Debt Collection Files
CFPB follows the money, sues ‘phantom’ debt collector, its telecom providers, and its payment processors
A Georgia firm called millions of consumers attempting to
Uncategorized
Half of Americans spend half their money on food and shelter; a recipe for restlessness
There’s a huge blind-men-and-the-elephant problem when talking about the economy. Writers can’t help but talk about it like’s it a single thing, that’s either doing well or poorly. Basically, if you’ve lost your job, the economy stinks. If you have a good job, it’s hard to understand what everybody is [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
Tax ID theft a nine-month red tape nightmare, on average
Victims of tax-refund identity theft have a nightmare on their hands — a long-term nightmare. A government audit found that it takes an average of 278 days for the IRS to resolve ID theft complaints and issue tax refunds. And that’s an improvement over the 312 days it took the [Keep reading]
Money and Life
Starbucks free college offer now a ‘grande’ — covers four years instead of two, with quicker reimbursement
Starbucks said this week it is “doubling down” on its free college offer, expanding from two years to four years the ambitious tuition reimbursement program it announced in 2014. The announcement also deals with criticism the program has received because student/employees had been required to shell out considerable sums and [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
Google’s YouTube Kids app illegally advertises to children, consumer groups allege
Internet firms have a tough time dealing with the kids issue. The temptation to rope children into brand loyalty is great, but many of the things that are most effective are at least immoral, if not illegal. After all, kids’ brains aren’t fully formed, and they are even easier to [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
New chip credit cards called ‘a joke’ — lessons from Europe offer the punchline
The way Americans spend money is on the verge of its biggest change in decades, but the drumbeat of doubters continues to get louder. New chip-enabled credit cards are slowly getting into consumers’ hands in advance of a looming deadline later this year. But a Walmart executive recently told CNN [Keep reading]
Gotchas / Consumer
What happens inside a debt collection firm when it’s raided by the Feds
Travell Thomas is desperately trying to save his business, or at least part of it. His debt collection firm, Four Star Resolution, was raided during the morning on Feb. 11, as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission. Employees were told to leave immediately. A temporary restraining [Keep reading]
The Restless Project
Half of mid-career unemployed workers forced to change fields, take less pay
In the 1970s Sci-fi movie Logan’s Run, viewers are let in on a dirty little secret about a Utopian society — everyone gets killed at age 30. Sure keeps labor costs down. America hasn’t quite become Logan’s Run, but we seem to be tilting that way. It’s no secret that [Keep reading]
Gotchas / Consumer
The real reasons people use smartphones — to avoid other people, and because they are bored
Have you ever grabbed your smartphone on your way to the bathroom? Yes, I know you have. All the evidence you need that we are all too dependent on our smartphones. For most of us, that’s a First World problem. But for a surprisingly large segment of the American population, [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
Something else for Uber users to fear — driver tries to rob home after airport ride
I’ve described the many flaws in Ubernomics before, and you’ve about sexual assault allegations. Here’s a new Uber problem that users should understand. A Colorado man has been arrested and accused of returning to a passenger’s home after dropping her off at the airport to burglarize the home, seemingly because [Keep reading]