The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Crowdfunding scheme operator who failed to deliver charged by FTC

The operator of a crowdfunding scheme who told consumers he was raising money to develop a high-tech backpack and other products, but failed to deliver any of the products and instead used most of the funds for himself, is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission.

In its lawsuit, the FTC alleges that Douglas Monahan and his company iBackPack of Texas, raised more than $800,000 from consumers through four crowdfunding campaigns. Monahan falsely claimed the funds would be used to develop products such as the “iBackPack,” which would include batteries for charging laptops and phones, cables, and a Bluetooth speaker.

“If you raise money by crowdfunding, you don’t have to guarantee that your idea will work,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But you do have to use the money to work on your idea – or expect to hear from the FTC.”

Batteries for notebook computers and mobile workstations being recalled by HP due to fire and burn hazards

HP is recalling about 78,500 about lithium-ion batteries for HP commercial notebook computers and mobile workstations. In addition 50,000 of the batteries were previously recalled in the United States in January 2018.

The lithium-ion batteries can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards.

HP has received eight new reports of battery packs in the U.S. overheating, melting, or charring, including one report of minor injury and two reports of property damage totaling $1,100.

Best Presidents' Day sales this year

Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day sometimes fall within a few days of each other, so sales covering both holidays often are offered.

Presidents’ Day is a big sale holiday, and it’s a good time to stock up on home goods, electronics, and clothing.

DealNews offers the following list of what to expect from Presidents’ Day sales this year:

Facts and figures for the 2018 holidays

It’s that time of year. The holidays are upon us. Hanukkah has been celebrated and today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the least daylight and the longest night. Christmas is approaching rapidly as is Kwanzaa, Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

Celebrants

Nine-in-ten Americans — and 95 percent of Christians — say they celebrate Christmas, according to a Pew Research Center survey. These figures have generally held steady in recent years. Today, 46 percent of Americans say they celebrate Christmas as primarily a religious rather than cultural holiday.

Charter Communication agrees to record settlement for fraud in its internet services

Charter Communications and Spectrum Management Holding Co. have agreed to pay $174.2 million for defrauding internet subscribers. About $62.5 million of the funds will go to refunds for consumers, making it, regulators say, the largest-ever payout to consumers by an internet service provider, or ISP, in U.S. history.

Charter Communications merged with Time Warner in 2016, and has rebranded the internet, phone, and cable service as Spectrum Cable. Providing services to more than 26 million customers in 41 states, it’s the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, after Comcast.

The Tuesday agreement settles a fraud allegation that New York state’s largest ISP denied customers the reliable and fast internet service it had promised.

Five companies settle charges that they had mobile apps that didn’t keep sensitive user information secure

Five companies settled charges Friday that their mobile apps failed to keep sensitive user information secure when transmitted over the Internet.

The mobile apps of Western Union Financial Services, Priceline.com, Equifax Consumer Services, Spark Networks, and Credit Sesame had a security problem that could have allowed sensitive information entered by users – such as passwords, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and bank account numbers – to be stolen by eavesdroppers using simple techniques, tests by the New York Attorney General’s Office showed. Although each company told consumers that it used security measures to protect their information, the companies failed to determine whether their mobile apps had this problem.

The settlements with the New York agency require the companies to carry out comprehensive security programs to protect user information.

Top 10 stores for Cyber Monday shopping

Cyber Monday isn't just for Black Friday leftovers. Some of the year's best sales will take place on Monday, Nov. 26. So, you may want to save part of your holiday shopping budget for Cyber Monday deals.

Which stores will be offering the best savings? DealNews.com offers 10 suggestions, based on the best sales last year from Cyber Monday and the Sunday before.

1. Amazon

Best for: Gaming, toys, home, and almost anything else you can buy online

While plenty of other retailers offer Cyber Monday sales, none of them match Amazon's. Last year, DealNews.com saw three times as many Cyber Monday deals at Amazon as the next highest retailer.

Baby boomers provide information on daily living, including relationships and stress

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty is back in the classroom every week this fall, once as a teacher and twice as a student.

Many baby boomers are interested in pursuing their education, whether for profit, leisure, or cultural enrichment – whether they go to a local adult-education class, attend an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute course at a nearby university, or take off on an educational trip with Road Scholar.

Our baby boomer group, too, is interested in education. They write hundreds of articles every year to provide helpful information to boomers. Here’s this week’s offering:

Attack on Facebook exposes 50 million users’ accounts

Facebook announced Friday that earlier this week, "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted ‘View As,’” a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts."

Ed Mierzwinski, the senior director of U.S. PIRG's consumer program, said:

Early reports of yet another big breach, this one where hackers apparently exploited Facebook vulnerabilities to expose the data of 50 million users, are very troubling. It's yet another warning that Congress must not enact any national data security or data breach legislation that weakens current state privacy laws, preempts the rights of states to pass new laws that protect their consumers better, or denies their attorneys general rights to investigate violations of or enforce those laws.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Uber to pay a record $148 million settlement for not disclosing 2016 data breach

Uber settled charges Wednesday it concealed a 2016 data breach in violation of notification laws. The settlement, which was reached with 50 states and the District of Columbia, requires Uber to adopt data breach notification and data security practices and have its data security reviewed by an outside company. Uber also is required to pay a record $148 million penalty.

“New Yorkers deserve to know that their personal information will be protected – period,” said New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood. “This record settlement should send a clear message: we have zero tolerance for those who skirt the law and leave consumer and employee information vulnerable to exploitation.”

In November 2016, hackers based in the United States and Canada secretly informed security officials at Uber that they’d downloaded the personal information of 57 million riders and drivers, 25 million in the United States and 7.7 million drivers. The information stolen included names, email addresses, and mobile phone numbers; drivers’ license information on about 600,000 drivers nationwide was also stolen. After providing proof of the massive data breach, the hackers demanded “six figures” to delete the data and not disclose the breach. Uber paid the hackers $100,000 to conceal the breach.