Current Events in October 2018

“Hi Marla. This is Nate volunteering with Beto For Texas. Beto O’Rourke is running for Senate to represent Texans statewide, not special interest megadonors. And unlike Ted Cruz, Beto doesn’t take any money from PACs. Can we count on your vote?”

It’s election season and politicians are upping the ante on using technology to reach voters through their phone’s message app. Candidates may think they’re being savvy doing digital stump speeches, but for many consumers, they see it as a privacy breach -- one that may actually work against the candidate.

In Marla’s case, she was aware of Beto O’Rourke, but she’s never donated money to his campaign or given anyone her OK to be contacted by his folks, according to a story in the New York Times.

“It felt like a real invasion,” she said. “My first reaction was, who is this? How do they know my name? And how did they get my cell phone number?,” questioned Marla.

“Many campaigns these days are using tools that personalize these messages in such a way that you're actually talking to a person when you reply, or what they call ‘relational’ organizing, where the text is actually coming from one voter to another,” wrote Greg Cohn, co-founder and CEO of privacy app company Burner, in a message to ConsumerAffairs. “I think these are very interesting hybrids if used effectively.”

The silver lining in the legal cloud

Even though robocalls and robotexts are outlawed under the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), breaking the law isn’t enough of a deterrent to keep candidates away from consumers’ phones, especially with rates as low as a penny-per-dial.

The TCPA spells it out like this:

Political campaign-related autodialed or pre-recorded voice calls (including autodialed live calls, prerecorded voice messages, and text messages) are:

• Not allowed to cell phones, pagers, or other mobile devices without the called party's prior express consent.

• Not allowed to protected phone lines such as emergency or toll-free lines, or lines serving hospitals or similar facilities, unless made with the called party's prior express consent.

• Allowed when made to landline telephones, even without prior express consent.

See anything missing? Well, the brains behind this incursion do. The crease they see is that these “peer-to-peer” (P2P) messages are being sent one after the other, therefore skirting the FCC’s disallowment of “autodialed.”

Old dog, old tricks

Political robo’ing goes back some 30 years, but consumers weren’t tethered to their phones then like they are now.

Politicians going the text message route is a relative new trick dating back to 2012 when ad agencies sent out messages like one saying, “The Obama administration perpetuated misinformation about Libya. Vote against Obama!” and “Obama supports homosexuality and its radical social agenda. Say No to Obama on Nov 6!”

However, none of the messages contained a disclaimer with who paid and was responsible for the messages.

“These abuses threaten what is a very promising technology of text messaging for political engagement,” Scott Goodstein, Revolution Messaging’s founder, commented to POLITICO.

“People did not opt-in to receive these messages and ultimately end up having to pay the cost for this unwanted misinformation that appeared on their mobile phone.”

Isn’t there anything that can be done about this?

Despite the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FCC’s best attempts, putting a kibosh on robo messaging has yet to be met with surrender. And the number of times consumers’ phones get hit with a robo-something has spun out of control, but not necessarily to the marketer’s advantage.

“Robocalls to voters are now becoming less and less useful – given they’re getting swamped out by scammers and other unwanted robocalls, and consumers simply ignore unknown numbers,” YouMail CEO Alex Quilici commented to ConsumerAffairs.

Burner’s Cohn added that there is a weapon that consumers can use but may have forgotten about.

“Robotexts are absolutely more manageable than robocalls.  With texts, as long as they're opt-in or can be reasonably expected based on your support of a candidate in the past for example, they're not as annoying. You can typically opt out of them by replying STOP, or easily just ignore them,” Cohn said.

If this political breach has affected you and you want to voice your complaint, you have a couple of options. The FCC has its own consumer complaint center, and there’s also PocketSpammers, a platform dedicated to the eradication of political text message spam. The site collects consumer complaints and turns them over to the FCC.

If you’re thinking you’d rather turn in a politician to the U.S. National Do Not Call Registry, don’t even waste your time. Interestingly enough, political robocalls are exempt from that list.

The number of confirmed cases of acute flaccid myelitis -- a polio-like condition that primarily affects children -- has risen, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Monday.

So far in 2018, there have been 155 reports of the condition, which causes sudden weakness in the arms and legs and can lead to paralysis. Of these, 62 cases have been confirmed by the CDC in 22 states. The other 93 cases are still under investigation.

The CDC estimates that fewer than one in a million people across the country get acute flaccid myelitis (also called AFM) each year. However, the number of patients currently under investigation for the rare condition has risen in the last week, up from 127.

Most patients are children

The CDC said it has been working closely with local and state health departments and hospitals to gather information about patients under investigation with the goal of confirming more cases faster.

“CDC is now providing the number of patients still under investigation so people can better anticipate increases in confirmed cases over the coming months,” the agency said in a statement.

The average age of patients that have been confirmed to have the condition is just 4 years old. Overall, 90 percent of cases occur in children 18 and younger.

Cause unknown

Health officials say there are several potential causes of the condition, including certain viruses, environmental toxins, and genetic disorders. But in a majority of cases, the cause is unknown.

"There is a lot we don't know about AFM," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the agency's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told the media. "AFM can be difficult to diagnose because it shares many of the same symptoms as other neurologic diseases.”

Other unknowns about the condition include who is at higher risk of developing it and why some patients recover quickly from AFM but others experience persistent paralysis and weakness and require ongoing care, the CDC said.

May have peaked

While a lot is still unknown about the condition, CDC experts are looking to past outbreak patterns to try and predict when this one will hit its peak.

The agency tracked 120 cases of AFM in 2014 (the year the outbreaks started). In 2016, there were 149 cases. Each year, the number of cases peaked in September. Based on this history, CDC experts believe the 2018 numbers will be similar.  

“I don’t think it’s going to get worse,” Dr. Benjamin Greenberg, a neurologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute and at Children’s Health told Dallas News. “I’m basing that on what we’ve seen in other years.”

Still, the CDC is urging parents to seek medical care immediately if a family member develops weakness or loss of muscle tone in the arms or legs.

“While we don’t know the cause of most of the AFM cases, it’s always important to practice disease prevention steps, such as staying up-to-date on vaccines, washing your hands, and protecting yourself from mosquito bites,” the CDC said.

Ford is launching its test of self-driving vehicles on the streets of the nation's capital.

The automaker has announced a joint venture with the District of Columbia city government to begin autonomous vehicle testing starting early next year. The company is currently conducting tests in parts of Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Miami.

"Just like guiding a bill through Congress, establishing a self-driving vehicle business requires a lot of coordination," Ford said in a blog post announcing the move. "Not only do self-driving vehicles need to operate safely and reliably, but they also need to work in concert with the businesses, people and cities they serve. On top of all this, they must operate within an ecosystem that supports their operation and maintenance."

The rush to put driverless cars on American streets has slowed in recent months following a fatal accident between an autonomous Uber and a pedestrian in Arizona in March. An investigation determined that the vehicle's sensors saw the pedestrian in the road but failed to take action to avoid hitting her.

Filling gaps in public transportation

Ford says its partnership with the DC government should lead to job creation since it will provide an additional means for people to move around. The company said it believes putting self-driving cars on the street will fill gaps in access to public transportation, as well as provide new ways to deliver food and other products.

Ford said the autonomous vehicle tests will be conducted in all eight of Washington's wards, working toward the launch of a commercial transportation service by 2021.

"We believe that ensuring widespread access to mobility services enabled by self-driving vehicles is vital, a sentiment that was underscored in a report by Securing America’s Future Energy, which found that autonomous technology could improve people’s access to jobs as well as retail markets," the automaker said.

Mapping already underway

Ford's autonomous technology is powered by Argo AI, which is already working to map DC streets in the first step toward testing vehicles in fully autonomous mode. That process is expected to take up to a year.

Training is also beginning for test drivers who Ford says will be responsible for safely operating and monitoring the test vehicles deployed on public roads and on closed courses throughout the development process.

Ford envisions a diverse market for its commercial business, doing everything from taking commuters to and from work, helping tourists get around town, and making deliveries.

As social media continues to dominate the technological landscape, there has been no shortage of news coverage on users’ controversial posts. Social media has become an indelible part of background checks for new jobs, and the effects of a simple post are more wide-reaching than ever.

Researchers at the University of California-Davis recently conducted a study that explores the longstanding effects of negative social media comments.

“It’s not just that negative chat has a long life,” said lead author Seth Frey. “But it has a longer effect on the original speaker. Negative people are really hurting themselves.”

More than just words

To see the ways comments on social media are affecting users, the researchers analyzed over 600,000 conversations from a popular online social game. Though the average age of those involved in the study was between eight and 12 years old, there were millions of users involved in the conversations that were happening in the game.

To gauge the positivity or negativity of the statements in the chats, the researchers utilized a toolkit typically used for Twitter posts that measures feelings and attitudes.

Perhaps the most significant finding from this study was that positive messages resonate for a far shorter period of time than negative messages. Moreover, negative messages have the power to affect everyone -- including the sender -- and typically tend to incite more negativity.

The researchers found that negative messages can linger throughout the chat for an average of eight minutes, while positive messages linger for just one minute.

Frey and the researchers believe social media users should take heed when posting online, as this study shows that what you write online is far more powerful than many users think when mindlessly chatting. It also shows that the words used online affect everyone -- including the person that sends them.

Frey also pointed out that the way we communicate online is often very different than how we communicate in face-to-face settings, and the findings from this study show how powerful our words online can really be.

“It’s really about isolating the effects that your angry and distasteful actions have on you in the future,” said Frey.

Wide-reaching effects of social media

While this study showed the power behind what we post on social media, there are many other ways social media affects our day-to-day lives.

Over the summer, CareerBuilder released results from a survey which found that 70 percent of employers use social media sites as part of the applicant screening process, while another seven percent were in the process of implementing it.

The findings from that survey also showed that nearly 60 percent of employers rejected candidates based on what they posted on social media, while 22 percent said they looked on candidates’ social media with the sole intention of finding a reason not to hire them.

From an interpersonal standpoint, a recent study found that many people feel excluded by their friends on social -- though it isn’t intentional.

The study found that social media can have an exclusionary effect on users based on the way they are basically forced to watch their friends (unintentionally) exclude them in certain online interactions.

“We’re using these technologies daily, and they’re pushing information to users about their networks, which is what the sites are designed to do, but in the end, there’s negative effects on people’s well-being,” said researcher Michael Stefanone.

Four months after a salmonella outbreak led to a multi-state recall of Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal, the honey-flavored puffed wheat cereal is headed back to store shelves in limited quantities.

Starting in November, consumers can once again purchase Honey Smacks. However, the cereal will have been made with “a simpler, updated recipe,” according to a press release from the Kellogg Company.

Boxes of Honey Smacks that feature the new recipe will be marked with bright yellow triangle in the upper left portion.

Kellogg’s said it’s “excited to relaunch the beloved cereal to our loyal fans this fall” and noted that the cereal will now be produced in a “trusted and tested” company-owned facility. Before the salmonella concerns surfaced, the cereal was made at a third-party plant. The FDA said it found “serious violations” during an investigation of the facility over the summer.

Infected 135 people

The return of the cereal follows a massive recall of Honey Smacks back in June over concerns of potential contamination. An estimated 11 million boxes of Honey Smacks were pulled from stores in more than 30 states. After reports of illnesses began surfacing, health officials stressed that consumers should not eat or purchase the cereal.

In September, the CDC reported that tainted Honey Smacks cereal was linked to 135 illnesses in total. The illnesses affected people in 36 states, and at least 30 were hospitalized for their symptoms. The CDC has since closed its investigation into the outbreak.

In a bid for more online holiday shoppers, Walmart is extending free two-day shipping to millions of items sold by third-party marketplace sellers.

The eligible products will be shipped to customers under the same terms as those sold directly by Walmart if the order is for at least $35.

Starting in mid-November, customers purchasing from Walmart.com won't have to check to see if the items they are buying are coming directly from Walmart or from a third-party seller. If the items in a customer's cart are eligible for free two-day shipping and the total order is more than $35, Walmart pays for the shipping.

In early 2017, Walmart launched its free two-day shipping program to counter Amazon's growing Prime membership, which costs more than $100 a year. Walmart took every opportunity in its marketing materials to point out free shipping is available to all customers, just so long as their order totals at least $35.

Simplified return process

Now, that program is being extended to many of the items third-party marketplace sellers  market through Walmart.com. As part of the program's expansion, Walmart says it's also simplifying the process for returns.

"All a customer has to do is log in to his or her Walmart account, print out a return label and ship back to the seller," the company said in a blog post. "This experience is beginning to roll out now."

Customers who purchase products from third-party marketplace sellers will also have the option of returning the items to most Walmart stores. Customers will be required to package the items for shipping before taking them to the nearest Walmart store.

Walmart will then ship the item back to the seller, and the customer will receive a refund directly from the seller.

The move comes just before the start of the holiday shopping season in which the stakes for retailers have never been higher. Both Walmart and Target have taken steps in the last 12 months to improve their competitive position against Amazon.

With new technology and gadgets always on the horizon, many people get in the habit of always seeking out the next great thing. This has become particularly troublesome among parents who may be worried that their kids are focusing too much on material objects.

A new study published in Psychology Study explores the different ways parents can go about raising children that are less focused on obtaining material possessions and more concerned with feelings of gratitude.

“Our findings show that it is possible to reduce materialism among young consumers, as well as one of its most common negative consequences (nongenerosity) using a simple strategy -- fostering gratitude for the things and people in their lives,” wrote researcher Lan Nguyen Chaplin.

Focusing on gratitude

The researchers’ main hypothesis was born from the idea that those who express gratitude will be more present and thankful for the people and things in their lives -- and be more generous -- than those who don’t.

To prove that theory, the researchers performed a three-part experiment. They started by evaluating a nationally representative study of over 900 adolescents aged 11 through 17 and found the link between gratitude and decreased materialism.

By step three, the large group had been cut down to just over 60 participants. The researchers divided the remaining subjects up into control and experimental groups and had them keep journals while completing different activities.

The control group’s assignment was to log their daily activities, while the experimental group was instructed to log who and what they were grateful for each day. The groups did this for two weeks, submitted their journals to the researchers, and then filled out materialism and gratitude self-assessments.

In addition to the materialism aspect, the researchers were also interested in seeing if generosity was tied into the study in some way. To that end, they gave each participant 10 $1 bills to do what they wished with -- either save the money or donate it.

“The results of this survey study indicate that higher levels of gratitude are associated with lower levels of materialism in adolescents across a wide range of demographic groups,” said Chaplin.

Gratitude overcomes materialism

Overall, the group that kept the gratitude journals was both less materialistic and more generous. They donated over two-thirds of the money they earned in the study, and their self-assessments showed a decrease in materialistic qualities and an increase in gratitude.

The opposite was true of the control group that kept a log of their daily activities. While their levels of gratitude and materialism remained consistent over the course of the study, they donated under 50 percent of the money they earned in the study.

The researchers say the results are promising and encourage parents to keep gratitude at the forefront of many family traditions in an effort to keep kids less concerned with material things and more grateful for who and what they have in their lives.

A few years ago, Saturday Night Live produced a clever skit featuring the "Amazon Alexa Silver, the smart speaker designed for the Greatest Generation."

The clip has since gone viral, mainly with seniors who laugh at the depiction of themselves as technology-challenged and in need for their own, more understanding smart device.

Now life is once again imitating art as Cuida Health, a senior health organization, is introducing LiSA, a voice-activated social networking platform specifically to assist seniors. But the product is no joke. The device enables users to keep up with community activities, connect with family and friends, and maintain healthy living habits.

Staying independent

"Today's senior citizens, a group that spans three decades, are living longer, reinventing themselves, and striving to remain independent yet lack infrastructure to support that desire," said 92-year old Natasha Josefowitz, a psychologist, author, and Cuida Health content advisor. "She is a supportive voice and an easy-to-use tool that helps us connect with each other and the services we need."

Users can talk to LiSA, just as they would with other smart speaker systems. In fact, LiSA uses existing digital assistant technology including Amazon Echo and Google Home. No other special equipment is required.

A user can access the system with the voice command "Start Lisa," getting access to specially curated content addressing the needs of seniors. It's presented in a friendly, conversational tone that even offers some humor.

Completely hands-free

Seniors can use LiSA to send and receive voice messages completely hands free, removing the need to type text messages. The digital assistant will also scan calendars for local events and activities.

Without nagging, LiSA will also coach users about proper nutrition, medication management, sleep, and exercise. Throughout the day, seniors will get health tips and, yes, tips on using technology.

"It's like I'm talking to a real person when I talk to LiSA," said Dan Deninger, 75, of Oceanside, Calif., who pilot tested the system.

Deninger doesn't use a computer or send text messages because he has a vision impairment caused by macular degeneration, which until now has limited his communication options.

To launch the service, Cuida Health is making LiSA available through senior and age-restricted active adult communities. Residents can contact their community management to inquire about LiSA's availability.

LiSA actually has few similarities to SNL's fictitious Amazon Alexa Silver except that it's aimed at older consumers. In case you haven't seen the comedy bit, we've included it below.

Gold Inc., doing business as Goldbug, of Denver, Colo., is recalling about 22,000 Eddie Bauer fabric infant carriers.

The buckles on the infant carriers can break, posing a fall hazard to children.

The firm is aware of eight reported incidents of broken buckles. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Eddie Bauer fabric infant carriers that are worn by the parent or caregiver with the baby strapped into the front.

The recalled carriers are black with “Eddie Bauer” and “First Adventure” printed in gray lettering on the front, outside of the carrier.

The infant carriers, manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Target stores nationwide and online between December 2017, and August 2018, for about $70.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled carriers and contact Gold Inc. to verify that the product is subject to this recall. Once the product is verified, consumers will receive replacement products of comparable value or a full refund.

Consumers who purchased this recalled product must cut off and return both straps and tag with their name, address, and phone number to receive selected replacement products, free of charge, or a full refund.

Consumers may contact Gold Inc. toll free at (866) 600-7205 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (MT) or by email customerservice@goldbuginc.com or online at www.goldbuginc.com and click on Recalls for more information.

GH Foods CA of Sacramento, Calif., is recalling approximately 987 pounds of ready-to-eat salad with chicken.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

The following ready-to-eat items, produced from October 9 – 13, 2018, are being recalled:

• 9.75-oz. clear plastic clamshell packages containing “Santa Fe Style Salad with Chicken” and Best If Sold By dates from 10/17/18 to 10/18/18.
• 10-oz. clear plastic clamshell packages containing “365 BY WHOLE FOODS MARKET BBQ STYLE CHOPPED SALAD WITH CHICKEN" and Best If Sold By dates from 10/17/18 to 10/20/18.
• 6-lbs. bagged kit containing “BBQ Style Salad Kit with White Chicken" and Use By dates from 10/17/18 to 10/22/18.
• 8-oz. clear plastic clamshell packages containing “365 BY WHOLE FOODS MARKET CHICKEN FAJITA SALAD" and Best If Sold By dates from 10/17/18 to 10/20/18.

The recalled products, bearing establishment number “EST. P-39994” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were shipped to retail locations in California.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact Nelia Alamo at (916) 638-8825.

