The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

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

Are baby boomers responsible?

As we enter into fall before winter’s blasts, baby boomers are looking at personal and company responsibility. With climate change, corporate wrongdoing, and social media privacy mistakes, baby boomer bloggers are writing about responsibility.

Articles include:

• Whether we’re headed in the same direction as the dust bowl of the Great Depression, except on a larger scale, due to climate change.
• The charges by a federal agency that Match.com used fake love interest ads to trick consumers into buying subscriptions and made it difficult for them to cancel.
• Whether Facebook has become too controlling in determining what we see on the site.
• Sources for learning, including online courses.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #616. Click here to get the links to the article. And be sure to chime in with your thoughts. Baby boomer bloggers enjoy discussions with readers.

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

Match.com used fake ads that tricked consumers into paying for subscriptions, FTC charges

The Federal Trade Commission is suing online dating service Match Group, the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, and other dating sites, alleging that the company used fake love interest ads to trick hundreds of thousands of consumers into buying subscriptions on Match.com.

The FTC also alleges that Match exposed consumers to fraud. In addition, the agency alleges Match offered false promises of “guarantees,” failed to provide services to consumers who weren’t successful in disputes, and made it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.

“We believe that Match.com conned people into paying for subscriptions via messages the company knew were from scammers,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Online dating services obviously shouldn’t be using romance scammers as a way to fatten their bottom line.”

Baby boomers get ready for fall

Summer is an amazing thing. I love it every year when it so nicely appears here in the Seattle area. However, shorter days and cooler nights remind us that it’s time to prepare for a new season’s activities and learn something new. 

This week, baby boomer bloggers have some ideas to help jump-start your autumn. 

They’re writing about:

What to do about your virtual valuables as you get older

As consumers spend more time online and on their devices, they accumulate digital assets. Digital asset are something of value or significance created online or on a mobile phone, laptop, or tablet. 

As consumers age, they may want to consider transferring their digital assets to someone else. They might also want to include something related to their financial life that they may need to refer to later. Examples of digital assets could include the funds in a PayPal account or the downloadable PDF for a yearly tax filing from online tax preparation software.  

Here are tips from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s blog to help you create a plan for your digital assets:

Routers vary in their ability to protect consumers from hackers, Consumer Reports finds

Consumer Reports has announced the first privacy and security ratings since the launch of its Digital Lab, which works on privacy, digital security, and other issues in digital consumer protection. It tested 29 routers and found differences in how routers – even those from the same brand – protect consumers.

“Routers serve as the gateway to all the connected devices in our homes, which makes them a target for bad actors looking to compromise a network and steal personal data,” said Robert Richter, head of privacy and security testing at Consumer Reports. “That’s why CR’s evaluation of router privacy and security is so important. Consumers should know where they might be vulnerable, and how they can protect themselves.”

While some of routers build in safeguards, others lack basic security protections, including allowing for weak passwords that wouldn’t be accepted by many websites. Of the 29 routers Consumer Reports tested, 11 let you use passwords that are too short or simple such as “12345678.”

Facebook to pay $5 billion for privacy lapses, but consumer groups say changes the company agreed to won’t solve its privacy problems

Facebook will pay a record-breaking $5 billion penalty, and submit to new restrictions and a modified corporate structure that will hold the company accountable for the decisions it makes about its users’ privacy, to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company violated a 2012 FTC order by deceiving users about their ability to control the privacy of their personal information.

The settlement requires Facebook to conduct a massive overhaul of its consumer privacy practices. The settlement also makes major changes to Facebook’s operations, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg no longer has sole control over privacy.

“Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers’ choices,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “The magnitude of the $5 billion penalty and sweeping conduct relief are unprecedented in the history of the FTC. The relief is designed not only to punish future violations but, more importantly, to change Facebook’s entire privacy culture to decrease the likelihood of continued violations.”

Equifax to pay up to $700 million for 2017 data breach

Equifax has agreed to pay $575 million, and possibly up to $700 million, as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 states and territories. The settlement alleges that the credit reporting company’s failure to take steps to secure its network led to a data breach in 2017 that affected about 147 million people.

In its lawsuit, the FTC alleges that the Equifax data breach exposed millions of names and dates of birth, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and other personal information that could lead to identity theft and fraud.

As part of the proposed settlement, Equifax will pay $300 million to a fund that will provide affected consumers with credit monitoring services. The fund will also compensate consumers who bought credit or identity monitoring services from Equifax and paid other money as a result of the 2017 data breach. Equifax will add up to $125 million to the fund if the $300 million isn’t enough to compensate consumers for their losses.

