Sunday, March 4 – Top Ten Scams of 2011
Whether it’s a knock on the door or an email in your in-box, when a stranger wants to offer you something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Likewise, when you hear from a friend or family member in trouble and in desperate need of money, it may be too bad to be true.
Learn more about the biggest scams of 2011 – Did Facebook try to give you $1 million? Did you see the video of Osama bin Laden’s death? Did you get a middle-of-the-night call from the hotel front desk? These all made our Top Ten Scams of 2011. http://www.bbb.org/us/article/bbb-names-top-ten-scams-of-2011-31711
Know Your Scam: Your Guide to Outsmarting the Top Scams – Here are the top categories of scams we hear about, and what you can do to protect yourself. http://www.bbb.org/us/scam-source/top-scams/
Sign up to get our Scam Alerts by email – Be a scam-savvy consumer. You’ll hear about the latest scams as soon as we do. http://www.bbb.org/us/scam-source/alert/
Be a scam detector and report what you know – Maybe you’ve heard about a scam even before us. Let us know! By filing a scam report with BBB, you are helping everyone stay on top of the newest twists. https://cbbb.wufoo.com/forms/report-a-scam/
Monday, March 5 – Managing Credit – Made Simpler
In today’s society, credit management is as important as money management. You need to read agreements you sign with lenders, understand your credit score, and manage your credit effectively. It’s complicated, but BBB has made it simpler with three clear and easy-to-understand guides based on your level of experience with credit and the amount of your debt. http://www.bbb.org/credit-management/
New to Credit – Secure your first credit card, manage a personal credit line, apply for a loan. Having a good credit record may help you qualify for lower interest rates, and your credit record may also affect your ability to get a job, an apartment or affordable car insurance, among other things. http://www.bbb.org/credit-management/new-to-credit/index.html
Balancing Act – Have you tried to manage your money well, but are facing changes in your financial situation? Are mounting bills and limited resources making you aware that you need to develop a new plan before your financial situation gets worse? http://www.bbb.org/credit-management/balancing-act/index.html
Overwhelming Obligations – If your bills are piling up, you are barely making minimum payments, or creditors are calling, this version is for you. Get solid advice that can help you pay down high balances and get back to financial health. http://www.bbb.org/credit-management/overwhelming-obligations/index.html
Tuesday, March 6 – Giving Wisely to Accountable Charities
The BBB Wise Giving Alliance helps donors make informed giving decisions, and advances high standards of conduct among charitable organizations. Our “Standards for Charitable Accountability” are the most rigorous of any charity review organization, and ours is the only review program that requires charities to respond in order to be evaluated. http://www.give.org
Give to accountable charities – You decide on the causes and issues you want to support, but a BBB charity report will show whether your charity of choice meets our high standards for accountability, transparency, governance and more. Here is a list of national charities that meet BBB Wise Giving Alliance standards (many local BBBs also review regional and local charities). http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/
Give to charities that make an impact – BBB Wise Giving Alliance is one of the founders of Charting Impact, a new organization that is helping charities and nonprofits create a common framework for reporting effectiveness. Supporters, donors, academic researchers, volunteers and the media are coming to recognize the Charting Impact Report as a valuable tool for assessing a charity’s impact on society. http://www.chartingimpact.org
Give through texting and social media – Social media makes information about societal needs easier than ever to find, and “text-to-give” makes donating a breeze. Learn more about how charities are using social media and mobile giving to support their causes. http://www.bbb.org/us/storage/16/documents/wga%20guides/holiday-2011-wise-giving-guide.pdf
Wednesday, March 7 – Financial Field Manual for Military Families
Since 2004, BBB Military Line has supported our military communities with free services such as financial readiness classes, outreach activities, information, data collection and dispute resolution. Local BBBs across the U.S. work with military installations to provide information on financial literacy and consumer protection. http://www.bbb.org/military
Financial Readiness = Mission Readiness: We are particularly proud of our brand new Kiplinger-BBB Financial Field Manual: The Personal Finance Guide for Military Families. Free copies are available at many military installations and USO kiosks around the country, or you can download it for free from our website. http://www.bbb.org/us/Military/resources/
Get news you can use through Facebook: BBB Military Line’s page on Facebook is a great resource for service members, families and veterans. It’s chock full of news and links to resources from DOD, the media, and private sector organizations that support our troops. https://www.facebook.com/militaryline
Become part of the mission: BBB Military Line is a proud supporter of the White House’s Joining Forces national initiative. First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are leading the charge in advocating support for military families on everything from jobs for spouses and veterans to educational opportunities for military kids to recruiting community volunteers to support our troops. http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces
Thursday, March 8 – Keeping Kids Safe Online
For more than 35 years, the BBB Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) has been helping parents control what their kids see and hear on television, radio and, more recently, the Internet by evaluating child-directed advertising and promotional material. Working closely with major advertising trade associations, CARU developed Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children’s Advertising and a process for enforcing them. http://www.caru.org
Keeping kids safe online – The average kid spends 2-7½ hours online every day. From homework to games to chatting with friends via social media, the Internet has become the primary channel of communications for children and teens. Safety on Screen: Keeping Your Children Safe on the Internet is a free online guide that explains issues such as privacy, security, cyber-bulling, stalking, setting parental controls and more. http://www.caru.org/program/SafetyonScreen.pdf
Problems with what your kids watch? – If you’ve seen an ad on children’s television (programming aimed at children under age 12) or on a child-oriented website (aimed at children under 13) that you think is inappropriate, report it to CARU and we’ll look into it. Many advertisers clear their ads with us before they air to be sure they are offering a responsible message, and we watch carefully the ones who don’t. http://www.caru.org/complaint/index.aspx
Friday, March 9 – BBB AUTO LINE is Fast, Fair and Saves You Money
For more than 30 years, BBB AUTO LINE has helped consumers resolve “lemon law” complaints simply, and without the cost of hiring a lawyer. Our dispute resolution program covers car warranty issues against participating manufacturers, and we have helped more than 2 million consumers in that time. Last year alone, BBB AUTO LINE consumers received re-purchase, replacement and reimbursement awards totally more than $41 million, while saving automakers millions in legal fees – a “win-win” situation. http://www.bbb.org/us/auto-line-lemon-law/
Know your lemon law – Every state has a lemon law, which makes automakers responsible for vehicles that fail to meet performance and safety standards, regardless of the warranty. You can get details on state laws here, but make sure you keep all documentation on your vehicle, its history, repair orders, etc., take notes when you talk to your dealer or repair shop, and keep track of how many days your vehicle is out of commission. http://www.bbb.org/us/auto-line/state-lemon-laws/
Is my car included? – Most automakers agree to participate in BBB AUTO LINE to resolve their consumer complaints quickly and efficiently. And we’ve made it easy for you to check and see if your car, truck, van or SUV is included. If you are looking for a new vehicle, check this list and see if your top choices are covered. These manufacturers stand behind their vehicles and are committed to working with consumers fairly. They deserve your business. http://www.bbb.org/us/auto-line-lemon-laws/accredited-manufacturers/
File your complaint – At BBB AUTO LINE, we strive to make resolving your lemon law complaint as simple as possible. Our role is to open communication between you and your manufacturer and to assist in the speedy resolution of your auto warranty or lemon law dispute. We will guide you each step of the way: through collecting documentation, negotiating a possible settlement and navigating the arbitration process. http://www.bbb.org/us/auto-line-lemon-laws/process-information/
Saturday, March 10 – Consumer Choice: Control Your Data Online
Online behavioral advertising uses your web surfing history to display online ads that are most likely to interest you. Advertising pays for a lot of great online content we’ve come to depend on, but advertisers want to make sure that they are reaching the right people with their messages. Information is collected as you search the web and move across various websites but, thanks to a new industry-created program, you have some a lot more control over who gets your information. http://www.bbb.org/us/interest-based-advertising/
Exercise your choice – There is an important new symbol you need to get to know: the AdChoice icon. When you see an advertisement that carries the icon or AdChoice message, you can click on the icon or message to learn more about the ad, and how to opt-out from future collection and use of your web browsing data for interest-based advertising. You can visit the AboutAds consumer choice page to see a list of businesses that collect and use data for OBA purposes and you can opt out of some or all on the list. You can set preferences on some web browsers that enable you to control the delivery of cookies to your computer. http://www.aboutads.info/consumers
File a Complaint – If you believe a business is following your online browsing history and serving you ads based on that information without giving you notice and choice through the icon or the AdChoice message, we encourage you to fill out our easy-to-use online report form. The more information you can give us, the better able we will be to act on your report. If you can capture screen shots related to your report, you can send them to obacompliance@council.bbb.org as attachments to your report or by separate email. http://www.bbb.org/us/interest-based-advertising/report-ads/
Learn More About the Participants – Hundreds of websites and other businesses support this new initiative. These are companies that have committed to honest online advertising and respect for your privacy, and they deserve your business. Look for the icon and make your choice. http://www.aboutads.info/participating
