It's the Halloween season, so here are some tricks to watch out for when shopping online. 

Answer: Online purchases

Learn more about online purchase scams from Marketplace: 

Here are the top product categories for online purchase fraud:

Questions:

• Why do you think that pets are the product category that scams the most people? 
• What are warning signs that something could be a scam?
• What are some tips to avoid becoming a victim? 
• Where are lists of online scammers available? 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Marketplace):

The Better Business Bureau received 10,450 reports of online purchase scams in 2018 (it’s certain that many more went unreported.) That was an increase of 124% over the year before. Online purchase scams are both the most common scam and the most likely to get people — 47% of those exposed to them ended up losing money, according to the Better Business Bureau.

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Have your students play Shady Sam and learn about the perils of high-cost loans. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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