Do you pay hidden fees?

Every month as part of my Comcast TV package, I pay Comcast $10 for sports programs that I never watch. That’s $120 a year. It’s so irritating.

Most of the 3,480 Americans who wrote to Consumer Reports over the past 13 months, as part of the organization’s “What the Fee?!” campaign, are angry about the growing number of fees showing up on their bills.

More stories keep coming every day, said Anna Laitin, director of financial policy at Consumer Reports. “The stories show just how many fees people face, and how frustrating people find them.”

At least 85 percent of Americans have encountered an unexpected or hidden fee over the past two years for a service they’d used, according to a Consumer Reports survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults. And two-thirds of them say they’re paying more now in surprise charges than they did five years ago. Almost everyone – 96 percent – finds them annoying.

Top 100 most frequently asked questions

Recently, when I visited Madrid, my granddaughter called her mom and asked her if the dishes in the dishwasher were clean or dirty. I laughed, but then I thought that the question must be one of the most popular questions ever that is asked over and over and over again.

We began brainstorming and came up with 99 additional questions that must be asked hundreds of times a day in America and throughout the world.

The most frequently asked questions are:

1. How are you?
2. How’s your family?
3. What’s new?
4. Do you know ____________?
5. Is this seat taken?
6. What would you like to drink?
7. Would you like cream or sugar (in your coffee)?
8. Who won the game?
9. Do you remember ________________ (a person from the past)?
10. Who will be there?
11. What do you do (for work)?
12. Are you dating anyone?
13. Where are you from?
14. Can I buy you a drink?
15. What’s your phone number?
16. Would you like to have coffee?
17. What’s your favorite song?
18. What’s your favorite movie?
19. Who’s your favorite star?
20. When’s your birthday?
21. What would you like to do?
22. Do you want to come in for coffee (after a date)?
23. Have you been tested for STDs?
24. Do you have a condom?
25. What are your hobbies?
26. Where did you go to school?
27. Will you marry me?
28. Where would you like to live?
29. Who was that?
30. Where are you going to go to college?
31. What are you going to major in?
32. What do you want to do (for a career)?
33. Have you read _______________ (a book)?
34. Who said __________(quote)?
35. Where are you going?
36. Can you come to the party?
37. Is she (or he) your friend?
38. Do you work here?
39. How much will I be paid for the job?
40. When's the meeting?
41. Where's the meeting?
42. Is the boss in a bad mood?
43. What's he (or she) like to work for?
44. How was work?
45. Will you take out the garbage?
46. Did you take out the garbage?
47. How was school?
48. When are you going to clean up your bedroom?
49. Where have you been?
50. Why were you late?
51. Do you know what time it is?
52. Are you ready?
53. What would you like for dinner?
54. What time is dinner?
55. Is a minute (or two minutes) in the microwave enough?
56. Would you like a sandwich?
57. Is this too old (to eat)?
58. Who’s coming to dinner?
59. When will the repairman be here?
60. Are we out of toilet paper?
61. Where are my _______________ (shorts, dress, shoes or other items)?
62. What’s on TV?
63. Did you let the dog (or cat) out?
64. Did you mow the lawn?
65. Do you remember when we _____________ (took a trip or did an activity)?
66. Is it broken (object or body part)?
67. Are we there yet?
68. How far is it to ______________ (place or town)?
69. Is that a _______________ (brand name)?
70. Where did you get that _____________ (shirt, dress, or shoes)?
71. How much does it cost?
72. Does this make me look fat?
73. Do you like this?
74. Does this look good on me?
75. Did you get a haircut?
76. Will you pick up my suit from the dry cleaners?
77. Can I speak to your supervisor?
78. Where are my keys?
79. Where are my glasses?
80. Where’s my cell phone?
81. Where did I park my car?
82. Is that a parking spot?
83. What’s the weather?
84. Do I need a coat?
85. Do I need an umbrella?
86. Have you voted?
87. Is the plane on time?
88. Can you recommend a restaurant?
89. Do you have any vacancies?
90. Do you mind if I smoke?
91. Have you met the new neighbors?
92. How are the schools (in that neighborhood or city)?
93. What’s that bulldozer doing down the street?
94. What’s the population of _______________ (city, town, or country)?
95. Why are you giving me a ticket, officer?
96. Can I see your new car?
97. Would you call me an Uber?
98. How many likes did I get?
99. Am I oversharing?

That’s my list. Did I miss any?

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer