Current Events in January 2006

What's worse than finding spyware and viruses on your computer? Finding out that the software you use to keep your computer safe may be just as dangerous.

Symantec, makers of the popular Norton AntiVirus protection software and numerous other products, routinely hides a "rootkit" in its Norton SystemWorks program suite.

The rootkit was designed to prevent SystemWorks users from mistakenly deleting files necessary to run the program suite, but the rootkit also hides the files from antivirus scans. Clever hackers could use the security hole to upload viruses into a computer without being detected.

Symantec issued a patch to the software on Jan. 10 that would enable users to see the hidden files. In a statement, the company said that it "is not aware of any attempts by hackers to conceal malicious code in thefolder. This update is provided proactively to eliminate the possibility of that type of activity."

The rootkit was detected by Windows software architect Mark Russinovich and a team from Finnish security experts F-Secure.

Russinovich is credited with exposing the hidden rootkits in Sony BMG's copy-protected CDs. The Sony rootkits installed on users' computers without their consent, and could lead to numerous hardware and security flaws.

Russinovich has said that the usage of rootkits by commercial companies is "very worrisome."

"When you use rootkit-type techniques, even if your intentions are good, the user no longer has full control of the machine," Russinovich said in an interview with eWeek. "It's impossible to manage the security and health of that system if the owner is not in control."

Federal judge Naomi Rice Buchwald gave tentative approval on Jan. 12th to a settlement in one of the many lawsuits filed against Sony over the rootkits. The settlement terms included offering cash payments or free music downloads to buyers of the affected CD's, and prevents Sony from selling any CD's with copy-protected software until 2008 at the earliest.

Lawsuits filed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and the Electronic Frontier Foundation against Sony are still going ahead.

Consumers holding adjustable rate mortgages could face significant increases in their payments this year. In fact, one mortgage planner warns that homeowners who locked in rates of around three percent in the early years of their ARMs could see their mortgage payments double once the rate is adjusted to current market conditions.

"You're seeing fixed rates at six and a half and seven percent, while some of the ARMS were available at very low levels. Now you're seeing some of these adjustable mortgages go up three or four points," Paul Harden, a broker with iLendingPro, of Cypress, California, told ConsumerAffairs.com.

What's behind the jump?

Mortgage rates are going up, and it has less to do with the Federal Reserve hiking the Fed Funds Rate than it does the bond market. Interest rates on bonds are up, and that influences mortgage rates.

"Our current market reflects the reaction of investors reading between the lines on comments made by the Fed, and mortgage interest rates are going up," Harden said.

"This will affect home owners with adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) tied to indexes that are based on short-term interest rates. This includes the 11th District Cost of Funds, 12-Month Treasury Average (MTA), London Inter Bank Offering Rates (LIBOR) and others."

This doesn't mean that everyone with an adjustable mortgage is in trouble right away.

Harden says some indexes are more volatile than others. But he says consumers should remember, when an ARM adjusts, the new interest rate is a sum of the borrower's fixed margin plus the current rate of the index the mortgage is tied to. In the present environment, he says that can be a big number.

"Many of these people who locked in very low rates with ARMs are now going to see their interest rates double in some cases," Hardin said.

Those hardest hit are likely to be the consumers who chose ARMs because they offered the only monthly payment they could afford. Harden says many people were encouraged to buy more house than they could afford through the growth of "creative" financing options.

"Even ten years ago your debt to income ratio on a standard loan needed to be about 30 to 35 percent. Now banks, in order to get more people into homes, are taking up to 50 and 55 percent debt to income ratio. That's a recipe for disaster," he said.

Harden says consumers with ARMs should be thinking about locking into a fixed rate loan before rates go up, even though the fixed rate will be higher than what they're paying now. Those who took out an ARM because of a poor credit score may now be able to transition into a loan with more favorable terms, if they have improved their credit rating.

Before doing anything, though, he says it's a good idea to seek some solid advice from someone you trust -- an independent mortgage broker, accountant, financial advisor or attorney.

"As with any decision to refinance, it is important to take the terms of the existing loan, the cost of the new loan, and the borrower's long-term needs into consideration."

Subprime housing market lenders have benefited from weak or nonexistent federal regulation that provides little oversight or redress to homebuyers swindled into expensive loans. Now, many states have stepped into the breach, passing restrictive laws designed to provide consumers the opportunity to fight back against predatory lenders.

But Congress is taking up the issue of federal guidelines that would supersede the tough state laws, opening the possibility that consumers will take a backseat to the profit-hungry financial services sector which showers Congress with money and favors.

The House of Representatives currently has two bills on its docket dealing with predatory loan protections.

The "Responsible Lending Act," introduced by Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), would create uniform federal guidelines for predatory lending laws, superceding laws already on the books in many states. Ney has become infamous for his ties to corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The law would also allow prepayment penalties for the first three years of a loan, and would only restrict refinancing on the most expensive loans unless they had a "net, tangible benefit" to the borrower.

The mortgage industry favors the Ney bill, in order to put an end to what the Mortgage Bankers' Association calls "a bewildering regulatory landscape that is both difficult and costly to decipher. Consumers, unfortunately, are being forced to pay the price, with fewer credit options and more expensive mortgages."

Kurt Ptofenhauer, MBA's senior vice-president for governmental affairs, told the Los Angeles Times that "the predatory lending problem is frankly dwarfed" by the ability of lower-income borrowers to get credit and home loans. "The market works because it regulates itself, " he said.

Legalizing Fraud

Consumer advocates such as the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) disagree strongly.

Pointing to statistics showing that predatory loans can cost Americans $9.1 billion each year, the Center believes that the Ney bill will put subprime borrowers at even greater risk of expensive prepayment penalties, excessive additional fees, and outright mortgage fraud.

