Current Events in March 2023

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has worked to make the tax filing process easier and more efficient for consumers this year. Now, the agency announced it will expand its efforts in scanning digital tax forms. 

“This expansion of scanning is another milestone for the IRS as we work to transform the agency,” said Doug O’Donnell, acting IRS commissioner. “We anticipate expanding scanning of more paper returns in the near future, saving time and creating efficiencies for taxpayers, the business community, as well as tax professionals and the IRS.”  

Starting with Form 940, expanding to more

While the 2023 tax season is still ongoing, the IRS has already seen a massive uptick in scanning paper forms since the start of the filing season. The agency reported that it started with Form 940, and scanning was already at a twenty-fold increase from last year in the first week of March. 

The IRS announced it will be undergoing a Digital Intake initiative, which will expand its efforts at scanning tax forms. The agency will soon include scanning Forms 941 and 1040. 

Currently, the IRS works with Lockbox Financial Agents and other industry partners to make these digital efforts possible. These partnerships allow the IRS to take the information from tax forms and process them electronically – which is ultimately a benefit to taxpayers. 

By digitally scanning tax forms, the process becomes easier and more streamlined for taxpayers. Though the majority of forms are submitted electronically each year, the IRS reported that millions are still submitted with hard copies. 

Electronic submissions ensure that taxes are processed faster, there are likely fewer errors, and the entire process is more efficient. 

'Significant progress'

“We are making significant progress in this effort, and we look to expand scanning efforts dramatically in the months ahead and working toward a fully digital future,” said Harrison Smith, enterprise digitalization and case management office co-director. “We’re building a foundation that will enable us to help taxpayers and businesses for years to come.” 

“Technology powers tax administration and we have completed important work over the last year to help get the assistance they need and reduce paper, in addition to improving the agency’s underlying technology infrastructure,” said Nancy Sieger, chief information officer at the IRS. “This is another positive step in the future technology direction for the IRS that includes improving service to taxpayers.” 

There’s good news for would-be home buyers. The median home price in February fell 0.2% from February 2022, the first decline in home prices in 11 years. Home prices had continued rising since October, even after a surge in mortgage rates brought sales to a standstill.

But here’s why buyers shouldn’t get too excited. Existing home sales surged in February, rising 14.5%, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Buyers reentered the market when mortgage rates began to decline. A sustained increase in demand for homes could push prices back to near their record highs.

Another factor that could be working against buyers during the spring housing season is a lack of supply of homes to choose from. 

The total housing inventory registered at the end of February was 980,000 units, identical to January and up 15.3% from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 2.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down 10.3% from January but up from 1.7 months in February 2022.

"Inventory levels are still at historic lows," said NAR Chief economist Lawrence Yun. "Consequently, multiple offers are returning on a good number of properties."

Multiple offers are good for sellers but not for buyers. When buyers have to compete for a property, they are more likely to pay full price or more and overlook flaws they would otherwise request the seller to address.

Doesn't tell the entire story

The decrease in the median home prices, while small, doesn’t tell the entire real estate story. Yun says every market is unique but that the recent decline in mortgage rates makes some U.S. housing markets a little more competitive.

"Conscious of changing mortgage rates, home buyers are taking advantage of any rate declines," Yun said. "Moreover, we're seeing stronger sales gains in areas where home prices are decreasing and the local economies are adding jobs."

Those markets would include San Francisco, San Diego, and Phoenix – among others. But even with price declines, these markets remain among the most expensive in the U.S. The median home price in the West last month was $541,100, down 5.6% from February 2022.

The median home price in the Midwest rose last month by 5% but that price – $261,200 – is the lowest in the nation.

There has been no shortage of warnings related to tax scams in the last few months, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has another one – specifically for businesses. 

This scam relates to the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), which was geared towards business owners during the pandemic. For the last few years, business owners who either lost a significant amount of revenue or were paying their employees while closed during the COVID-19 pandemic were eligible to claim this credit on their taxes. 

However, scammers are sending phishing emails and posting on social media encouraging taxpayers to claim this credit even when they’re not eligible to do so anymore. 

“While this is a legitimate credit that has provided a financial lifeline to millions of businesses, there continues to be promoters who aggressively mislead people and businesses into thinking they can claim these credits,” said Doug O’Donnell, acting IRS commissioner. 

“Anyone who is considering claiming this credit needs to carefully review the guidelines. If the tax professional they’re using raises questions about the accuracy of the Employee Retention Credit claim, people should listen to their advice. The IRS is actively auditing and conducting criminal investigations related to these false claims. People need to think twice before claiming this,” he said. 

