Current Events in April 2017

One of the keys to preventing identity theft is in your pocket or purse. It's your car key. All the fancy online programs, firewalls, and apps are fine, but locking your car is the most basic protection against having your identity stolen.

Case in point: a Texas couple turned thefts from cars into a booming identity theft business, according to police in Mesquite, who say the two racked up at least 50 victims in a relatively short period of time. And they did it all with no special equipment, no training, and not much of anything else except their spare time.

"It was really more of a crime of opportunity," Mesquite police Capt. David Gill told the Dallas Morning News.  "If a car was unlocked, they'd go in there and see what they could find."

What they found were such things as Social Security cards, mail, auto registration forms and, a real bonanza, credit applications that were left in the glove compartment after a car was purchased. Pieces of mail, besides the car owner's name and home address, often included credit card numbers, birthdates, and other information that can be used for financial skullduggery.

All in all, Mesquite police say Elizabeth Carpenter, 27, and her boyfriend Jonathon Warren, 39, admitted to 75 crimes over the winter months. 

No travel necessary

Carpenter and Warren didn't have to travel much in their work. Nearly all of the thefts happened at their apartment complex and others near the intersection of two big freeways. The break in the case came when credit card purchases were traced to a nearby shopping center.

Besides the identity thefts -- 156 separate pieces of personal data were recovered, detectives said -- police say the couple stole at least eight cars, all of them with the keys left dangling conveniently in the ignition.

Of 75 separate identity theft victims, 50 had reported the thefts to police. The other 25? They either didn't know they'd been robbed or didn't think it was important.

Police in Mesquite and just about everywhere else say preventing such crimes is simple. They call it the "Lock-Take-Hide" method: Lock your car, take your valuables, and hide anything that has personal information.

It's important to have all those other things -- firewalls, anti-virus programs, and password generators -- but it doesn't do much good if you leave your identity shining brightly on your front seat.

A visit to the home and gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny is a step back in time. As you view the multitudes of perspectives, you can visualize Monet at his easel, painting the famed waterlilies with the greenish bridge in the background.

The garden is planted with a blaze of color. In springtime, the azaleas, in all hues, are interspersed with every conceivable bulb and spring perennial. The colors are chosen as if from an artist’s palette and continually direct the eye. Every step you take along the curved pathways feels as if you are walking inside a Monet painting. And the light; as the day awakens and shadows form, the view changes and continues to change. The gardens are magnificent in every season as we see nature take its course.

Claude Monet lived in Giverny for forty-three years, from 1883 to 1926. He expanded the house on the property to shelter a large family and chose the exterior and interior colors and decorations himself. He painted his dining room a bright yellow to showcase a collection of blue dishes and chose stunning blue tiles and blue paint in the kitchen, offset by a large collection of hanging copper pots, to complement the eye while dining in the adjacent room.

The home no longer has Monet’s original works; they can be found at museums and in private collections throughout the world. They have been replaced by copies in each room so you can see the beautiful gifts from Monet’s contemporary artist friends along with his own works.

Giverny is about 50 miles (75 kilometers) from Paris and approximately one and a half hours driving time, making it a wonderful day trip. The gardens and home are open in 2017 from March 24th to November 1st, daily from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm, with the last entrance at 5.30 pm.

Tickets can be pre-purchased to skip the lines or on site. Normal fare and seniors: 10.20 euros; children under 7, free of charge; children and students: 7.20 euros; disabled, 5.70 euros. There is an e-ticket management fee: 1.45 euros per order.

Don't want to drive?

If you don’t want to drive to Giverny, you can get there by train. The Vernon-Giverny station is situated on the main train line Paris/Rouen/Le Havre. The fastest trains complete the journey in less than 45 minutes. If you arrive by train, you can take a taxi or the bus shuttle. Several taxis are generally waiting at the train station. Fare to Giverny is around 20 euros.

From spring to autumn a bus shuttle links Vernon-Giverny train station and the central bus station in Giverny main parking lot. Tickets are sold onboard vehicle with compulsory validation. Daily round trip fare is 10 euros.

If you are in Paris or the surrounding area, make the time to visit Giverny. It’s an unforgettable experience.

Kids lining up to receive an allowance from their parents is a scene that has been played out for generations.

These days, however, it might go down a little differently.

Instead of kids getting cash from their parents – which may not may not make it into a piggy bank before getting spent – the process can take place electronically, with the money going directly into a bank account, away from temptation.

HomeyLabs has introduced a new app that enables this financial transaction, while allowing parents to assign chores and make sure they are completed before any money changes hands.

The standard version of the app is free at the App Store and Google Play, with the premium version costing $3.99.

Money and work lessons

The company says the app teaches kids the value of work and financial responsibility by assigning them household chores and compensating them when they are done.

The numbers are larger than they once were. HomeyLabs says children spend an average of 6.2 hours a week on chores, earning an average of $65 a month. The company says 89% of parents require their children to do chores in order to receive an allowance.

The company says the app does more than transfer money and assign chores. Features include setting goals that kids work toward completing. The goals can include extra money or new toys. Kids can add items to their wishlist to start the conversation with their parents.

Chore management system

The heart of the app is the chore management system. Some chores result in payment and some don't. The parent gets to determine which is which. The app's features allow parents to assign chores for the whole family and set dates for the tasks to be completed.

It's also a two-way street. As kids get older they can use the app to message their parents, reminding them of upcoming events at school or a dance recital.

Couldn't they just tell them? Well, yes. But as busy as everyone is these days, it's easy to forget if things aren't written down, and Post-It Notes can get lost in the shuffle. HomeyLabs says the app gives families some of the same technology businesses have begun to rely on to run smoothly.

A consumer group has lodged a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), charging that Uber Technologies tracked consumers who had once used the company's ride-sharing app, but who had deleted it from their phones.

In its complaint, Consumer Watchdog called the ride-sharing app “a renegade technology” and charged company executives with taking pride in being a “disruptive” business.

"It is long past time for the company and its CEO Travis Kalanick to be held accountable for their actions which regularly flout the law," wrote John M. Simpson, the group's privacy project director.

Rocky road

Uber has been engaged in one public relations snafu after another recently. In January there was a “delete Uber” campaign to protest the company's activities that were interpreted by some as interfering with a New York City taxi strike. That campaign intensified when Uber's anti-Trump clientele pressured the company CEO to withdraw from the President's business advisory group.

Kalanick himself was in an uncomfortable spotlight in February when a viral video showed him heatedly arguing with an Uber driver.

The company also had a dust-up with California officials over planned tests of self-driving cars in San Francisco.

New York Times report

Consumer Watchdog launched the complaint on the heels of a New York Times report outlining how Uber continued to track former riders who had deleted the company's app from their iPhones. The complaint alleges that Uber knew what it was doing was deceptive and went to great lengths to conceal it from Apple.

The Hill reports the complaint may resonate in Washington. It quotes Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) as saying it's an example of why Congress needs to work on a major privacy bill. In a statement to The Hill, Uber disputed information contained in The Times story and said it does track users who have deleted the app.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) was an early critic of Uber privacy policies. As we reported in December, Franken pressed Uber's CEO to make the company's privacy policy more consumer-friendly.

In particular, Franken said he was concerned that an update to the app eliminated the ability to turn off Uber's access to a consumer's location when the app was not being used.

The Consumer Watchdog complaint calls on the FTC to intervene and enjoin Uber from any deceptive tracking in the future. It also said the FTC should conduct a thorough examination of both the iPhone and Android versions of the Uber app.

To improve your odds against being involved in a fatal car crash, avoid Route 1 in Florida. That stretch of road had more fatal accidents than any highway in America in the last 10 years.

That bit of data comes from Geotab, which found that the Florida section of U.S. 1, which runs along the Atlantic side of the state, recorded 1011 crashes with 1079 fatalities over a 10-year period.

Geotab is a company that helps businesses track and manage their vehicle fleets.

By comparison, the second most dangerous stretch of highway is U.S. Highway 83, running the entire length of Texas, from the top of the Panhandle to the Mexican border. It recorded 268 accidents with 336 fatalities.

