Improve your Chances for Successful Home Improvements Consumer News Improve your Chances for Successful Home Improvements Do you need to put an addition on your house? Want to install central air conditioning? Then you may be lured by home improvement ads. But don’t believe everything you…
Few Regulations Govern Alcohol Advertising Consumer News Few Regulations Govern Alcohol Advertising Though it may be hard to believe, the alcohol advertising industry is self-regulated. What does that mean? It means it’s its own boss and makes up its own rules when…
Make Sure Your Energy Savings Products Really Save you Money Consumer News Make Sure Your Energy Savings Products Really Save you Money As prices for electricity and gas soar, companies have been offering energy-saving devices that should save you bucks. In many cases, these companies are legitimate and their products earn the…
If it Costs Money to Win A Scholarship, Think Again Consumer News If it Costs Money to Win A Scholarship, Think Again While the cost of tuition is going through the roof, it’s not surprising that students are looking for any help they can get to finance the college dream. Scholarships, grants,…
Don’t Get Snagged in a Work-At-Home Scam Consumer News Don’t Get Snagged in a Work-At-Home Scam Dreaming of a job where you can work and be home with the kids? Yearning to stay in your pajamas while you log in some hours? Then ads for work-at-home…
Think Twice Before Becoming a Mystery Shopper Consumer News Think Twice Before Becoming a Mystery Shopper Mystery shopping might be the ideal gig for anyone who just loves to shop. What could be better than getting paid to buy stuff and then getting to keep the…
Multi-Level Marketing v. Pyramid Schemes Consumer News Multi-Level Marketing v. Pyramid Schemes Multi-level marketing (Multilevel Marketing – a way of distributing products or services in which the distributors earn income from their own retail sales and from retail sales made by their…
Modeling Opportunity May Just Take Your Dough Consumer News Modeling Opportunity May Just Take Your Dough There’s nothing like a stranger telling you that you should be a model to boost your self-esteem. And there’s nothing like falling for a trap and losing your hard-earned money…
Green or Shady: Eco Friendly Scams Consumer News Green or Shady: Eco Friendly Scams We’ve all seen and heard the terms “green,” “eco-friendly,” “natural,” “environmentally safe,” and “ozone friendly” in ads or on product labels. Marketers across the globe have used these terms to…
Clothing: What Material is Really in Your Closet? Consumer News Clothing: What Material is Really in Your Closet? We all know that clothes look better on supermodels than on us. No news there. But when are clothing ads considered deceptive? Misleading ads for clothing and textiles come in…
Newsflash: News Sites Endorsing Diet Products May be Fake Consumer News Newsflash: News Sites Endorsing Diet Products May be Fake Move over before-and-after shots. Advertisers are now creating what appear to be legitimate news sites to shill bogus diet products. Claiming that weight loss supplements (A magical fruit that is…
Be Wary of the Loosely Regulated World of Weight Loss Supplements Consumer News Be Wary of the Loosely Regulated World of Weight Loss Supplements You’ve seen the ads – online, in magazines, and on TV. Pop this “all natural” pill for easy weight loss with zero effort. Those struggling with the roller coaster ride…
The Lure of the Before and After Consumer News The Lure of the Before and After The ubiquitous before and after shot is a staple of the industry, where even minor weight loss is exaggerated in the way that the photographs are presented. The before shots…
Hair-raising Hair Product Ads Consumer News Hair-raising Hair Product Ads Want to know the secret behind the lustrous, voluminous, “salon beautiful” hair that is featured in some television and print ads for hair products today? Extensions! Yup, fake hair. Well,…
It All Starts with a Good Foundation Consumer News It All Starts with a Good Foundation Socrates said that “beauty is a short-lived tyranny,” but cosmetic companies will have you believing otherwise. The vast majority of ads for foundation feature celebrities and models, regardless of age,…
Mascara: Jeepers Creepers, Where’d Ya Get Those Peepers? Consumer News Mascara: Jeepers Creepers, Where’d Ya Get Those Peepers? If you go by mascara ads that you see in magazines and on TV, modern mascara technology has evolved to the point of growing small hairy caterpillars on top of…
Know the Difference Between For-Profit and Nonprofit Schools Consumer News Know the Difference Between For-Profit and Nonprofit Schools The vast majority of private schools are nonprofits, or organizations that put all money earned back into the school. By contrast, a school that is operated for profit sends money…
Don’t Friend the Ramnit Worm Consumer News Don’t Friend the Ramnit Worm Hackers are now seeking new targets, moving from e-mail to social networking sites. In January 2012, experts at online security firm, Seculert, uncovered a powerful hybrid worm/virus that was burrowing…
You Said Do Not Call but Some Telemarketers are Doing it Anyway Consumer News You Said Do Not Call but Some Telemarketers are Doing it Anyway Americall was found to actually TRAIN its employees to ignore consumers’ requests to be placed on the company’s do not call list. How did the FTC know? Apparently, they put…
Is Your Cellphone Spying on You? Consumer News Is Your Cellphone Spying on You? The mobile phone world was rocked in November 2011 when a systems administrator from Connecticut posted a 17-minute video on YouTube showcasing how a hidden program installed on millions of…