Unsafe toys, cooking fires, decorating, holiday trees, and candles lead to thousands of injuries and deaths each year. Take safety precautions to avoid potential dangers, and possible emergency room visits, associated with these common holiday items.
Scammers use a number of tactics to steal during the holidays, ranging from online shopping scams, to scams involving the draining of gift cards, to package and shipping scams. Seventy-five percent of consumers have been targeted or experienced at least one form of fraud that can be tied to the holidays.
It’s that time of year again. Advertisements for Medicare Advantage plans are flooding my mailbox and email. I’m even getting phone calls about the plans. And, every time I turn on the TV, there’s another ad about Medicare Advantage, with infomercials to be tolerated, too.
It’s a big problem. Companies promising to help with student loan debt advertise widely, using misinformation and high-pressure sales. However, consumers need to know that there’s nothing a student loan debt relief company can do for them that they can’t do for themselves for free.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of websites offer lists of the best credit cards. However, you need to investigate the suggestions. Various characteristics are touted, such as rewards, but some of these recommendations are for cards with high interest rates and you aren’t told about that.
Many of things you may buy for the holidays, such as toys, laptops, and phones, have chips in them. Since there’s a global chip shortage, prices are going up, and items with chips will probably be harder to find. Scammers are taking advantage of these shortages and are trying to sell items in short supply.
Up to five million older Americans are abused every year, and the annual loss by victims of financial abuse is at least $36.5 billion. A guide to help family members and friends of people living in nursing homes and assisted living learn how to prevent and report elder financial abuse is available from the CFPB.
Nine in 10 Americans experienced a fraud attempt in 2020, with one in seven losing money to a scam. Consumers reported losing more than $3.4 billion to fraud in 2020, according to a fraud database. However, since the vast majority of frauds aren’t reported, the amount lost is likely much higher.
A new scams comes from someone pretending to be your boss who’s asking for a favor and wants you to send gift cards to pay for something, such as an upcoming office party. Don’t take the bait. Find out if it’s really your boss. It could be a scammer trying to get your money.
