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Learn the color codes, beat the 'compare at' price, keep your budget intact

• Learn the price tag code (red and yellow clearance) and hit the store right after markdown days

• Treat Compare At as marketing, not truth quick price-check the brand and only buy if the T.J. Maxx price would still feel fair elsewhere

• Use T.J. Maxx for gifts, small seasonal refreshes, and planned replacements, then stack TJX Rewards on those buys to make clearance deals even cheaper

If youve ever just popped into T.J. Maxx for a couple things and walked out $147 later with a ceramic pumpkin, two candles, and a cardigan youre 60% sure you already ownjoin the club.

The whole store is basically one giant impulse-buy obstacle course. But if you know how they mark down stuff and where the real value is hiding, T.J. Maxx can actually save you a lot of money on clothing, home dcor, luggage, and beauty products to name a few.

Here are five smart hacks to save big on your next T.J. Maxx shopping trip.

1. Read the price tags like a secret code

The price tagsat T.J. Maxx are doing more talking than you think.

• White tag = regular price
• Blue tag = the item is part of a coordinated set.
• Red sticker on a white tag = clearance price
• Yellow sticker on a white tag = final clearance price, this is as low as it goes
• Purple tag = item is from TJ Maxxs runway collection (a designer brand)

Ever find a red clearance sticker and there are tons of the same thing on the rack? Thats a strong sign it will get marked down again. I was told by an employee that new clearance markdowns typically happen every week on Monday mornings.

I recommend snapping a pic of the tag, walk the store, and decide at the end if its worth it at todays price or just come back next week and potentially get it cheaper.

If you find a yellow sticker, thats your buy it or say goodbye forever moment. These tags are fairly rare and theres no next markdown after yellow. According to employees, youll see them most often in January and July as thats when they tend to clear out the most merchandise to get ready for the next season.

Pro tip: If you cant decide on a TJ Maxx item, ask yourself: Would I buy this at full price at Target or the mall? If the only reason you want it isbecauseits on clearance, thats not savings, that's more like hoarding.

2. Treat Compare At like a suggestion, not a fact

The Compare At $59.99 line on the tag is not a legally binding truth. As a matter of fact, the item probably never actually sold at that price anywhere. Its a trick to make you think, Oh wow, look what it used to sell for! Now its only halfthat!

I want you to always assume that number is exaggerated until you can find evidence to the contrary.

I recommendyou pullout your phone and do a quick reality check:

• Search the brand + item description
• Take a peak at the brands own website, any competing big-box stores, and even Amazon
• Compare the real-world prices to the item youre holding

If T.J. Maxx is still substantially cheaper, then youve just scored a bargain. If the deal only works because of the fantasy compare at price, Id recommend slowly putting it back on the rack.

This matters most in categories where pricing is all over the place. Namely beauty, random no-name brands, seasonal decor, and designer inspired stuff that may never have sold for that compare at number in the first place.

Pro tip: When you see a big compare at, flip the script and ask, Would I pay this T.J. Maxx price if it was thefull retail price somewhere else? If not, its probably not the screaming deal your brain wants it to be.

3. Shop off-peak and in the weird sections

The most popular sections at T.J. Maxx always get raided first. Think womens clearance, trendy home decor, and of course, shoes.

The good news for you is that the best bargains often live in the slightly awkward, less-shopped corners of the store.

Here are the sneaky-good spots to always check:

Mens and juniors: Oversized sweatshirts, graphic tees, flannels, and joggers can be cheaper here than in womens, and nobody knows or cares which rack you grabbed them from.

Kids and pet aisles: Great for gifts and stocking stuffers that look pricier than they actually are.

End caps in home/kitchen: Anything we dont know where to put this tends to land here, including random markdown steals. Always take a peak as you're bound to find some screaming deals.

Pro tip: Politely ask an employee, When do you usually do markdowns or big restocks? Every store has a slightly different schedule and most employees are open with the information. Shopping right after a markdown day is like having early access to your own private sale.

4. Use T.J. Maxx for gifts and swap items, not your whole life

A smart shopper uses T.J. Maxx for specific purchases and does not consider it a one-stop shop. Those who think of the store asone-stop shopping inevitably overspend on stuff thats not particularly a good deal.

With that said, here are the specific spots where T.J. Maxx definitely fits into most budgets:

Gift central: The store is clutch for bargain birthday gifts, teacher gifts, white elephant presents, holiday baskets, throws, mug sets, journals, pet toys, you name it.

Seasonal refresh, not renovation: Grab one or two statement decor pieces to make your space feel seasonal. Your wallet gets in trouble when you try to redo an entire room at once.

