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Consumer Alert

Only scammers tell you to buy a gift card to pay them

Yajie Mu
Did someone tell you to buy a gift card to pay a fine or bill? Stop. It’s a scam. No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them. Here’s how to spot and avoid gift card scams.
Consumer Alert

Risky business: offers to cash out your home equity through a “sale-leaseback”

Nick May
Have you seen offers to “unlock” the equity in your home by selling it and then renting it back from the buyer? The ads make these agreements — called sale-leasebacks — sound like a simple and risk-free way to get cash upfront and stay in your home. But the truth is these agreements are far from risk-free.
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