Who is eligible for the ERC?

The IRS outlines three primary factors for taxpayers to qualify for the ERC: 

• Qualify as a recovery startup business for the third and fourth quarters of 2021

• Forced closure (either full or partial) due to restrictions from COVID-19 during 2020 or the first three quarters of 2021

• Experienced a significant reduction in revenue in 2020 or the first three quarters of 2021

This is important to keep in mind when thinking about how scammers are targeting business owners this tax season. 

What does the scam look like? 

The IRS explained that scammers are pushing business owners to claim the ERC on their 2022 taxes – even if they don’t qualify. The draw is that doing so will help secure a bigger tax refund. 

While falsely claiming the credit can put taxpayers at risk of penalties, fines, or criminal investigations, many of these scammers are also either asking for incredibly large fees or wait until they see the taxpayer’s refund before they ask for a fee – just for calculating their credit. 

This is the IRS’ third such warning about this scam to taxpayers. While the promise of more money back on taxes sounds great, getting a bigger refund under false pretenses comes with a significant amount of risk. 

For those who may have incorrectly claimed the ERC, the IRS encourages taxpayers to file an amended return with the correct figures. 

The agency is also asking taxpayers to do their part and report any instances of these scams as soon as they encounter them. Phishing activity can be reported to phishing@irs.gov, or to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484. 

Taxpayers can also complete Form 14242 (Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers) and mail it to the Internal Revenue Service Lead Distribution Center, Stop MS 5040, 24000 Avila Road, Laguna Niguel, California, 92677. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a rule to restore a fair housing doctrine designed to prevent discrimination when it comes to purchasing a home. The action would rescind a Trump-era rule that changed how HUD applies the Fair Housing Act.

HUD officials say the original interpretation of the Act, applied a decade ago, is more consistent with lawmakers’ intentions. They say the law’s broad purpose is to eliminate unnecessary discriminatory practices from the housing market.

"Discrimination in housing continues today and individuals, including people of color and people with disabilities, continue to be denied equal access to rental housing and homeownership," said HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. “Today’s rule brings us one step closer to ensuring fair housing is a reality for all in this country.”

The rule published in the Congressional Record would essentially reestablish “the discriminatory effects doctrine” that gives consumers a tool for addressing policies that “unnecessarily cause systemic inequality in housing, regardless of whether they were adopted with discriminatory intent.”

Used to challenge zoning requirements

In the past, the doctrine has been used to challenge policies that had the effect of excluding people from housing opportunities. For example, the doctrine has been used to challenge zoning requirements, lending and property insurance policies, and criminal records policies. 

Under the 2013 rule, the discriminatory effects framework was fairly straightforward. If a housing policy had a discriminatory effect on a protected class it was considered a violation of the law, even if there was no intent to discriminate. 

HUD officials said the 2020 rule complicated that analysis by adding new pleading requirements, new proof requirements, and new defenses, all of which made it more difficult to establish that a policy violates the Fair Housing Act and harder for entities regulated by the Fair Housing Act to assess whether their policies were lawful. 

If you have eye drops in your medicine chest, look closely at the brand before you use them. Eye drops sold under the brand names EzriCare Artificial Tears and Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Eye Ointment may be contaminated and have been linked to serious injury and at least one death.

More than a month ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory about infections linked to the products. Health officials warned the bacteria causing the infection is highly resistant to drugs.

“Most patients reported using artificial tears,” the CDC warned. “Patients reported more than 10 different brands of artificial tears, and some patients used multiple brands. The majority of patients who used artificial tears reported using EzriCare Artificial Tears, a preservative-free, over-the-counter product packaged in multidose bottles.”

CDC laboratory testing identified the presence of the outbreak strain in opened EzriCare bottles with different lot numbers collected from two states. The agency urged patients and healthcare providers to immediately discontinue using EzriCare artificial tears. Unfortunately, the message didn’t reach everyone.

Eight patients lost their vision

In an update last week, the CDC identified 68 patients in 16 states who had been injured by the infections, including four people who underwent surgery to remove an eyeball. One person died from the infection and eight others lost their vision. Thirty-seven patients were linked to four healthcare facility clusters. 

The drops, which were sold nationwide via Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers, have all been recalled but health officials are worried many of the contaminated products are still in the possession of consumers.

According to the CDC, patients should stop using EzriCare or Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears pending additional information and guidance from CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If patients were advised to use EzriCare or Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears by their healthcare provider, they should follow up with their healthcare provider for recommendations about alternative treatment options.

