Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
November 30, 2023

52 – Shop Safely Online This Holiday Season

Host: Herb Weisbaum /
Guest(s): John Breyault - A Vice President at the National Consumers League; Melissa Lanning Trumpower - Executive Director of the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust
Back to all episodes

While convenient, online shopping can be risky. E-commerce creates all sorts of new opportunities for cyber criminals to do their dirty work, so you need to be careful. U.S. consumers reported losing $358 million to online scams last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

In this episode, we talk to John Breyault, a vice president at the National Consumers League, and Melissa Lanning Trumpower, executive director of the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, about how to spot the tricks con artists use to fool you and how you can protect yourself. Also, the smart way to pay when shopping online, and how to fight back against porch pirates.

Additional Resources:

⁠Tips for reducing your risk of fraud this holiday shopping season⁠

⁠BBB Scam Tracker⁠ is a free tool anyone can use to report suspected scams. Your reports warn others so they can avoid similar cons.

Fraud victims can report scams to the ⁠National Consumers League’s Fraud.org website⁠. This information is shared with a network of 100 law enforcement partners across the U.S. and Canada.

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

Related Episodes

December 12, 2024

76 – Fake Reviews Are Everywhere

Host: Herb Weisbaum /
Guest(s): Jason Brown – founder of ReviewFraud.org; Michael Ostheimer – Federal Trade Commission; Teresa Muray, Consumer Watchdog at U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Great reviews are good for business, so some dishonest companies post fake reviews to boost their ratings. It’s a growing problem. This flood of deceptive reviews makes it challenging to get objective information about the products or services you plan to buy.   

In this episode: The ways companies can game the system, a new FTC rule designed to clean-up the marketplace, and ways you can spot potentially bogus reviews and testimonials. 

More Info from U.S. PIRG:  

⁠How to recognize fake online reviews of products and services⁠ 

Additional Resources from Checkbook: 

⁠Shop Safely Online This Holiday Season (and All Year Long)⁠  

⁠Shop Like a Pro This Holiday Season: Score the Best Prices with Less Stress⁠  

⁠Don’t Overspend This Holiday Shopping Season⁠  

Not a Checkbook member? ⁠⁠Sign up for a free 30-day trial to access all of our unbiased ratings⁠⁠. 

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

November 27, 2024

75 – Checkbook’s College of Consumer Knowledge #1

Host: Herb Weisbaum /
Guest(s): Dave Ross & Colleen O’Brien, morning anchor team at Seattle’s KIRO Newsradio

We’ve come up with a fun way to celebrate our 75th episode: An old-fashioned radio quiz show, featuring the morning anchors at KIRO Newsradio in Seattle. Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien are old friends, who have Herb as a regular guest each week, so we had a lot of fun doing this.

Play along with Dave and Colleen as they try to come up with the right answers. ⁠You might also want to play the online version of Checkbook’s College of Knowledge⁠.

Not a Checkbook member? ⁠⁠Sign up for a free 30-day trial to access all of our unbiased ratings⁠⁠.

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

November 14, 2024

74 – Passkeys Provide Better Security Than Passwords

Host: Herb Weisbaum /
Guest(s): Alex Weinert - Vice President for Identity Security at Microsoft

No one really likes passwords. Even the best ones are no match for today’s international crime rings. So, the push is on, led by Microsoft, Apple, and Google, to get you to switch from passwords to passkeys.

In this episode: What passkeys are and how they work, why they are better than passwords, and how you can switch to them on your online accounts.

Additional Resources & Consumerpedia Episodes:

⁠Why It’s Time to Ditch Passwords and Switch to Passkeys⁠

#5: CyberCrime: a Former Cyber Crook Explains How to protect Yourself

#11: Stop, Thief! How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

#48: How Will Scammers Use AI?

Not a Checkbook member? ⁠Sign up for a free 30-day trial to access all of our unbiased ratings⁠.

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

October 31, 2024

73 – Checkbook’s Holiday Shopping Tips 2024

Host: Herb Weisbaum /
Guest(s): Jamie Lettis - Checkbook's Associate Editor; Edgar Dworsky - Publisher, Consumerworld.org; Amy Nofziger - AARP Fraud Watch Network, Bruce McClary - National Foundation for Credit Counseling

The hectic holiday shopping season is underway, and for many, that will put a strain on the family budget. Checkbook wants to make this stressful time a little easier.

Our annual holiday helper is packed with timely advice: Super shoppers share tips about how they find the best prices and avoid fake sales. Plus, how to avoid gift card scams, stop porch pirates, and spot bogus online shipping notices. Also, the pros and cons of buy now, pay later loans.

Additional Consumerpedia Episodes & Resources:

Checkbook’s Top Holiday Shopping Tips

Don’t Overspend This Holiday Shopping Season

#59: Saving Money at the Supermarket

#58: Misleading Marketing Gets You to Buy Now and Pay More

#57: Whatever Happened to Customer Service?

#52: Shop Safely Online This Holiday Season

#26: Sale Prices Are Rarely Real Deals

Not a Checkbook member? ⁠Sign up for a free 30-day trial to access all of our unbiased ratings⁠.

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

July 25, 2024

68 – Rewards Cards

Host: Herb Weisbaum /
Guest(s): Brad Lipton - CFPB; Steven Carvell - Professor of Finance at Cornell University; Christopher Elliott - Syndicated Travel Columnist

Whether it’s points, miles, or cash back, it’s nice to be rewarded for shopping. The lure of “getting something extra” can encourage you to apply for new credit cards and spend more to score those rewards.

In recent years, many credit card reward programs have become more complex and confusing, and frustrated cardholders are complaining to federal regulators.

In this episode: Should the CFPB create new rules to regulate credit card rewards programs? Also, a close-up look at the most common complaints about airline rewards cards, and how chasing rewards can cost you money.

Additional Resources:

Credit Cards: How to Choose the Best One

Credit Cards Provide Strong Protections for Consumers

Saving on Gas: Which Rewards Credit Cards Offer the Best Deals at the Pump?

Not a Checkbook member? ⁠Sign up for a free 30-day trial to access all of our unbiased ratings⁠.

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

April 4, 2024

60 – Avoid a Big Cell Phone Bill When Traveling Abroad

Host: Herb Weisbaum /
Guest(s): Kevin Brasler - Checkbook's Executive Editor; Dani Dredger - Checkbook Senior Manager of Digital Marketing

Travel outside the U.S. and you’ll need to make sure your cell phone works wherever you’re headed. With a little advance planning, you can also lower the cost of using your phone on that trip—in some cases, by $100 a line a week or more.

In this episode, what the major phone companies charge to use their roaming services when you’re in a foreign country, and how to pay less by switching to a local wireless carrier at your destination. Plus, the pros and cons of turning off your cell service and relying on Wi-Fi.

Read Checkbook’s full report on how to save money while using a phone internationally.

Support our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumerpedia/support

© Center for the Study of Services. All rights reserved.
Facebook Instagram Twitter