Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Buy.com: Captain America DJ Style Headphones $19.99, free ship
• NewEgg: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 $23.99, free ship
• Dell Financial Services: Dell Financial Services coupon: 35% off refurbished Precision systems

Entertainment

• DeepDiscount: 4-Film DVD Bundles (Clint Eastwood, Final Destination, Ocean's Eleven and More) $4.99 with Free Shipping

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

A number of Better Business Bureaus across the country are responding today to consumer complaints about Mo Money Taxes, a tax preparation company also known as MoneyCo USA. According to reports, Mo Money Taxes is not paying customers their refunds.

In addition to refunds that were promised by the end of January but have yet to materialize, other complaints to the BBB include reports that people are going to some Mo Money offices only to find them closed, while others have told the BBB that Mo Money doesn’t answer its phones or return calls.

According to the BBB, Mo Money blames the delay on IRS problems or computer glitches, but some people contacted the IRS directly and learned that the refunds have been sent. At this time, there is no official response from the IRS, and Mo Money Taxes is still listed on the IRS website as an acceptance agent.

Better Business Bureaus in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, have given the Mo Money Taxes headquarters office the BBB’s lowest rating, an F, and issued an alert about the company based on its failure to respond to complaints. BBB outposts around the country have given local offices and franchises varying grades based on consumer complaints in their area.

The Arkansas Attorney General sued the company in 2010, after it failed to disclose its fees, and police in Virginia have confiscated computers and shuttered local Mo Money Taxes offices.

Mo' Money Taxes in hot water in Virginia [Memphis Business Journal]

Still struggling to find that perfect Valentine's Day present for your sweetheart? On Saturday Feb. 11, T-Mobile has a tempting offer for all you last-minute tech gift shoppers: The carrier's entire stable of 4G smart phones—and some tablet computers—will be offered with rebates that essentially eliminate the cost of the device. But is it a really good deal for shoppers?

For one day only, the carrier is offering up to $500 for new customers and current subscribers eligible for phone upgrades who choose a new T-Mobile 4G smart phone. And among the options are some of the top smart phones tested by Consumer Reports, including: the Samsung Galaxy S II, the HTC Amaze 4G, and the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G. (See Consumer Reports' latest Ratings of smart phones for the full list of recommend models for T-mobile service.)

Also available: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the T-Mobile SpringBoard, two of the recommended tablet computers in our latest Ratings online.

Of course, shoppers need to be aware of the usual caveats. The offer requires a new two-year T-Mobile contract, which start at $70 per month for 200MB of data. And customers will still have to first pay for the new mobile device and later recoup its cost via a mail-in rebate from T-Mobile.

But perhaps the most important consideration? Contract service from T-Mobile—or any other major U.S. phone service provider—isn't highly regarded among consumers. In our latest survey on wireless cell phone survey, our experts noted.

When it comes to standard cell-phone service (meaning billed monthly, often under a contract), the most satisfying carriers in our Ratings were smaller [providers].

And where did T-Mobile rank with consumers in our latest Ratings of cell phone service? Nearly last-place.

If you have a Consumer Reports subscription, you can check out the entire Jan. 2011 report, Best phones & service.

And check out our free online buying guide to cell phones to help you find the right smart phone for you or your significant other.

Previously:

• Report: T-Mobile to limit national data roaming for subscribers
• T-Mobile offers new pay-by-day phone plans as low as $1 per day
• T-Mobile to offer cheap, no-contract smartphone plan at Walmart

T-Mobile Is Giving Away Its Stock of 4G Smartphones This Saturday [Gizmodo]
T-Mobile Pushes Out Statement, Valentine’s Day Sale Website Now Live [TmoNews]
Valentine's Day Sale [T-Mobile website]

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Lenovo: Lenovo P950 Headset w/ Noise Canceling Mic for $11 + free shipping
• Newegg: Intuit TurboTax Deluxe Federal + eFile 2011 Software + Malwarebytes $35.95 Free Ship

Entertainment

• Tanga.com: Speed Electric RTR Remote Control Cars for $8.99
• Microsoft: Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor w/ Kinect Adventures Game (Refurbished) $79.99, free ship
• NewEgg: Battlefield 3 Standard Edition [Xbox 360, PS3, PC] $39.99, free ship

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

We asked more than 26,000 readers to rate their shopping experiences, as well as tell us their top three reasons for why they shop at their walk-in store of choice. People tended to choose low prices over high quality, but responses varied by retailer.