What to do

Patients who have used EzriCare or Delsam Pharma’s artificial tears and who have signs or symptoms of an eye infection should seek medical care immediately. At this time, there is no recommendation for testing of patients who have used this product and who are not experiencing any signs or symptoms of infection.

Eye infection symptoms may include:

• Yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eye

• Eye pain or discomfort

• Redness of the eye or eyelid

• Feeling of something in your eye (foreign body sensation)

• Increased sensitivity to light

• Blurry vision

Text this, Mr. Scammer! The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has formally adopted the very first regulations specifically targeting scam text messages sent to consumers. 

And with that stroke of the pen, mobile service carriers like AT&T and Verizon will be required to block certain robotext messages that are “highly likely to be illegal.”

The Commission had an interesting take on its order. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that anyone with a smartphone has become a Pavlovian-like lab animal, jumping to check their phone every time a text message comes in.

“But there are those who want to take advantage of this trust—and our instinct, like the subjects of Pavlov’s experiment, to assume something needs attention every time we hear our devices buzz.  We see this clearly in the growing number of junk texts showing up on our phones,”  she said. 

“Scam artists have found that sending us messages about a package you never ordered or a payment that never went through along with a link to a shady website is a quick and easy way to get us to engage on our devices and fall prey to fraud.”

The new line in the sand

The FCC’s new order requires carriers to block any text message that appears to come from phone numbers that are unlikely to transmit text messages. This includes invalid, unallocated, or unused numbers, probably including those from area codes 603, 607, or 608 that ConsumerAffairs was tipped off to, recently.   

Also included are numbers from government agencies and other well-known entities such as the IRS because as a FCC spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs, those agencies never call or text from one particular number.  So if a carrier saw a call or text “from” that number, they would block it knowing that it is highly likely to be illegal.

This is a nice start, but…

The agency thinks its order will do some good, but it also realizes that scammers are already trying to find ways around it. To stay one step ahead of those cybercrooks, the FCC also seeks public comment on ways that it could require carriers to block texts from companies or individuals that the agency has pegged as illegal robotexters.  

It was also upfront about the holes in the Do-Not-Call Registry and proposes to clarify that protection applies to sending text messages and clarifying that just because a person gives their one-time consent to a company to send them texts that it does not allow those companies or marketing agencies the freedom to send text pitches for other marketing subjects.

In the meantime, the FCC recommends that consumers take steps to protect themselves from text scams:

• Do not interact in any way with suspicious texts 

• Do not click on suspicious links, and

• Do not provide any information via text or website  

In addition, consumers can file a complaint with the FCC, forward unwanted texts to SPAM (7726), and should delete all suspicious texts.

Fears of bank failures after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank have had an unexpected – and for homebuyers – a positive result. It’s just gotten a little easier to buy a home.

Mortgage rates reaching 7% late last year eroded affordability for millions of people who would like to purchase a home. But in recent days mortgage rates have dropped, and it can all be traced to investor worries about banks.

The fear that more banks could be at risk and drag down the economy has caused investors to sell stocks and put their money into U.S. Treasury bonds. Not only are the bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, but many bonds are also paying over 4%.

So how does that help homebuyers? Because the more money flowing into the 10-year Treasury note, the lower the interest rate the government has to pay investors. And because mortgage rates are keyed to the 10-year bond, when the 10-year yield goes down, so do mortgage rates.

Rates are falling

Earlier this week, Mortgage Daily News reported the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had fallen from 6.76% last Friday to 6.57%. A day later Credible, another interest rate monitor, reported the average mortgage rate had fallen to 6%, saving a new buyer well over $100 a month on the median-priced home.

As you might expect, that’s causing more people to apply for mortgages. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports applications increased by 6.5% last week from the previous week. There were even more borrowers refinancing their mortgages.

“Treasury yields declined late last week, as market concerns over bank closures and the potential for broader ripple effects triggered a flight to safety in Treasury bonds,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “This decline pushed mortgage rates for all loan types lower, with the 30-year fixed rate decreasing to 6.71 percent.” 

But what about home prices?

While interest rates are coming down, home prices remain high. But the latest evidence suggests that situation is improving as well, at least among the most expensive homes.

According to Zillow, the number of U.S. cities where the typical home costs $1 million or more has declined from last summer’s peak. Fifty-eight markets that were in that exclusive club in July no longer are.

