America’s children have enormous spending power. Most have cash or access to their parents’ credit cards—and plenty of influence over what the family buys through their “pester power.” Marketers know this, which is why they spend billions of dollars a year targeting minors. Advertising can easily exploit a child’s limited ability to distinguish between entertainment and selling.
Despite lingering concerns about volatility, scams, and lax regulatory oversight, cryptocurrency has evolved from a digital curiosity into a mainstream financial asset. About 28% of U.S. adults now hold some form of digital currency. Major financial firms and banks are increasingly offering crypto to their clients, and a growing number of merchants now accept crypto payments. Consumer
Checkbook’s editors and researchers love to save you time and money, and they use a broad range of consumer-oriented websites and apps to do so. In this episode, we’ll highlight some of their favorites and why they find them to be valuable tools. More from Checkbook: Our Editors’ Favorite Websites and Apps Not a Checkbook member? Sign up
Criminals in the U.S. and around the globe are weaponizing artificial intelligence to create scams that are more convincing and more harmful than ever. As AI technology advances, it’s becoming difficult or nearly impossible for the average consumer to tell what’s real from what’s fake. AI is being used to create bogus celebrity endorsements, fake images, and
Shady contractors are going door-to-door pitching “free” solar energy systems that will eliminate costly electric bills. Most of these fraudsters do shoddy work; some take the money and run. By using high-pressure sales tactics, they get homeowners to sign high-interest contracts that leave them with massive debt. In this episode: The tricks door-to-door con artists use to
Whether it’s a complimentary dessert, an unexpected upgrade to a better hotel room, or you find a $20 bill in your coat pocket, we all like freebies. The staff at Checkbook sifted through member benefits for credit cards, warehouse clubs, health plans, and AAA. We discovered dozens of perks that are often overlooked. If you don’t know
An increasing number of important decisions about your life are now made by computer algorithms and artificial intelligence. They do more than suggest movies or music you might like—they’re making lending decisions for banks and screening job applicants for employers. Consumer advocates acknowledge the benefits of AI, but they’re also concerned about the potential harm. They want
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
