Current Events in May 2017

Airlines are under increasing pressure to do something -- anything -- to improve the customer experience. Delta says it may have a way to do that.

The airline said it will test facial recognition technology at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this summer. The technology will be employed at four self-serve bag drops, allowing passengers to check their bags themselves.

One of the stations, for international travelers, will be equipped with the facial recognition technology, matching passengers with their passport photos.

"We expect this investment and new process to save customers time," said Gareth Joyce, a senior vice president at Delta. "And, since customers can operate the biometric-based bag drop machine independently, we see a future where Delta agents will be freed up to seek out travelers and deliver more proactive and thoughtful customer service."

Increasingly automated

Airports are becoming increasingly automated, and Delta sees this as just the next, natural step in that process. Previously, the airline began attaching radio frequency identification technology (RFID)tags to luggage, to keep better track of it.

"We're making travel easier than ever for our customers and continuing to deliver a leading customer experience," Joyce said.

The effort comes at a time when airlines are under pressure from passengers and policymakers. After the forcible removal of a passenger from a United Airlines flight April 9, almost every instance of passenger angst aboard a commercial aircraft is recorded and spread across social media.

For its part, Delta said it will collect passenger feedback during the Minnesota trial and run process analyses to make sure this addition of technology not only saves the airline money, but improves the overall customer experience.

Delta says it believes it will. It cites studies it says show that self-service bag drops have the potential to process twice as many customers per hour.

You've found a house you want to buy and jumped through all the many necessary hoops required to get the deal to closing.

Among the final details, your Realtor asks you if you want to purchase a home warranty. It's yet another decision you have to make, and another expense to be added to all the rest. But how you answer that question could be important.

A home warranty is a service contract on the major systems within your home – the furnace, the air conditioner, and the water heater, among others. If a tree falls and crushes your heat pump, your homeowner's insurance would likely pay for it. If the unit simply stops working, homeowner's insurance doesn't cover it.

That's where a home warranty comes in. These service contracts, usually purchased for a flat fee, provide coverage for a year if anything goes wrong with a covered system. Often, the decision to purchase one of these extended service contracts or not comes down to the age and condition of the systems.

Age is an important factor

If you have purchased a new home, the air conditioner and other systems should be covered by a manufacturer's warranty. If something goes wrong, your claim would be with the company that made the product. A home warranty would not pay in most cases, so the coverage would be redundant.

Where a home warranty might make more sense is when you purchase an existing home with systems that aren't new, but well into their life cycle. Having some coverage might save you money in the long run while allowing you to sleep a little better at night.

In addition to HVAC systems, home warranties typically cover the electrical system, the plumbing system, washer and dryer, and kitchen appliances such as the stove and garbage disposal.

Like any insurance policy, home warranties vary in what they cover, and more comprehensive plans will cost more. According to Realtor.com, basic coverage starts at about $300 and can be double that for a more comprehensive plan.

You can buy a home warranty at any time, but the real estate site says buyers can often get the best deals -- including more coverage for the money -- if they buy the warranty at the same time they purchase the home.

Peace of mind during the first year of ownership

Buying a plan when you purchase the house gives you some peace of mind during that first year as you settle into your new home. After a year, you can decide whether to renew or let the policy lapse.

When you have a home warranty and a covered system breaks down, you call the warranty company, not a service provider. The warranty company has negotiated favorable deals with local service providers, so any repairs must be performed by one of those authorized companies.

The home warranty industry has become highly competitive in recent years, with an increasing number of companies now offering this service. It's best to do plenty of research, read online reviews, and seek referrals from people you know before deciding on one.

Also, make sure you understand what's covered and what isn't. Another important element worth knowing is how the company will decide when a covered system should be replaced, and how long it will keep trying to repair a system that has probably outlasted its normal lifecycle.

Learn more in the ConsumerAffairs Home Warranty Buyers Guide.

Airlines are bracing for the impact of a potential ban on laptops, smartphones, and other electronic devices on all airline flights from Europe to the U.S., similar to the one imposed in March on flights from 10 Middle Eastern airports.

Tourists might be able to endure an eight-hour flight without access to their laptops, but business travelers, who are the bread and butter of the airline industry, are another matter.

Not only would business travelers rebel at not being able to use their laptops, but the notion of having to check them as baggage raises even more hackles, for fear they might be stolen, putting valuable and proprietary data at risk.

It may happen though. The Department of Homeland Security said last week that it might extend the laptop ban from the Middle East to Europe, likely leading to chaos at European airports and scenes that make recent dust-ups at U.S. airports look like a Sunday School picnic.

 “High-level” meetings are scheduled in Brussels Wednesday, as European airport officials worry about disrupting the travel plans of the 30 million people who fly from European airports to the U.S. each year.

"Significant deterioration"

The laptop ban on flights from the Middle East created mass confusion and led many travelers to drop plans for non-stop flights from Dubai and other popular airports in favor of connecting through Europe. Emirates cut its schedule to five American cities because of "significant deterioration" in bookings. The Emirates cutbacks affect flights to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Boston, Seattle, and Los Angeles.

Corporations and travel managers are already speaking out about the proposal, saying it would hamper the conduct of business and sharply reduce international travel. Many companies would be likely to turn to Skype and other video-conferencing solutions rather than require their engineers and executives to give up their laptops and iPads.

“I think business travelers would be far more willing to accept a far more rigorous screening at the airport, rather than having to part with their tools when they travel,” said Michael McCormick, executive director of the Global Business Travel Association, in a Bloomberg report.

Canada, it might be noted, does not impose similar bans, which could lead U.S. travelers to book their flights through Canada. 

Technology companies complain they have thousands of job openings they can't fill. There are plenty of people who have come out of college with credentials, but not the needed skills.

That's opened up a new category within the technology job market for so-called “new collar” workers. These are employees who are bright and have skills, but not a college degree. IBM has been a leader in developing this job category, and last year announced it would hire up to 25,000 people that fit into this category.

But how do you go about securing a new collar job? Hiring managers at IBM have offered some tips.

Advice from hiring managers

One hiring manager said the first thing he looks for in a candidate are skills and knowledge. It doesn't matter how they were attained. So for a number of positions, a four-year degree is no longer required to even be considered.

Sam Ladah, IBM's vice president for talent, also says he looks for signs that a job applicant wants to keep learning. Those are the kinds of people, he says, who will survive and thrive at Big Blue.

During an interview, you should expect questions that will reveal your level of critical thinking and problem-solving ability. IBM hiring managers want to see signs that an applicant will challenge the status quo.

At the same time, it's also important to show indications you value teamwork and can adapt to uncertainty and change.

The 'it' factor

There are also intangibles involved in landing one of these new collar jobs. The IBM hiring managers call it the “it” factor. Christopher Wingler, public sector infrastructure services, says three elements combine to make up that quality.

“How well someone communicates, if a person is coachable, and if an individual will work well in a team setting,” Wingler said. “Once I have those items determined, I'm then curious to know how the interviewee learns and try to understand if the person has the mindset and drive to quickly learn new skills and/or processes.”

Wingler said it's also helpful if a candidate views a problem, not as a roadblock, but as an opportunity.

IBM says new collar applicants with less than a four-year degree made up around 15% of IBM hiring in 2016. It says at some installations, more than a third of IBM employees are in new collar positions.

Marijuana legalization is becoming a growing issue in the U.S. Medical use of the drug has been around for some time and has proven to be effective; in fact, a recent update on the National Institute on Drug Abuse website describes how its use has led to a decrease in opioid abuse amongst Americans.

However, detractors are quick to point out that there are problems with marijuana use as well. In a recent study from the University of Waterloo, researchers found that young people who used marijuana performed worse academically and reported lower ambitions when it came to furthering their education after high school.

"We've seen reductions in the number of youth perceiving marijuana as harmful, yet they have greater vulnerability to adverse consequences. . . We found that the more frequently students started using the drug, the greater their risk of poor school performance and engagement," said lead author Karen Patte.

Poorer grades and lowered ambitions

The researchers questioned and analyzed over 26,000 high school students over the course of two years between 2012 and 2013. Patte and her colleagues measured how participants’ academic goals, engagement, preparedness, and performance shifted from not using marijuana or alcohol at the start of the study to using either during follow-up reviews.

The findings showed that students who started using marijuana at least once a month were roughly four times more likely to skip class, two-to-four times less likely to complete their homework and value getting good grades, and half as likely to achieve high grades.

Additionally, the researchers found that students who began smoking marijuana daily had a 50% drop in their ambitions for attending a college or university when compared to their reports at the beginning of the study.

"All substances present risks to health and well-being. With marijuana legalization on the horizon, it's critical we understand these risks in order to promote successful transitions into adulthood for our youth,” said professor Scott Leatherdale, head of the COMPASS longitudinal study.

Delaying marijuana use

The researchers say their findings point to the need for delaying marijuana and alcohol use in adolescents, a feat that may be difficult given recent trends in policy between different substances.

"More youth today use marijuana than cigarettes, yet public health prevention efforts lag behind those of alcohol and tobacco,” Leatherdale points out.

The full study has been published in the Journal of School Health.

The Honda civic is a popular small sedan that Honda is trying to make even more popular. Over the weekend it released sportier versions of the car in the form of the 2017 Honda Civic Si coupe and sedan.

Honda calls it the most ambitious remake of the Civic in its 44-year history.

Under the hood the Si boasts a high-performance, high-torque turbocharged DOHC in-line four-cyinder engine. Honda says the engine's peak 205 horsepower is achieved at 1300 rpm lower in the rev range. A six-speed manual transmission is the only power train option.

Both models are lighter than previous generations, helping to boost fuel efficiency. Both come with a default “normal” driving mode and an optional “sport mode.” Normal gives you a smoother ride while sport offers quicker response and a tauter driving experience.

Technology upgrades

The Civic Si also comes with a lot of technology upgrades. There's a standard seven-inch display screen in the dash that delivers a lot of performance data – things like lap times and turbo boost. The infotainment system offers both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Sound is delivered through a 10-speaker system.

On the exterior, both models will likely turn a few heads. The front end features a gloss black Honda “wing” and sizable lower air intakes. Eighteen inch split five-spoke alloy wheels come with a machined finish, low-profile tires and a chrome center-mounted polygonal exhaust finisher.

The rear of the Si coupe has the Civic coupe's signature full-width light bar, then accents it with a raised wing spoiler.

What might be just as attractive to car buyers is the price. Both the Si coupe and sedan start at just under $24,000.

Both models achieve between 28 and 38 miles per gallon, with a combined EPA rating of 32 mpg.

The number of products being recalled has gone down recently, but injuries from those products have surged in the first quarter of the year.

Injuries reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) jumped 141% in the first three months of 2017. Incidents – not necessarily causing injuries – jumped 379%.

Stericycle ExpertSOLUTIONS' recall index reveals products in the home posed disproportionate dangers. The Index shows four household product categories accounted for more than 75% of recalled products – home furnishings/fixtures, housewares, toys, and child nursery equipment and supplies.

Again, three quarters of the injuries were from people falling, bleeding, or choking. These risks skyrocketed, even as the number of recalls in the first quarter of the year declined significantly from the previous three-month period.

Dangerous falls

The statistics show falls caused the most injuries. These falls were attributed to things like problems with baby strollers, patio chairs, and swing sets. Products caused a large number of cuts, but gas leaks and choking incidents were also reported.

"The phrase 'home sweet home' may be challenged as a result of these findings," said Michael Good, vice president of marketing and sales operations at Stericycle ExpertSOLUTIONS.

He notes that while there hasn't been an increase in recalled products, the number of problems reported to the CPSC has skyrocketed. While not all the products causing harm are subject to recall, Good says it is almost certain that they will be in the future.

While overall recalls were down in early 2017, the company says the automotive and food and beverage sectors were notable exceptions. Both, it says, saw significant increases.

Food and cars

The FDA says food-related recalls were down 19% in the first quarter. At the same time, the number of recalled units grew by 507%, to some 92 million products. The main driver was the nutritional supplement category, which made up 80% of recalled food units. Automotive recalls fell 6%, but the number of recalled cars and trucks spiked 144%.