But even buyers in less-expensive housing markets are seeing some relief. The typical U.S. home is worth 4.1% less than it was last July, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. In current million-dollar cities, the typical home has lost 6.3% of its value during that time, on average.

Carbon monoxide detectors play an important role in consumers’ safety in their homes, and now two brands have come under fire for failing to do their jobs. 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers about two digital carbon monoxide detectors that are currently sold on Amazon that have allegedly failed to alert consumers to dangerous levels of CO: the GLBSUNION and the CUZMAK. 

Following tests done on the GLBSUNION and CUZMAK detectors, CPSC said neither device was effective at signaling when an area had reached 400 ppm – a violation of safety standard UL 2034. Failure to detect CO puts consumers at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be fatal. 

Even though there is no recall, the CPSC is urging consumers to dispose of these detectors if they have them in their homes and to replace them with working devices. The agency also hopes that companies stop making them accessible to consumers.

What to avoid

The CPSC is identifying which specific makes and models of these CO detectors consumers should avoid. 

Model number CD01 was sold on Amazon under the ASIN: B07MPVK6HG and B07K44HLCV. Model number AJ-938 was sold on Amazon under the ASIN: B093Y1KK5Q and B093Y637CM.

Both detectors have digital display screens and are supposed to alert consumers of dangerous levels of CO with both a loud alarm and a flashing red light. 

The CSPC encourages consumers to only purchase CO detectors that meet the UL 2034 safety standard. Additionally, for optimal safety in the home, the following actions are recommended: 

• Regularly replace the batteries in your CO detectors

• Ensure that every floor of the home has a CO detector

• Ensure that CO detectors are located outside of all sleeping areas

• Keep backup batteries on hand for your CO detectors 

• Do routine tests of your CO detector

More faulty CO detectors

These two faulty CO detectors join a seemingly growing list of defective devices that are designed to keep consumers safe. Just a few months ago, another CO detector sold on Amazon – the HECOPRO – was found to have the same issues as the GLBSUNION and CUZMAK. 

While none of the items have been recalled, it’s important for consumers to know what risks are out there. 

How bad do consumers think credit reporting agencies are? Plenty bad. According to a new analysis by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, complaints to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) about credit reporting problems nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022.

At the top of this dubious list: the so-called “Big 3” credit bureaus -- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. That trio received more complaints than any other financial firms in 2022 – 604,221 out of 3,420,113 total complaints.

Credit reporting agencies stink up the place when it comes to reviews at ConsumerAffairs, too. Equifax had the most reviews over the last year and 98.1% of those were 1-star. TransUnion and Experian basically tied with the second most reviews with 93.3% of TransUnion’s reviews being 1-star and 86.9% of Experian reviews earning the lowest rating.

"I’ve studied credit reporting complaints for over 30 years, yet I cannot comprehend how little the credit bureaus’ poor treatment of consumers has changed,” said Ed Mierzwinski, senior director for federal consumer programs at U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “When Americans describe a system rigged against them in the stories they file into the CFPB database, it’s unfortunately not surprising -- I’ve seen it all before.”

Many people are griping about the same issues

Among the key findings of PIRG’s “Big Credit Bureaus, Record Complaints: a look at increases in CFPB consumer complaints 2021-2022” report is that many consumers have the same gripes --  student loans, checking and savings accounts, and credit card or prepaid card complaints.

New financial technologies cracked the Top Ten for the first time, with consumers up in arms about frauds and scams and virtual currency like Bitcoin, as well as standard services like credit repair and money transfer categories.

On a per-capita basis, consumers in Georgia, Delaware, Florida, the District of Columbia and Alabama filed the most complaints.

How can consumers make use of the CFPB’s database?

ConsumerAffairs has been using the agency’s database for about a year and it’s been very helpful in giving us insights into problems such as with Buy Now Pay Later.

We reached out to the CFPB to find out how a consumer can make the best use of the database and one of the beauties of the system is that someone can look at the complaints of a certain company and see how that company responded.

For example, one consumer filed a complaint against TD Bank, saying they asked the bank to close a checking account but the account stayed open, accruing fees. The record shows the bank responded in a “timely fashion” and the complaint was “closed with monetary relief.”

The agency said that in conversations with stakeholders, the database is typically best for gaining insights into problems people are experiencing in the marketplace.

To aid consumers, PIRG is also releasing a short video showing how easy it is to use the database.