Upgrade/replace zone: Need a new baking pan, yoga mat, suitcase, or hoodie? Check T.J. Maxx first before paying full price somewhere else. Odds are great youll find a high-quality name brand for 40-50% less than other department stores in your town.

Before you go, jot down a tiny list:

1 fall candle, 2 gifts, new frying pan.

If something does not make your list, it has to be ridiculously underpriced or serve a specific, real need to earn a spot in your cart.

5. Use TJX Rewards on stuff you were going to buy anyway

TJ Maxx really wants you in their rewards ecosystem. That can be goodas long as youre not using it as an excuse to buy more.

Theyve got two layers to their rewards program:

Free TJX Rewards program: Give them your phone or email andearn stuff like coupons, special promos, and sweepstakeentries.

TJX Rewards credit cards: 5% back at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra, Homesense, paid out as a $10 rewards certificate. It works out to be afree $10 for every $200 you spend at any of theirsister stores.

The trick is not to suddenly shift your entire life to T.J. Maxx because you have a rewards account. Instead, pick one or two categories you already buy there. Could be kids clothes, dog toys, gifts, maybe home decor. Let your points accumulate on those normal purchases.

Then, when you get a $10 reward, spend it on clearance or yellow-tag stuff. Thats where rewards really shine, by lowering the price on something that was already a deal.

Pro tip: Save rewards for fun items youd be tempted by anyway (decor, sweaters, candles). That way, if you dont end up loving it in a year, at least you didnt pay full price for it.

Why younger shoppers are now more likely to be fooledand how to protect yourself before peak scam season hits

• Younger adults are now the most likely to be scammed, as fraudsters move their schemes to social media and messaging apps where Gen Z and Millennials spend most of their time.

• AI-driven voice and chat impersonation is making harder to spot, creating realistic messages that look and sound legitimate.

• Experts say the best defense is slowing down and verifying, including going directly to retailer websites, choosing safer payment methods, and using AI-powered tools to fight back.

Black Friday is supposed to be the fun part of holiday shopping scoring big deals, planning gifts, and checking items off your list before the rush. But according to Clayton LiaBraaten, Senior Executive Industry Expert at Truecaller, its also shaping up to be one of the most dangerous scam seasons yet.

And heres the twist: the people at greatest risk arent older adults theyre Gen Z and Millennials.

A new study shows that younger consumers are now the most likely to be scammed, largely because fraudsters have shifted their efforts to where younger generations spend most of their time: social media and digital messaging. Add in rapidly advancing AI tools that can mimic real voices and personal chat styles, and are becoming more convincing and much harder to spot.

With more retailers participating in Black Friday than ever and a record travel season on the way, LiaBraaten warns that scammers will be out in full force.

The good news? With a little awareness and a few smart habits, consumers can greatly reduce their chances of getting duped.

Why are young adults the biggest scam targets?

While many of us assume that older adults are the primary targets for scammers, the recent data from Truecaller has found that this isnt the case. Instead, Millennials and Gen Zs need to be more vigilant this holiday season.

Despite being digital natives, many young adults assume they are tech-savvy enough to spot , which can lead them to be less vigilant in detecting subtle plots, LiaBraaten said. This overconfidence and willingness to accept risks puts them at higher risk.

Scammers are now using AI-driven voice and chat impersonation to craft messages that are virtually indistinguishable from legitimate communications. This sophistication, combined with the younger generations high volume of online activity, makes them particularly vulnerable.

Protecting yourself this holiday season

Regardless of age, consumers are encouraged to be extra cautious and vigilant this holiday season. LiaBraaten shared his top tips for navigating the holiday rush:

• Go Directly to the Source (The Ultimate Defense): This is a fundamental principle. Ignore links in unsolicited emails, texts, or social media ads entirely. If an offer appears, type the retailer's URL directly into your browser. This one simple practice would prevent the vast majority of successful phishing attempts.

• Fight AI with AI (The Phone and Text Defense): As much as fraudsters have weaponized AI, it is also a powerful tool for defense.

• Choose Your Payment Method Wisely: Credit cards offer superior fraud protection compared to a debit card. When using a credit card, its the bank's money at risk initially, not yours.

• Slow Down and Verify: Scammers rely on speed and a lack of awareness. Every second paused to think, every question asked, every verification performed strips away their power. If something feels off, it probably is.

As Black Friday approaches, the message is clear: choose consciousness over convenience, and verification over velocity, LiaBraaten said. Stay vigilant. Stay skeptical. But most importantly, stay engaged.