Traffic deaths have surged in recent years, even as cars have become loaded with advanced safety features. Highway safety advocates have suggested that increased driver distraction, stemming from mobile devices and sophisticated infotainment systems, is largely responsible for the uptick.

Based on U.S. government data

Using data supplied by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Geotab researchers calculated the most dangerous – as well as the safest – highways in America.

Other high-fatality highways include a short stretch of I-40 in Southern California, the scene of 116 crashes and 136 fatalities; I-40 across Northern Arizona, with 249 accidents and 293 fatalities; and I-40 across New Mexico, with 344 crashes and 395 fatalities.

I-95 is one of the most heavily-traveled Interstate highways in the country, but the stretch of the road running through Rhode Island seems pretty safe. According to Geotab, it saw just 39 accidents in the last 10 years, resulting in 40 deaths.

I-93, running through New Hampshire, is also a relatively safe highway. It recorded 57 crashes with 60 fatalities over the same period.

It turns out 2016 was a pretty bad year for traffic deaths. The National Safety Council estimates about 40,000 people died in U.S. highway accidents. That was 6% more than the year before and 14% more than 2014.

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported on a warning letter sent by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that addressed defibrillators made by St. Jude Medical. The agency said the devices were prone to failure due to an issue with the batteries, something that St. Jude had downplayed for years before finally recalling them last fall.

The report points out that faulty defibrillators and other implanted devices can be extremely risky to patients’ health if left in place, but they can also be problematic to remove because that process would involve surgery. In October, the FDA said that only 841 of the 400,000 devices sold worldwide had been returned – and as of January, two people had died due to device failure.

The agency accused St. Jude Medical of not taking sufficient action to fix the problems with their devices, and that the recall process had been slowed as a result. It gave the company 15 days to come up with a new reporting plan, but a letter sent by two congress members may add more urgency to the case.

Demanding action

Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) sent a letter to the FDA today that strongly urged the agency to take action against St. Jude Medical for knowingly selling the defective devices and doing little to fix the problem.

“St. Jude Medical has acted recklessly and without regard for patient safety time and time again, and yet, the FDA has done little to penalize them. The fact that St. Jude continued to allow those devices to be surgically implanted even after they knew they were defective and potentially fatal is absolutely inexcusable. The FDA must take swift and immediate action to deter this type of behavior in the future,” said Rep. Schakowsky.

“St. Jude Medical made the unconscionable decision to implant faulty medical devices in high risk patients, leaving them at risk of serious injury and death. Not only did St. Jude Medical know that its actions were wrong, the company refused to pull the device from the market for years while profiting,” adds Rep. DeLauro.

In their letter, the congresswomen demanded to know what actions the FDA plans to take against St. Jude Medical, how it will ensure that the faulty devices are no longer being implanted in patients, and how affected patients will be notified about the situation.

“We sincerely hope that the FDA will treat this situation with the seriousness it deserves. We look forward to your response to those questions no later than May 26, 2017,” the letter concludes.  

An insurance agent has pleaded guilty to scamming his customers out of $8.2 million in what one assistant U.S. attorney said was among the biggest Ponzi schemes in his 25-county federal court district in western Pennsylvania.

John Hogan, operator of Hogan & Associates, may face up to five years in prison for five counts of mail fraud, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The indictment states that the 77-year-old insurance agent, who sold life insurance policies, claimed to be a financial planner and convinced his clients to borrow against the cash value of their insurance products so that he could make short-term loans to others. Those who agreed were guaranteed that they’d see a 10% return on their investment.

In reality, Hogan was not licensed to sell investment products and was not certified as an investment adviser. The money he received from clients who bought into the scheme was not used to make loans to other borrowers, but instead went towards financing Hogan’s 25 homes and investment properties that are located in several states.

To lend an air of legitimacy to the scheme, Hogan drafted promissory notes which promised to pay back clients’ principal investment within one or two years. However, when the notes became due, Hogan allegedly convinced clients to “roll over” the investment for longer periods so that he did not have to pay the money back.

