Keep your cash by dodging the latest scams!

As inflation rises, scammers have new tricks for trying to steal your hard-earned money. Indeed, Americans lost more than $5.8 billion to fraud last year, an increase of more than 70% over the previous year. Fortunately, there are easy ways to thwart the latest cons to keep your cash safe

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Skip 'free' gas offers

Spotted a giveaway on social media or in your email inbox for a free gas card worth hundreds of dollars from a well-known gas station? Don’t take the bait! Scammers are hoping to lure you in with their phony gas card offers, but they steal by asking you to pay a small shipping fee with a credit or debit card to receive the gas card, then charge a much larger amount to your account! Or they may ask you survey questions designed to help them break into your online accounts by enabling them to answer commonly asked security questions. They may require you to share personal information (your name and date of birth) to steal your identity.

A safer bet to save on gas? Download the GasBuddy gas card (GasBuddy.com) or Upside cash-back app (Upside.com).

Avoid interest rate fakers