Fake stores & deals

Free game-currency 'generators,' rigged skin trades, account buyers who vanish, and Discord strangers bearing gifts: the scams built for kids run on one lie — that free in-game currency exists. Here's how each one works, what it's really harvesting, and the family settings that shut most of it down for free.

Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and OfferUp put you in a deal with a stranger and no referee — and every scam on them, buyer-side or seller-side, works by separating the item from the money. Here's the full map: ghost listings, deposit traps, fake payment screenshots, code-theft 'buyers,' and how to meet safely.

Social-media ads and marketplace listings sell brand-name products at prices that seem like luck. What ships is a counterfeit — and with fake electronics, cosmetics, and toys, the danger starts after delivery. Here's how the pipeline works, how to spot the listing, and what to do if a fake already arrived.

A salesperson — at your door or in your social feed — promises free solar panels through a 'government program.' The FTC calls the pitch likely a scam, and state lawsuits allege forged signatures and loans disguised as 'interest forms.' Here's how the sale really works, and how to shop for solar safely.

After a storm, door-knocking 'contractors' offer today-only deals, demand big cash deposits, and vanish — and some pose as FEMA inspectors charging for services that are free. Here's the script they use, how to vet a real contractor, and what to do if you already paid.

A clean used car at half the market price, a seller who can't meet you, and an 'escrow' or 'buyer protection program' that will supposedly hold your money until the car arrives — except the scammer controls the escrow. Here's the script, the tells, and what to do if you already paid.

That free trial asked for your card number for a reason: unless you cancel in time, it converts into a paid subscription — and canceling can be much harder than signing up was. Here is how negative option billing works, the checkout-page tells, the calendar habit that beats it, and how to dispute charges that will not stop.

Rogue websites are riding the demand for GLP-1 weight-loss injectables, selling deep-discount drugs with no prescription required — and shipping counterfeits, contaminated products, or nothing at all. Here is how to check a pharmacy's license in two minutes, and what to do if you already ordered.

Rogue movers quote a lowball price sight-unseen, load everything you own, then demand thousands more before they'll unload — the "hostage load." Here's how to check a mover's FMCSA registration before you book, the 110 percent rule that caps what they can demand, and where to report a load held hostage.

You paid an online store and the package never arrived — or the store turned out to be fake. If you used a credit card, federal law is on your side. Here is how to contact the seller, dispute the charge, and reclaim your money, step by step and within the deadlines that matter.

After a scam, the single biggest factor in whether you recover your money is the method you used to pay. Credit card, debit, bank transfer, Zelle, gift card, crypto, cash — each has a different recovery path, and some have almost none. Here is a clear, method-by-method guide to what is possible and what to do.

Peer-to-peer marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and OfferUp give you no built-in refund or protection — so the payment rail you choose is the protection. Here is how the scams work on both sides, and the rules that hold.

Around a huge event like the 2026 World Cup, scammers stand up look-alike "official" sites to sell tickets and hospitality packages that do not exist — and to harvest your identity. The fix is to buy only through the real official channel you reached yourself.

You find an adorable purebred puppy online at a great price, pay a deposit, and then the fees begin — a special crate, airline insurance, a vet certificate — for a pet you never get to see and that may not exist. Here is how pet scams work, the tells, and how to buy safely.

Booking a trip puts your money and details in motion — fake rental listings, "free vacation" prizes, look-alike booking sites, and third-party Global Entry pages all wait for travelers. Here is a plain checklist to book and travel without getting scammed.

Sold-out shows breed fake tickets on social media and resale groups, sold via payment methods with no protection. Here is how ticket scams work, the tells, and the free moves that keep your money safe.

A great apartment, a below-market rent, and a landlord who is "out of the country" and just needs a deposit to hold it. Rental scams cost renters hundreds of millions a year. Here is how the hijacked-listing scam works, and the one rule that stops it: never pay for a place you haven't seen.

A dream rental at a too-good price, an owner who needs a wire transfer to "secure" it — and a place that was never theirs to rent. Here is how vacation rental scams work and how to book without losing your deposit.

Too-good prices in social-media ads can lead to fake storefronts that take your money and ship nothing — or a counterfeit. Here’s how to check a seller, pay safely, and get your money back.