The Consumer Reports National Research Center surveyed subscribers who told us about 55,108 shopping experiences buying a range of products at Costco, JCPenney, Kmart, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Meijer, Sam’s Club, Sears, Target, and Walmart.

When it came to that list of 10 major chain stores, Costco was a standout, and Kmart and Walmart were at the bottom of the list as far as overall satisfaction was concerned.

So why do people shop at their store of choice? Low prices was the reason why people shop at either top-rated Costco or lower-rated Walmart, and Kohl's and Sam's Club were also called out for their low prices. Other stores were chosen because of their location, including JCPenney, Kmart, Meijer and Target. Just 28 percent cited high-quality products as a major reason to shop at their store of choice, including Macy's and Sears.

Readers also said that buying was easier online than in stores. “Go into a big department store around 8 o’clock at night, and it can be difficult to find someone to check you out,” says Jack Abelson, a retail consultant. “But you can buy online at that time, and it’s quick and convenient.”

Here are some other shopping tips, including ways to save:

• Check daily deals: Hundreds of daily-deal sites, including Groupon and Living Social, offer discounts on goods and local services. Kohl’s, Target, Meijer, and Sears also offer daily deals on their sites, and even Google has jumped in with Google Offers.
  
• Use bots: Sites like BizRate, DealTime, MySimon, PriceGrabber, and Shopping.com scour the Web or their own massive databases for the items you want, then provide a list of prices and places to buy.
  
• Work apps: Smart-phone apps can help you compare deals while you’re in a store. Red Laser scans barcodes and searches for the best deals online and at stores near you, while Amazon's Price Check scans barcodes in stores and shows the Amazon price for goods sold on its site.
  
• Get free shipping: You can find a slew of free-shipping offers at www.freeshipping.org, and if you order online, shop on sites that offer free shipping with no minimum purchase (such as L.L.Bean, Nordstrom, and Zappos.com).

To see the full article and find reader ratings for each retail store see Where to buy almost anything (available to subscribers).

Seafood Solutions, a California corporation, was sentenced in federal court to pay $1 million in fines and community service payments for its role in the false labeling of frozen fish fillets, the U.S. Department of Justice reported.

The corporation was fined $700,000 and ordered to make a community service donation of $300,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, as well as ordered to forfeit all remaining inventory of falsely labeled fish, among other stipulations of the ruling.

In our own investigative report about mislabeled seafood, we found that more than one-fifth of 190 pieces of seafood we bought at retail stores and restaurants in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut were mislabeled, incompletely labeled, or misidentified by employees.

The mislabeled fish at issue in the Seafood Solutions case was Pangasius hypophthalmus, a species in the catfish family that was misleadingly labeled as “Paradise Grouper” and “Falcon Baie Grouper.”

In 2004, Seafood Solutions began selling a fish it declared to customs as “ponga.” The fish being imported was actually Pangasius hypophthalmus. The fish was then sold under the brand names, and in boxes labeled in part as, “Paradise Grouper” and “Falcon Baie Grouper.”

The case was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Law Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

For more about how mislabeled seafood—whether deliberate or not—hurts consumers, you can see our full report Mystery fish - The label said red snapper, the lab said baloney, and check out our video below.

California Seafood Corporation Sentenced to Pay $1 Million for False Labeling of Seafood Products [DOJ]

Are you in love with a techie? Forget the flowers and candy. Here are five suggestions for sharing your love in a way they'll really appreciate.

1. Reading can be quite romantic, whether your loved one is swept away by Jane Austen or swoons for Harlequin titles (lots of classics are free to download). And don't think an e-book reader is less romantic than paper books: You could load it up with love poems before you gift it, for example. CR recommends several e-book readers, including the Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch Reader, currently our top-rated reader.

