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February 08, 2012

Amazon to open real-world store this year: report

Amazon doesn’t need any PR bumps, but let’s give it one anyway, shall we?

A_com_logo_RGBMy favourite Amazon story goes like this: one weeknight in 2010, I caught a late-night showing of The Social Network. Certainly, it was the year’s best movie, and so inspired was I that I came home and said, Hey, I oughtta read the book that was made from.

So sometime after midnight, well into the a.m., I placed an order for Ben Mezrich’s “The Accidental Billionaires.” Before the end of the next work day, it was at my door.

I’m not a paid Amazon advocate, just a fan of its convenience. So why, then, would a service as punctual as the web retailer actually open its own bricks-and-mortar store?

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January 31, 2012

Watch for the Valentine's Day scam that'll empty your wallet

We all know Valentine’s Day is a nonsense holiday, a venture in commercialism more egregious than even what Christmas has become by 2012.

910632_-suffering-Of course, it’s also a terrible punch in the gut for singles and widows each year, which is why this story is just that much nastier.

As if Valentine’s Day wasn’t rough enough, now the lonely have to watch out for scams designed to tug on both their heartstrings and purse strings.

And if you’re not careful, the prospect of romance might just leave you swindled this year.

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January 12, 2012

Auto repair shops regularly overcharge: report

As a buyer of gently used cars, I've been dealing with the same small shop for more 16 years. The mechanics are friendly and honest, and I recommend them to anyone whenever I can.

AdIt seems, however, that they're in the minority.

Every so often, the Automobile Protection Association tries to uncover unscrupulous auto repair shops that get people to buy more parts and/or services than they really need. 

In its 2011 test, the APA visited 31 repair shops in Toronto and Calgary for the correction of a simple problem (a deliberately-loosened positive battery terminal) using three specially prepared vehicles and hidden cameras.

Just 30% received a passing grade.

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September 15, 2011

Free cruise: Scam or the deal of the decade?

When does ‘free’ actually mean something completely different?

Boat That’s the question consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, whose “Travel Troubleshooter” column appears in several U.S. newspapers, has been asking lately.  

Elliott has expanded beyond mediating grievances of airline passengers and hotel guests to helping settle a host of customer-service disputes through his blog On Your Side.

His latest crusade: The kinds of teaser mailings and phone calls that promise a free cruise for answering a series of questions or attending a 45-minute presentation.

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August 24, 2011

Is it ok to use your old student ID to save a buck?


Last week, the Globe and Mail shared a list of tips on how to get student discounts long after you’ve graduated.

Stu As long as their face continues to resemble the photo on their student ID, many recent grads or drop outs seem anxious to take advantage of any possibility of a student discount.

Who really checks? And what's the harm, after all? 

First off, there are clear ethical issues with asking for a price break when you’re no longer in school. It’s actually dishonest or at least a bit sneaky, depending on your point of view. 

But is it any worse than asking for a senior’s discount when you look older but don’t actually fall into the correct age range?

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March 21, 2011

Can complaint sites really help you resolve your problems?

Many companies treat customers with disdain and contempt. Let's face it, do you know anybody who hasn’t dialled a customer hotline begging for help only to eventually hang up feeling, well, helpless.

Com Determined to at least break through to a live person next time? A good place to start might be Gethuman, which offers tips on bypassing the voicemail systems of thousands of companies.

But even then you may hit a dead end – which is why there are so many complaint sites that focus on one type of product or even one seller, such as (name of favourite wireless provider) sucks.

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January 11, 2011

New app targets drivers who skirt rules on disabled parking

A jump in the number of able-bodied drivers parking in disabled-only spots has some people wondering if it's time to make the punishment more than a simple fine.

Disabld Perfectly healthy people often use permits belonging to disabled family members, hang on to them after the holder has died or no longer needs it or simply park in the disabled spots with no permit at all.

In addition to shelling out $250, perhaps rule-breakers should be forced to sit down and watch videos that explain the impact they have on someone who doesn't have a choice of what kind of parking stall to use, the Canadian Paraplegic Association’s Barry Lindemann told the Calgary Herald.

"You wish that guys would get the message that it's not a perk. If someone could walk, he'd walk football fields to get where he's going."

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December 22, 2010

The downside of smartphone holiday shopping

If you find the holiday season hectic, have a thought for all those cyber-criminals out there. All this retail activity is keeping them up nights looking for ways to steal your money before Holt Renfrew gets it all.

Today’s fraudsters are no longer simply targeting desktop or laptop devices, however. Like everybody else they’ve gone wireless.

Realizing this, the FBI is urging consumers to use extra caution when making both online and smartphone purchases.

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December 08, 2010

Are charity scams on the rise?

It’s a sad fact that we live in a world where charity scams seem to be on the increase.

Charity Just last week, Tina Michele Sammons, a healthy 37-year-old woman from Victoria, was brought up on fraud charges after she allegedly told everyone she could find that she had severe brain cancer and needed money to fight it.

How much did she snag from well-meaning donors? About $300,000, at last count.

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October 25, 2010

Survey puts at-work-fraud loss at $2.9 trillion globally

Occupational fraud costs organizations about 5 per cent of their revenue annually, according to the latest data from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

The ACFE brief, entitled “Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse,” found the median loss caused by occupational fraud was roughly $160,000, with nearly one-quarter of the frauds involving losses of at least $1 million.

In many cases, the criminal activities lasted an average of 18 months before even being detected.

The study also found that companies with fewer than 100 employees suffered the greatest percentage of employee theft of all the companies studied, largely because small businesses tend to have far fewer anti-theft controls than larger organizations.

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July 02, 2010

Duped, woman now on the hook for mortgage fraud

A Toronto woman is on the hook for $95,000 after failing to realize she was being tricked into a mortgage fraud.

Angela Isaacs accepted $6,000 to co-sign a stranger's mortgage and signed the documents without actually reading them, according to the Toronto Star. The house was then flipped and she was stuck with the bill.

What’s worse, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that she owes 6.3 per cent annual interest on the $95,000 loss going back two years, as well as $13,500 in legal fees incurred by the lender, the Royal Bank of Canada.

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...