The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

In this year of change, the changes keep coming

I should have been more prepared. The Australians warned us. The wildfires they experienced during their summer fire season were the worst in history.

But here I am. Not only staying home due to covid-19, but now, I have to stay inside due to smoky air from wildfires throughout the West Coast.

Maybe the air will clear this week. Maybe not. My daughter in California has been dealing with heavy smoke in the air since Aug. 20. The fires there won’t be out until it rains, probably in October.

See my article for tips on how to deal with smoky air.

Others are dealing with change, too:

Experiencing a funeral in the era of the coronavirus

This week Meryl Baer of Beach Boomer Bulletin returned to her hometown of more than 30 years for the funeral of a good friend. Funerals are different in a pandemic, but mourning doesn’t change. Baer reminisces about her friend and her hometown family.

Learning something new due to covid-19

Tom Sightings at Sightings Over Sixty asks: “Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?” He and his wife have learned something new and different this summer, or as Sightings claims, they've even become experts on the topic. So zoom over to “Old Dog, New Trick” to find out what all the excitement is about. 

Manifesting big changes

Is manifestation real or just the result of an overactive imagination creating connections that don't really exist? Over at A Healing Spirit, Carol Cassara muses about an unexplained coincidence that led to a big life change.

Changing with aging

“When I'm 64?” You can’t imagine how old and wretched Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants & Scribbles pictured this age when she first heard this McCartney song in 1967. She still has about a week to go, but can’t help comparing the lyrics then to the reality today.

Listening to audio books

Have you been getting any reading done while we’ve been stuck at home? Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com has been listening to audiobooks. It’s easier for her because of her contacts and aging eyes. She discusses the advantages of audiobooks in her latest post “Have You Been Listening to Audiobooks?” 

Figuring out your wardrobe when you move to Florida

September usually makes Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin start to think about fall cleaning and changing out summer clothes but since she's moved to Florida things are different. Find out more in “The Blush of September.”

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #667. Click on the links to read the articles. And be sure to leave a comment. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Facebook and WhatsApp offers of free covid-19 help are scams

If you see a message on WhatsApp or Facebook offering you free help during the pandemic, watch out. People are reporting seeing messages that seem to be from Pepsi, Walmart, Whole Foods, Target, and other well-known companies.

These messages offer money to people who need it – through grants, coupons for food support, or other giveaways. But they’re all fake, and not from those companies, said Diana Shiller, investigator for the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Marketing Practices.

You might receive this message, in English or Spanish, from a friend or contact. The message tells you to click a link to get your money. If you click, you might find a survey to take. Or it might ask you to enter your name, address, phone number, or other information. And it might ask you to forward the message to several friends to be eligible to collect.

Cars, home improvement top the list of consumer complaints for 2019, survey shows

Problems with car sales and repairs and home improvement and construction once again topped the list of complaints reported to state and local consumer agencies across the country, according to an annual survey by the Consumer Federation of America.

“When the used car you just bought breaks down or your new roof leaks, who are you going to call? asked Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy for CFA. “It’s your state or local consumer agency.”

Grant conducted the survey, which included participation by 31 agencies from 19 states this year. It asked about the most common, the fastest-growing, and the worst complaints agencies received in 2019.

Top 10 complaints in 2019

These are the complaints most frequently cited as the top problems reported to state and local consumer agencies last year:

After Consumer Reports’ evaluation, Cisco sheds light on the videoconferencing platform Webex’s privacy and terms-of-service policies

Cisco is making it easier to find out what personal information the company collects and how it uses it during videoconferencing calls on its Webex platform.

The changes come in response to a recent Consumer Reports evaluation of the platform’s privacy policy and terms of service. Consumer Reports also evaluated the privacy policies for Google – with Hangout, Meet, and Duom – and Microsoft – with Skype and Teams.

All the privacy policies left unanswered questions, said Justin Brookman, director of privacy and technology policy at Consumer Reports. But the companies seemed to reserve the right to access recordings of meetings for business purposes, along with details such as who was on a call. The Consumer Reports researchers found the privacy policy and terms-of-service documents were short on details and contained confusing language.

