PIRG’s guide to giving more by buying less offers environmentally friendly options — Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to think hard about the gifts we give to family and friends. …

But phone companies aren’t doing enough to block spoofed calls and spam calls, despite new law — As of Sept. 28, phone companies must start blocking calls from other companies who haven’t told the Federal Communications Commission what they’re doing to protect their customers from illegal robocalls. Bob Sopko used to get about 20 illegal robocalls a week. You’re probably familiar with the ones that filled his…

Here are some tips to live by and share with vulnerable friends or relatives — By Teresa Murray, Consumer Watchdog Illegal robocalls seem to be declining a smidgeon as more and more phone companies install federally mandated technology to block spoofed calls and flag other scam calls. But most of us still get too many. One a month is too many, right? …

Amazon’s new policy comes at a time when courts have been asked the question who is responsible for defective products — By Hannah Rhodes As of Sept. 1, Amazon has expanded its A-to-z Guarantee to cover property damage or personal injury associated with defective products sold on its platform. For more than half of the transactions on its website, Amazon operates as a middle man for third-party sellers. For these transactions…

Households that were directly within Ida’s path could be without power for another three weeks — By Isabel Brown More than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi have been left without power in the wake of Hurricane Ida, and there are about 200,000 more without power along the East Coast including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. According to local utility providers…

Here are some tips to avoid scams and stay safe in the days and weeks ahead — Hurricane Ida tore a path of destruction from the Gulf Coast all the way to New York and New Jersey. The billions of dollars in damage from flooding, wind and tornadoes mean claims, repairs and rebuilding for way too many people. …

The scams certainly won’t halt overnight. Here are some tips to live by. — With a new federal law that taking effect June 30, we should start seeing a decline in illegal robocalls. But the scams certainly won’t halt overnight. Here are some tips to live by and share with vulnerable, trusting friends or relatives: Don’t ever pay bills or debts with gift cards…

Consumers still at risk for harmful over-the-counter drug products of all types because of soft federal regulations — In the category of “It’s about time,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now flagging all alcohol-based hand sanitizers imported from Mexico, saying the shipments are being scrutinized more closely and may be detained. This is the first time the FDA has issued an import alert for any…

Here’s a guide to gauge how safe the environment is. — Mary Houston’s dad has been in a nursing home for three years. It was a stressful decision to move him from the Cleveland-area home where he lived alone, but the family knew it was the best option. …