Things are busy, here in my corner of the USA. I’m behind in reporting on what’s happening for National Consumer Protection Week. A lot of my time has been taken up since the first of the year taking part in the Dean Ornish heart health program. It ends Wednesday. I’ll be reporting on its many benefits soon. Read more →

Identity theft is terrible. It’s ruins your day, week, month, and probably more. The average data breach in 2022 cost a company $9.44 million and took 277 days to contain. To determine where Americans are most susceptible to such crimes, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia on 14 key items. Read more →

Refunds are still available to consumers who were tricked into wiring money to scammers through Western Union between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017. The deadline to file a claim has been extended. If you haven’t file a claim for a refund yet, you now have until Aug. 31 to file. Read more →

National Consumer Protection Week March 6-12 is a time to help people understand their consumer rights and avoid frauds and scams. The Federal Trade Commission leads the national outreach for the week of events. It’s focusing on how fraud affects every community. Read more →

Since everyone is online more during the pandemic, there’s an increased urgency about fixing computers if there’s a problem. Scammers, as always, are lurking around just looking for a new opportunity to strike. They’re offering even more phony tech support services. Read more →

It’s a big problem. Companies promising to help with student loan debt advertise widely, using misinformation and high-pressure sales. However, consumers need to know that there’s nothing a student loan debt relief company can do for them that they can’t do for themselves for free. Read more →

Many of things you may buy for the holidays, such as toys, laptops, and phones, have chips in them. Since there’s a global chip shortage, prices are going up, and items with chips will probably be harder to find. Scammers are taking advantage of these shortages and are trying to sell items in short supply. Read more →

Every year, June 15 is recognized as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The purpose of Elder Abuse Day is to raise awareness to the abuse and neglect experienced by elderly people around the world through cultural, social, economic, and demographic processes. Read more →

For three years, people have reported losing more money on romance scams than on any other fraud type identified in Sentinel, a fraud database. In 2020, reported losses to romance scams reached a record $304 million, up about 50 percent from 2019. Read more →

First, I received emails from my credit union that $1,500 then $2,300 were possible fraudulent charges. I called and sure enough, a scammer from Sweden was trying to charge those amount to my credit card. The credit union flagged the fraudulent charges, and the money was never charged to me. Read more →