"It would be a travesty if all [the states'] hard work was undone by a federal law that puts more homeowners at risk by eliminating state protections," CRL's executive vice-president Debbie Goldstein said.

CRL and other consumer advocacy groups are backing another House bill, sponsored by Reps. Mel Watt and Brad Miller (D-NC), and Barney Frank (D-MA), that prevents subprime lenders from advising borrowers to quickly refinance ("flip") their property without explaining the costs and benefits upfront. Unlike the Ney bill, the measure would apply to all subprime loans.

The "Prohibit Predatory Lending Act" would also prohibit the use of mandatory arbitration to resolve disputes and would mandate that borrowers get credit counseling before agreeing to higher-cost loans. It would also allow states to craft stricter requirements.

Watt and Miller modeled the bill on North Carolina's laws against predatory lending, considered to be the strictest in the nation. Twenty-four other states have laws against predatory lending on the books, many with very different requirements.

California's laws are generally considered the weakest, as they can allow prepayment penalties on "traditional" loans for up to five years. Not coincidentally, California's real estate market is one of the most expensive in the nation.

The states are often tougher than the federal government when it comes to enforcing laws against subprime lenders. The Attorneys General of 33 states and the District of Columbia recently negotiated a $325 million dollar settlement with subprime lender Ameriquest for charges of predatory lending and excessive fees.

Money Talks

The mortgage industry is lobbying hard to ensure the Ney bill gets passed. Ney received tens of thousands of dollars' worth of campaign contributions from political action committees representing the mortgage industry, including $10,000 from MBA, and another $10,000 from the National Association of Realtors.

Ney is also under investigation for his ties to infamous Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney receieved $32,000 in campaign contributions from Abramoff in exchange for supporting legislation that favored a Texas Indian tribe that Abramoff represented. Ney also enjoyed favors from the lobbyist, including a golfing trip to Scotland in 2002.

Ney was subpoenaed by the Justice Department to testify in the Abramoff investigation in Nov. 2005. Abramoff recently pled guilty to multiple federal charges, including conspiracy and tax evasion.

Bankruptcies jumped to a record number of filings in 2005 as consumers rushed filings to avoid changes to bankruptcy than became law October 17. The new information is the result of a survey released by Lundquist Consulting, an industry group that tracks bankruptcy statistics.

Bankruptcy filings increased 31.6 percent to 2.04 million with about one in every 53 households filing for bankruptcy, according to the survey. The number of consumers seeking relief from their debts through bankruptcy was at an all-time high in 2005.

Since the new law went into effect October 17, few consumers have used the new bankruptcy system, according to the consulting company.

The new bankruptcy law makes it harder for consumers to prove that they should be allowed to clear their debts in what's known as a "fresh start" Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 filings, which provide consumers with the greatest relief of their debts, increased 47.2 percent in 2005, according to the survey. Chapter 13 consumer filings, which require consumers to repay a part of their debts, declined 7.9 percent.

Fewer than 2 percent of all 2005 filings came after the new bankruptcy legislation became law.

The largest number of bankruptcies in 2005 was in California, where filings rose about 36 percent to nearly 165,000.

The critic is Nina Olson, who heads the Taxpayer Advocate Service within the IRS.

In her report to Congress for 2005, Olson says many of the taxpayers whose refunds are frozen are working poor, who can least afford to have their money withheld. In most cases, she says, the IRS never contacts them to let them know they are under investigation.

Olsen also says it's not surprising that taxpayers make mistakes when filing out their tax returns. She says Congress could remedy the situation by simplifying the tax code.

"Our tax code has grown so complex that it creates opportunities for taxpayers to make inadvertent mistakes as well as to game the system," Olson said.

"As taxpayers become confused and make mistakes, or deliberately 'push the envelope,' the IRS understandably responds with increased enforcement actions. The exploitation of 'loopholes' leads to calls for new legislation to crack down on abuses, which in turn makes the tax law more complex," Olson said.

"Thus begins an endless cycle complexity drives inadvertent error and fraud, which drive increased enforcement or new legislation, which drives additional complexity. In short, complexity begets more complexity. This cycle can only be broken by true tax simplification, followed by ongoing legislative and administrative discipline to avoid 'complexity creep.'"

Olson said the tax code should be revised to incorporate six core principles:

• it shouldn't try to "entrap" taxpayers;
• it should be simple enough that most people can fill out their own returns;
• it should be written in a way that minimizes the opportunities for non-compliance;
• it should provide limited choices;
• it should make it easy to administer refundable credits; and
• it should require a periodic review of the code in short, a "sanity check."

Olsen also expressed the concern that the IRS is expanding enforcement at the expense of taxpayer service.

Her report says the IRS has eliminated TeleFile, significantly reduced the number of returns IRS personnel prepare for taxpayers who seek IRS assistance, reduced the percentage of taxpayer calls IRS telephone assisters answer as compared with FY 2004, and substantially reduced its taxpayer education function for small businesses.

Olsen says Criminal Investigation (CI) refund freezes are a major problem facing taxpayers. Her report says that CI places "freezes" on hundreds of thousands of refunds each year due to a suspicion of fraud and then makes a "determination" whether the returns are, in fact, fraudulent without notifying taxpayers that their refund claims are under review or giving them an opportunity to present evidence supporting their positions.

In FY 2004, more than 28,000 taxpayers whose refunds had been frozen sought assistance from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). The TAS research function studied a statistically representative sample of these cases and found that, with TAS assistance, taxpayers ultimately received the full amount of the refund they had claimed in 66 percent of the frozen-refund cases and a portion of the refund they had claimed in an additional 14 percent of the cases.

Olson urged the IRS to implement procedures to notify taxpayers promptly that their refunds have been frozen, provide taxpayers with an opportunity to submit supporting documentation, and bring cases to a quicker resolution. The TAS research study is published as Volume II of the report.