The CFPB encourages consumers to file complaints

The CFPB is required by law to monitor consumer complaints. While more is not necessarily the merrier, anytime a consumer files a complaint, it provides the CFPB with important information about the types of challenges consumers are experiencing with financial products and services and how companies are responding to consumers’ concerns. 

The agency didn’t specifically name situations where complaints led to it filing an action against a specific company, but it’s possible that its investigation against Venmo and its concerns over “negative option” subscription programs likely were connected to consumer complaints.

"For the CFPB to do its only job, protecting consumers, as effectively as possible, it’s important to hear directly from people what’s going wrong,” said U.S. PIRG Education Fund Consumer Campaign Director Mike Litt. “The complaints in this database act like an alarm system. When the CFPB reads them, it’s alerted to problems, who the culprits are, and what actions it needs to take.”

For the next few weeks, airports are going to be bustling with travelers trying to get to their spring break destinations, but AirHelp, an air passenger rights company, says that some airports aren’t equipped to handle the influx.

Based on its data of airports with the most flight disruptions in the month of February – AirHelp says it’s putting travelers on alert that they should be prepared to sit and wait at certain airports.

Going to Hawaii? Thru Dallas? Anywhere in Nevada?

At the top of the list of airports with the highest percentage of flight disruptions is Kahului Airport (OGG) in Mauiwhere 30.82% of flights were disrupted last month. 

The others in the Top 5 were:

• Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO): 29.15% of flights disrupted;
• Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (LAS): 28.52% of flights disrupted;
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): 28.51% of flights disrupted; and
• Boston's Logan International Airport (BOS): 28.23% of flights disrupted.

When it comes to flight cancellations, anyone going through, to, or from Dallas might want to rethink their routing. Dallas had two airports in the top five for the highest percentage of canceled flights in February – Dallas Love Field (4.85%) and Dallas/Fort Worth International (4.6%). 

Students at the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus shouldn’t have any problems flying out, though. AirtHelp deemed McGhee Tyson Airport outside Knoxville worthy of the country's most reliable airport with over 85% of flights leaving on time in February.

One more ski trip, a flight to Florida?

Thinking about trying to sneak in one last ski trip? AirHelp analysts said that you’d be better off going through Salt Lake City International than Denver because it has fewer flights disrupted.

Flying to the sunny South? The analysts give the nod to Jacksonville and Tampa as Florida’s two best airports, both with under 18% of total flights disrupted. If you’re going to South Florida, however, patience will be necessary.

“If you’re heading to Miami, fly directly to Miami and avoid West Palm or Fort Lauderdale, which canceled a higher percentage of flights than Miami International,” the analysts said.

For reliable travel and warm weather, the best bet is Georgia because both Savannah/Hilton Head (84.15% of flights left on time) and Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta have reliability of nearly 85% when it comes to flights leaving on time.

Should you fly stand-by if you think a flight departure is risky?

Flight cancellations and delays can domino like crazy! If your flight gets canceled, then you and the umpteen others on that flight will be rebooked on another flight, but that other flight also has people already on it so the airline has to figure out a way to fit both groups of fliers on the same flight. If there's more than one delay or cancelation, then that situation multiplies even further. 

Scott Keyes of Going.com suggests flying standby on an earlier flight if one’s available. Keyes told ConsumerAffairs that it’s pretty much a slam dunk if there's space on the flight, you already have a ticket for a flight, and you’re trying to get on an earlier one. 

The only thing that you’ll have to work out with the airline is if there’s space available in the same fare class as your already existing flight. It’s possible that if there’s a fare discrepancy you’ll have to pay extra to sit in Business or First, but that’s an airline-to-airline matter and one you’ll have to deal with and decide whether it’s worth the extra money in those situations. 

Revisiting new changes for families and delayed/canceled flights

Don’t forget – the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has made some changes to what airlines must do in cases where families are flying together and flights are either canceled or delayed.

To get current with what those changes are and what airlines are required to do and at what point, all you need to do is visit the DOT’s special travel dashboard available here.

Shopping for a new iPhone just got easier. 

The tech company announced that shoppers will now be able to video chat with an Apple specialist from the comfort of their homes – or wherever they happen to be – to help guide them through the purchase of their next iPhone.

These video chats will be in real time and give Apple customers the chance to go through all of the different features, prices, phone carrier plans, and more of each iPhone model. 

“We’re constantly innovating to deliver an even more personalized experience for our customers, meeting them where they are to deliver the best of Apple,” said Karen Rasmussen, head of retail online at Apple. 

Consumers have more options

With the announcement of this new shopping feature, consumers now have another option to choose from when looking to buy a new iPhone – shopping in-store, shopping online, and now over video chat.

