Confessions of a Con Artist
A veteran scammer reveals how he made millions ripping off unsuspecting investors As told to Doug Shadel | from: AARP The Magazine “My name is Jim, and I have spent most of my adult life…
Consumer Advice For Connecticut As Hurricane Sandy Approaches
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein is encouraging consumers to remember “safety first” as Hurricane Sandy begins its approach up the Eastern Seaboard this weekend. “No matter the weather, New Englanders…
LIFE GOES ON: Good Boys Bad Girls Good Girls Bad Boys
BAD BOYS AND NICE GIRLS Why do nice girls like bad boys? And why do nice boys like bad girls? Let’s define BAD BOY. Rule breaker. (cheating, lying, stealing, breaking laws) Aggressive behavior (fighting, swearing,…
Why Freddie Mac Resisted Refis
Written by Jesse Eisinger Freddie officials wanted to protect the company’s bottom line and some sought to nix a backdoor economic stimulus. The consequence: Homeowners stayed trapped in high-rate loans. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Freddie Mac,…
Connecticut Cancer Deaths: Gap Persists Among Blacks, Whites
Written by Barbara Nagy WebKazoo Graphic When Ulysses B. Hammond was diagnosed with prostate cancer, his first thought was that he could wait to deal with it. After all, the doctor said it would spread…
Feds Crack Down on Sherwin-Williams and PPG Over Paint Claims
Sherwin-Williams and PPG Settle FTC Charges That They Misled Consumers to Believe Their Paints Were Free of Potentially Harmful Volatile Organic Compounds Two of the nation’s leading paint companies, The Sherwin-Williams Company and PPG Architectural…
Another Way Student Loans Are Like Mortgages: Subpar Servicing
by Marian Wang Two recent government reports found that the companies handling private student loans sometimes add to the frustration and even the debt load of struggling borrowers. (File photo, Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) The parallels…
Take Simple Precautions for a Night of Fun “Fright” On Halloween
While Halloween is celebrated by children of all ages as being delightfully scary, concerned parents often confront a host of unseen dangers and grim warnings in the days and weeks leading up to this night,…
Deal of the Day: $200 Office Chair for $17 At Staples
It sounded too good to be true, but in this case, buying the protection plan paid off. How has your experience been with protection plans? When I bought my $200 office chair at…
Publishers Clearing House Scam: You Won, Send Us $1,000 For “Insurance”
“CONGRATULATIONS!!!” Stephen M. Cholewa was told in an email Sunday. “On behalf of Publishers Clearing House, we are pleased to announce that you are our recent mega prize winner of $1,000,000.00 (One Million Dollars) a…
Doubts About Independent Foreclosure Review Spread
(File, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) by Paul Kiel The idea behind the Independent Foreclosure Review seems simple. During the peak of the foreclosure crisis, the banks broke laws and made errors that hurt homeowners. In response,…
CtCondo Boards Giving Property Managers Blank Checks
The Connecticut General Assembly tried to do a good thing by putting limits on how much money property managers can write checks for without prior approval from the board of directors or for requiring the…
Annual Medical Checkups For Healthy Adults May Not Be Worth Cost
Evidence is mounting that annual medical checkups for healthy adults does not produce better health results. Instead, new research shows that focusing on special tests for colon and breast cancers would do less damage and…
Watertown Physician Sanctioned for Wrongly Accusing Teen’s Father Of Incestuous Behavior
Written by Theresa Sullivan Barger After twice sending the case back to a review panel for further sanctions, the state Medical Examining Board Tuesday accepted a memorandum of decision that imposes probation on a Watertown…
Court Found Vacation Property Services Deceived Timeshare Owners
The owner of a telemarketing operation that deceived consumers who were trying to sell their timeshare properties is permanently banned from the timeshare resale and rental business, and from all telemarketing, under a settlement with…
Connecticut Seeks To Divert Veterans From Jail To Treatment
Written by Lisa Chedekel When the state Department of Veterans’ Affairs recently advertised a job opening for a veterans’ service officer, 73 veterans applied, many of them younger men and women who had served in…
Is BofA’s Foreclosure Review Really Independent? You Be the Judge
Foreclosure Crisis Banks and Government Fail Homeowners (File photo, Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images) Written by Paul Kiel Late last year, the country’s bank regulators launched a massive program to evaluate millions of foreclosure cases and compensate…
IAB Bilked Thousands Of Consumers By Promising Higher Medical Insurance Coverage Than What was Provided
FTC Acts to Halt Medical Plan Scheme that Targeted Vulnerable Consumers IAB Scheme Allegedly Bilked Millions of Dollars from Consumers Seeking Health Insurance The Federal Trade Commission charged a telemarketing operation with bilking millions of…
Equifax to Forfeit Money Made by Allegedly Improperly Selling Information about Millions of Consumers Who Were Late on Their Mortgages
In Separate Actions, Equifax and Its Customers Will Pay a Total of $1.6 Million One of the largest U.S. consumer reporting agencies, Equifax Information Services LLC, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that…
Toyota Recalls More Than 7 Million Vehicles Because Of Potential Fire Hazards
Toyota is recalling more than “7.4 million vehicles worldwide as a faulty power window switch was a potential fire hazard, the latest in a series of setbacks that have dented the reputation of Japan’s biggest…