The index drives home the point that consumers should always act when a product is recalled, especially if it's a safety issue. It's one thing to know about a recall, but quite another to do something about it.

Government agencies in recent years have stepped up enforcement efforts aimed at removing recalled products from store shelves. Last year Best Buy agreed to a $3.8 million settlement with the CPSC, over charges that it knowingly sold recalled products.

ConsumeAffairs posts daily recall notices here.

The massive ransomware attack that struck the world late last week was a stark reminder that we live in a world where criminals are more powerful and have extended their reach.

Here's another reminder if you needed one: credit and debit card fraud alerts are up 15% from 2015.

In a new report, CreditCards.com says 31% of adult consumers have received a fraud alert about suspicious activity on their credit card, while 25% have received a similar alert about their debit card.

The numbers not only suggest increased criminal activity, they also suggest credit card companies have increased their vigilance. The threshold for what constitutes suspicious activity, worthy of alerting the cardholder, is much lower than in years past.

Most alerts uncover fraudulent activity

More than a third of the consumers receiving an alert about a particular purchase say all of the transactions were legitimate and about 15% said most were legitimate. That leaves a huge number, however, that were fraudulent.

The most common way consumers received an alert was through a telephone call. But some – around 15% – said they only learned of a problem when their card was declined at a retail point-of-sale.

Interestingly, your chances of receiving a fraud alert go up with your income. Sixty-eight percent of consumers with annual incomes of $75,000 or more have received at least one credit or debit card fraud alert. Just 40% of those earning incomes between $30,000 and $50,000 have.

College graduates are also more likely to have been the target of fraud than those without a college degree. That's because criminals go where the money is.

High-value targets

"Fraudsters seem to be swinging for the fences, focusing their efforts on high-value targets," said Matt Schulz, CreditCards.com's senior industry analyst. "And it's not only more affluent and more educated households. Credit card limits typically exceed checking account balances.”

That means someone stealing your credit card information might be able to purchase thousands of dollars in merchandise before the fraud is discovered. If they steal your debit card, they can only spend what's in your bank account, which might not be that much.

Schultz says that's why there are a lot more alerts for credit cards than debit cards, even though debit transactions outnumber credit card purchases two to one.

What to do

If you get a credit card alert, let the credit card company know if the purchase is legitimate. If it is something you purchased, you have nothing to worry about.

If the charge is fraudulent, the credit card company will freeze your account and issue a new card. Though no additional steps are required, the Federal Trade Commission advises it might be prudent to place a freeze on your credit report, so that no one can open accounts in your name. You don't know what other sensitive information a fraudster has about you.

You can do that by calling one of the three credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union – and requesting a freeze, which is free and lasts for 90 days. The agency you call will notify the other two.

For consumers who suffer from health conditions like obesity and high blood pressure, the threat of a heart attack is always a possibility. But what many consumers may not realize is that certain ailments may increase the risk substantially.

In a recent study from the University of Sydney, researchers found that respiratory infections like pneumonia, bronchitis, and influenza increased heart attack risk substantially. Now, they’re calling on doctors and medical experts to share this information with patients to so that they can recognize warning signs and protect themselves.

"Our findings confirm what has been suggested in prior studies that a respiratory infection can act as a trigger for a heart attack," said senior author and cardiologist Geoffrey Tofler. "Our message to people is while the absolute risk that any one episode will trigger a heart attack is low, they need to be aware that a respiratory infection could lead to a coronary event. So consider preventative strategies where possible, and don't ignore symptoms that could indicate a heart attack.”

Respiratory infection warning signs

The study analyzed 578 consecutive patients who had a heart attack due to a coronary artery blockage who had also reported recent respiratory infection symptoms. Each patient was interviewed about their activities before the cardiac event and were asked if they experienced any kind of respiratory illness.

The researchers found that 17% of patients had reported respiratory symptoms within 7 days of their heart attack and that 21% had shown symptoms within one month of their heart attack. Common symptoms that were reported included sore throat, cough, fever, and sinus pain, and some patients reported a diagnosis of pneumonia or bronchitis before the event.

"The data showed that the increased risk of a heart attack isn't necessarily just at the beginning of respiratory symptoms, it peaks in the first 7 days and gradually reduces but remains elevated for one month,” said Tofler.

Significantly increased risk

After analyzing all patients, the researchers determined that respiratory infections increased the risk of a heart attack 17-fold within the first seven days that patients contracted them. The results showed that middle respiratory tract infections were less risky in comparison, but they still carried a 13-fold risk increase.

There is no definitive answer as to why the respiratory infections increased heart attack risk, but Tofler says that it likely has something to do with an increased tendency towards blood clotting, inflammation, changes to blood flow, and the presence of toxins that can damage blood vessels. The researchers say that consumers should take extra measures to reduce their chance of infection, especially during times of the year when it is colder and infection is more likely.

"The next step is to identify treatment strategies to decrease this risk of heart attack, particularly in individuals who may have increased susceptibility," Tofler concluded.

The full study has been published in Internal Medicine Journal.

A global ransomeware attack is hitting hospitals, utilities, shipping companies and others, with reports of more than 45,000 attacks in 74 countries so far. The number was still climbing Friday afternoon as the attacks rolled out across the world.

Russia was thought to be the hardest hit, followed by Ukraine, India, Taiwan and Tajikistan, according to the security firm Kaspersky. The U.K., Spain and the United States have also had some hits but not yet on the massive scale seen elsewhere.

Non-emergency cases were being turned away from hospitals in the United Kingdom and Spain's largest telecommunications company was struggling to recover from the attack, reports from those countries said. 

FedEx was perhaps the largest U.S.-based target, according to early reports. “Like many other companies, FedEx is experiencing interference with some of our Windows-based systems caused by malware. We are implementing remediation steps as quickly as possible,” the company said.

The attack is pretty much a classic ransomware ploy, differentiated mostly by its gigantic scale. A message takes over the computer screen, informing users that their files have been encrypted and will stay that way unless the recipient forks over a Bitcoin payment to an anonymous address.

One well-known piece of ransomware is called WannaCry. It exploits a known vulnerability in Microsoft Windows called EternalBlue, something supposedly developed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), as revealed in a hack a few weeks ago.

Microsoft recently released a patch that closes the vulnerability but businesses tend to wait longer to install updates than home users so the fear is that many businesses and institutions will fall victim to the massive attack, which apparently does not affect Mac or Linux systems. It's a good idea for all computer users to update their systems immediately, or to shut them down until they're able to do so.

You don't have to be a veteran of the 1960s music scene to appreciate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, on the city's Lake Erie waterfront. And the summer of 2017 might be a great time to visit.

First of all, if you still have framed ticket stubs from that Doors concert you attended way back when, the exhibits in the Hall are certain to get your juices flowing.

But young people, particularly young musicians, will find a visit to the beautiful, pyramid-shaped glass building stimulating as well.

There, they can not only breathe in the air of early rock, they can also feel the connective tissue of music history, linking a contemporary artist like Kendrick Lamar back to early hip hop, and from there back to the King of Soul, James Brown.

Artist exhibits

The exhibits tend to change, but always focus on artists and groups who have earned their way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Recent exhibits have included Janice Joplin's Porsche and the instruments, equipment, and concert posters of groups like The Byrds and The Grateful Dead, who today are not only appreciated by rock historians, but still have legions of fans.

Some exhibits have focused on particular cities, and their influence on the music genre. The Memphis exhibit highlighted Sun Records and Sam Phillips, who worked with legends like Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash.

Of course, a visit to the Hall means there's always a good chance you'll get to hear some music. This summer, the Hall has announced more than 50 live concerts and other events.

Prince Day

June 7 is Prince Day, honoring the music of the prolific and eclectic artist who died last year. The Hall will throw a U2 tailgate party on July 1, in advance of the band's Cleveland concert. A major rock show is scheduled for July 22, headlined by Drive-By Truckers.

Meanwhile, a number of free music events are scheduled throughout the summer at the Outdoor Main Stage.

Walking through the Hall is sort of like walking through a modern airport or shopping mall -- it's open and has lots of glass. Tours are self-guided and visitors follow well-defined paths.

