I visited friends for dinner last week. We enjoyed a nice evening with fun conversation, just the three of us. Then a voice from the kitchen rudely interrupted. We first thought it was just Alexa spying on us.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO
If you use WhatsApp and received a notice to update your software, don’t ignore it. Facebook has confirmed that malicious hackers were able to install spyware on Android Smartphones and Apple iPhones. Now Facebook is urging its 1.5 billion users to immediately update their software to the latest version of …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
The promise of $5,000 a week for life sounds great, but does anyone ever win this prize? If you or someone you know has ever really won the Publishers Clearing House (PCH) sweepstakes, then this question is moot. But to the rest of us, the question seems relevant.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
Our friends at Senior Medicare Patrol are warning seniors that various companies are showing up at senior centers and health fairs offering genetic testing or cancer screenings and falsely claiming that Medicare will pay for it.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
Last week, AARP Idaho held a town hall meeting with Brett DeLange of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. A summary of the meeting was in last Thursday’s paper.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
What’s email bombing? Simply put, it’s a form of cyberattack that sends hundreds or thousands of messages to an email address in a single day. Email subscription bombing automatically subscribes victims to dozens or hundreds of electronic mailing lists, each of which sends multiple messages a day until the recipient …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO
I recently received an email from a reader who let me know she received a call from someone claiming to be a process server. He informed her she would be served on a certain day between 3 and 5 p.m. She wanted to check with me to see if this …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
I recently received a pleasant email from a reader letting me know that he bumped up his credit score by almost 100 points with information I shared in this column. In that spirit, I thought I would share some more practical tips to avoid mistakes — and maybe boost your …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
With all the junk mail we get these days, it can be hard to spot a bona fide bill, especially from a company you don’t recognize. A Post Falls reader recently ran into this problem with CareCredit.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Anytime you rent a car you can bet the agent will ask if you’d like to purchase Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) coverage. These add-ons can cost between $10 and $30 per day, so for a several-day car rental these fees can really add up. When …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO
Imagine driving down the highway at 60 mph when your vehicle downshifts to low gear, placing you in danger and making it impossible for you to keep up with traffic speeding around you. For drivers of Ford’s top-selling F-150 truck and the Expedition SUV, this is really happening.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
When you consider that dating is a $3 billion-a-year business and 20 percent of people who got married in 2017 met online, it’s no wonder scammers are circling these websites like sharks ready to pick the pocket of any potential love interest gullible enough to fall for their sob stories.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
With criminals finding more ways to tap into our personal information to steal our identity, information and money, it’s no wonder we’re constantly being reminded that we need to change, update and not use the same passwords across multiple accounts.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
In February, USA Today reported that a Florida-based pediatrician, Dr. Free Hess, who is also a mom, questioned YouTube on videos with hidden suicide plans for kids. One such video offered kids instructions on how to commit suicide.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
TikTok, a popular video-sharing app, recently agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle allegations from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it illegally collected personal information from children without parental consent. The FTC credited the BBB’s Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) for assisting with bringing this matter to its attention.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
On Dec. 31, 2018, I wrote about the real ID called the Star Card. Since then several readers have asked that I follow up with what ID is necessary to secure this new card and where to obtain one.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
As consumers, we're constantly told to watch and protect our credit score because it affects the cost of our purchases made on credit. A perfect FICO score (which is the most widely used) is 850.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO
In an environment where consumers are constantly under siege by scammers, now we have to deal with legitimate companies potentially trying to scam us. A two-month investigation by KARE-TV in Minneapolis found that Target has been engaging in deceptive behavior.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO
On Jan. 24, the CDA Press informed us that Shopko was exiting the pharmacy business. If you get prescriptions filled there it could affect you so heed this warning.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO
Did you know Facebook has been paying people to install a “Facebook Research” app on their smartphones that lets the company follow all of the user’s phone and web activity? This app is similar to Facebook’s Onavo Protect app that Apple banned in June 2018 due to privacy violations.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO
According to the mailer, a form T-2 is supposed to be insurance covering medical bills and funeral expenses when you die. It’s also known as burial or funeral insurance, but beware if you receive a form T-2 in your mailbox because it’s a scam.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO
If you have FaceTime on your Apple device you may want to disable it. A bug was recently discovered that potentially lets callers eavesdrop on people they were calling even though the recipient didn’t pick up the call.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO
If the government shuts down again in a few weeks, some of its websites might be inaccessible because of expired security certificates. Each government agency is responsible for keeping its security certificates updated, a process usually done annually. When agencies are shut down, however, certificates can expire.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO
The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce wants all local business owners to be aware of a suspected scam. One of our local businesses was contacted by a graphics company operating out of Illinois. They wanted to sell him ad space for a business directory that they claimed was going to …
A reader called to warn us about a Craigslist scam on a local rental property. She was looking for a rental house on Craigslist and found a promising 3 bedroom, 2 bath, almost 1,500-square-foot possibility. The price was fantastic at $700 per month. She called the number on the listing …
With so many of us addicted to our cell phones, it’s no wonder there are reportedly 20 billion (yes with a “b”) text messages sent each day. This allows the swindlers more chances to defraud us through “smishing.”
If you’re deciding whether or not to give a new business or restaurant a try, checking out their online reviews seems like a prudent thing to do. But can you always believe what you read? Here’s a quick guide to spotting questionable reviews.
GIFT CARD GOLD: Gift cards make popular gifts, but did you end up with a gift card to some place you don’t shop? Before you tuck those holiday gift cards away in a drawer and forget about them, sell them instead.
One of the most promising new fields of medicine is the area of stem cell therapies and their use in regenerative medicine. There’s also been a lot of hype surrounding this magic cure-all treatment, so it’s no wonder I’ve received a few calls from readers asking to shed some light …
People want to know their genetic makeup and for about $70, Ancestry DNA, 23andMe or MyHeritage DNA (to name a few) can answer that question along with others — like what are your potential health risks or can you discover long-lost family members?
With the increase in cybercrime, it’s no wonder one of our readers recently reported his PayPal account was hacked. As a result, his credit card (attached to PayPal) was charged about $4,750 for two computer purchases.
A reader and her husband were traveling on Alaska Airlines. While transferring planes in Seattle, they discovered their next flight was canceled, forcing them (and everyone else on the plane) to seek an alternate flight.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO
If you’ve financed or leased a new car with a minimum or no down payment, you could be at risk of not having your vehicle fully covered if you’re in an accident.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO
People want to know their genetic makeup and for about $70, Ancestry DNA, 23andMe or MyHeritage DNA (to name a few) can answer that question along with others — like what are your potential health risks or can you discover long-lost family members?
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO
Did you know you can freeze your credit for free? Credit freezes are one of the most effective ways for consumers to protect themselves against identity theft, even if you haven’t been victimized.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO
With the festive season upon us, stay away from the Yuletide Facebook secret sister scam. Facebook seems to be a favorite delivery method for this one, probably because it’s easier for scammers to reach out to our large social connection network.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO
Many retailers don’t like the term “extended warranty,” preferring to use “product protection plan” instead. Whatever you call it, the real question is: Is it worth buying?
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO
