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Before Giving to a Charity

To make sure your donations count, do some research before you give to a charity. Here are some things to do to learn more about a charity and avoid donating to a scam.

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Avoid Scams When You Travel

Before you start your travel plans, learn common tactics scammers use that can ruin your entire trip.
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Refund and Recovery Scams

If you’ve been scammed, someone might promise to help you get your money back –– if you pay in advance. That’s another scam.
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What To Know Before You Wire Money

Scammers pressure you to wire money to them because it’s easy to take your money and disappear. Wiring money with services like MoneyGram, Ria, and Western Union is like sending cash — once you send it, you usually can’t get it back. Never wire money to anyone you haven’t met in person — no matter the reason they give.
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Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams

Only scammers will tell you to buy a gift card, like a Google Play or Apple Card, and give them the numbers off the back of the card. No matter what they say, that’s a scam. No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them. Always keep a copy of your gift card and store receipt. Use them to report gift card scams to the gift card company and ask for your money back.
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Online Shopping

Before you buy something online, shop around and check out sellers and products.
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Buy Now, Pay Later, Rent-to-Own, Lease-to-Own, and Layaway

“Buy now, pay later,” rent-to-own, lease-to-own, and layaway plans let you buy things without paying in full right away. Before you say yes to one of these plans, find out the details. Depending on the type of plan you choose, you could end up paying a lot more than you expected.
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How To Evaluate Online Reviews

Online reviews might help you decide what to buy or what company to hire. You should be able to trust that these reviews reflect the honest opinions of people who actually used a product or service. Unfortunately, some reviews are fake, deceptive, or manipulated — and that hurts both people and honest companies.
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Rental Listing Scams

Scammers use rental listings to get you to pay in advance for a place to live or vacation.
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What To Do if You Were Scammed

Find out what to do if you paid someone you think is a scammer, or if you gave a scammer your personal information or access to your computer or phone.