November 24, 2009

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org 

Washington, D.C.- As Americans return to the workplace next Monday after the long holiday weekend, many will spend a portion of their day surfing the Internet for deals from online retailers. Monday, November 30 is known as “Cyber Monday,” what the retail industry claims to be one of, if not the, busiest Internet shopping days of the year, and with more and more consumers opting to avoid the mall, e-shopping next week is expected to be higher than ever. According to the National Retail Federation, 53.5 percent of workers with Internet access, or 68.8 million people, will shop for holiday gifts from work this holiday season; three-fourths (73.8 percent) of young adults 18-24 with Internet access will shop at work, and men are more likely to shop from work than women (56.3 percent vs. 50.8 percent).

Whether consumers do their shopping online at the workplace or at home, advocates are reminding them to practice safe e-shopping habits in the coming weeks and year-round. “The Internet can make your shopping faster and easier, but there can also be pitfalls if you’re not careful,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League, which today released its top ten tips for avoiding cyber grinches and scams this holiday season. “There are ways to ensure you have a safe online shopping experience, so that gift-giving is a joyous occasion, not an opportunity for cyber thieves.”

1. Don’t shop online on an unencrypted or open wireless network. An airport or coffee shop’s wireless network is not an appropriate place to conduct financial transactions. Entering personal financial information over an unsecured connection may leave your computer open the to hackers and thieves to capture your financial information. Home Wi-Fi networks can also be compromised, so consumers should find out how to secure their connections.

1. Secure your computer before shopping online. Before connecting to the Internet or shopping online, take the following three core protections: 1) Install anti-virus and anti-spyware programs and keep them up to date; 2) Install a personal firewall; 3) Regularly update operating system and anti-virus programs to current protections.

1. Know who you’re dealing with. Before shopping online with an unknown e-store, check out the seller and be sure to get the name and physical address of the vendor in case something goes wrong. If you’re buying gifts on an online auction site, check the track record of the seller before you bid.

1. Pay the safest way – by credit card, especially when you’re purchasing something that will be delivered later. Under federal law you can dispute the charges if you don’t get what you were promised. You may also dispute unauthorized charges on your credit card. Many card issues have “zero liability” policies under which you pay nothing if someone steals your credit card number and uses it. Increasingly, debit cards are also offering good protections, so check with your bank to learn more about protections offered.

1. Only shop on safe sites. When providing payment information, the Web site URL address should change from “http” to “https,” (or, less frequently, “shttp”) indicating that the purchase is encrypted or secured. Look for an icon on the browser (generally in the bottom right of the window), such as an image of a padlock closing, to indicate that the page is secure.

1. Don’t fall for a phishing email or pop-up. Legitimate companies don’t send unsolicited email messages asking for your password, login name, or your financial information. But scammers do, and it’s called “phishing.” Crooks often send emails that look like they’re from legitimate companies – but direct you to click on a link, where they ask for your personal information. Delete these emails.

1. Be careful when shopping for a gift in an online auction. Consumers sometimes turn to auctions for harder-to-find collectibles or expensive electronics. Understand how the auction works, and check out the seller’s reputation before you bid. Use safe ways to pay, like a credit card. If you use a 3rd party payment system, read the terms carefully to understand what protection, if any, it offers if you don’t receive what you were promised. Always ask about terms of delivery and return options. Be especially wary of auctions that ask for payment via wire transfer.

1. Turn your computer off when you’re finished shopping. Many people leave their computers running 24/7, the dream scenario for scammers who want to install malicious software—“malware”—on your machine and then control it remotely to enable them to commit cyber crime. To be extra safe, switch off your computer when you are not using it.

1. Don’t be tempted by offers of free money. Con artists take advantage of cash-strapped consumers during the holidays to offer personal loans or credit cards for a fee upfront. These scammers simply take the money and run. Beware of emails offering loans or credit, especially if you have credit problems.

1. Visit www.fraud.org to learn more about protecting yourself from online scams year-round and to report suspicious sites, sellers, or scams. You don’t have to be a victim to report a scam, and your information will help law enforcement go after cyber grinches.

Above all, look into the business or individual with whom you are doing business before making the transaction. For more information on avoiding scams throughout the year, visit www.fraud.org.

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November 19, 2009

New Cranberry Skins Product Falsely Posing as Sweetened Dried Cranberries

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC–Today the National Consumers League (NCL) called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate misleading labeling involving a new food product, Ocean Spray’s “Choice.” According to NCL, the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, the product is sold to food manufacturers as a “sweetened dried cranberry” but contains more sugar than actual fruit and is made from cranberry skins – not whole cranberries.

“Sweetened dried cranberries (SDCs) have become the common or usual name for a popular ingredient in a variety of foods, capitalizing on the healthy image of cranberries and cranberry juice,” wrote Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director, in a letter to the FDA. The consumer group is concerned that, because this product is being sold as a “sweetened dried cranberry” for manufacturers’ use in breakfast cereals, cereal bars, baked goods, and trail mixes, it has the potential to result in the mislabeling of these food products.

NCL’s request that FDA investigate Ocean Spray’s Choice product is the latest in the organization’s longtime work in food safety, nutrition, and truth-in-labeling advocacy. After NCL called on the FDA to investigate claims made by Cheerios®-maker General Mills last fall, this spring the federal agency issued a cease-and-desist letter to the cereal manufacturer because the health claims exceed those permitted for food products. In August, NCL sued General Mills in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for continuing to claim that eating Cheerios® would reduce total and “bad” cholesterol.

The mislabeling of sugar-heavy products such as dried fruit, according to NCL, is of particular interest to consumers who may seek the nutrition benefits of sweetened dried cranberries without realizing they’re eating—and paying for—something that is actually quite different.

SDCs are the fastest-growing segment of the cranberry market and traditionally consist of dried cranberries that have been infused with sugar and coated with a small amount of sunflower oil. Ocean Spray Cranberries Ingredient Technology Group recently introduced the “Choice” product to food manufacturers as a less expensive alternative to SDCs on the market. Foods currently on the market that NCL believes contain Ocean Spray Choice SDC are Ann’s House Good Health Energy (a blend of soy nuts, cranberries, almonds and pumpkin kernels); Nature Valley Fruit Bars; and Pepperidge Farm Chewy Granola Cookies.

Laboratory analyses by Krueger Food Laboratories, commissioned by NCL, on November 4, 2009, found that “Choice” is really little more than cranberry skin infused with sugar syrup, consisting primarily of inverted beet sugar and citric acid. These characteristics are inconsistent with products using whole cranberries. The cranberry content is so small that Ocean Spray must add color in the form of elderberry juice concentrate and acidity in the form of citric acid to simulate the color and acidity of cranberries. These findings are consistent with Ocean Spray’s own claims that it uses 50 percent fewer cranberries to make “Choice” than the regular SDC product. Ocean Spray’s marketing materials tout “Choice” as a low-cost SDC with the same taste, texture, appearance, and health benefits as other SDCs.

“Because of its minimal cranberry content and use of other ingredients to simulate the flavor and color of cranberries, Ocean Spray’s Choice product should not be named ‘sweetened dried cranberries,” said Greenberg. “We question whether the word ‘cranberries’ should be allowed at all in the name of this product.”

In addition, NCL said that the product label’s ingredients declaration, which lists cranberries as the predominant ingredient, is misleading and inaccurate.” Greenberg stated that “according to our lab analyses, this is false and should be corrected to list sugar as the predominant ingredient.” All food labels are required to list ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight.

To read NCL’s letter to the FDA or to learn more about NCL’s work in food safety and nutrition, visit www.nclnet.org/food.

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November 10, 2009

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, D.C.—The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, applauds the introduction of the financial reform bill unveiled today by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT), seeking to consolidate federal responsibility for banking oversight, now assigned to four agencies, into a single regulator.

“The disastrous consequences of ineffective regulation of consumer financial products is self-evident in the millions of home foreclosures nationwide, the growing credit card debt load of too many American families, and an out-of-control payday lending industry,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “We applaud Senator Dodd for his leadership in introducing common sense legislation that will help protect millions of American consumers from unsafe financial products and services.”

This summer, NCL signed onto testimony, with nearly two dozen other consumer and civil rights organizations, delivered to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs calling for greater oversight of the consumer financial product market. NCL and other consumer advocates have called for greater oversight of the financial products and services industry for a number of reasons:

• The inability of the current system of financial product regulation has led to staggering losses. Between October and December 2008, families lost $5 trillion in household wealth. An effective regulatory regime could have prevented much of this pain.

• There is an overriding need for a financial regulator that makes its consumer protection mission a priority. The current financial regulatory system places “safety and soundness” supervision – and the attendant bank profitability – ahead of the need to ensure that unsafe financial products are not marketed to consumers.

• Consumers would benefit from a common-sense floor, not a ceiling, for financial product regulation that promotes innovation while ensuring transparency, simplicity, and fairness.

The National Consumers League has been fighting for the rights of consumers and workers since its founding in 1899. The League was instrumental in seeking a safety net for Americans during the Great Depression and in the New Deal years, writing legislation to gain passage of minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, social security, and health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The League continues to champion the fair treatment and protections for all consumers and workers in today’s marketplace.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

October 22, 2009

Fake check scams, other frauds masquerading as legitimate offers preying on consumers in 2009

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

WASHINGTON, DC — In observance of National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October, the National Consumers League (NCL) is cautioning consumers about the most-commonly reported scams preying on consumers, often disguised as legitimate offers, meant to dupe consumer victims and steal their money. NCL is the nation’s oldest consumer organization, and it collects reports of suspected and confirmed Internet and telemarketing fraud, identifies new scams and trends, and works with law enforcement to catch crooks at NCL’s Fraud Center.

NCL’s Fraud Center Top Ten Overall Scams

(Jan. 1-Sept. 30, 2009)

1. Fake Check Scams

1. Internet: General Merchandise

1. Phony Prizes/Sweepstakes/Free Gifts

1. Phishing/Spoofing

1. Nigerian Money Offers

1. Business Opportunities/Franchises

1. Advance Fee Loans/Credit Arrangers

1. Internet Auctions

1. Friendship/Sweetheart Swindles

1. Lotteries/Lottery Ticket Buying Clubs

NCL tracks the frauds most commonly plaguing consumers, and in the first nine months of 2009, Fake Check Scams continue to top the list. This month, NCL’s Fraud Center is focusing its efforts on how consumers can protect themselves from the evolving tactics that are used for fake check scams, phishing and spoofing scams, pyramid schemes and other business opportunity scams, and other swindles.

“Whether it’s Halloween or any other time of year, consumers expect to be able to use their computers with confidence that they’re not going to be scammed,” said John Breyault, Director of NCL’s Fraud Center and Vice President for Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “But in order to do so, they must be informed about and protected against the sneak attacks fraudsters use to capture sensitive personal information. During National Cyber Security Awareness Month and year-round, consumers should endeavor to keep better control of their computers and their privacy.”

NCL has issued the Top 10 Scams for the first nine months of the year, as well as new tips for consumers this month to protect them from the e-ghosts and goblins that may be out to get them:

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  Avoid falling for a Fake Check Scam, in which con artists trick consumers into accepting phony checks or money orders and wiring some of the money in return. That there is no legitimate reason why anyone would give you a check or money order and ask you to wire money anywhere in return. No matter the details of the scheme—whether they’re trying to purchase something from you, asking for your help moving money around, or saying you’ve won a foreign lottery—it’s a scam.

• 
  Beware of Phishing Scams. Don’t click on links within emails that ask for your senstive personal information (Social Security Number, physical address, bank or credit card number, or date of birth).  Never enter your sensitive personal information in a pop-up screen.

• 
  Protect your computer with spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a firewall, and keep them up-to-date.

• 
  Use only secured browsers when entering personal information online. Look for a lock symbol to appear at the bottom of the Web page, and for the URL in the browser window to change from “http” to “https” to ensure that the page you’re on is secure.

• 
  Don’t shop online or do online banking while using an unencrypted or open wireless network, like those provided for free at coffee shops or some airport hotspots. Secure your own wireless network at home by encrypting it with a password. This will keep out your neighbors, but more importantly, it will keep out hackers and thieves who look for open/unencrypted wireless network to capture others’ financial information.

• 
  Pay the safest way. When making purchases online, use a credit card instead of a debit card, wire transfer, check, or cash, as credit cards typically have $0 liability policies, which means the cardholder isn’t held liable for fraudulent purchases.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

September 29, 2009

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, D.C.— Media advocates who work daily to empower individuals and promote diversity and democracy in media will gather at The Riverside Church in New York City on Sept. 30 to examine ethics in telecommunications. The 27th annual Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards, featuring the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in the U.S.A., brings together media advocates from across the country and honors individuals whose work embodies the principles and values of advocating for the public interest through social communications.

MEDIA ADVISORY

What: The 27th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and

Awards Reception

When: September 30, 2009, 3:30 PM

Where: The Riverside Church New York City, 490 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10027

Why: To honor excellence in media ethics and consumer reporting.

This year’s honorees include:

Patti Miller, Vice President of Public Policy, Sesame Workshop, recipient of the Parker Award.  Sesame Workshop is devoted to developing innovative and educational content for television, radio, print, and interactive media that makes a meaningful difference in children’s development.  The award is given in recognition of an individual whose work embodies the principles and values of the public interest in telecommunications.

Sam Simon, Chairman, Amplify Public Affairs; Fellow, Intersections; and Founder and Former President, TRAC, recipient of the Donald H. McGannon Award.  Simon is being honored for his lifetime of media advocacy work on behalf of minority consumers. The McGannon Award is given in recognition of special contributions in advancing the roles of women and persons of color in the media.

Ben Popken and Meghann Marco, Co-Executive Editors of the popular blog “The Consumerist.” This award is given in recognition of efforts to educate and enable consumers to use technology as a toll of empowerment.

The event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is requested.  Online registration is available here or for more information, contact Jeff Woodar at woodardj@ucc.org.

The Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture was created in 1982 to recognize OC, Inc. founder the Rev. Dr. Everett C. Parker and his pioneering work as an advocate for the public’s rights in broadcasting. It is the only lecture in the country to examine telecommunications and the digital age from an ethical perspective. Past speakers include network presidents, Congressional leaders, FCC chairs and commissioners, as well as academics, cable and telephone executives and journalists. It is funded by the communications industry, particularly broadcasters, along with the communication offices of major faith groups. The Parker Lecture is sponsored by the United Church of Christ’s Office of Communication (OC, Inc.) and the Telecommunications Research and Action Center (TRAC), a program of the National Consumers League.

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About the National Consumers League and TRAC

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

The Telecommunications Research & Action Center is a non-profit education and advocacy organization for residential and small business communications consumers. TRAC produces consumer guides, comparison charts, brochures, and online content dedicated to helping consumers navigate the often complex world of communications devices and services. TRAC is based in Washington, DC