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
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
Data breaches are now an annoyingly normal part of life: You change your stolen passwords, cancel your compromised credit cards. But it can be a significantly more serious problem when hackers get your medical data. Last year, about 1 in 3 Americans had their medical records breached, according to the federal government. In this episode, we’ll look
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
Are you frustrated with the way companies treat you? If so, you’re not alone: Surveys find that many consumers are fed up with long waits on the phone, customer service agents who can’t solve their problems, unintelligible billing statements, poorly designed websites, and inexperienced or indifferent sales staff. In this episode: Why do so many companies see
Manufacturers often make it difficult or impossible to fix their products when they break, or even take them to an independent repair shop of your choosing. Consumer advocates say these repair restrictions limit competition, drive up the cost of repairs, and add to the growing problem of e-waste. In this episode, a look at the broken repair
Smart toys are cool. With their onboard cameras, microphones, and sensors… plus the ability to pair with other devices or connect to the internet, they can do some amazing things. They can also collect data on your child—including pictures and what they say—and send that information back to the toy company. So, parents need to think carefully
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
Artificial intelligence has been around for decades, but the world changed in November with the introduction of ChatGPT, the AI app that lets anyone harness the power of this amazing supercomputing technology—including criminals. In this episode, a look at how fraudsters might be able to use AI to their benefit. Will it change the types of scams
Social media was designed to bring us together, but it often fosters scams, spreads misinformation, and amplifies hate. The problem isn’t going to go away, so we need to become better consumers of what shows up on our feeds. In this episode, Emmy-award winning sportscaster and journalist Bob Costas talks about social media responsibility. Bob tackled the
