Jul 4, 2008
Jun 29, 2008
Jun 25, 2008
Jun 18, 2008
Scams and Frauds
On June 17th, I was interviewed about scams and frauds by Stacy Forster of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the Wisconsin Eye.
Jun 14, 2008
Jun 13, 2008
Jun 12, 2008
Jun 8, 2008
Jun 5, 2008
Jun 4, 2008
May 31, 2008
May 28, 2008
If there are toddlers nearby, be especially careful backing out of drive ways.
Right after WISC-TV in Madison warned about toddlers being killed and injured by cars when drivers are backing out of drive ways, it happened again in Wisconsin. A 15-month-old girl was killed Thursday (May 29)in Rock County. Last Sunday, a 13-month-old girl was killed in a Whitewater church parking lot.
May 23, 2008
May 22, 2008
May 19, 2008
May 18, 2008
May 17, 2008
May 16, 2008
May 12, 2008
May 11, 2008
Don't get stuck with a disposable HDTV
Fasten your safety belt if you bought one of those better buys and it needs repair.
Kicking the tires on Chrysler's new gas gimmick
Wall Street Journal
Let's Refuel America is a terrific marketing maneuver by Chrysler. But consumers need to check it out carefully before signing up.
May 8, 2008
Can a steamer replace your iron?
I think this article maybe directed to the older generation because from what I observe wrinkled clothing is in with many young people.
May 4, 2008
Pictures of these scary looking dustmites are sometimes shown to consumers by questionable vacuum cleaner salespeople trying to sell machines priced a thousand dollars higher than most good vacuums.
The latest medical information on dust mites suggests that vacuums don't help: Getting rid of dust mites—worthwhile?
By the way, some salespeople have also used AIDS to frighten people into buying vacuums. When AIDS became a known problem, consumers were told that the vacuums were air filtration systems that would protect families from the disease!
May 3, 2008
Green Bay area woman nicked by Nigerians
And here is Dateline video of another Wisconsin victim and a Dateline sting of the Nigerian scammers.
Want to work at home stuffing envelopes?
When I started as a Consumer Protection reporter in 1971 the stuffing envelopes scam dotted almost every newspaper classified ad section--because the scam worked like a chain letter. Instead of receiving envelopes to stuff when you sent in your money you got instructions on how to make money putting the same rip-off ad into other newspapers.
Thirty-seven years later, the envelope stuffing scam is still going fairly strong. Fact is there have never been any envelopes to stuff at home. Every last one of those ads is meant to deceive and steal money.
Here is the latest prosecution.
Speeding Up Safety
With the government slow to act and consumers quick to mobilize, companies have learned to take swift action on potentially dangerous products. Washington Post
Apr 26, 2008
They are coming! When salespeople knock on your door.
Clarification: Investments are exempt from the three-day right to cancel.
Have you seen those colon cleaning TV infomercials? Here is a second opinion:
...Some approaches to "detoxification" are based on notions that, as a result of intestinal stasis, intestinal contents putrefy, and toxins are formed and absorbed, which causes chronic poisoning of the body. This "autointoxication" theory was popular around the turn of the century but was abandoned by the scientific community during the 1930s. No such "toxins" have ever been found, and careful observations have shown that individuals in good health can vary greatly in bowel habits. Quacks may also suggest that fecal material collects on the lining of the intestine and causes trouble unless removed by laxatives, colonic irrigation, special diets, and/or various herbs or food supplements that "cleanse" the body. The falsity of this notion is obvious to doctors who perform intestinal surgery or peer within the large intestine with a diagnostic instrument. Fecal material does not adhere to the intestinal lining...
Apr 25, 2008
Apr 21, 2008
Apr 20, 2008
Apr 19, 2008
Apr 14, 2008
Apr 13, 2008
Apr 11, 2008
Apr 10, 2008
Apr 9, 2008
Apr 8, 2008
Apr 5, 2008
Apr 2, 2008
NCAA cheap seats? Take an oxygen bottle.
This story is dated because it's about the Badgers in the NCAA's playoffs in Detroit. But it is worth a look just to see the creativity used by Reporter Mark Lovicot of WISC-TV in Madison to demonstrate questionable ticket sales.
Apr 1, 2008
Consumer Protection in the digital age
At some time in our lives, we, or someone close to us, will experience a questionable consumer transaction.