Scammers love Black Friday weekend more than you do

• Fake Amazon and eBay sites are spiking ahead of Black Friday, using real logos, photos, and too good to be true prices to fool shoppers

• Before you buy, tap the full URL, sanity-check prices, avoid wire/Zelle/crypto, and check for real contact info and recent low-star reviews

• If you get duped, change your Amazon password, call your card issuer to block charges and replace the card, and report the fake site and messages

Black Friday 2025 is shaping up to be a huge weekend for scammers. New data from Nord VPN shows fake Amazon websites jumped 232% in October compared to September. Across all shopping sites, fake stores were up 250%, and fake eBay pages spiked a whopping 525% over the same period.

Perhaps even more worrisome is that 68% of consumers dont know how to spot a phishing website. Combine that with a 36% rise in phishing attacks between August and October, and youve got a perfect storm: more fake sites, more bogus emails, and millions of rushed shoppers hunting for cant-miss deals.

Heres what this all means in real life and how to protect yourself without giving up the savings.

What a fake Amazon site really looks like

Scam sites have gotten much better than the obvious misspelled junk from a few years ago. Many now do the following nefarious tricks:

• Copy Amazons logo completely, including all fonts and layout
• Use product photos and reviews stolen straight from legitimate listings
• Offer too good to be true prices on popular brands
• Push you to pay quickly with limited-time countdowns

Make sure youre taking a close look at the address bar of your browser. Instead of amazon.com, youll see something like this:

• amazn-deals.shop
• amazon-black-friday.online
• prime-clearance-event.com

On a phone, that full URL is usually cut off, so its easy to miss the extra words before or after amazon. So be sure to tap on the actual web address thats displayed and it should show you the full URL.

5 quick checks before you buy anything

Before you checkout make sure you run these five fast checks. This is especially necessary when you reached the site by clicking on an email, text, or ad.

Read the full web address

Tap the URL bar and look at the whole thing. Real Amazon retail pages always live at amazon.com/... not .shop, .top, .store, or a long string that only includes amazon somewhere in the middle.

Scan the prices for magic discounts

If a popular item (like a console, iPad, Dyson, Lego set) is 40%70% cheaper than everywhere else (and only on this one site) assume its fake, refurbished, or never arriving. Real Black Friday deals are priced aggressively, but they typically arent priced 50% less than any other seller.

Check how they want you to pay

If the site asks you to pay in one of these wonky ways, assume the worst:

• Pushes wire transfers, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, or crypto
• Wont accept mainstream credit cards
• Adds a discount if you use a special payment link

Credit cards offer the best fraud protections. Scammers know this and try to route you around them.

Look for basic contact info

Legitimate stores (even small ones) usually list the following at a minimum:

• A physical address
• A working customer service email or phone number
• Return and privacy policies

If all you see is a contact form and a vague Gmail address, walk away.

Reverse the reviews

If the site has product reviews, be sure to sort them from worst to best. And look at the most recent reviews first to get a better idea of how the seller is operating now, not 2 years ago.

If there are issues, youll quickly see patterns like never received my order, fake tracking number, or only partial order arrived. If every review is 5 stars with generic wording, assume theyre copied or AI-generated.

What to do if you think you got scammed

If you clicked a suspicious link or placed an order on a fake site, act quickly by doing the following:

• Change your Amazon password (and anywhere else you reuse it) and turn on two-factor authentication.
• Call your bank or credit card company and explain what happened. Ask about blocking the charge and issuing a new card.
• Watch your statements closely over the next few weeks for small test charges.
• Report the fake site and messages to Amazon and your email provider. Taking 60 seconds to report it potentially helps fewer people fall for the same scam.

The blind zones are blamed for a major jump in left-turn pedestrian crashes

• Vehicles with big driver-side blind zones are far more likely to hit pedestrians while turning left

• IIHS researchers say large blind zones raise left-turn crash risk by 70% compared with small ones

• Findings highlight visibility problems tied to modern vehicle design, especially SUVs and pickups

Vehicles with large blind zones on the drivers side are dramatically more likely to strike crossing pedestrians during left turns, according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The research found that a large blind zone increases the odds of a left-turn pedestrian crash by 70%, while a medium blind zone raises the risk by 59% compared with small ones.

IIHS says thick A-pillars, bulky mirrors, long hoods and windshield geometry all play a role in blocking a drivers view and that these design elements are becoming more common as vehicles grow taller and heavier. These results clearly identify problematic aspects of vehicle design, IIHS President David Harkey said. The challenge for automakers will be to find ways to address them that dont diminish the protection vehicles provide to their occupants in a crash.

