Headline News Archive

2010

August

30

• Blocking out online friends. Esthela Gonzalez's friends are talking to her, but she's not listening. The chatter is coming at Gonzalez not over a cup of coffee or at…

29

• Retargeting ads follow surfers to other sites. The shoes that Julie Matlin recently saw on Zappos.com were kind of cute, or so she thought. But Ms. Matlin wasn’t ready to buy and…

27

• For a 'free gift card,' simply give away your personal information. You've probably heard it a thousand times: There's no free lunch. But sometimes it helps to get a little reminder. And so we turn our…

26

• Hackers invade iTunes accounts. Cybercriminals are stepping up the hijacking of Apple iTunes accounts, often leaving consumers distraught. Hijackers buy iTunes logons from e-mail phishers expert at tricking you…

23

• Tougher medical privacy rules sought. The Obama administration is rewriting new rules on medical privacy after an outpouring of criticism from consumer groups and members of Congress who say the…

20

• A health insurance lesson for students. Unless your soon-to-be-roommate mentioned on Facebook that she has a mysterious and potentially contagious rash, you probably haven't given much thought to what you'll do…

• Work claims by disabled hit high. More people with disabilities filed charges of discrimination against their employers last year than at any other time in the 20-year history of the Americans…

19

• Facebook 'Places' knows where you are. PALO ALTO, Calif. — Facebook introduced a long-anticipated service called Places on Wednesday that could help the company tap local and small-business advertisers and sharpen…

• Celebrity searches invite online dangers. If you're looking for Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts or Jessica Biel online, look out! The movie stars top the latest list of the most dangerous…

16

• Google-Verizon plan raises privacy fears. When elephants fight, the saying goes, only the grass gets trampled. Last week, two elephants — Google and Verizon — came together to propose a…

• Second credit report not required for mortgages. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae said Friday that lenders who sell mortgages to the company are not required to run a second credit report before a…

15

• How FTC debt settlement rules protect you. The advertisements for debt settlement are nearly irresistible to the overextended. They make the process sound almost painless; some even promise that government programs will…

09

• Angry customers venting online. You've been cheated or mistreated by a business, and no one from the company seems to care. Now what? Thousands of jilted consumers have turned…

• Consolidating financial accounts may not be ideal. Q: I have opened a number of accounts with several brokerages and mutual fund companies. Is it worthwhile to consolidate those accounts with a single…

08

• Online coupons aren't always great idea. Never pay retail. The marriage of the Internet and advertising has created a hot new trend — coupons that you buy to get deep discounts…

• 'Debt tagging' by collection agencies a growing problem. Michael L. Hughes started getting the harassing phone calls several months ago. He figured they were from scammers and he tried to ignore them. Sometimes…

07

• How to live close to the neighbors. Melissa Danielson doesn't mind hearing the occasional dog barking on the other side of the wall. She enjoys the chance to bump into neighbors as…

04

• Score loyalty points for walking in a store. Stores generally do not know that a customer has visited until the customer buys something on the way out. A start-up, Shopkick, is betting that…

03

• Cybercriminals turn attention to smartphones. Hackers have begun adapting tried-and-true computer infections to work on Internet-enabled smartphones that are all the rage with consumers. Global smartphone shipments topped 54 million…

• Big bucks in online social games. The most-used function on Angela Shields's iPhone is not the phone. Or e-mail. Or the Web browser. It's a game called Words With Friends, and…

01

• Teen 'haulers' become a fashion force. When 14-year-old Bethany Mota gets back from the mall, she eagerly models her latest finds for friends and family. And for tens of thousands more…

• Arbitration quietly closes doors of protest. Lease a car, enroll in a cell phone plan or finance the purchase of a major appliance, and you're likely signing away your rights. Most…

• Where not to use your debit card. Add one more place to the growing list of locations where you should be wary about using your debit card: gas station pumps. According to…

July

31

• Old debts that won't die. Timothy McCollough freely admits that he stopped making payments on his Chase Manhattan credit card in 1999. He says he did not have the means…

29

• Proposal for FBI access to Internet activity. The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual's Internet activity without…