Lost investments

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Melucci said that many clients lost substantial amounts of money from the scheme, including one woman who sent Hogan 249 checks totaling $1.7 million, each for less than $10,000. The victim, along with several others, received some interest payments from Hogan during the course of the 14-year scheme, but none of their principal investments have been repaid.

Investigations by law enforcement officials don’t give much hope that victims will be seeing that money anytime soon, either. Federal authorities said that when they tried to seize Hogan’s properties, they found that many of them were underwater, meaning that Hogan owed more on their mortgages than the properties were actually worth.

Defense attorney Jerry Johnson said that the real estate investments crashed when the housing bubble burst during the Great Recession and that Hogan had been trying to recoup his losses ever since.

Hogan will remain free on bond until his sentencing hearing, which will take place on August 30. 

Osprey Child Safety Products and Osprey Packs of Cortez, Colo., is recalling about 88,000 Poco child carriers sold in the U.S. and Canada.

A child seated in the carrier can slip through the leg openings, posing a fall hazard to children.

The firm has received four reports of children falling through the carrier leg openings, resulting in one report of a skull fracture and one report of scratches to the head.

This recall involves all models of Poco, Poco Plus and Poco Premium child backpack carriers manufactured between January 2012, and December 2014.

The nylon child carriers were sold in three colors: “Romper Red,” “Koala Grey,” and “Bouncing Blue,” and have a metal frame and a gray padded child’s seat inside. The production date is stamped on a black label sewn into the interior of the large lower zippered compartment on the back of the carrier.

Recalled carriers have a production date code of S12SBPR1, S12SBPR1B, S12SBPR2, S12SBPR3, S12SBPR4, F12SBPR1, F12SBPR2, S13SB IPO, S13SBPR1, S13SBPR2, S13SBPR3, S13SBPR4, F13SBPR1, F13SBPR2, F13SBPR3, S14SBPR1, S14SBPR2, S14SBPR3, S14SBPR4, S14SBPR5.

“Osprey” is printed on the fabric above the kick stand. The model name is printed on the back at the bottom.

The carriers, manufactured in Vietnam, were sold at REI and specialty outdoor stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com from January 2012, to December 2015, for between $200 and $300.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled carriers and contact Osprey for a free Seat Pad Insert for use along with the existing safety straps to secure the child in the carrier.

Consumers who previously received and installed the free Seat Pad Insert in their carriers are not required to take further action.

Consumers may contact Osprey toll-free at 866-951-5197 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (MT) Monday through Friday, by email at pocoseatpad@ospreypacks.com or online at www.ospreypacks.com and click on “Poco Safety Notices” on the navigation bar at the top right hand corner of the page for more information.

Chromag Bikes is recalling about 100 Chromag bicycle stems.

The clamping bolts that secure the stem to the fork steerer and/or the handlebars can break, posing fall and injury hazards to riders.

The firm has received three reports of the clamping bolts breaking. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Chromag bicycle stems used to clamp the fork steerer and/or handlebars. The recalled stems include models BZA, Director, HiFi and Ranger. Only stems with a “Z” marked inside the bolt head are included in this recall. “Chromag” and the model name are printed on the stems.

The stems were sold separately from bicycles. Bolts used in the stems are 6 mm in diameter and 20 mm in length. The stems were sold in various colors including black, red, blue, gold, purple and silver.

The stems, manufactured in Taiwan and Canada, were sold at Arts Cyclery, Beatchwood Cycles, Beat Cycles, Breadwinner Cycles, Blazin Saddles, Harpers, Quality Bicycle Products, The Bike Hub and Squatch Cycles nationwide or online at www.chromagbikes.com from November 2016, through March 2017, for about $120 for the stem.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using bicycles with the recalled stems and contact Chromag for free replacement bolts for the stem.

Consumers may contact Chromag Bikes at 800-380-4102 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) Monday through Thursday, by email at info@chromagbikes.com or online at www.chromagbikes.com and click on Stem Bolt Recall at the top of the page for more information.

United Airlines is setting an example for the rest of the industry, though perhaps not quite in the way it would have chosen. United's unceremonious dragging of a passenger down the aisle and out the door to make room for a non-paying crew member has inspired other airlines to be a bit more careful before laying hands on their customers and to reduce overbooking.

