It’s no secret that online shopping is taking over the retail scene. It provides consumers with wider access, more options, and better deals. For the most part, ordering from trusted retail companies does not come with a lot of risk, but it is important to be mindful of the uncertainties that come with ordering from lesser-known sellers.

Unfortunately scams occur regularly in online shopping. Not receiving an order confirmation or shipping updates, and ultimately never receiving your order, can be the frustrating side of online shopping.

Before you find yourself in this situation, there are a few ways to prevent this from occurring. First, make sure to do some research on the company that you are ordering from. Bad reviews, complaints, or mentions of scam should be a strong sign that you should stay away. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends placing online orders with a credit card. This way you will have some protections under federal law, that will prevent you from having to pay for things that you ordered but never received.

But, if it is already too late to take these preventative measures, here are the steps that you should take. Contacting the seller is a good first step and can oftentimes lead to the business solving the problem internally. If you cannot contact the seller, and you used a credit card for your purchase, you may dispute the charge as it shows up on your statement. Purchases made by debit card will require you to contact your debit card company and ask them if they can assist you. Here is a sample letter from the FTC for disputing debit card charges that can also help.

Additionally, if you suspect that you have been scammed you may report the scam to  ReportFraud.ftc.gov.