Extra charges for lotto tickets, depending on how you pay

Millions of dollars of lottery tickets are sold in Canada each year, but how you pay for your ticket could end up costing you much more.

Carmen wrote CTV News when she noticed an extra charge after purchasing lotto tickets on her credit card.

Turns out when she purchased the lotto tickets with her Visa, she was charged interest. That's because transactions at lotto kiosks are treated as a "cash advance" by most financial institutions and the interest starts accumulating immediately after the purchase is made.

One way around it: If you purchase lotto tickets at gas stations they're classified as a "gas" merchant and wouldn't be considered a cash advance.

Protect your vehicle from rats

Our story about rats feasting on soy-based insulation around vehicle wiring got a lot of attention.

Some vehicle owners think the eco-friendly insulation used by many automakers is making it even more irresistible to rats, and class action lawsuits have been launched in the U.S. calling on manufacturers to foot the bill for repairs from rodent damage.

But a couple of CTV viewers wrote us with their cost-effective solution to the problem - peppermint oil.

You can mix one part peppermint oil with three parts water and spray the engine compartment at least once a season.

Apparently, the rodents hate the smell and back off, but for drivers it smells a lot better than using moth balls.

Data Privacy Day

Jan. 28 is Data Privacy Day across North America and Europe and it’s a good time to remind people to always be on the watch for tech-savvy crooks. Here are a few ways to protect yourself:

  • Be wary of spam emails.156 million phishing emails are sent globally every day and they're getting trickier, with personalized introductions and urgent problems that need to be addressed. Just hit delete.
  • Never carry your social insurance card with you. If an organization requests it, ask lots of questions about who has access to it.
  • Limit the amount of profile information you put on social media accounts.
  • Update your passwords three times a year.