2. Many of us use our smart phones to take casual snapshots, but there are some features on point-and-shoot cameras you're not going to find on a phone—yet, anyway. The Canon PowerShot ELPH 510HS, a CR-recommended camera, has a 12x zoom, for example—great for those long shots of your loved one running toward you through a field of daisies. The 510HS also takes very-good-quality pictures both indoors and out, has smile and blink detection, and features an image stabilizer, which comes in handy for the trembling hands of the lovelorn. Best of all for this particular holiday: It comes in red (also in black or silver).

3. What could say "love" louder than you, on your phone, calling the smart phone you gave to your loved one? The ultra-thin Motorola Droid Razr is a CR recommended Android phone with an 8-megapixel camera and superb 4.3-inch display that runs on Verizon's LTE 4G network. The price has recently come down to $200 (from $300). And in addition to black or white, it's now available in purple, which somehow seems a more loving color.

Let's face it: You'll win the heart of your true love more easily with a tablet computer than just about any other gadget. You can use it to compose a love letter, draw valentines, research romantic recipes for two, order champagne online… the possibilities are just about endless. CR's top-rated tablet is the Apple iPad 2; or consider the Amazon Kindle Fire, a CR Best Buy at just $200.

5. Who needs to go out to the movies? Wouldn't you rather stay home to watch "Casablanca" or "The Notebook"? Your romantic-movie choices will increase drastically with a new Blu-ray player that includes built-in Wi-Fi and Internet streaming services. The Samsung BD-D5700 is a CR top-rated player with all those features: It can access online content, including streaming movies from Blockbuster, Netflix, and Vudu, as well as Hulu Plus, YouTube, and Pandora Internet radio. And it's DLNA-compliant, so it can pull in photos, movies, and music stored on a PC or other compatible device.

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Buy.com: 21.5" Samsung S22A200B LED Monitor $119.99, free ship
• NewEgg: JBL Cinema 300 Home Theater Speaker System $199.99, free ship
• Ebay deals: Logitech X-530 PC Surround Sound Speaker System (Refurbished) $49.99, free ship

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

February’s Consumer Reports Index, a measure of overall consumer financial health, showed that conditions have improved, but gains were uneven. Consumer sentiment is up; however, employment wavered and retail activity was lackluster in what is usually a light shopping month. The financial stress felt by those in households making less than $50,000, who make up about half of all adults, remains high.

The Consumer Reports Trouble Tracker Index addresses both the proportion of consumers that have faced difficulties, as well as the number of hurdles they have encountered. This Index improved by falling slightly to 49.1 after registering 50.4 in January, and is substantially better than a year ago (58.7). However, for those living in households with income less than $50,000 the Trouble Tracker Index stands at 69.4, more than two times as great as those in households earning $100,000 or more (28.1).

The Consumer Reports Employment Index slipped back into negative territory (49.5), with past 30-day job losses (5.7 percent) outpacing job gains (4.7 percent). Some of this is likely associated with the loss of positions created for the holiday season.

January’s drop in retail was led by weak sales in personal electronics, major home electronics and small appliances. The Past 30-Day Retail Index for February, reflecting purchases made in January, was 11.8, down from 15.0 in December. The Next 30-Day Retail Index, which reflects planned spending for February, was down to 7.1, compared to 7.9 in January.

“Despite improving jobs data released by the government, employment concerns weigh heavily on consumers,” said Ed Farrell, a director of the Consumer Reports National Research Center. “This uncertainty surrounding employment is likely suppressing retail activity, further exacerbating the problem.”

February’s Consumer Reports Sentiment Index, which measures how consumers are doing financially versus a year ago, rose to 49.6, up from 48.2 in January. The most optimistic consumers were ages 18 to 34, and households earning $50,000-$99,999. The most pessimistic consumers were those in households earning less than $50,000 and people ages 65 and older.

With the passing of the holidays, the level of stress that consumers felt was down this month, and is at its lowest level since it was first measured in April 2009. The Stress Index is now 55.3, down slightly from 56.0 the prior month.

The Consumer Reports Index, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, is a monthly telephone and cell phone poll of a nationally representative probability sample of American adults. A total of 1,034 interviews were completed (784 telephone and 250 cell phone) among adults aged 18 and older. Interviewing took place between January 26 and January 29. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Amazon is rumored to be planning a physical store to be located in Seattle, the online giant's home base, according to the website Good Ereader. And "Amazon sources close to the situation" have reported that we can expect this move to occur within the next few months.

According to reports, the brick-and-mortar outpost would be designed to sell Amazon's line of Kindle e-book readers (including the Kindle Fire, of course) and other related products in addition to various “high margin” items. It would be something akin to the Apple Store, according to the news site Mashable.

But in addition to e-readers and the like, the rumored Amazon outpost would also carry physical books through the company's publishing division, which other stores would not have. As Mashable points out, authors who publish with Amazon are shut out of other major retail bookstores like Barnes & Noble.

The plan to open a physical location is said to be a test that will allow Amazon to gauge the market for such a venture, and to see if a chain of such stores would be profitable.

Michael Kozlowski of Good Ereader writes: "They intend on going with the small boutique route with the main emphasis on books from their growing line of Amazon Exclusives and selling their e-readers and tablets."

Amazon in the Process of Launching a Retail Store [Good Ereader]
Amazon to Open Retail Store [RUMOR] [Mashable]

The Federal Trade Commission today warned marketers of six mobile applications that provide background-screening apps that they may be violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

In a letter to the apps marketers the FTC said "If you have reason to believe that your background reports are being used for employment or other FCRA purposes, you and your customers who are using your reports for such purposes must comply with the FCRA." The FTC has not yet determined whether the companies are violating the FCRA.

The FCRA is meant to protect the privacy of the information in background reports and ensure that the information is accurate. Such reports are used for credit, employment, housing, and other such purposes.

Under the FCRA, companies that assemble or evaluate information for third parties qualify as consumer reporting agencies, or CRAs. Mobile apps that supply such information may qualify as CRAs under the Act. CRAs must ensure the user of each background report has a 'permissible purpose' to use the report, and ensure the accuracy of the information in its reports, among other stipulations.

A copy of the letter the FTC sent to the six marketers of mobile apps that offer background checks can be found here (pdf).

FTC Warns Marketers That Mobile Apps May Violate Fair Credit Reporting Act [FTC]

The medical device company Smith & Nephew has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice over payments it made that were in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Department of Justice said today.

Smith & Nephew, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., manufactures and sells medical devices. Smith & Nephew acknowledged responsibility for its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees and agents who made the improper payments to publicly employed health care providers in Greece in order to secure lucrative business.

According to the case, certain Smith & Nephew executives, employees and affiliates, agreed to sell products at full list price to a Greek distributor, and then pay the amount of the distributor discount to an offshore shell company controlled by the distributor.

Between 1998 and 2008, $9.4 million in payment was authorized by Smith & Nephew to the distributor’s shell companies, some or all of which was passed on to physicians to "corruptly induce them to purchase medical devices manufactured by Smith & Nephew," according to the Department of Justice.

Smith & Nephew also reached a settlement today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under which the company will pay $5.4 million.

Medical Device Company Smith & Nephew Resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation [Department of Justice]

A bill introduced in the Senate would jeopardize nearly $900 million in estimated health insurance refunds or lower premiums for consumers, says Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports.

According to Consumers Union, the legislation undermines a new rule that requires insurers spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care, rather than administrative costs, including salaries and advertising. But the new bill eliminates insurance broker commissions from the calculation of administrative costs, and doesn’t ensure that insurance companies direct the savings back to brokers.

Lisa Swirsky, a senior policy analyst with Consumers Union, said the following in a press release:

In just a few short months insurers must pay back consumers for wasting their money on inefficient overhead and excessive profit. But this bill would just put that money back into the hands of insurance companies. This is a giveaway to big insurance and a significant loss for consumers struggling to afford health insurance.

The rule, included as part of the Affordable Care Act, is a component of the law’s aim to slow rising premiums. The National Association of Insurance found that altering the rule to remove broker compensation would result in a loss of more than 60 percent of forthcoming rebates for consumers, Consumers Union reports.

“The single biggest complaint we hear about health insurance is ever-increasing premiums,” Swirsky said. “This bill erodes the biggest tool we have for reigning in insurance companies and fighting rising insurance costs.”

Bill to Bolster Insurance Companies Harms Consumers, Protects Profits [Consumers Union]

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Best Buy: Panasonic TC- P60S30 60in Plasma HDTV (1080p) $899.99 Free Shipping
• Lenovo: Lenovo N3902A Wireless Mouse $12.25 Free Shipping
• HP: HP dv6tqe Intel Core i7-2670QM Quad-Core Sandy Bridge 15.6in Laptop (Blu-Ray) $699.99

Entertainment

• Amazon: Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2012 with Top Shot Elite Gun [Xbox 360, PS3, Wii] $49.99, free ship
• NewEgg: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning [Xbox 360, PS3] $44.99, free ship

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

The New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, has brought suit against several big banks accusing them of deceit and fraud in how they used a mortgage electronic registration system, or MERS. Schneiderman says the banks' actions put homeowners at a disadvantage during the foreclosure process.

Schneiderman contends that despite no authority for foreclosure, banks submitted court documents containing false and misleading information that appeared to give that authority.

The national banks accused in the lawsuit include Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Schneiderman is also suing the registry operator, MERSCORP.

MERS was used by the banks in order to quickly package and sell mortgages as securities without recording each transaction in county records offices.

Among other complaints, homeowners have reported trouble responding to foreclosure actions and mortgage inaccuracies because MERS makes it difficult to find out who owns the mortgages, the Associated Press reports. For example, tracking property transfers through traditional public records is difficult, and the system is plagued by inaccuracies, alleges Schneiderman.

NY's Schneiderman sues banks in foreclosure effort [Associated Press]
NY AG Schneiderman sues banks, accusing them of deceit in use of electronic mortgage registry [The Washington Post]

The Super Bowl is just two days away, but you still might be considering buying a new TV for the Big Game. Consumer Reports TV expert Jim Willcox has a list of "can't-miss" televisions to recommend, in every price range—from high-end flagship models costing up to $2,000 to budget recommendations. Take a look at our video for tips.

Some buying advice for you hurried shoppers:

• Make sure the retailer can guarantee delivery— and set-up, if you need it—before kickoff time.


• See if you can get a 30-day price match, since TV prices could start to fall right after the game as retailers start clearing out 2011 sets to make way for 2012 models.


• If it's your first HDTV purchase, make sure your cable or satellite receiver is an HD model, or make sure you can pick up a new one and get it activated in time for the game.


• Skip the extended warranty and pricey cables. Consider buying the TV with a credit card that doubles the manufacturer's warranty, or from a retailer (such as Costco) that does the same.


• Beware of interest-free promotions. It's fine to take advantage of no-interest deals that let you spread payments over time, but make sure you pay off the balance at least a month before the end of the deal. If you fail to pay the final balance before the term ends, you're usually responsible for all the interest on the full purchase price of the TV, not just the amount you still owe. And often the interest rates on store cards are much higher what you'd pay on a standard bank credit card.

Go to ConsumerReports.org for all our Super Bowl XLVI coverage.

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Best Buy: Sharp LC42SV49U 42" 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV $329.99 with Free In-Store Pickup

Entertainment

• GameStop.com: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 [Xbox 360, PS3] $39.99 + $3 ship
• Amazon: Rage [Xbox 360, PS3, PC] $19.99

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

FICO has introduced a new Spanish version of its website, including credit scores, reports, analysis and more, for the some 34 million native Spanish-speaking consumers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

According to the New York Times, FICO’s experience at its call centers convinced it that there was demand for broader availability of information in Spanish.

The fees associated with FICO's services are the same as they would be for the English version. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only site where you get a truly free credit report that's authorized and guaranteed by law, but it does not have a Spanish version. Unfortunately, many websites advertise a free credit report, but end up charging you.

