December 2021 • Issue 6, Volume 12 • www.consumer-action.org
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What people are saying
"SCAM GRAM: Unhealthy hopes" [is] definitely one I will share with others. Especially during this time when so many are looking into financial help. The media, internet, postal mail and TV have reached an overwhelming daily barrage of questionable information. THANK YOU sincerely! --JM, Boston, MA, via Consumer Action feedback survey
Did you know?
The credit scoring giant FICO (originally Fair Isaac Corporation) works with more than 200 financial institutions to give their customers free access to FICO® scores. If your bank, credit card issuer, auto lender or mortgage servicer participates in the FICO Open Access program, you can see your score, along with the top factors affecting your score, for free any time by logging into your online account. It's a good idea to check your score in advance if you plan to apply for a credit card, loan or mortgage. To view a list of the banks and lenders that participate, click here.
Next steps in consumer protection featured at Consumer Action's Changemakers Convening
By Ruth Susswein
For the second year, Consumer Action organized and hosted a virtual convening that brought together consumer protection experts and advocates. This year, as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, the focus of the convening was on five decades of advances and where we go from here. Read more.
Hotline Chronicles: Call blocking devices can screen landline robocalls
By Linda Sherry
Consumer Action continues to hear from consumers who want to do something--anything--to stop robocalls to their landline phone numbers. Call blocking devices might help, but they are not free. Read more.
Presenting to a live group after months of pandemic distancing
By Monica Steinisch
After nearly two years of virtual everything, a safely masked Consumer Action staffer got back out in the field to help Chinese-speaking seniors in San Francisco avoid scams. Read more.
Webinar explores how inaccurate private data leads to loss of SSI benefits
By Linda Williams
A November webinar hosted by Consumer Action's outreach team alerted attendees to a major flaw in the SSI eligibility determination process--the use of inaccurate private data--that has led to low-income and disabled recipients having their much-needed benefits cut off. Read more.
Webinar: Advice for safeguarding financial data
By Nelson Santiago
Consumer Action recently presented two webinars designed for community and policy advocates (but useful for anyone) featuring leading experts on FinTech apps and data privacy, who share perspectives on issues such as transparency, control and responsibility. Read more.
Coalition Efforts: Advocates rally for Build Back Better Act provisions and urge FHFA to remove barriers to homeownership
By Alegra Howard
Consumer Action often joins its allies in letters, comments and complaints calling for change, standing up for consumer rights, supporting or opposing proposed laws and objecting to corporate misbehavior, among other activities. We collect these in the Coalition Efforts section of our website. Each month in the INSIDER, we highlight some recent activities. Read more.
CFPB Watch: Agency digs into Big Tech data, tackles today's redlining, and offers housing resources
By Ruth Susswein
In this regular feature, we detail recent actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This month, Director Chopra mines the tech giants for data and reverses redlining with home loan opportunities. Read more.
Class Action Database: Equifax agrees to clean up its sloppy public records reporting
By Rose Chan
Consumer Action maintains a database of class actions so that interested consumers can learn more, join a pending action or make a claim. Class action lawsuits are an important element of consumer protection and can force changes to anti-consumer business practices and make bad actors return ill-gotten gains to consumers. Read more.
About Consumer Action
Consumer Action has been a champion of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. A nonprofit organization, Consumer Action focuses on consumer education that empowers low- and moderate-income and limited-English-speaking consumers to financially prosper. It also advocates for consumers in the media and before lawmakers to advance consumer rights and promote industry-wide change.
By providing consumer education materials in multiple languages, a free national hotline, a comprehensive website and special reports about financial and consumer services, Consumer Action helps consumers assert their rights in the marketplace and make financially savvy choices. More than 6,000 community and grassroots organizations benefit annually from its extensive outreach programs, training materials and support. Read more.
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