MilConsumer Blog Feed

Looking for a practical way to help friends, family, and your community? We’ve got one: warn them about tax identity theft and IRS imposters. This week is Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week — and a good time to think about what you can do. Here are three ideas to get you started:

It’s about that time again. Are you ready? Every year, National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), encourages people and businesses to learn more about avoiding scams and understanding consumer rights. This year, NCPW takes place March 1-7, 2015. NCPW highlights free resources from government agencies and consumer organizations to help people make smarter buying decisions and spot rip-offs.

Imagine if you could permanently improve your child’s attention, memory, school performance, and behavior. Well, that’s just what Focus Education claimed its Jungle Rangers computer game could do - with as little as 12 hours of play.

Tax season is getting close — and for some people, so is an experience with tax identity theft or IRS imposters. Tax identity theft happens when someone uses your Social Security number to get a tax refund or a job. You usually find out something’s wrong after you file your tax return.

When ads for products don’t tell the truth, you can bet the FTC will take notice. Today, the FTC brought a case against NourishLife, a company that allegedly made unsupported and false claims about its Speak line of children’s supplements. According to the complaint, the company advertised that Speak products were clinically proven to support “normal and healthy speech development” for kids — including kids with verbal apraxia or those with autism spectrum disorder. The truth, the FTC says, is that the company didn’t have the proper scientific evidence to back up its claims.

The holidays are over. Hope you had a grand time! I know I did, but I also know a few people who are experiencing a bit of post-holiday frustration with products and services they bought. But never fear, the FTC is here with some tried and true tips to help resolve your problems. The fact is, most businesses want to keep you happy so you'll keep coming back.

It’s that time of year when everyone’s compiling their Best of 2014 list. We didn’t want to miss the fun so here’s our own list of the 10 Most Read Consumer Blog Posts of 2014.

Thinking about giving a fancy new gadget as a holiday gift? Or maybe there’s something on your wish list that Santa forgot to bring? If so, you might be tempted by an ad for high-tech at a low price. But if a merchant other than Amazon.com asks you to pay using an Amazon gift card, it’s probably a scam. In fact, Amazon’s gift card terms don’t allow you to use Amazon gift cards to make payments anywhere besides amazon.com and a few specific sites.

Some current and former T-Mobile customers are about to get their money back. As part of a $90 million dollar proposed settlement, T-Mobile is refunding customers who were unfairly billed third-party charges by the company.

It’s holiday season; time to visit family and friends, buy gifts and celebrate. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of sales and shopping, but if money is tight right now, you may wonder if you can afford all that holiday cheer. Before you start ringing up holiday expenses, make a budget and get a fix on your income, expenses and what you have to spend. Keep your budget — and long-term finances — in mind as you decide how to cover holiday expenses.