Specialists will be available to video chat from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time every day of the week. Unlike a regular video chat, the camera doesn’t work both ways. When connecting with an Apple Specialist, customers will be able to see their customer service rep and their screen, but the Apple Specialist won’t be able to see them. 

Consumers can join the video chat session with just about any question: deciding which device will best suit their lifestyles, deciding between colors, figuring out payment options, or gaining insight into their device trade-in options. 

Get ready for new prices in the App Store

Apple also announced that shoppers can expect to see some new prices in the App Store starting in May. 

While the changes are primarily targeted toward app developers, consumers will feel the effects. In the coming months, app developers will have the option to charge anywhere from $0.29 to $10,000 (with special permission from Apple) for their apps. The new updates will also allow for apps to be charged in $0.10 increments, and many apps will transition from $0.99 to $1.00. 

In making the change, Apple said it hopes to give creators more flexibility, while also creating more uniformity among the different countries and currencies that host and sell apps on the App Store. 

When the artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT burst into public consciousness early in the year, cybersecurity experts warned it wouldn’t be long before the bad guys made use of it. They were right.

In a recent post, Nati Tal, head of Guardio Labs, warns that hackers have hidden fake ChatGPT functionality inside a Chrome browser extension. Hackers entice Facebook users to load the extension using ads on the platform.

Once the extension has been loaded, it gives hackers the ability to hijack Facebook accounts and give them nearly complete control, including “super-admin permissions.”

Tal says his company's research found that the fake extension is being used to target well-known Facebook business accounts. Once in control, the hackers can create Facebook bots and other malicious items.

In his post, Tal said his team has uncovered “endless” campaigns abusing the ChatGPT brand, distributing malware and phishing for credit cards.

“On 3/3/2023, our team detected a new variant of a malicious fake ChatGPT browser extension, part of a campaign started in early February with several other ChatGPT branded malicious extensions,” Tal wrote. “This time upgraded with a threatening technique to take over your Facebooks accounts as well as a sophisticated worm-like approach for propagation.”

Guardio researchers found the "Quick access to Chat GPT" extension was downloaded as many as 2,000 times per day since March 3. The company says it was pulled by Google from the Chrome Web Store on March 9.

'Quick access to ChatGPT'

The fake extension, identified as “Quick access to ChatGPT,” was offered as a quick way to get started with ChatGPT directly from your browser. Guardio says the extension does, in fact, provide that. However, it also “harvests” as much data as it can from your browser. It steals “cookies of authorized active sessions to any service you have, and also employs tailored tactics to take over your Facebook account.”

The takeaway, says Tal, is web users must be even more careful than in the past. Hackers have managed to stay one step ahead of major players like Google so individuals have to take precautions to protect themselves.

“These activities are, probably, here to stay,” Tal concludes. “Thus we must be more vigilant even on our day-to-day casual browsing — don’t click on the first search result, and always make sure you won’t click on sponsored links and posts unless you are pretty sure who is behind them!”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized its recent order and will require Epic Games, the company that makes the popular Fortnite video game, to pay $425 million to consumers.

Back in December, the FTC and Epic games reached an agreement to settle charges that the company employed dark patterns to trick users to make unwanted purchases. The FTC also charged that the company allowed children to run up large bills without their parent’s approval.

The company agreed to pay the FTC $520 million, with $425 million going to reimburse consumers.

“Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration led players to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button,” the agency charged. “The company also made it easy for children to make purchases while playing Fortnite without requiring any parental consent.”

When players complained or tried to dispute the charges, the FTC charged Epic locked them out of their accounts.

What to do

If you or your children played Fortnite and ended up buying things you didn’t want, you’re probably due a refund. The FTC is in the process of setting up its compensation system.

For starters, refunds will be made to:

• Parents whose children made an unauthorized credit card purchase in the Epic Games Store between January 2017 and November 2018

• Fortnite players who were charged in-game currency (V-Bucks) for unwanted in-game items (such as cosmetics, llamas, or battle passes) between January 2017 and September 2022

• Fortnite players whose accounts were locked between January 2017 and September 2022 after disputing unauthorized charges with their credit card companies.

The FTC said it will send emails to consumers who made in-game purchases when it has developed instructions for applying for a refund. However, if you think you are eligible you should bookmark www.FTC.gov/Fortnite and check it from time to time.

It costs nothing to apply for a refund, so if you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the FTC and requesting payment, the FTC said you are dealing with a scammer.