National Consumer Protection Week is February 28-March 6 The mission of the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is to protect California consumers through numerous avenues including oversight, enforcement, and licensure of professions. We also work hard to educate the public about their rights as consumers and provide resources to…
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scams
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AccountantsFinanceProfessional Fiduciaries Bureau
Words With Friends=Broken Hearts—and Bank Accounts
by Ryan Jonesby Ryan JonesWords with Friends, the wildly popular Scrabble-like online game, has become a haven for fraudsters targeting older women and their bank accounts in the proliferating digital world of romance scamming. Anyone who plays WWF—as is it commonly called—or any other online game should be wary of other players who want…
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Happy Tax Day. If one good thing could be said about 2020 (so far) it’s that you have had two chances to procrastinate on filing your taxes. That’s because in mid-March, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue extended the tax filing deadline for this year from April 15…
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For fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, today is a banner day: it’s the day when the long-awaited Avengers: Infinity War, makes its debut in theaters across the U.S. And, just like in all of the previous Marvel films, legendary comic creator Stan Lee will make a cameo in the movie—something…
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The number of scams and malware taking advantage of social media users and platforms is on the rise. Social media scams are easy to create and can target thousands of people at once due to how users interact with pages, posts, and contacts. Once your account is compromised, malicious actors…
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They are out there, and they may be knocking on your door soon. During this time of year there is usually an upswing in alarm companies sending out their employees to canvass neighborhoods, trying to sell alarm systems. While selling alarm systems door-to-door is legal if required permits and licenses…
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California had a weather event last week. And whatever the forecasters called it—Atmospheric River, Pineapple Express, La Niña—it meant that a lot of water came crashing down on California, causing floods, mudslides, avalanches, and other water-related havoc on a state that has, in the past 5 years, experienced historically low…
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As much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling, so making smart decisions about your home’s heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can have a big effect on your utility bills and your comfort, according to Energy Star, a U.S. Environmental Protection…
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California is in the middle of fire season. Already this year, thousands of acres have burned and hundreds of homes and structures have been damaged or destroyed, leaving some facing the huge task of rebuilding and trying to salvage what was lost. Fortunately, having to rebuild after a disaster is…
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As the temperatures continue to drop, you’re likely to see ads offering low-cost air duct cleaning services and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) tune-ups. You decide to get some servicing done and the next thing you know, the HVAC contractor says that you need to replace your entire unit.…