Of the three major credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), Equifax does not have a Spanish version, TransUnion offers a print version of credit reports in Spanish, and Experian has online credit-report info sheets in Spanish, and you can request a Spanish-speaking representative if you call Experian, according to reporting by the Times.

The Federal Trade Commission, however, does offer a Spanish version of a website that explains the free credit report offer.

Under current law, you can request a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the nation's three credit-reporting bureaus, but the law does not cover a free credit score. If you want your credit score, you typically have to pay for it. Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, is calling on Congress and federal regulators to change that, and make a free credit score included in your free credit report.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit arm of Consumer Reports, has a new website with useful information about credit reports, plus a petition asking the government to make a free credit score part of your free credit report. For more helpful tips and information about credit reports check out What to know about your credit report vs. credit score.

FICO Says Hola to Spanish-Speaking Consumers [New York Times]

The most frequently reported scam of 2011 involved bogus prizes and sweepstakes, with fake check scams and fraudsters posing as loved ones, according to the National Consumers League's report of the top scams reported to its national Fraud Center.

Of significance is that more than ever, scammers are targeting certain age groups, the Consumers League found. For example, bogus prizes, sweepstakes, and free gifts made up 27 percent of complaints overall, but among people ages 56 to 65 and older, these types of complaints made up 41 percent and about 60 percent of the total, respectively.

Similarly, fake check scams made up about 27 percent of complaints overall, and among people ages 18 to 25, complaints about fake check scams made up about 46 percent of the total.

New to the list of top-ten scams is the fraudster who impersonates a family member or friend in need.

Top 10 scams of 2011:

1. Prizes, sweepstakes and fake free gifts
   
2. Fake check scams
   
3. Internet scams for general merchandise
   
4. Phishing and spoofing
   
5. Advance fee loans and "credit arrangers"
   
6. Scholarships and grants
   
7. Friendship and sweetheart swindles
   
8. Nigerian money offers (not prizes)
   
9. Family or friend imposters
   
10. Fraudulent Internet auctions

John Breyault, NCL vice-president of public policy, telecommunications, and fraud said that, unfortunately, many scam artists will stop at nothing. "The scary part about these scams is that they prey on our natural inclination to want to help a loved one who is in distress," he said in a press statement.

The majority of money lost to frauds and scams last year was sent by wire transfer, which is a popular payment method of scammers because of the difficulty to track, according to the NCL.

NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg described fraudulent telemarketers and Web-based scammers as criminals out to get your life savings. She offers the following advice to consumers:

The best way for consumers to fight back is to get educated and not be afraid to report such fraud to law enforcement. Scammers know all too well that their victims are often embarrassed and count on this to continue to perpetrate their crimes.

If you think you've been the victim of a scam or fraud, you can report it to NCL at www.fraud.org.

NCL's Fraud Center: Top Scams of 2011 (pdf) [NCL]
Scammers targeting their victims by age group, says National Consumers League’s Fraud Center [NCL]

If you own a smart phone or tablet, you've no doubt explored the enormous world of mobile apps, both free and paid. And if you're unhappy with a free app, nothing's easier than uninstalling it. But if you paid for an app that doesn't live up to its description, or has performance issues, or that you just don't like, you don't have a whole lot of recourse.

A precedent was set for this policy back in the days of boxed, shrink-wrapped software: In general, if you opened it, you owned it forever. But most programs offered free trials to potential buyers, so they could make sure it fit their needs. And they still do, even now that we can download software to our computers.

Increasingly mobile developers are offering “freemium” apps, which means they give away a core product at no charge and then generate revenue by selling premium products to some users. So the app could be a “lite” version, and you’d need to upgrade for full features and function; or it could runs ads, and you pay to get rid of them; or it makes money via in-app purchases—or some combination. But many apps are still paid only, meaning there’s no try-before-you-buy. If you’re dropping just a buck or two, that may be no big deal—but some apps can run you $30—or even more.