​Southwest joined the TLC movement today, saying that by the end of June it will eliminate overselling of seats. CEO Gary Kelly said it is actually not a big problem and claimed he seldom hears complaints about it, but vowed to root it out anyway.

JetBlue says it already avoids selling more seats than it actually has but other airlines have been a bit less forthcoming with regard to their practices.

United said today that it would "reduce" but not eliminate overbooking. 

Suit settled, United objects to use of "random"

United today reportedly settled the lawsuit brought by Dr. David Dao, the Kentucky physician thrown off a flight from Chicago to Louisville. The suit named both United and the City of Chicago. Terms of the settlement were not available.

Tom Demetrio, an attorney for Dr. Dao, said in a statement that he hopes “all other airlines make similar changes and follow United’s lead in helping to improve the passenger flying experience with an emphasis on empathy, patience, respect and dignity,” the Wall Street Journal reported. 

United meanwhile, objected to a ConsumerAffairs report earlier today in which we referred to Dr. Dao having been picked "at random" by a computer for expulsion from his flight.

 "It is not accurate to say 'a computer picked Dao at random and airline personnel told him he was being involuntarily bumped,'" United spokeswoman Erin Benson said in an email. "When no customer accepted the offer, 'The agent then followed the involuntary denial of boarding selection process to determine which customers would be asked to leave the plane.' While 'automated,' this process is not random."

We asked Benson to clarify and to specify what criteria were used to pick Dr. Dao if in fact the process was not random. She responded:

United's involuntary denied boarding (IDB) process is automated and customers are not subject to discretionary choice by agents. This is our process:

• First, agents will deny boarding if a passenger does not have a seat assignment prior to boarding the aircraft.

• Customers are then sorted by fare class (estimated fare paid) and type of itinerary.

• Customers with the lowest paid fare are placed at the top of the list for involuntary denial of boarding.

• If a group of customers paid the same fare, then the group is sorted by time of check-in.

• Customers with frequent flyer status will not be involuntarily denied boarding, unless all of the remaining passengers have frequent flyer status, in which case the lowest status will move to the top of the IDB list.

• Customers with special needs (unaccompanied minors, passengers with disabilities) are excluded and are not involuntarily denied boarding.

A nationwide class action claims that Mylan NV coerced consumers into buying two-packs of EpiPens at wildly exaggerated prices. A federal judge in Kansas yesterday named three lawyers to manage the lawsuit.

“This suit is about taking a stand for Americans who suffer life-threatening conditions,” Dallas lawyer Warren T. Burns said. “We intend to send a message to Mylan and other companies that preying on the weak and the sick is no longer an accepted method of padding their bottom line.” 

Mylan, the U.S. distributor of EpiPens, was vilified last year after raising the price of its life-saving product from $100 in 2008 to more than $600 by 2016. EpiPens offer a life-saving dose of epinephrine (adrenaline) to children and adults suffering acute allergic reactions. Congress and federal agencies have since opened investigations into EpiPen pricing.

The lawsuit argues that Mylan also used patent lawsuits and administrative actions to delay the entry of competitors that might have undercut its prices. The plaintiffs claim those actions violate state antitrust and consumer protection laws, as well as the federal RICO racketeering statute.

"A fraudulent scheme"

“What we are seeing is a fraudulent scheme designed to maintain high corporate profits,” Burns said. “At the same time it was raking in cash, Mylan was forcing American children and adults to choose between purchasing an overpriced drug or risking death. This just can’t be how business is conducted in America.” 

“This is an important case for all Americans,” Burns said. “This is a test case for whether Americans can put effective stops on runaway drug pricing.” 

Consumers plan to bring it on for mom this year.

The annual Mother's Day spending survey conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) by Prosper Insights & Analytics suggests that special lady can look forward to everything from jewelry to special outings at favorite restaurants.

Shoppers told the survey that they'll likely spend an average of $186.39 for the holiday, $14.17 more than they laid out last year.