Caito Foods of Indianapolis, Ind., is recalling approximately 1,532 pounds of ready-to-eat salad and bowl products made with chicken.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

The following ready-to-eat items, produced from October 6 – 14, 2018, are being recalled:

• 11.5-oz. plastic clamshell packages containing “good & deLISH sante fe style salad with chicken,” with “ENJOY BY” dates of 10/13/18 through 10/21/18 (inclusive).
• 8.75-oz. plastic clamshell packages containing “Santa Fe Style Salad with Chicken,” with “Sell By” date of 10/13/18 through 10/21/18 (inclusive).
• 11.25-oz. plastic clamshell packages containing “FRESH Garden HIGHWAY SALADS SANTA FE STYLE SALAD WITH CHICKEN,” with “Best If Sold By” dates of 10/12/18 through 10/20/18 (inclusive).
• 12-oz. plastic bowl packages containing “good to go! Chipotle Chicken Bowl,” with “Sell By” dates of 10/11/18 through 10/19/18 (inclusive).
• 8.75-oz. plastic clamshell packages containing “FRESH Garden HIGHWAY Santa Fe Style Salad with Chicken,” with “Best if Sold By” dates of 10/13/18 through 10/21/18 (inclusive).

The recalled products, bearing establishment number “P-39985” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were shipped to retail locations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions regarding the recall may contact the Caito Foods consumer feedback line at (844) 467-7278.

Buddy’s Kitchen of Burnsville, Minn., is recalling approximately 212,746 pounds of ready-to-eat pork and chicken products.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

The following ready-to-eat pork and chicken items produced on from October 19, 2017, through October 9, 2018, are being recalled:

• 7.95-lb. bulk cases containing 16 pieces of “Provolone and Roasted Peppers Omelet with Sicilian Potatoes & Italian Chicken Sausage (Bulk Pack),” with lot codes 01/02/18, 01/15/18 and 05/09/18, and case code 70578.
• 11.02-lb. bulk cases containing 24 pieces of “Chicken Chorizo & Montamore Scramble,” with lot codes 04/30/18 and 07/09/18, and case code 70658.
• 9.52-lb. bulk cases containing 24 pieces of “Chicken Chorizo & Montamore Scramble,” with lot codes 10/30/17, 11/04/17, 12/05/17, 12/19/17, 01/16/18, 02/22/18 and 04/24/18, and case code 70630.
• 9.75-lb. bulk cases containing 24 pieces of “PANCETTA STYLE CRUMBLE & SMOKED FONTINA SCRAMBLE,” with lot codes 10/19/17, 10/31/17, 11/20/17, 12/04/17, 01/03/18, 01/10/18, 02/12/18, 02/27/18, 03/30/18, 04/09/18, 05/07/18, 05/29/18, 06/13/18, 07/09/18, 08/06/18 and 09/07/18, and case code 70620.
• 11.93-lb. bulk cases containing 24 pieces of “Provolone and Roasted Peppers Omelet with Sicilian Potatoes & Italian Chicken Sausage (Pop-Put),” with lot codes 01/02/18, 01/05/18, 01/15/18, 01/25/18, 04/30/18, 05/08/18, 05/09/18, 05/16/18, 05/17/18, 05/24/18, 05/31/18, 07/24/18, 08/01/18, 08/06/18, 08/27/18, 09/05/18, 09/18/18 and 10/09/18, and case code 70577.

The recalled products bearing establishment number “P-4226” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were shipped to institutional locations in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and New Jersey.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact Dave Smith, at (952) 894-2540.

Fiat Chrysler’s (FCA) bottom line is now a little fatter. On Monday, the automaker announced that it has cut a deal to sell the its Magneti Marelli auto parts division for $7.2 billion.

The buyer is Japan's Calsonic Kansei, a Japanese automotive company whose global footprint includes 58 manufacturing centers spread throughout the United States, Poland, South Korea, Mexico, Romania, Thailand, UK, South Africa, India, Spain, China, France, and Malaysia. Calsonic Kansei is owned by private equity firm KKR.

“An ideal opportunity to accelerate Magneti Marelli’s future growth for the benefit of its customers and its outstanding people,” is how Fiat Chrysler’s CEO Mike Manley postured the deal.

“The combined business will continue to be among FCA’s most important business partners and we would like to see that relationship grow even further in the future. The transaction also recognises the full strategic value of Magneti Marelli and is another important step in our relentless focus on value creation.”

Pinning its future on technology

According to automotive strategist, Maryann Keller, the move continues Chrysler Fiat’s turnaround strategy of monetizing non-core assets. “This improves FCA’s financial condition and comes at a time of greater uncertainty in the automotive industry,” Keller said in comments to ConsumerAffairs.