Among other problems the report identifies are the need for IRS to develop a comprehensive strategy to address noncompliance in the "cash economy," the adequacy of training for private debt collection employees as the IRS rolls out its Private Debt Collection (PDC) initiative in 2006, and delays and related problems in examining returns that claim the earned income tax credit (EITC).

Vehicle interiors have dangerous levels of toxic chemicals, mainly from flame retardants and plastic softeners, an environmental group warns.

The study, released by The Ecology Center, a Detroit organization, revealed new information about toxic chemical exposure in automobile interiors. PBDEs, chemicals used as fire retardants, and phthalates, used primarily to soften PVC plastics (and partly responsible for "new car smell"), were found in dangerous amounts in dust and windshield film samples.

"We can no longer rely just on seatbelts and airbags to keep us safe in cars," said Jeff Gearhart, the Ecology Center's Clean Car Campaign Director. "Our research shows that autos are chemical reactors, releasing toxins before we even turn on the ignition. There are safer alternatives to these chemicals, and innovative companies that develop them first will likely be rewarded by consumers."

Drivers and passengers are exposed through inhalation and contact with dust. These groups of chemicals have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and early puberty in laboratory animals, among other serious health problems, the group said.

"Most people think about cars causing outdoor air pollution, such as smog," said Gearhart. "Now we know that breathing the air and dust inside of cars may be even more dangerous."

Fortunately, car owners can take some direct actions to minimize health risks from PBDEs and phthalates in car interiors, Gearhart said. They can use solar reflectors, ventilate car interiors, and park in the shade whenever possible.

The study - "Toxic at Any Speed: Chemicals in Cars & the Need for Safe Alternatives" - found that chemicals used to make seat cushions, armrests, floor coverings, wire insulation and other interior auto components are more rapidly released into the air in extreme temperatures.

Since automobiles have 360-degree windows surrounding the interior, cars can heat up to 190 degrees F. In addition, UV exposure from parking in the sun creates a favorable environment for chemical breakdown, causing PBDE flame retardants to become even more dangerous. Solar exposure in cars can be 5 times higher than in homes or offices, according to the study.

The Ecology Center collected windshield film and dust samples from 2000 to 2005 model cars made by 11 leading auto manufacturers. Volvo was found to have the lowest levels of phthalates and the second lowest levels of PBDEs, making it the industry leader in terms of indoor air quality. Volvo also has the toughest policies for phasing out these chemicals.

Other manufacturers claim they have eliminated PBDEs and phthalates from particular applications. For example, Ford reports that it has eliminated PBDEs from "interior components that customers may come into contact with." Honda also reports that it has eliminated most of its phthalate-containing PVC in its vehicles. Other manufacturers tested include BMW, Chrysler, GM, Hyundai, Mercedes, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen.

But automakers believe that the chemicals, such as the flame retardants, are needed to protect people in crashes. They have been shown not to pose a risk to occupants, said Eron Shosteck, spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The alliance represents the Big 3 and six import-brand companies.

The study found that concentrations of PBDEs in dust and windshield film samples were up to five times higher than those found in homes and offices in previous studies. Since the average American spends more than 1.5 hours in their car every day breathing in these chemicals, the inside of a car is a significant source of indoor air pollution. According to the EPA, indoor air pollution is currently one of the top five environmental risks to public health.

In Europe and Japan, momentum is beginning to move away from toxic chemicals such as PBDEs and phthalates toward safer alternatives. The European Union, for example, passed legislation in 2003 requiring the phase-out of PBDEs in electronic and electrical equipment. As a result, electronics manufacturers such as Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Panasonic and Sony have already eliminated PBDEs from their products.

The European Union has also required phase-outs of phthalates in toys, childcare items, and cosmetics, resulting in similar elimination efforts in those industries.

January 10, 2006
Bombarbier is recalling about 10,400 snowmobiles. The recall affects certain 2006 Ski-Doo REV, RT, and RF snowmobiles.

The steering columns on these snowmobiles could have a missing weld, which could allow a steering component to become loose. This could lead to a loss of control or possible collision causing serious injury or even death.

The recall involves certain Ski-Doo Model Year 2006 snowmobiles. The platforms involved are the REV, RT, and RF. For a complete list of model numbers and serial numbers affected by this recall please log onto www.ski-doo.com. Check the owners manual for the location of the model number and serial number. Most are located on the tunnel.

A second recall affects certain 2006 Ski-Doo REV500 SS, REV 600 HO, and REV 600 HO SDI snowmobiles. Cracks could appear in the starter ring gears allowing gear fragmentation at high speeds. The debris could act like projectiles and cause serious injury or death to riders or bystanders.

In the second recall, models affected include REV500 SS, REV 600 HO, and REV 600 HO SDI snowmobiles. For a complete list of model numbers and serial numbers affected by this recall please log onto www.ski-doo.com The model number and serial number can be found on the tunnel.

Sold by: Ski-Doo

The units were sold by Ski-Doo dealers nationwide from June 7, 2005 through November 9, 2005 for between $4,000 and $12,300.

Registered owners of affected models have been sent direct notice of this recall. Consumers should stop using these snowmobiles immediately and contact a local Ski-Doo dealer to schedule an appointment for repair service.

Consumer Contact: For more information, consumers can call Bombardier Customer Service Department at (888) 864-2002 between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firms Web site at www.ski-doo.com.

The recall is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Financial services company Estate Growth Management and its principals, Gary Singer and Margaret Zimmerman, each pled guilty to two felony charges after reaching a plea agreement with the Michigan Attorney General's Office.

"Everyone involved in this embezzlement scheme should be ashamed," said Attorney General Mike Cox. "They stole from Michigan's most vulnerable citizens."

