?"
Step 2: Too good to be true (10 min)
On the screen, show a big-brand item you choose, like a well-known coffee maker, at its normal price on a store everyone knows. Then say: "Imagine an ad on Facebook offers the same thing for one fifth of the price." Ask the room: "Real deal or fake store?" Explain that the FTC says unusually low prices on brand-name items are a sign of a scam, and that fake stores often copy real photos and logos.
Step 3: The two-minute check (15 min)
Open aiseniors.app/tools/website-checker on the big screen. Step 1: paste a made-up example address (the Link Checker has example buttons) and read the result together. Step 2: go through the 12 yes-or-no questions as a group, using a pretend store the group invents. Show how the result changes when someone answers "Yes" to "Does it only take gift cards or a payment app?" Say: "Only scammers insist on gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps or crypto."
Step 4: Search before you buy (5 min)
Show a search on Google or Bing for a well-known store’s name plus the word "scam" or "complaint." Say: "Do this search on Google or Bing, not on Facebook or the store’s own site. If other shoppers are warning about a store, believe them."
Step 5: Pay safely and keep records (5 min)
Say: "The FTC says a credit card gives you the most protection, because you can dispute the charge. Keep the receipt, the website name, and every email until your item arrives. The lock icon only means the connection is private. It does not mean the store is real."
Step 6: Wrap up (5 min)
Hand out the handout and read the checklist together. Ask: "What will you do before you buy from a store you’ve never heard of?" Remind everyone: if something already went wrong, call the credit card company first, then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Leader tip: Use made-up or well-known examples only. Never type a member’s real card number or account during class, and don’t show a real small business as an example of a "fake" store.
More free classes: all lesson plans for senior centers and libraries.