With 85% of those asked saying they plan to celebrate, total spending is likely to reach $23.6 billion -- the highest number in the survey’s 14-year history, topping last year’s record of $21.4 billion.

“With spring in full bloom, many Americans are looking forward to splurging on their mothers this Mother’s Day,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Retailers will be ready with a wide range of gift options and a variety of promotions for their customers."

What they'll be buying

The survey found 36% of consumers plan to spend $5 billion on jewelry, with 56% spending $4.2 billion on special outings such as dinner or brunch. Another 69% of shoppers will shell out $2.6 billion on flowers, and 45% will spend $2.5 billion on gift cards.

Other gifts mentioned include clothing ($2.1 billion), consumer electronics ($2 billion), and personal services such as a spa day ($1.9 billion).

The overall increase is expected to be driven largely by spending on jewelry, which is up 19%, and personal services, up 15%.

“Gifts of experience,” such as tickets to a concert or hot air balloon ride, appear to be gaining in popularity. Twenty-eight percent say they'd like to receive such a gift, up 4% from last year. Nearly half of younger consumers (those under the age of 35) say they plan to give such a gift.

Where they shop

Thirty-five percent percent of consumers said they'll will head to department stores in search of the perfect good, while 31% said they'll shop at specialty stores such as florists, jewelers or electronics stores; another 24% plan to shop at a local small business.

Meanwhile, 30% -- 3% more than last year -- will shop online. Among smartphone owners, 34% will research gift ideas on their phones while 19% will actually use them to make a purchase.

The survey, which asked 7,406 consumers about their Mother’s Day plans, was conducted April 4-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) is recalling 411 model year 2016-2017 E300 and model year 2017 E300 4MATIC vehicles.

The recalled vehicles have a roof-mounted spoiler that may not be properly attached and thus may detach during driving.

If the roof-mounted spoiler detaches, it can become a road hazard, increasing a risk of a crash.

What to do

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the roof spoilers, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in early June 2017.

Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372.

President Trump is unveiling a tax reform plan that would sharply cut taxes for businesses as well as most individual taxpayers. In perhaps the most far-reaching proposal for individuals, Trump wants to eliminate the federal deduction for state and local taxes.

This wouldn't mean much to residents of states like Nevada that don't have a state income tax, but it would take a big bite out of taxpayers from New York, New Jersey, California, and other high-tax states, many of which are Democratic.

But while the local tax deduction would go away, Trump proposes to double the standard deduction for everyone. The top tax rate for individuals would fall from today's 39.6% to 35%. There would be lower rates of 10% and 25% for those with lower incomes.

The estate tax and alternative minimum tax -- which often snares high-income taxpayers who take a lot of deductions -- would both be eliminated.

Effect on real estate

Real estate interests were earlier concerned that Trump would eliminate the deduction for mortgage interest. But even without that, doubling the standard deduction and cutting tax rates might make the mortgage deduction less valuable, thereby reducing consumers' inclination to go into debt to buy a home.

Businesses would get a hefty helping of tax relief. The corporate tax rate would be more than halved, dropping to 15% from 35%, and most foreign profits would not be taxed, as is the case in most countries. 

The tax rate on business income that "flows through" to individual returns from LLCs, Subchapter S corporations, and similar corporate entities would also drop to 15% instead of being taxed at individual tax rates. 

The stated goal, of course, is to stimulate growth of the economy, but the many tax cuts would also increase the deficit, which may spark opposition from more conservative members of Congress.

“It’s our intention to create a huge tax cut and equally as important, a huge simplification of the tax system in America,” said Gary Cohn, the director of Trump’s National Economic Council, in a briefing to a small group of reporters today, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

But skeptics say it won't be that easy.

“Trump's proposal to cut corporate tax rates won't boost growth or create jobs," said Marshall Steinbaum, Senior Economist and Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. "In fact, it will discourage corporate investment, as corporations and their shareholders earn even higher profits and pocket more of the cash -- just like they did last time we tried a big corporate tax cut."

If Trump wants to encourage investment, Steinbaum said, "He should close loopholes that CEOs exploit to move profits offshore and increase the effective tax rate on corporations, their CEOs, and their shareholders.”