Defendants Estate Growth Management and Margaret Florence Zimmerman, 48, of Traverse City, pled guilty to two felony counts of Embezzlement by a Person in a Relationship of Trust over $20,000, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Gary Singer, 54, of Traverse City, pled guilty to two felony counts of False Pretenses over $20,000, which also carries a 10-year maximum prison sentence.

The charges were the result of a year-long investigation into the companys business practices by Coxs Health Care Fraud Division in conjunction with the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department and the Michigan State Police.

The investigation revealed that while clients lost over $1.1 million, defendants' combined commissions were in excess of $200,000. The defendants persuaded their clients to invest in California-based Network Services Depot and/or Bikini Vending.

Large amounts of investment monies were lost to early cancellation penalties, taxes, and fees in exchange for promises of high returns that never transpired. The remaining balance of the investments was also lost.

The plea agreement required each defendant to pay $200,000 on January 6, 2006; pay the balance of restitution owed totaling $705,624.49 to the 8 investment victims; and, to surrender their licenses to sell insurance.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that at least 76 dogs nationwide have died as a result of eating contaminated Diamond Pet Foods.

According to the company, the pet food was distributed to stores in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia and West Virginia.

The tainted chow was sold under the brand names Diamond, Country Value and Professional, and bears the date codes of March 1, 2007, through June 11, 2007.

Diamond has promised to reimburse pet owners for vet bills and other costs associated with the aflatoxin poisoning.

"It's going to take some time to take care of all these customers, and we're going to do it," said the company's chief operating officer, Mark Brinkmann.

The company has recalled 19 varieties of dog and cat food because tests showed high levels of aflatoxin, a naturally occurring toxic chemical that comes from a fungus found on corn and other grains that causes severe liver damage in animals.

The company recalled products manufactured at its Gaston, SC, plant from September to November 2005. Based on tests, Diamond has narrowed down the exposure to food produced on Oct. 11.

The FDA and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture have launched investigations.

A tiny provision of a Department of Justice appropriations bill may end up becoming a major battleground over First Amendment rights on the Internet.

The provision, designed to prevent anonymous harassment and stalking via e-mail or the Web, is so broadly worded that many fear it could chill other forms of speech.

The "Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act" for fiscal year 2006 contains one section entitled "Preventing Cyberstalking." Under the new law, the rules passed in the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to prevent harassment by telephone were extended to Internet communications as well.

According to the new law, "Whoever...utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet... without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person...who receives the communications...shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

CNET's Declan McCullagh touched off the controversy when he pointed out that the language is so vague that virtually any anonymous writer, blogger, or pundit could be prosecuted for "annoying" someone.

"Why should merely annoying someone be illegal?" he asked. "There are perfectly legitimate reasons to set up a Web site or write something incendiary without telling everyone exactly who you are."

Under the new interpretation, anonymous whistleblowers who set up Web sites to criticize government corruption or corporate crime could be arrested. Someone who wants to criticize their boss on their blog or Web site could be construed as "annoying" someone, he argued.

Others think the new statute is simply an attempt to do the right thing, but reaches far beyond its intent.

Law professor and author Daniel Solove said that "The statute is badly written, and if not interpreted narrowly, it would run into constitutional vagueness problems." According to Solove, the question of "intent to annoy" must come into play before the statute can be applied.

"[T]he law clearly is not a prohibition on anonymously annoying another person. It is far more restrictive than that. One must have a particular culpable state of mind in order to be guilty of violating the law," he wrote.

The sheer number of anonymous writers, pundits, and flame war starters on the Internet far outstrips the Justice Department's ability to prosecute them all. But much like the recording industry's practice of several high-profile lawsuits against music downloaders, the law may be applied as a sort of "chilling effect" designed to scare people away from posting content on the Web without disclosing their identities.

And much like Congress' heavy-handed attempts to prevent identity theft and spyware infections, the law may end up harming genuine instances of protected speech while letting the real bad guys go unpunished.

Or, as one online commenter put it: "There is no shortage of laws that are extremely wide and over-broad, but don't get enforced -- unless, of course, you are unconventional, weird, different, rub somebody the wrong way, or come to the attention of somebody in power with an axe to grind or a quota to fill. In other words, just another bad law created with the best of intentions, which can be abused by bad people."

Massachusetts authorities have made an arrest in a hacking incident that resulted in dozens of eBay customers having their credit card data stolen.

Attorney General Tom Reilly said 20-year-old Sean Galvez of Boston allegedly used his computer skills to hack into eBay's computer system, steal victims' identities and use those identities to make online purchases.

Galvez was indicted on one count of larceny by a single scheme and 10 counts each of violating the unauthorized access statute (computer hacking) and violating the identity fraud statute for illegally gaining access to password protected eBay accounts and stealing stored credit card numbers which he later used to make online purchases. He is scheduled to be arraigned January 18.

The indictments allege that from February to September 2003, Galvez gained access to more than 40 eBay accounts, changed passwords and retrieved saved credit card information. Galvez allegedly used this information to purchase online gift certificates through eBay's Half.com website, a purchasing forum within eBay where eBay members can list items for sale or purchase items for a listed price.

The indictments further allege that Galvez created a series of eBay accounts to redeem the gift certificates for more than 30 items.

A number of eBay customers contacted eBay indicating that their account passwords were no longer working. After eBay conducted a preliminary investigation, they referred the matter to the United States Postal Inspector, which traced the purchases to Galvez's home.

In total, the indictments allege that Galvez purchased more than $32,000 worth of gift certificates, $8,000 of which Galvez allegedly used to purchase merchandise on Half.com.

"Cough is the number one reason why patients seek medical attention. Although an occasional cough is normal, excessive coughing or coughing that produces blood, or thick, discolored mucus is abnormal," said Chair of the guidelines Dr. Richard S. Irwin of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.

