“How to Block Cellphone Spam,” by DAVID POGUE, Published: June 12, 2008
(Note: David Pogue will be in Portland mid-July to speak at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) (yes, “my people” :-))
“Consumer Reports” product reviews ONLINE, FREE — REALLY!
(The Secret: Your Public Library)
I have promised to post this information regularly until I stop meeting perfectly intelligent people (who regularly and frequently use their public library) who don’t know they can search online, free, from home, the product reviews from Consumer Reports:
April 1st was probably not the best day to Tell the Truth, but here goes, via beSpacific and the FTC: The Truth About Cell Phones and the Do Not Call Registry
Excerpt: “The Federal Trade Commission today reiterated that despite the claims made in e-mails circulating on the Internet, consumers should not be concerned that their cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketers in the near future, and that it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to cell phones…” (Full press release)
On a lighter note: Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes.
(If you don’t have a WCCLS public library card, ask how to do this search at your own public library. For example, you can also find this magazine, and others, online through the Multnomah County Library)
Most people don’t know that with only a public library card, they can read, online and free, the product reviews (and everything else) that appear in Consumer Reports magazine. But you can!
Here’s how you do this at Washington County (WCCLS) public libraries (your own public library will have its own search strategy):
A Hillsboro Argus, January 8th, 2008, opinion piece by Nick Christensen is (yet another) example of how difficult it is and how much time, energy, knowledge, and creativity people need to solve what should be simple consumer problems.
Excerpt from whole story:
“…. And I called lawyers, none of whom would return my call, probably because this was a small claims deal and I am 1,000 miles away. Little do they know how much more eager I am to pay a lawyer than a crook….”
Mr. Christiansen had the aptitude and the knowledge to know how to fight this fight, but that still didn’t save him from the hours and hours he had to spend on the problem and the worry. If anything, his knowledge of consumer matters made it worse. He knew perfectly well how badly this could turn out – all of us in the business know what we’re up against.
Consumer Reports and OnGuard both had useful laptop and computer security articles recently:
From OnGuard: “Treat it like cash.”
From Consumer Reports, a story on protecting yourself online. (If you don’t subscribe to the print or online Consumer Reports, log on through your local public library or email, phone, or visit them. Many public libraries provide their library cardholders access to the print and online Consumer Reports.)
It’s time for your quarterly credit check. If you have parents or children, make sure you include them in your audit.
You can start with any of these, but do at least one of them. You can’t eliminate the risk, but you can minimize it:
1) Get one of your credit reports (you are entitled to one a year from each of the credit reporting companies, so order one from each company every three months). I use the FTC site as a starting point for accurate information.
In my law library we field consumer law questions, as do most librarians in public libraries, law or otherwise. Open up the phone lines to a call-in show on consumer law and lines will light up – for hours if you let them. Everyone has a consumer law question on a full range of topics from odometer fraud, to credit card company tricks, to retail store policies, to bad service, etc. Take a look at this hot list of consumer complaints at the Oregon AG Office of Consumer Affairs to see just the tip of the iceberg. I could write a weekly column on consumer law Q&A and so could most reference librarians. Heck, we could write a daily column as could anyone in the consumer protection business.
There are lots of ways to deal with consumer issues, and they don’t all involve lawyers, and there is a lot of useful advice out there from Consumer Reports to Nolo Press to Shlep to the National Consumer Law Center to HALT, etc. (the list is endless). Consumer advocates and lawyers do not lack a sense of humor but sometimes it can get a little dark and earnest in the Quest for Consumer Justice. Enter Ron Burley. The current AARP Magazine (Mar/Apr 2007) has an article by Ron Burley (author of “Unscrewed: the consumer’s guide to getting what you paid for” – likely at your local public libraries and bookstores) and it will make you laugh and get the wheels turning. Ron’s system may not work for you, but you may still get some good ideas on the best way to solve your own consumer problems. (And, he lives in Oregon!)
Oregon Legal Research Blog