The induction ceremonies into the Hall are always big events, and are usually held outside Cleveland. For example, last month's induction took place in Brooklyn, though the Hall has announced the 2018 ceremonies will return to the Hall. Tickets can be in excess of $100, but true music fans call it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The cost of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is $23.50 for general admission, $21.25 for seniors, and $13.75 for children six to 12. Children under age 6 get in free. Of course, if you have a museum membership, admission is free.

You'll find group rates here.

Getting there

Cleveland International Airport has good connections from just about everywhere. It's served primarily by Air Canada, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, American, United, Spirit, and Southwest.

Located on the city's southwest side, the airport is only about 20 minutes from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Hall also has accommodation package agreements with several nearby hotels, some of which offer shuttle service to and from the Hall. You can check them out here.

Chase is coming after American Express' Platinum Card business, and that's potentially good news if you're a homebuyer with a Chase Sapphire card. The reason is that Chase Mortgage is offering 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for existing Sapphire customers who purchase a mortgage with Chase.

The exclusive offer, and the first of its kind for Chase, is now available to eligible Sapphire customers through August 6. Chase has been positioning the Sapphire card to appeal to affluent millennials who may find the Platinum Card a bit, well, stuffy.

So, the thinking goes, what better way to cement a relationship with the millennial crowd than to give them a huge bonus when they're buying their first house. 

"New wave of homebuyers"

“We want to show the true benefit of being a Chase customer throughout the many stages of life, whether it’s opening your first credit card or buying your first home,” said Amy Bonitatibus, Chief Marketing Officer for Chase Mortgage. "We designed this exclusive mortgage offer for our Chase Sapphire customers to reach a new wave of homebuyers."

That "new wave," of course, is code for millennials, who have been making up a growing part of Chase's customer base. Customers under the age of 35 made up 36 percent of Chase’s mortgage originations volume in 2016, up from 20 percent in 2015.

Have you ever come home from a bad day only to have your stress melted away by your faithful canine companion? Dogs tend to have that special quality about them, and a new study suggests that it could be beneficial for your children.

Researchers at the University of Florida say that dogs have what they call a “stress-buffering” effect that can help kids cope with the world around them.

"How we learn to deal with stress as children has lifelong consequences for how we cope with stress as adults. . . Our research shows that having a pet dog present when a child is undergoing a stressful experience lowers how much children feel stressed out," Kertes said. "Children who had their pet dog with them reported feeling less stressed compared to having a parent for social support or having no social support," said researcher Darlene Kertes.

Helping children cope

Kertes and her colleagues conducted a randomized controlled study in which 100 pet-owning families visited their laboratory with their dogs. Children in the families were asked to take part in a public speaking task and mental arithmetic in order to stimulate feelings of stress and had either their dog, a parent, or no social support present depending on their group assignment.

To objectively measure stress levels, researchers took saliva samples from children before and after the tasks to see how much cortisol was present; high amounts of the hormone would indicate higher levels of stress.

The findings showed that children who had their dogs present for support and actively engaged them had less cortisol in their saliva. "Children who actively solicited their dogs to come and be pet or stroked had lower cortisol levels compared to children who engaged their dogs less,” said Kertes.

The results show that children who have a pet dog may benefit from their stress-buffering capacity, especially if they’re at a time in their life when they’re learning how to cope with anxiety.

"Middle childhood is a time when children's social support figures are expanding beyond their parents, but their emotional and biological capacities to deal with stress are still maturing. Because we know that learning to deal with stress in childhood has lifelong consequences for emotional health and well-being, we need to better understand what works to buffer those stress responses early in life,” said Kertes.

Consumers struggling to pay back student loans have been left in the lurch lately, as the U.S. Education Department and Fannie Mae, among others, roll back protection measures from the Obama Era.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and lawmakers in the state are trying to compensate by passing legislation at the state level. The Illinois Senate this week passed Senate Bill 1351, which would create a Student Loan Bill of Rights to protect borrowers from abuse.

The bill addresses widespread abuses and failures in the student loan industry that were revealed by Madigan’s investigation and lawsuit against one of the country’s largest student loan servicing companies, Navient.

The measure, drafted by Madigan’s office and Sen. Daniel Biss, passed the Senate by a vote of 34 to 15 with one member voting present, and will now be considered in the House, where it will be sponsored by Rep. Will Guzzardi.