"The new ACCP guidelines define how physicians should diagnose and manage cough associated with everything from the common cold to chronic lung conditions. The guidelines also are the most comprehensive evidence-based recommendations for treating cough in children."

The new guidelines recommend that for adults with acute cough or upper airway cough syndrome (previously named postnasal drip syndrome), an older variety antihistamine with a decongestant is the preferred therapy. Cough medicine, the guidelines say, won't do any good.

"There is no clinical evidence that over-the-counter cough expectorants or suppressants actually relieve cough," Irwin said. "There is considerable evidence that older type antihistamines help to reduce cough, so, unless there are contraindications to using these medicines, why not take something that has been proven to work?"

Children's cough syrup also has little apparent value. Although the guidelines address all types of pediatric cough, they make a strong recommendation against the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medications for children age 14 years and younger.

"Cough is very common in children. However, cough and cold medicines are not useful in children and can actually be harmful," said Irwin. "In most cases, a cough that is unrelated to chronic lung conditions, environmental influences, or other specific factors, will resolve on its own."

Of the estimated 829 million visits to office-based physicians in the United States, approximately 29.5 million are for cough.

The guidelines strongly recommend that adults up to 65 years old receive a new adult vaccine for whooping cough (pertussis), a highly contagious type of subacute cough that gets its name from the loud "whooping" noise patients make when they cough. Because antibiotics are only effective early on in the infection, preventing whooping cough with a vaccine is the only way to eventually eliminate the disease.

Once whooping cough takes hold, the coughing patient is at risk of serious complications of coughing, such as vomiting, breaking ribs, passing out, and passing the infection on to others.

"Most of us think of whooping cough as a childhood disease, yet 28 percent of whooping cough cases in the United States is in adults," Irwin said. "Although most of us were vaccinated against whooping cough when we were children, the older vaccine only gives protection for less than 10 years. Because the older vaccine caused serious side effects when given to older children and adults, it was only given to children. Fortunately, there is a now a new safe and effective whooping cough vaccine that can prevent adults from contracting this disease."

Additional recommendations address the most common causes of chronic cough, including upper airway cough syndrome (previously named postnasal drip syndrome), asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Chronic cough also may be a result of smoking or taking angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

An acute cough is generally caused by a "common cold" -- a subacute cough can linger after a cold or may persist due to a respiratory tract infection, such as whooping cough or other postinfectious cough.

A Biloxi attorney and homeowners along the Gulf Coast area have filed a class action law suit against State Farm Insurance Company, alleging the company has refused to pay for hurricane damage to their homes, even though the plaintiffs purchased "all perils" homeowner insurance.

Attorney Richard T. Phillips of Batesville filed the class-action lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Gulfport on behalf of attorney Judy Guice and homeowners in the area.

The lawsuit contends that State Farm is obligated to fully cover the losses of everyone named in the suit who purchased the all perils policy. State Farm denied coverage under Guice's homeowner's policy, citing an exclusion for water damage that includes tidal surge.

But Guise argues that the policy is worded so that all damage is covered unless it would have occurred "only" as a result of the tidal surge. Wind damage is a covered peril and since it contributed to the damage of the home it should be covered, the suit alleges.

It's not the only suit State Farm faces as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is also among homeowners suing the company. The law office of Lott's brother-in-law, high-profile plaintiff's attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, filed the federal lawsuit on Lott's behalf.

Lott and Scruggs both lost their beachfront Pascagoula homes to the Aug. 29 storm.

The argument in both cases is whether a wind-driven storm surge is the same as flooding. Insurers say they shouldn't have to pay for water damage for those who did not have flood policies. The homeowners say wind-driven water is a secondary consequence of wind, which is covered in homeowners' policies.

"Unfortunately some companies and individuals are trying to take advantage of mystery shopping's growing popularity and are taking advantage of people," said John Swinburn, Executive Director of the Mystery Shopper Providers Association.

The association, founded in 1997, represents more than 180 companies that engage the services of so-called "mystery shoppers," independent contractors who anonymously visit stores and restaurants to gather customer service data for management and owners.

Many ads promise as much as $50 an hour and free merchandise. It all sounds a lot more glamorous than it is.

Mystery shopping developed in the 1940s and 50s as a way to expose dishonest employees. In its early days, mystery shopping was also often referred to as "integrity shopping" and much of it was carried out by private investigators. Posing as ordinary customers, mystery shoppers would try to catch sticky-fingered employees.

In those early days, mystery shopping was not done on a large-scale, and most consumers still had no idea what the term "mystery shopping" meant.

"As more firms began to offer mystery shopping, they started to include some value-added observations about safety, environment, and general customer service issues. It wasn't long before companies started to see more value in the information regarding their operations than in the integrity data," Sinclair Service Assessments, a San Antonio mystery shopping firm, said on its Web site.

As the nation's economy became more service oriented and more competitive, large chains began to see the need for reliable intelligence from the front lines of the retail wars. They began to turn to specialized marketing firms, who in turn would send trained investigators into the businesses to record their observations.

So, why are we hearing so much about mystery shoppers today? Swinburn says there are two principal reasons.

Web Promotions

"More and more companies are using mystery shoppers and the Internet has made mystery shopping opportunities more available to people," Swinburn told ConsumerAffairs.com.

There was so little interest in the practice in the past that Swinburn said there are no reliable measurements of the industry's growth over time. However, he says the most recent reporting shows the industry grew 12 percent from 2003 to 2004, when sales totaled $600 million.

Today, ads on the Internet and radio recruit mystery shoppers with promises of both cash and merchandise, targeting college students and stay at home moms. But Swinburn says it's not that easy to get a job with a reputable mystery shopping firm.