Rising pedestrian deaths add urgency to the findings

The study arrives amid a troubling spike in pedestrian fatalities. Since 2009, deaths have increased 78%, reaching more than 7,300 a year. Higher speeds, roadway design and the rise of larger, taller vehicles particularly SUVs and pickups are all contributing factors. These vehicles not only cause more severe injuries but are also more likely to hit pedestrians while turning.

To better understand how design affects visibility, IIHS measured blind zones on 168 vehicles using a camera-based method developed by its engineers. Measurements were taken from the eye level of two driver heights 5 feet 9 inches and 4 feet 11 inches to reflect a wide portion of the driving population.

The results showed significant variations. For average-height drivers, cars had the largest blind zones overall, but SUVs and pickups offered narrower windshield views and pushed the nearest visible point on the road farther away. For shorter drivers, SUVs and pickups created the largest blind zones and the most restricted fields of view.

Across all vehicle types, the average driver-side blind zone blocked 27% of the area in front-left of the vehicle for a 5'9" driver and 33% for a 4'11" driver.

Crash data confirms the link between design and danger

Researchers analyzed nearly 4,500 police-reported pedestrian crashes across seven states. Vehicles with large driver-side blind zones were vastly overrepresented in left-turn crashes compared with straight-driving pedestrian collisions. A narrow front field of view 85 degrees or less increased left-turn crash risk by 51%, and having the nearest visible point more than 30 feet ahead increased risk by 37%.

Passenger-side blind zones, by contrast, did not significantly affect right-turn crashes.

When a drivers view is partially blocked, its easy for a person in the crosswalk to disappear from sight, said Wen Hu, the studys lead author. Thats exactly the kind of situation that leads to turning crashes.

Balancing visibility and crash protection poses design challenges

Some features that worsen blind zones play important safety roles. Thick A-pillars help strengthen roofs in rollovers, and long hoods support larger crumple zones. But IIHS says improvements are possible without undermining occupant protection.

Potential solutions include side-view cameras, hood airbags, and better-tuned pedestrian automatic emergency braking systems designed to work during turning maneuvers. Roadway changes such as giving pedestrians a head start at crosswalks or extending curbs into intersections could also reduce risk by placing pedestrians more clearly in view.

The drivers ability to see is a fundamental element of safety that hasnt received enough attention, Harkey said. That should change with our new ability to easily measure vehicle blind zones and assess their effects on crash risk.

Apple, Google, Meta folded to government demands, suit charges

• Digital-rights group says government pressured major tech platforms to delete apps documenting immigration enforcement

• Lawsuit seeks internal records from DOJ and DHS after apps like ICE Block were taken down

• Case raises constitutional questions about whether officials coerced companies into restricting protected speech

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, demanding records that could reveal whether federal officials pressured technology companies to remove apps documenting immigration enforcement activity across the country.

The suit, filed in federal court on Thursday, comes after multiple platforms including Apple, Google and Meta took down apps and webpages such as ICE Block, Red Dot, DeICER and ICE SightingChicagoland following communications with government officials earlier this year. EFF argues that the removals raise serious First Amendment concerns because the apps were designed to allow users to report and share information about immigration enforcement actions occurring in public.

Removals could amount to unconstitutional coercion

We're filing this lawsuit to find out just what the government told tech companies, said EFF Staff Attorney F. Mario Trujillo. Getting these records will be critical to determining whether federal officials crossed the line into unconstitutional coercion and censorship of protected speech.

The controversy intensified in October, when Apple removed ICEBlock an app used to alert communities about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in specific areas from its App Store. Attorney General Pamela Bondi publicly claimed responsibility, stating: We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store and Apple did so.

In the aftermath, Apple removed several similar apps, while Google and Meta took down related apps and web pages from their own platforms. Bondi later promised to continue engaging tech companies regarding the issue.

EFF argues that while the government cannot directly suppress protected speech, coercing private companies to do so can still violate the Constitution. People have a First Amendment right to record and share law enforcement activities conducted in public, the group says.

Lawsuit seeks internal documents after agencies fail to produce them

Last month, EFF filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with DOJ, DHS, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seeking any communications or records about government efforts to force the removal of immigration-tracking tools. None of the agencies have provided the requested documents, prompting EFFs lawsuit to compel disclosure.

The case could help clarify the extent to which federal officials can pressure private platforms to restrict speech an issue that has been at the center of recent legal battles over content moderation, censorship claims and government-platform communication.

EFF says the requested records are essential to determining whether the government used its influence unlawfully.