Timing is everything and Chrysler Fiat no doubt hopes to profit off that uncertainty by recentering the company’s vision toward the auto world’s technology-driven future.

The jury’s still out on how large technology’s impact will be, but GM is now in its second year of its autonomous vehicle program, and Toyota recently invested $500 million to co-develop a self-driving program with Uber which it hopes will debut in 2021.

Chrysler Fiat was slow to embrace technology, but 2018 has been replete with shifts in that direction. Earlier this summer, the automaker launched its electric vehicle program with its sights on Tesla, and announced that it will launch more than 30 electric and hybrid vehicles by 2022.

Already in the pipeline at Chrysler Fiat is an all-electric four-door sedan similar to the Tesla Model S, but the public will first see an all-electric Alfieri coupe for the company’s Maserati nameplate.

The way credit scores are determined is about to change, but it may not affect the average credit score very much.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that formulates the FICO credit score, will offer a new scoring system early next year that considers more data than the current scoring system.

Today, your credit score is determined mostly by how you manage credit. You get the most points for paying your bills on time.

It's also important to have credit available to you and to have had the accounts open for a long time. It's also important not to use all of your credit. For example, if you have a credit card with a $12,000 credit limit but have a $10,000 balance your score will be lower than if the balance was just $2,500.

Under the current system, you get no credit for having money in the bank, but that's about to change. Presumably, consumers will see a positive benefit to their credit score if they have a hefty bank account.

UltraFICO score

In fact, the new “UltraFICO” score is designed to make it easier for consumers to be approved for credit cards and car loans by taking into account the borrower's overall spending history, not just how they pay their bills.

According to the Journal report, the new UltraFICO would be a tool for consumers whose credit scores are not that great. If they have a few hundred dollars in the bank and have had the bank account for a number of years without overdrawing they might see their credit standing rise.

But in practice, the new formula is likely to be of greater benefit to consumers who already have high credit scores because they are the consumers most likely to have accumulated some cash in the bank. Consumers with low credit scores are often in that situation because they lack the extra cash to meet an unexpected expense.

Test run in 2019

FICO is reportedly talking with a limited number of lenders about using the new UltraFICO score on a trial basis. Before the financial crisis, consumers with damaged credit qualified for mortgages, albeit subprime loans that often ended in foreclosure. Since the financial crisis, this segment of the market has been largely shut out of the credit market.

Lenders are looking for a way to tap into the less-than-perfect credit market without taking on undue risk. The UltraFICO scoring system may be offered as a possible solution.

In the wake of a series of highly publicized data breaches, Facebook is reportedly looking to beef up its security defenses by acquiring a major cybersecurity firm.

Sources with knowledge of the matter told The Information that the company has already offered deals to “several” security firms, but the sources stopped short of naming which companies Facebook has expressed an interest in acquiring.

Facebook wants to close the deal by the end of this year, according to the report.

Preventing another hack

The purchase would enable the company to buy software that could be integrated with Facebook’s existing services. The software could give it access to security tools, such as tools for automatically detecting hacking attempts or securing users’ accounts.

A large acquisition like this would also help increase the company’s trustworthiness in the eyes of consumers, investors, and government regulators by showing that it’s taking the issue of data security seriously.

Word of Facebook’s goal of acquiring a cybersecurity firm comes nearly a month after the company announced that hackers had stolen access tokens for 30 million accounts.

Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called upon to testify before Congress following the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the information of 87 million users was “improperly shared” to profile voters. At the hearing, Zuckerberg answered questions related to the privacy policies of the social networking platform.

“We were too slow to spot and respond to Russian interference, and we’re working hard to get better,” Zuckerberg said in a statement at the time.

“Our sophistication in handling these threats is growing and improving quickly. We will continue working with the government to understand the full extent of Russian interference, and we will do our part not only to ensure the integrity of free and fair elections around the world, but also to give everyone a voice and to be a force for good in democracy everywhere.”