As when you’re considering any other kind of purchase, research apps as well as you can before you buy. The app markets include user reviews, which should always be taken with a grain of salt—but if there are enough of them, you can often get a sense of how the app works and what its flaws may be. Also check at sites that review apps, of which there are many—just search on the term “app reviews.” Again, break out that grain of salt!

If you do buy an app and regret the purchase, here are the various app stores’ refund policies, such as they are, and some ways you can pursue your app refund.

Android Market:
You can return an app to the Android Market, but bear in mind you have just 15 minutes to get a full refund for it—so try it out quickly. And the terms of the market states that you can return a specific app just once. So if you don’t like it the first time, definitely don’t buy it again.

Here’s what you do, as per the Android Market’s support page online:
1. Launch Android Market on your device.
2. Select Menu > My Apps.
3. Select the app you'd like to return. If the 15 minute refund window has not yet passed, the app is eligible for return and will have two buttons saying Open or Refund
4. Select the Refund option. The Refund button will now say Uninstall. Press Uninstall to remove the app from your device and initiate the refund.
5. After the 15 minute return period has expired, the Refund option will not be available. Selecting the Uninstall button at this point will simply remove the application from your device.
If you let that precious 15 minutes go by without asking for your refund, you then need to go to the app’s developer and make your case directly.

Apple App Store
App Store’s policy is no refunds unless the app proves unavailable to download after you pay for it, or technical problems ensue. Ask for a refund for a good reason, and you might receive it—but Apple takes these requests case by case, and there are no guarantees. Here’s how to go about requesting a refund:
1. Go to Manage Account (at the of the Store screen) and click on Purchase History.
2. Click on Report a problem.
3. Click the arrow next to the purchase with which you want to report a problem.
4. Click the Report a Problem link next to the item with which you wish to report an issue
5. Click the Problem drop-down menu, then select the most appropriate problem description.
6. Write in any additional comments, then submit.

BlackBerry App World
It’s not easy to make your way through the BlackBerry App World’s terms of sale page. The bottom line seems to be that all app sales are considered final, with a few exceptions: for example, the product isn’t available for download when you buy it, or the developer disables it. If all else fails, you could try your carrier.

Windows Phone Marketplace
As usual, this store's policy is that all sales are final and nonrefundable. But in Microsoft Answers, we saw a way to request refunds:

1. First, go to http://marketplace.windowsphone.com.
2. After signing in, select Purchase History. On the Purchase History page, click the Details button for the application you want refunded.
3. Click the Get Support button and you will see an option for Get Help with my bill. Request a refund for this purchase is the sub-topic.

The Windows Marketplace for Mobile Refund Policy limits refunds to (1) per calendar month. All refund requests must be initiated within 24 hours of the application purchase. After the refund is issued, the application will be removed from your device.

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Tanga.com: Technical Pro Professional Titanium Headphones for $44.99
• Logitech: Logitech Harmony ONE Universal Remote w/ Touchscreen (REFURB) $99.99 Free Shipping
• ThinkGeek: ThinkGeek Winter Sale: Up to 90% off select items + $5 off $30, $10 off $60

Entertainment

• NewEgg: Soul Calibur V [Xbox 360, PS3] $49.99, free ship
• Amazon: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty [PC, Mac] $39.99, free ship
• Amazon: Alexander Revisited / Troy / 300 (Triple Feature) [Blu-ray] $15

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

Several marketers of prepaid calling cards will pay $2.32 million as part of a settlement to resolve charges that they made false claims about the number of minutes on prepaid cards they advertised to immigrant communities, the Federal Trade Commission said today.

The settlement resolves FTC claims brought against defendants Millennium Telecard, Millenium Tele Card, Coleccion Latina, and Telecard Center USA, and their principal Fadi Salim.

The settlement does not constitute an admission by the defendant that the law was violated.

Last May, the FTC filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, charging that the defendants targeted immigrants using calling cards such as Africa Magic, Hola Amigo, and Viva Ecuador. The defendants' prepaid calling cards are sold online, at newsstands, grocery and convenience stores, and kiosks nationwide, in addition to the defendants New Jersey store where they are sold wholesale and retail.