“This bill is critically important now that the U.S. Department of Education has abandoned student loan borrowers by revoking reforms to prevent the abuses uncovered in my investigation,” Madigan said. “These commonsense measures will improve the financial futures of student loan borrowers, their families and our economy.”

"Misleading and self-serving practices"

“The U.S. Department of Education’s decision to roll back protections for student loan borrowers is extremely disappointing, particularly when investigations into the industry – such as those conducted by Attorney General Madigan – have revealed misleading and self-serving practices,” Sen. Biss said. “I encourage my colleagues in the House to support these commonsense reforms.”

Over the past decade, student loan debt has doubled to become the largest form of unsecured consumer debt in the country, with more than 40 million borrowers owing over $1.4 trillion. Nearly 70 percent of graduates leave college with an average debt burden of $30,000, and one-in-four borrowers are behind on their payments or in default.

Students who attended for-profit colleges are particularly hard hit, making up the vast majority of borrowers in default. While federal income-based repayment options are available, the U.S. Treasury has reported that only 20 percent of eligible borrowers are enrolled in these options, which can lower payments based on income to as low as $0 a month.

Madigan said Illinois borrowers frequently experience problems with their student loan servicers. Specifically, borrowers in Illinois have complained to her office that their loan servicers failed to inform them of affordable repayment options, follow borrower payment instructions and answer questions consistently.

Senate Bill 1351 would create a Student Loan Bill of Rights to protect student loan borrowers by prohibiting student loan servicers from misleading borrowers and requiring that they:

• Properly process payments;
• Require specialists to provide and explain to struggling borrowers all of their repayment options, starting with income-driven plans; and
• Inform borrowers who may be eligible to have their loans forgiven due to a disability or a problem with the school they attended.

The bill would also create a Student Loan Ombudsman in the Attorney General’s office and require student loan servicers to obtain a license to operate in Illinois.

Learn more in the ConsumerAffairs Student Loan Buyers Guide.

There’s nothing quite like a good Broadway show or tickets to a live concert, but consumers have found it difficult to secure online tickets recently because of ticket bots – software used by scalpers and resellers to grab large numbers of available tickets as quickly as possible.

The problem became so bad that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law last November that increased the penalty for knowingly reselling tickets obtained by a ticket bot to a class A misdemeanor. The change guaranteed harsher penalties than the previously mandated civil penalties, something that six companies now know full well.

Yesterday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that Renaissance Ventures LLC (d/b/a Prestige Entertainment), Ebrani Corp. (d/b/a Presidential Tickets), Concert Specials Inc., Fanfetch Inc., BMC Capital Partners, and JAL Enterprises (d/b/a Top Star Tickets) had been fined a total of $4.19 million for using ticket bots to procure and resell tickets in the state.

“Unscrupulous ticket resellers who break the rules and take advantage of ordinary consumers are one of the major reasons why ticketing remains a rigged system,” Schneiderman said.

Snatching up tickets

The Attorney General’s office found that one of the ticket brokers, Prestige Entertainment, had used two different bots and thousands of credit cards and Ticketmaster accounts to buy tickets for many New York shows. The investigators allege that the company used IP proxy services to hide its use of bots from retail ticket marketplaces. In one specific case, the company allegedly used its bots to purchase over 1,000 tickets to a 2014 U2 concert at Madison Square Garden in just one minute.

Because of its pervasive use of ticket bots, Prestige will be paying the highest fine at $3.35 million. Concert Specials will pay $480,000; Presidential Tickets will pay $125,000; BMC Capital will pay $95,000; Top Star Tickets will pay $85,000; and Fanfetch will pay $55,000.

In addition to paying the fines, each company is required under the settlement to maintain proper ticket reseller licenses and abstain from using ticket bots in the future.

“We will continue to fight to make ticketing a more fair and transparent marketplace, so fans have the opportunity to enjoy their favorite shows and events. Anybody who breaks the law will pay a steep price,” said Schneiderman.

As long as there have been bicycles, kids have fallen off them and scraped a knee. But pediatricians suggest the injuries are getting more numerous and more serious.

