San Francisco, CA: March 4, 2026 – Costumes, decorations and treats are among the most popular seasonal purchases online, and counterfeiters know it. Fake sellers copy licensed characters and well-known brands, and sell items that may be flammable, poorly dyed or made with unsafe materials.
The scale of online shopping fraud is considerable. Pew Research Center's 2025 survey found that 17% of online shoppers had received a counterfeit product without being able to get a refund, and AARP reported that 39% of adults had been defrauded when buying through an online ad.
Shoppers can reduce their risk by checking how long a seller has existed, looking for contact details and a returns policy, being sceptical of prices well below those of the official store, paying by methods that offer buyer protection and avoiding sellers that insist on bank transfers.
Brand owners can help by monitoring ads and marketplace listings that use their characters and logos in the weeks before the holiday, and by giving customers a simple way to report a suspicious seller.
“Seasonal fakes are quick to appear and quick to vanish. The earlier a brand sees them, the fewer shoppers end up with a poor, or even unsafe, product,” says Hannah Fletcher, marketing and events manager at MarkScout.