Latest news with #Action9
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
How to protect biometrics data from falling into the wrong hands
When you think of identity theft, you probably think about personal information, such as Social Security Numbers, said Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke. You must now consider biometrics, as well, including using your fingerprint to unlock your phone, your face or voice for online banking, or your palm at the doctor's office. ACTION 9: Secret Service recovers multiple skimming devices in statewide EBT fraud crackdown Some companies use your biometric information to verify your identity, which is intended to make it harder for thieves to impersonate you. The idea is to prevent identity theft. However, thieves who get their hands on your biometrics may be able to access your devices, accounts, a secure building where you work, and the list goes on, Stoogenke said. The Identity Theft Resource Center released this report recently. It says 87% of the people surveyed were asked to provide a biometric identifier in the past year and 91% agreed. However, 63% still had serious concerns about it, and only 35% trust companies to protect the data well. Consumers have questions. 'How the information is being used. How it's being stored. What else you're doing with it?' ITRC's Eva Velasquez told Stoogenke. Biometrics or not, Stephanie Fountain wants as little of her information out there as possible. She says someone stole her identity. 'I freaked out, like I started bawling my eyes out,' she said. She says she went to file taxes and found out someone already did in her name. 'My credit's been ruined,' she said. 'It's just impacting me big time.' If you're worried about sharing your biometric information, read the company's privacy policy. If you don't like what the company is gathering or how they're using it, see if you can opt out or, as a last resort, do business with someone else. A red flag: If a company contacts you out of the blue, walk away. Don't share personal information, biometric or not. If you're not sure what to do, ask a nonprofit: Identity Theft Resource Center Biometrics Institute National Cyber Security Alliance If you fall victim to ID theft
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Flooding issues? This program could help pay repairs
Homeowner Ann Meidenbauer made a red, white, and blue quilt to donate to a veteran's family. She said that quilting takes her mind off things, including the storm drain between her and her neighbor's homes. ALSO READ: Charlotte residents could see water, stormwater bill hikes starting July 1 She said that when it rains hard, water from other lots and the street dumps into the drain and floods part of her backyard. 'Looks like a river. It looks like an absolute river,' she told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke. She thought it must be somebody's fault. Meidenbauer told Stoogenke that a state inspector said a few years ago that the backyard was 'not graded properly' and that the rock -- the rip rap -- was 'insufficiently laid out.' However, the inspector didn't blame any company. Multiple companies had a hand in the subdivision and Action 9 was told they passed their inspections. 'I love the house, and I don't want to move because of that, but it's really frustrating,' she said. 'I think about it a lot, but what are we going to do?' Stoogenke said the answer may be this, which is something you may want to know about, too: The Community Conservation Assistance Program. North Carolina runs the program, and you can get money to fix stormwater issues, Stoogenke said. The development can't be brand new, and it must be at least three years old. The state will pay as much as 75% of the tab. Homeowners and businesses can both apply here. Meidenbauer plans to apply. VIDEO: Dilworth couple says stormwater project damaged home; files lawsuit
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Man says Social Security declared him dead, had to convince lenders otherwise
According to the federal government, John Reid III is dead. 'Not dead yet,' Reid said with a laugh. The letters started coming in April. First, the Social Security Administration mailed him letters, cutting off his benefits. The retired postal supervisor said he didn't get his pension or Social Security checks, that the bank returned them because he was dead. 'May the 1st, when I normally get my check from the federal government, zeroes again. So now we're at a deficit of nearly $7,000,' he said. He said then his credit card and health insurance cut him off. Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke has been investigating mistakes with -- what's called -- Social Security's 'death master file' for years. SSA collects data from various sources before declaring you dead. Sounds like an easy fix if they're wrong, but it can be hard to correct, hard to convince your lenders you're alive. 'They are terminating people's financial lives, making their bank accounts get closed,' former Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley said. 'They can't open up a new bank account. We've all seen what a hassle it is if our credit card or debit card gets hacked. Well, imagine that happening and then you can't open up the new account.' He's concerned thousands of recent SSA job cuts are leading to more or these inaccurate death listings. Reid said he made multiple trips to the Social Security office and that he's officially back from the dead, but he said he still doesn't know what the problem was. SSA posted a news release on its website in March, saying fewer than one-third of one percent of the deaths need to be corrected. That's not much comfort for Reid. 'It's very stressful to be dead. If you're not dead, this will kill you,' he jokes. 'Anybody listening out there, John H. Reid III is alive.' Social Security's inspector general told WSOC's sister station in Atlanta, WSB, they're launching an investigation into the bigger issue soon. It's their first major audit into this topic in several years. If this happens to you: If you know the problem is with Social Security, start there. It may mean having to go to an office in person. If you're not sure 'where' the glitch came from: Get a copy of all three credit reports. Remember: they're free. See if you can tell if the mistake happened with your car loan, credit card, mortgage, or something else. Go to the source. If all else fails, you may want to talk to a lawyer. VIDEO: Medical bill errors: Consumer groups say it happens more than you think
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘I really trusted them': Senior denied travel insurance claim after getting COVID
Orlando senior, Joshula Flowers, was looking forward to a tour of Washington D.C. 'I thought, with it being a bus trip, that it would be good to get the insurance,' Flowers told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal. She booked that trip through the City of Orlando's Beardall Senior Center, but she got COVID shortly before the trip. So, she filed a claim with the trip insurance company, Travel Insured International. She said, 'And so I really trusted them to be able to be on my side if something happened.' Do you have a consumer complaint or need help from Jeff Deal and Action 9? Click the banner below to submit a tip. The 86-year-old lives on a fixed income. She made monthly payments to cover the cost of the trip that added up to $1270. That included a little extra for the travel insurance. In the weeks leading up to the tour, she fell ill, left a message for her doctor and did an at-home COVID test that came up positive. 'I was in bed most of the time and sick, just very, very weak and tired,' Flowers said. She called the senior center to let them know she couldn't make it just in case someone else was on a waiting list. The next day, she said she had a consultation with her doctor who confirmed she had COVID. Joshula Flowers assumed her travel insurance would make her whole, but she said the claims process dragged out. 'Here's some of the letters that they sent me… asking for more information,' she said as she showed the Action 9 team her paperwork. After 5-months, she received another letter that showed Travel Insured International denied her claim. Jeff Deal asked, 'What did you think when you received this letter?' Flowers answered, 'This is… it's just… I was two seconds away from tearing it up.' Under the fine print in the policy, the traveler had to be 'examined and treated by a physician prior to cancellation unless it is not reasonably possible to do so.' Even though she tested positive first, since Joshula Flowers' consultation with her doctor was the day after she cancelled, that appears to be the reason for the denied claim. 'I couldn't cancel. I couldn't do 'A' before I did 'B',' she said. On Yelp, Travel Insured International gets 1.4 stars out of five. Reviewers also complained about the company dragging out the process. One wrote, 'we would provide the requested document. Weeks would go by before they would ask for some other DIFFERENT document.' Another customer wrote, 'This company make(s) a living on saying no' and gave the company 'the royal toilet bowl award.' After Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal went to the company for answers, it sent an email saying in part, 'We are currently reviewing Ms. Flowers' case and will be in touch with her as part of that process.' The whole process left Joshula Flowers frustrated. 'I could not believe it. It was just so devastating,' she said. Two weeks after Action 9 reached out to Travel Insured International, Flowers said the insurance company called her to offer part of her money back. It promised to call back later to discuss it further. City of Orlando Commissioner Tony Ortiz is also trying to help her. He said if the insurance company doesn't come through, the city's Senior Connections program will help her out.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Repair shop worker racked up tolls and miles on customer car
All Eric Montgomery wanted was to get his car repaired. 'I dropped it off, and then I flew out of town for almost four weeks,' Montgomery explained. But he claims the repair shop added miles and racked up tolls while he was out of town. He said, 'So obviously, somebody was utilizing the vehicle, you know, the way they shouldn't have been.' Do you have a consumer complaint or need help from Jeff Deal and Action 9? Click the banner below to submit a tip. Montgomery bought a 2018 Cadillac ATS from a dealership off East Colonial Drive in Orlando called DriveHub. 'They really hyped up this 150-point inspection,' he said. But he had some problems with the car almost immediately after closing the deal. Montgomery told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal, 'Honestly, it was like one of those terrible old cartoons where you drive off the lot and the car starts falling apart initially. You know what I mean? Like, almost immediately.' It turned out to be a brake problem and the windshield wipers didn't work, but he said DriveHub was responsive. It instructed him to take it to Repair Hub, a shop a short distance away. Although the companies have similar names, they have different ownership. DriveHub sent an email to Action 9 explaining it frequently collaborates with Repair Hub to resolve post-sale repairs. When Montgomery returned to central Florida, he said he still had to wait for some repairs and when it was time to take it home, he noticed the valve caps on his tires were missing. Montgomery said, 'One of the gentlemen went around to other, I'm assuming, other customers' cars, and just started pulling them off of other people's cars and putting them on mine, like, oh my God.' In the days that followed, he received notices in the mail from the Central Florida Expressway Authority showing 107 toll transactions on his car over a 19-day period. They were all dates Eric Montgomery was out of town. The tolls were on a route between east Orlando and Horizon West for at least 9-days. It appears the car was kept overnights and weekends in the Horizon West area. In an email to Action 9, DriveHub wrote, 'there is no evidence that the vehicle was excessively driven or misused while in Repair Hub's custody.' So, Action 9 stopped at Repair Hub to ask about the tolls. Jeff Deal said, 'Somebody was clearly driving it. Nine different times kept overnight on the weekends and everything.' A man who identified himself as Joao, one of the owners, responded, 'Because I tell you, I can show you the last owner of the car is a friend.' He admitted an employee drove the Cadillac, but claimed the employee thought the car belonged to a friend who used to own it and wouldn't have minded him driving it. He said the employee didn't realize it had been sold to Montgomery. The owner said, 'I think it was two weeks he used. The once employed here, the guy, don't work here anymore.' While Action 9 hasn't been able to determine the exact number of miles put on the car while in the care of Repair Hub, Montgomery got stuck paying $196.64 in tolls. Montgomery said, 'You know, my father was a mechanic, and he owned a garage. If I was ever doing that to one of his clients' cars, I didn't want to think what would happen to me.' Repair Hub told Action 9 it has offered to reimburse Montgomery for the tolls and offered him an extra service package at no charge. DriveHub also said it remains open to assisting Montgomery in finalizing the toll reimbursements and willing to collaborate toward a fair resolution. Montgomery said he hadn't heard from anyone at Repair Hub, but Action 9 has now provided him with the direct phone number for one of the owners.
