Labor Day weekend means sales. And if you spend any time on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, some of the biggest discounts may find you before you even start shopping.

That convenience comes with a catch: Not every deal in your feed is really from the brand it appears to be.

Scammers can create polished social media ads that impersonate familiar retailers, advertise steep discounts and send shoppers to convincing lookalike websites. According to the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam in 2025 said that it started on social media. And the reported losses hit a whopping $2.1 billion last year.

So before a Labor Day “80% off” deal stops your scroll, give it a second look.

How Fake Social Media Shopping Ads Work

A fake shopping ad often starts with something completely ordinary: a product you actually want.

Maybe it’s sneakers from a familiar brand. Patio furniture you’ve been researching. A handbag, grill or appliance marked down for Labor Day.

The ad may use the real company’s logo, product photography and branding. Click it, and the website can look remarkably similar to the retailer’s actual site.

That’s the trick.

This is a form of brand impersonation: A scammer copies the appearance of a company people already know and trust. Instead of convincing you to trust an unfamiliar store, the scammer borrows the reputation of a familiar one.

Sometimes these ads lead to completely fake storefronts. Other times shoppers receive counterfeit products, something dramatically different from what they ordered or nothing at all.

The FTC recently warned consumers specifically about social media ads advertising brand-name products at unusually low prices. And the problem isn’t limited to one platform. A convincing ad can reach you wherever you scroll.

She Thought She Bought $800 Patio Chairs for $135

One shopper who shared her story with McAfee learned just how convincing these scams can be.

A few years ago, Jen was scrolling through Facebook when she spotted an ad for the exact Wayfair patio chairs she and her husband had been considering. Normally around $800, the chairs were advertised at 80% off — just $135 with free shipping.

She clicked.

The experience looked enough like Wayfair that she continued with the purchase, even though a few things started to feel strange. A new tab opened when she tried to buy the chairs. The checkout mentioned PayPal even though she was using her credit card. Then she learned the order would be shipping from China and could take six to 12 weeks.

When she checked her credit card, the charge wasn’t from Wayfair. It appeared in Chinese characters.

Weeks later, a package finally arrived.

It wasn’t a set of patio chairs. Inside the small package was a ceiling-fan chain with a cheap ring.

Her credit card company eventually reversed the charges. But the experience illustrates something important about fake shopping ads: You don’t necessarily land on an obviously fake website filled with misspellings and broken images. A scammer’s goal is to make the experience feel normal long enough for you to complete the purchase.

7 Signs a Social Media Ad or Shopping Site Could Be Fake

Before buying something you find through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or another social platform, look for these warning signs:

1. The discount is dramatically better than everywhere else.
A legitimate sale can be generous. But if one ad offers a popular $800 product for $135 while reputable retailers are nowhere close, investigate before buying.

2. The website address doesn’t match the retailer.
A fake site can copy a logo much more easily than it can copy a company’s official domain. Look carefully for extra words, misspellings or unusual endings in the web address.

3. Clicking takes you somewhere unexpected.
Watch for redirects, new tabs or checkout pages on a different domain. A change doesn’t automatically mean fraud, but it’s a reason to verify where you are before entering payment information.

4. The checkout process feels off.
Pay attention when the payment method, merchant name or checkout experience doesn’t match what the site told you to expect.

5. There’s pressure to buy immediately.
Countdown timers and “only two left” warnings can push you to act before checking the seller. Urgency is useful to scammers because it shortens the time you spend thinking.

6. You can’t independently verify the sale.
Open a new browser window or the retailer’s official app and search for the product yourself. If the incredible sale exists only through the social ad, that’s a warning sign.

7. The merchant on your credit card doesn’t match the company you thought you paid.
Check the transaction after buying. An unfamiliar merchant name or unexpected international charge deserves immediate attention.

The Safest Way to Shop a Deal You See on Social Media

Here’s a simple safety checklist for Labor Day weekend:

✓ Leave the social app and find the retailer yourself. Don’t let the ad choose your destination.

✓ Compare the price elsewhere. A discount that’s wildly out of line with other retailers deserves extra scrutiny.

✓ Check the URL and merchant name. Make sure you’re dealing with the company you think you’re dealing with.

✓ Use a credit card when possible. And save screenshots, receipts and order confirmations in case you need to dispute the purchase.

What If You Already Bought Something From a Fake Ad?

Act quickly, but don’t panic.

Save screenshots of the ad, website, receipt and any emails or messages from the seller. Check your credit card or bank statement to see how the transaction appears.

If you believe the purchase was fraudulent, contact your card issuer or financial institution and explain what happened. Ask about disputing the transaction and whether your card information should be replaced.

If you created an account on the fake website and reused a password you use elsewhere, change that password anywhere you’ve used it. Unique passwords matter because a scammer who captures one password may try the same email-and-password combination on other accounts.

You can also report fraudulent ads to the social platform and report the scam to the FTC.

How McAfee Helps You Shop More Safely

Spotting every fake yourself is getting harder. Scammers can copy legitimate branding, product photos and storefront designs closely enough that a quick visual check isn’t always enough.

McAfee Scam Detector can help identify suspicious links, messages and websites and alert you when something may be a scam. Plus it has social media tools to help detect scams originating from your favorite platforms. That can provide another check when an attractive offer lands in a social message or sends you toward a questionable site.

Web Protection can also help warn you about risky websites as you browse, adding protection at the moment a convincing ad tries to move you away from the social platform and onto a malicious destination.

The goal isn’t to stop shopping the sales you see online. It’s to make sure the store getting your money is the store you intended to pay.

The post Is That TikTok Ad Legit? How to Spot Fake Ads on Social Media During Major Sales Events appeared first on McAfee Blog.