In many cases, they say they are also preventable.

A new report from a child safety group, Safe Kids Worldwide and Nationwide insurance, found about 40% of parents it surveyed admitted their children don't always wear helmets. If they did, the group says there might be a significant reduction in the 426,000 children who typically visit the emergency room each year due to a wheeled sports related injury. The injuries include skateboards as well as bicycles.

The report focused on parents' role in preventing the injuries, stressing there would be fewer injuries if parents insisted their children always wore a helmet while riding.

Helmet use rising

The good news is that helmet use is rising, but as usual, there are huge gaps that doctors say need to be filled. And they point to research showing helmets and other protective gear provide the best way to do that.

"We know that kids follow their parents' lead, and if they see their parents wearing their helmets, it's much more likely they'll do so as well," said Torine Creppy, Interim President at Safe Kids Worldwide. "And just making sure that kids have a comfortable, properly-fitted helmet will do wonders to keep that helmet in place and give kids a safe ride."

Unfortunately, these injuries can be fatal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks unintentional injuries to children, and while the majority occur in auto accidents, the CDC found "a substantial number" of cyclist deaths among children from 2000 to 2006.

Head injuries

Over a 10-year study period, the National Institutes of Health counted 845 serious non-fatal bicycle accidents involving children and 46 fatalities, in a population of 1,000,000. In 70% of fatalities children had head injuries.

There is some good news, however. Lately the rate of ER visits stemming from a bike or skateboard accident has gone down, even as scooter-related injuries surged by 40% over a decade.

"While it's encouraging that the bike-related injuries are down, the number of kids still getting hurt is far too high – especially considering that many of these injuries could be avoided by simply wearing a helmet and other safety equipment," said Mike Boyd, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Nationwide. "We're hoping this information will remind parents and children alike about the importance of wearing a helmet every time they bike, skate or ride a scooter."

Privacy is a precious commodity in today’s consumer culture, with computer users having to contend with spyware, malware, phishing attempts, and a host of other insidious tech-related probes. While the following doesn’t seem to fall under that same malicious category, owners of certain HP laptops may be surprised to learn that their every keystroke may have been recorded, including those used to enter sensitive passwords and log-in information.

A team of Swiss security researchers at ModZero have found that these devices come pre-installed with an audio driver that basically acts as a keylogger. For those who don’t know, a keylogger is a program or device that records and stores all the keystrokes you make on your device. Someone with access to a keylogger would be able to see any private or sensitive information.

In this case, the keylogger was found to be part of a debugging feature on audio drivers that were installed on several models of HP laptops and tablets. CNET reports that executable files within the drivers recorded keystrokes and sent the information to a log file in a public directory in the device’s hard drive.

“This type of debugging turns the audio driver effectively into keylogging spyware. On the basis of meta-information of the files, this keylogger has already existed on HP computers since at least Christmas 2015,” the researchers said.

Never meant for finished products

The researchers found that 28 HP laptop and tablet models that have this keylogging feature. They include:

• HP EliteBook 820 G3 Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 828 G3 Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 840 G3 Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 848 G3 Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 850 G3 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 640 G2 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 650 G2 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 645 G2 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 655 G2 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 450 G3 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 430 G3 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 440 G3 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 446 G3 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 470 G3 Notebook PC
• HP ProBook 455 G3 Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 725 G3 Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 745 G3 Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 755 G3 Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 1030 G1 Notebook PC
• HP ZBook 15u G3 Mobile Workstation
• HP Elite x2 1012 G1 Tablet
• HP Elite x2 1012 G1 with Travel Keyboard
• HP Elite x2 1012 G1 Advanced Keyboard
• HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G3 Notebook PC
• HP ZBook 17 G3 Mobile Workstation
• HP ZBook 15 G3 Mobile Workstation
• HP ZBook Studio G3 Mobile Workstation
• HP EliteBook Folio G1 Notebook PC

In a statement, HP explained that the feature should never have been included in the final versions of the devices. "Our supplier partner developed software to test audio functionality prior to product launch and it should not have been included in the final shipped version," the company said.

HP vice-president Michael Nash said that a patch for the issue has been added to Windows update and can also be accessed at HP’s website.