"Most mystery shopping firms give applicants a test. The test can be for basic things like spelling and grammar, but also more subtle things like observational skills," Swinburn said.

"Companies want detail-oriented people who can follow explicit instructions. They need people who are observant and can collect the data the companies have requested."

Admittedly, not everyone has those skills. Swinburn said anyone aspiring to be a mystery shopper should expect to be tested.

Red Flags

"I would be very concerned if the company to whom I applied failed to provide some kind of screening process, if they had an attitude of anyone and everyone can be a mystery shopper. That would set off alarm bells," he added.

Another red flag, he says, is mystery shopping companies that charge a fee in order to apply as a mystery shopper. Member firms of the MSPA are forbidden to charge their shoppers fees. A radio commercial recruiting mystery shoppers says applicants must also have a bank account and debit card.

"I can't imagine why that would be a requirement for a mystery shopper," Swinburn said.

It would seem, then, that not all those engaged in promoting mystery shopping are on the up and up.

Watch the "Watchdogs"

A Google search of "mystery shopping" produces a number of sponsored links that warn consumers about mystery shopping scams. The sites purport to be reputable authorities that have thoroughly researched the industry in order to help consumers avoid being exploited. For example, Top2005Scams.com has this advice from "online fraud investigator" David Grisman:

"As a watchdog for work-at-home scams, I have thoroughly reviewed hundreds of mystery shopping websites, talking to their owners, reviewing their member's areas, and speaking to many of their clients and workers. Based on my research, as of July 2005, I only recommend three websites out of the hundreds I've looked at, as they are the only ones that have met my stringent standards to be sources for daily work," he Grisman says on his Web site.

But after warning consumers about companies that charge fees, Grisman then recommends three sites that all charge fees: Shopping Jobs ($25), Shop Until You Drop ($24.95), and Get Paid To Shop ($34.95).

And Grisman isn't the only benevolent soul on the Web who claims to be trying to protect would-be mystery shoppers. Another sponsored link is for TopSiteRatings.com, "from the desk of Chris Kevin." Compare his pitch with Grisman's:

"Being a watchdog for work at home scams, our job is to thoroughly review these hundreds of mystery shopping websites by talking to their owners, reviewing their member's areas, and speaking to their clients and workers. Based on our reviews and research, we can recommend only five mystery shopping websites out of the hundreds we've reviewed, as they have proven themselves to be legitimate sources for daily work."

Not only are their Kevin's five recommended sites all charge fees as well. And on Kevin's site, Get Paid To Shop charges $37, $2.05 more than on Grisman's site.

"The companies running these ads would not be accepted for membership in our association," Swinburn said, adding than member companies must abide by a strict code of ethics which is published on the association's Web site.

Swinburn said MSPA offers a training and certification program for mystery shoppers, but stressed that it is not a requirement to get a job.

He said despite some of the current advertising, mystery shopping is just not as simple as it sounds and that some skills are necessary to get a job with a reputable firm.

He also offers some free advice.

"Be very leery of promises that sound too good to be true, because they probably are. If you are told you can keep high-end goods, like wide screen TVs, take extreme care to understand all the disclaimers and fine print," Swinburn said.

In other words, mystery buyer, beware.

One final caution: It's not just the paid ads that appear on search engines that you should be wary of. Keyword-driven ads like those on search engines now appear on nearly every major newspaper Web site as well as on editorially-driven sites (like this one). They are generated automatically and are not reviewed by the publications' editors.

The company said the theft took place on Nov. 23rd, but letters informing patients of the theft were not mailed out until Dec. 20th.

The missing laptop contained information on patients who had been treated for cancer at Emory Hospital, Emory Crawford Long Hospital, and Grady Memorial Hospital. The data included names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.

Hospitals in other states were affected as well, including Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, and Williamson Medical Center near Nashville, Tennessee. The laptop contained data on 25,000 Geisinger patients.

The contracting company, Electronic Registry Systems (ERS), was managing the collection of data on cancer patients under regulations governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Ohio police, ERS, and Emory Healthcare all rushed to claim that the theft was random and the data on the laptop was secure. Emory officials said that the data was "double-password protected" and that the laptop had "multiple layers of security."

Springdale, Ohio police lieutenant Mike Mathis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he saw no evidence that identity theft was a motive for the crime.

However, the thieves were apparently quite determined. They broke into a third-story window and then broke down the doors of several offices, making off with the missing laptop and another computer as well.

Black Market for Medical Records

The theft of patients' medical records is a growing concern, particularly as these records can be used to engage in "medical identity theft."

Criminals can use stolen medical data to create new identities for themselves, mixing and matching names and Social Security numbers in order to escape fraud detection.

Thieves can use these new identities not only to obtain credit and loans, but to get expensive medical procedures that they might not have otherwise been able to afford, running up thousands in debt in the process.

Loopholes in HIPAA and state medical privacy laws can make it extraordinarily difficult to correct errors in medical billing records.

Patients who have been hit with medical identity theft can find their insurance premiums skyrocketing, and can face large medical bills for procedures they never had.

Disgruntled workers at companies that are supporting medical providers can easily help criminals get access to medical records, or wreak havoc on internal systems that could end up erasing or destroying patients' data.

A team of researchers, led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has found that a gene variant for a bitter-taste receptor on the tongue is associated with an increased risk for alcohol dependence.

The research team studied DNA samples from 262 families, all of which have at least three alcoholic individuals. The families are participating in a national study called the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). COGA investigators report in the January issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics on the variation in a taste receptor gene on chromosome 7 called TAS2R16.

"In earlier work, we had identified chromosome 7 as a region where there was likely to be a gene influencing alcoholism risk," says principal investigator Alison M. Goate, D. Phil., the Samuel and Mae S. Ludwig Professor of Genetics in Psychiatry at Washington University.