Privacy policies upgraded by Zoom after analysis by Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports recently uncovered a number of privacy concerns with Zoom, a videoconferencing service that many consumers, businesses, and schools are using during the coronavirus pandemic.

Researchers at Consumer Reports’ Digital Lab found that Zoom, like many digital platforms, outlines in its privacy policy that it collects personal information about its users, but doesn’t disclose details about how that information is used for advertising, marketing, or other business purposes.

This information, known as “customer content” could include cloud video recordings and information that was shared during the recordings such as instant messages, files, and whiteboards.

Scammers already eying the money you’re going to get from the federal stimulus

Be alert for scams related to the pending federal stimulus package.

While a deal has been negotiated and the bill awaits final votes and the president’s signature, Congress’ economic relief package proposes to send money to individual Americans due to financial distress caused by COVID-19. These one-time payments could range from $1,200 per individual and up to $2,400 for joint taxpayers, depending on income.

Some Americans may receive physical checks in the mailbox rather than by direct deposit. However, scammers are already using the proposed federal stimulus package as an opportunity to prey on consumers.

Attorneys general tell Facebook, Amazon, and other online retailers to do a better job on curbing price gouging

Thirty-one attorneys general are urging Amazon, Facebook, eBay, Walmart, and Craigslist to more rigorously monitor inflated consumer price practices by online sellers using their services.

“As our community faces an unprecedented public health crisis, I’m asking online retailers to do more at a time that requires national unity,” said Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford. “Together, we need to crack down on inflated pricing so our consumers can get the goods and supplies they need at fair prices.”

A letter sent Monday to the companies lists several examples of inflated prices on their marketplace platforms, which took place in March: on Craigslist a two-liter bottle of hand sanitizer was being sold for $250; on Facebook Marketplace an eight-ounce bottle was being sold for $40; and on Ebay packs of face masks were being sold for $40 and $50.

Tips for buying gift cards

Gift cards are a popular, convenient gift for the holidays. This holiday season, more than half of Americans plan to buy gift cards, according to the National Retail Federation. They’ll purchase an average of four gift cards worth about $49 each. Spending on gift cards is expected to reach $29.9 billion, up from last year’s $27.6 billion.

Although gift cards seem straightforward, it’s important that both the giver and the recipient read the details for each card to avoid problems, and to find out if additional requirements have been put on by the merchant or bank issuing the card, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Protections

Federal law provides protections for consumers who purchase gift cards, including store and restaurant gift cards, known as merchant cards. These cards can only be redeemed at the stores and restaurants that sell them. Bank gift cards – which carry the logo of a payment card network, for example, Visa or MasterCard – are also subject to federal law protections and can be used wherever the brand is accepted.

Attorneys generals ask FTC to protect consumers from bogus ‘free trial offer’ deals

Twenty-three attorneys general urged the Federal Trade Commission Tuesday to adopt regulations to prevent consumers from being tricked by negative option marketing schemes. In a letter to the agency, they argue that the FTC should use its rulemaking authority to expand existing regulations. 

“We’re urging the FTC to take action and use its power to protect consumers from the harm of predatory marketers,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

With negative option marketing, a marketer makes an offer and the consumers’ silence or failure to respond is considered acceptance.

Baby boomers getting chilly as October unfolds

It’s that time of year. The weather’s getting cold and the “chills” of Halloween are looming on the horizon.

As we launch into October, baby boomer bloggers are writing about:

• Dealing with a puzzling rash.
• Finding interesting but completely useless information on the internet.
• Seeing failure as a great learning tool and a necessary step in learning new things.
• Examining the flaws of the new study that said eating red meat isn’t harmful to help consumers make the "red meat" decision.
• Looking at how we became a “Lord of the Flies” society.

Tom Sightings of  Sightings Over Sixty writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #618. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to leave a comment. Baby boomer bloggers love readers joining in the conversations.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist