“Vanilla Gift” card issuer faces lawsuit over card-draining scam risk

“Vanilla Gift” card issuer faces lawsuit over card-draining scam risk

A gift card issuer is facing a lawsuit over allegations it failed to make its popular prepaid cards less susceptible to a common scam. The lawsuit, filed last month by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, alleges Incom’s “Vanilla Gift” and “One Vanilla” non-reloadable cards featured “insufficient” packaging and “lax security features” that made them…

Falling mortgage rates lend a helping hand to home buyers

Falling mortgage rates lend a helping hand to home buyers

Mortgage rates fell for the eighth consecutive week, giving cash-strapped home buyers some relief as the new year approaches. The average interest rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage clocked in at 6.67% for the week ended Dec. 20, down from 6.95% a week earlier, according to data released Thursday by mortgage giant Freddie Mac….

CDC director says U.S. isn’t yet near peak Covid or flu levels for the season

CDC director says U.S. isn’t yet near peak Covid or flu levels for the season

Winter officially begins Thursday, and with the cold season comes an expected rise in rates of flu and Covid, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. is seeing a “sharp increase” in flu levels right now, particularly in the south, Cohen said Wednesday in an interview….

Granderson: ChatGPT hasn’t fueled cheating. Do teens know something adults don’t?

Granderson: ChatGPT hasn’t fueled cheating. Do teens know something adults don’t?

The introduction of ChatGPT did not lead to more cheating in high school. This is according to the students themselves. For 15 years, Stanford University researchers have used anonymous surveys and focus groups to create an environment for honest answers from students about their experiences in the classroom. Those studies include questions about whether the…

Do you have a friend worth $130? Inside the shopping app that puts a price tag on all your contacts

Do you have a friend worth $130? Inside the shopping app that puts a price tag on all your contacts

Want to know how much your friends are worth? Meet Flip, the shopping app that will put a price tag on every single person in your phone’s contact list. Cajole one of them into signing up for the app, and you get cash — up to $130 per person — to spend on Flip. “The…

Column: 2023 was the year of comeuppance for billionaires, culture warriors, crypto and corporate managements

Column: 2023 was the year of comeuppance for billionaires, culture warriors, crypto and corporate managements

To repurpose an old joke: How do you create a $15-billion company? Answer: First, start with a $44-billion company … Yes, we’re talking about Elon Musk and the fate of Twitter-now-X, the social media platform he bought in October 2022 and spent the subsequent year turning into a hive of antisemitism, racism and all other…