"There's a cluster of bitter-taste receptor genes on that chromosome, and there have been several papers suggesting drinking behaviors might be influenced by variations within taste receptors. So we decided to look closely at these taste receptor genes."

Because taste receptors tend to vary a lot in the general population, Goate and colleagues had the opportunity to look at a large number of differences in genetic sequences and determine whether certain sequences might influence risk. In this study, they concentrated on TAS2R16, which helps regulate the response to bitter tastes.

They found a single base variation in the TAS2R16 receptor gene that seemed to put people at an increased risk for alcoholism. In cell culture experiments, Goate found that the variant receptor produced by this gene was less responsive to bitter compounds.

"The more common variant is more sensitive to bitter tastes, and people with that variant had a lower risk of being alcohol dependent," Goate says.

Goate hopes to replicate these findings in human taste tests, to verify that individuals with this variant also tend to be less sensitive to bitter tastes as suggested by the cell culture experiments.

As part of this investigation, Goate's team took advantage of available genome sequence databases to speed work in identifying and studying genes on chromosome 7. She says data from the Human Genome Project allowed the investigators to more quickly recognize individual variations in genes, called polymorphisms, that can influence how a gene product or protein functions.

As part of this study, Goate's team sequenced the TAS2R16 receptor gene in a number of individuals, but they didn't identify genetic variants they hadn't found already in the public databases.

The variant that increases risk of alcohol dependence was common in African Americans where about 45 percent of those studied carried this variation in the TAS2R16 receptor gene but rare in Caucasians where only 0.6 percent had this variation. Although the increased incidence of the variant means a larger percentage of African Americans are at risk because of this genetic factor, the variant in the TAS2R16 receptor also significantly increased risk in those Caucasians who carried the genetic variation.

The fact that this particular genetic variation is more common in African Americans does not necessarily mean African Americans will have a higher incidence of alcoholism. The difference in the TAS2R16 gene is only one of several genetic and environmental factors involved in risk for alcoholism, according to Goate.

"I don't think our result has any implications for the levels of alcoholism within different populations," Goate says. "We know that this polymorphism is more common in African Americans than in Caucasians, but the frequency of alcoholism still can be similar between the two groups because many genes and environmental factors influence risk."

This research was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health.

In fact, the study, published in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, found that smoking just half a pack per day increases the risk of having a child born with a toe or finger defect by 29 percent.

"Reconstructive surgery to repair limb, toe and finger abnormalities in children represents a large portion of my practice - it is the most common issue I treat," said Benjamin Chang, MD, ASPS member and study author.

"Parents would ask why this happened to their child, but I didn't have an answer. This study shows that even minimal smoking during pregnancy can significantly increase the risk of having a child with various toe and finger defects."

Researchers examined the records of more than 6.8 million live births in the United States during 2001 and 2002, finding 5,171 children born with a digital anomaly where the mother smoked during pregnancy but did not suffer from other medical complications, such as heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure.

The study authors discovered pregnant women who smoked one to 10 cigarettes per day increased the risk of having a child with a toe or finger deformity by 29 percent. The more a woman smoked, the higher the risk became. Women who smoked 11 to 20 cigarettes a day raised the risk 38 percent, and women who smoked 21 or more cigarettes per day raised the risk 78 percent.

Known as polydactyly, syndactyly and adactyly, these deformities are the most common congenital limb abnormalities. Polydactyly is the presence of more than five digits on the hands or feet. Syndactyly is having fused or webbed fingers or toes. Adactyly is the absence of fingers or toes.

Webbed fingers or toes occur one in every 2,000 to 2,500 live births and excess fingers or toes occur one in every 600 live births. Webbed fingers or toes occur twice as often in boys and are more common in Caucasians than African Americans. Excess digits, however, are 10 times more common in African Americans and are only slightly prevalent in boys.

The majority of these defects occur without any family history and most causes are unknown which has lead researchers to investigate environmental causes, such as smoking, for these anomalies.

"The results of this study were interesting. We suspected that smoking was a cause of digital anomalies but didn't expect the results to be so dramatic," Chang said.

"Smoking is so addictive that pregnant women often can't stop the habit, no matter what the consequences. Our hope is this study will show expectant mothers another danger of lighting up."

With holiday sales just so-so for many retailers, some stores are launching post-holiday sales, slashing prices and offering rebates. But a member of the U.S. Senate warns consumers to be leery of rebate scams, charging some companies do nothing but make sure consumers have a hard time cashing in those rebates.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) wants the Federal Trade Commission to standardize rebate procedures and he outlined ways in which consumers can make sure they get their rebates.

"These rebates are fool's gold," Schumer said. "The promise of cash back quickly turns into frustration for consumers who can't get what they were promised. The FTC needs to step in and regulate these practices immediately."

Schumer says advertised rebates catch consumers' eyes, as they lure them in with a the promise of a lower price while getting them to buy the product at the regular price. Now, as the New Year begins, many people are starting to send in their rebate applications for products that were purchased around Christmastime.

The Senator says rebates are extraordinarily popular for the very reason that most of them go unredeemed and provide what is essentially free money to the manufacturers. Very few places offer immediate cash rebates, the most common are those that are done through the mail.

Industry figures show that 40 percent to 60 percent of rebates go unredeemed. While some of the rebates are not redeemed because consumers don't bother to send them in, in all too many cases even the most diligent consumer is unable to receive his or her rebate.

However, Schumer said, many companies contract with rebate-processing centers, or fulfillment houses, to pay customers' rebate requests, some of whom market themselves with their low rates of redemption. Many of these companies design complex rules, have very short filing periods or ask for documentation that is nearly impossible to obtain all in an effort to not give consumers their money back.