Advertisements (both online and point-of-sale posters) made claims about the number of minutes calling cards provided to locations including Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Vietnam, Ghana, Nigeria, and El Salvador. But consumers didn't receive the minutes advertised.

In testing by the FTC, the cards were found to have, on average, only 45 percent of the advertised minutes. Of the 141 cards tested, more than 98 percent failed to deliver the number of minutes advertised on the point-of-sale posters. The FTC also alleged the cards carried hidden fees, such as "hang-up fees" and weekly fees disclosed in tiny print and vague terms difficult to understand in any language.

As part of the settlement, the defendants are also required to "clearly and prominently" disclose fees or charges, and are barred from misrepresenting the amount of time on prepaid cards.

This settlement is part of an ongoing FTC effort to address deceptive advertising and marketing in the prepaid calling card industry.

Prepaid Phone Card Marketers Agree to Pay $2.32 Million to Settle FTC Charges [FTC]

The Federal Communication Commission voted yesterday to overhaul the national Lifeline program, a means of providing low-cost home land-line telephone service to low-income families in the U.S. The pending changes are intended to cut $2 billion in federal costs over the next three years, as well as modernize the federal program—adding low-cost home broadband Internet access to the mix, for one thing.

The FCC's unanimous vote (3-0) for Lifeline program changes are intended to help check the rising amount of fraud and abuse.

Under the current setup, for example, families who qualify under federal definitions of "low-income" can receive a $10 monthly discount for phone service. (The Lifeline program funds comes from the "Universal Service Fund Fee" that companies tack on every customer's phone bill.) But in some cases, phone companies and wireless service providers have been able to bill the Lifeline program for multiple services to the same household.

Under the revised Lifeline service, the FCC will create a National Lifeline Accountability Database to ensure that service providers do not receive multiple program funds for the same household. The program will also link to other federal databases that govern low-income benefits—say, Medicaid—to cut down on the potential of fraud and red tape among Lifeline applicants. Independent audits of phone-service providers participating in the program will occur every two years, says the FCC.

Bloomberg reports that the FCC has alreay saved about $33 million after removing 270,000 duplicate Lifeline subscriptions in just 12 states. And such savings—as well as increases to the Universal Service Fund Fees that feed Lifeline—will help expand the program to include low-cost home Internet access.

At yesterday's meeting, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, "Broadband has gone from being a luxury to a necessity in the 21st century." The FCC will solicit applications from broadband-service providers to join a pilot program for home Net access this year.

FCC Reforms, Modernizes Lifeline Program for Low-Income Americans [FCC]
FCC Votes to Reform Lifeline Fund, Launch Broadband Pilot ProgramFCC Overhauls Telephone Subsidy for the Poor, Adding Broadband [PC World]

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Buy.com: Samsung BD-D5100 Blu-ray Player $64.99, free ship
• Ebay deal: 19" LG W1934S LCD Monitor (refurbished) $84.99, free ship
• Abe's of Maine: Nikon Coolpix S9100 12MP 18X Digital Camera (1080p Video, IS) $169.95
• MacMall: MacMall Leap Into February Sale: Up to $675 off + free overnight shipping
• eBay: Vaas USB Cassette Tape to MP3 Converter for $18 + free shipping

Entertainment

• Amazon: Ear Force Digital Wireless Headphones + Xbox Live Chat for $59.99 w/ Free Shipping

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Newegg: Toshiba WiFi Blu-Ray Player for $59.99 [w/ Coupon EMCYTZT1118] w/ Free Shipping
• BestBuy: Dynex 46-inch LCD 1080p HDTV for $379.99 w/ Free Shipping
• Newegg: Pioneer VSX-521 5.1ch 80W/ch 3D AV Receiver $134.99 Free Shipping
• all4cellular.com: Nokia BH-505 Bluetooth Wireless Headset for $36 + $2 s&h

Entertainment

• Amazon: Risen [PC Download] $5.99
• BestBuy.com: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection [Xbox 360, PS3] $29.99, free ship
• Amazon: Fraggle Rock: Complete Series Collection: 20 Disc Set $49.99 with Free Shipping

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.