The rebate companies will ask for copies of receipts multiple times or delay the rebate check for months. Applications will be ignored and consumers will have to redo the entire process. Many of the companies make the rebate check envelope look like junk mail so it ends up in the trash and consumers are stuck retracing all their steps to get the money again.

Oftentimes months after a rebate application is sent in, the customer will be asked for other documentation to get their rebate such as codes off of the products box that was thrown out months before or original receipts that have already been sent away.

Rebates are big business. According to Business Week, nearly one-third of all computer equipment is sold with some kind of rebate along with 20 percent of digital cameras, camcorders and LCD TV's. The industry estimates that 400 million rebates are offered each year with an estimated worth of $6 billion. The Better Business Bureau has received thousands of complains, in 2001 they had only 964 while last year they received 3,641.

"This is the post Christmas bait-and-switch," Schumer said. "People go into stores with the promise of getting money back, and months later they still haven't seen checks."

In an effort to combat these deceptive rebate offers Schumer called on the FTC to implement a standard rebate policy to address the growing challenges of rebate offers.

"The bottom line is, rebates unfailingly bring in billions in excess profits for companies that offer them, but when it comes to saving the shopper a dime, as rebates claim to do, they fail the consumer more often than not," Schumer said.

"It really is a combination of scrambling to meet deadlines, reading the extremely fine print, following unclear instructions and then crossing your fingers in hopes that the rebate check ever gets sent."

In a letter sent to the FTC, Schumer urged an investigation of company rebate policies, and an overhaul and standardization of the rebate process to ensure that all consumers can participate in a fair rebate process. Specifically, Schumer requested that the following consumer protections are put in place:

• Companies must provide consumers at least 30 days to redeem their rebates and must fulfill the terms of the rebate within the same amount of time required of consumers but it should not exceed 60 days.

• Companies must take steps to send the rebate check in a manner which identifies the piece of mail as the expected rebate check.

• Companies must accept copies of receipts, not just originals.

• Companies cannot require consumers to write identifying information on the rebate form unless the receipt does not identify the purchased product.

• Companies offering rebates may not require information that is not necessary to process the rebate, including information other than name, address and phone number.

• Companies must provide telephone numbers or contact information for rebate inquiries so consumers are able check on the status of their rebates.

Schumer also outlines steps that consumers can take to ensure they get their rebates. Schumer today told consumers:

• Keep all receipts for items you will get rebates for. Companies may make you mail either copies or originals of all receipts.

• Send in you're your rebates as quickly as possible Many companies have a period as short as seven days for consumers to send in their documentation.

• Save the box. A rebate application may require the UPC code off of the packaging that the product came in.

• Always sort your mail carefully. Many rebate checks are created to look like junk mail. Don't be fooled.

• Make copies of every element of your application. Companies have been known to ask for you to resubmit, citing a mistake or loss of an application so copies of everything are a must.

• Have the appropriate numbers for follow up. You may have to contact the company if the rebate doesn't arrive as promised.

In addition to the prosecution of these individuals on criminal charges, the Attorney Generals office has filed a civil lawsuit against the corporations that control one of the nursing homes. The investigation against the other continues.

In a related action, the Attorney General released a comprehensive report that will help consumers better assess the relationship between patient care and staffing levels at nursing homes in communities across the state.

"The residents of our states nursing homes are among our most vulnerable citizens," Spitzer said. "My office is committed to doing all it can to protect these individuals, who are sometimes without friends and family to protect their interests. With these cases we are trying to send a message that law enforcement is watching to ensure that appropriate standards of care are met."

The first case involves the Jennifer Matthew Nursing Home in Rochester. Critical evidence in this case was developed through the use of secretly-recorded videotapes of a bedridden patient, referred to in the court filings as "Patient A."

Patient As family permitted the Attorney Generals Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to install a hidden camera to monitor interaction with nursing home staff.

The complaint describes what the camera recorded -- clear evidence that Jennifer Matthews staff had neglected Patient A. The complaint also describes how Patient A and other residents were not turned and repositioned to avoid the risk of pressure sores and were often left for hours to lie in their own urine and feces, and that medications and treatment were not provided as prescribed.

The court papers also describe how a minimal level of attention from management would have detected these problems.

The facility was sufficiently small that walking into every patient room in the home would have taken a few minutes, and a supervisor would readily be able to determine that residents were not receiving appropriate attention.

Instead, the court filing describes how the staff would move call bells away from patients and stop doing their rounds so that they could socialize, watch movies, sleep, or even leave the building.

Staff members are also accused of falsely claiming in required paperwork that proper care had been provided to the patients.

To date, eight former licensed or certified Jennifer Matthew professionals have pleaded guilty in connection with the neglect and record falsification. An additional former employee was arrested on December 6, 2005, and five more were arrested on criminal complaints yesterday.

Among those charged civilly was the primary owner and operator of the facility, Anthony Salerno, and a consulting company he owns known as Healthcare Associates (HCA).

The second matter involves the Northwoods Nursing Home in Cortland. As with the Rochester nursing home, the family of a resident consented to the installation of a hidden video camera.

According to criminal complaints filed in the cases, the secret camera revealed that licensed professionals at Northwoods repeatedly failed to provide care or treatment to that resident, and then falsified his care records to report that proper care had been administered.

Five employees have been charged with Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class "E" felony, and misdemeanor neglect and endangerment in the Northwoods matter.

These and other patient neglect cases were the catalyst for a report prepared by the Attorney Generals office that details staffing levels at nursing homes throughout the state.

In releasing the data, the Attorney General cautioned that consumers should use staffing levels as just one of many indicators in choosing a home.

The report urges consumers to visit homes, actively monitor the level of care being delivered to their loved ones, talk to others with family members or friends in the home, and consult with knowledgeable professionals.