Why the Ultimate Numbers Game Is…
How Doctors Are Courted By Drugmakers
Some insurance companies use tactics…
Dis-Services
Power Games: The Charges Against Utility Companies
You might want to use a magnifying glass to read the fine print that’s on power contracts for hidden fees.
Home > Special Reports
Life-Insurance Companies: Bad-Faith Policies
Some insurance companies use tactics to delay death-claim payments to increase their profit.
Read MorePopular Special Reports
-
The Great Beer Challenge
Major brewing companies and beer distributors want to limit your access to the wide array of beers that are available.
-
'Premium' Pet Food: Begging for the Truth
There is little evidence that cats and dogs benefit from costly and unusual ingredients in their food.
-
The Truth About Online Universities
Dubious methods have us raising our hands with questions about the value of earning an online degree.
Consumer Protection
Counterfeit Cuisine: The Dangers of Rampant Food Fraud
How you end up paying too much for the wrong species of fish or for corrupted versions of olive oil or maple syrup.
Consumer Protection
Cellphone Taxes & Fees: Out of Control
It’s bad enough that Americans pay $18 billion annually in cellphone fees and taxes. Now state and local governments are diverting that revenue to plug budget holes.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
No Sweat: The Truth About Performance Apparel
Performance-apparel companies claim that their garments will improve your performance, but no independent data back that up.
Consumer Protection
Serious Charges: The Relentless Banking Money-Grab
The Relentless Banking Money-Grab
Investigative Reports
A Bad Connection: Cellphone Radiation & Health Risks
The possible connection between cellphone-radiation emissions and health risks is worrisome—and seemingly ignored.
Consumer Protection
Identity Crisis
How Your Privacy is Invaded on the Internet
Hidden data collectors track your online activity.
Consumer Protection
The Great Beer Challenge
How Two Companies Control Your Options
Major brewing companies and beer distributors want to limit your access to the wide array of beers that are available.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
Hard to Swallow
The Truth About Infant Formula
Evidence doesn't support claims that because premium infant formula includes supplements, it's an improved product.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
Begging for the Truth
'Premium' Pet Food's Unproven Claims
There is little evidence that cats and dogs benefit from costly and unusual ingredients in their food.
Investigative Reports
Why Smart Meters Might Be a Dumb Idea
Smart meters are supposed to give you more control over your energy use, but experts doubt that you’ll ever see the touted savings.
Investigative Reports
Flash Back
The Troubling Revival of Hormone Therapy
Doctors’ new claims of safety are questionable.
Consumer Protection
Desperate Measures
Financially Strapped Governments Tax Junk Food ... What's Next?
Lawmakers try to dig their way out of their financial hole.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
Risky Business
How to Avoid Work-At-Home Scams
Scam artists find new ways to prey on consumers who are desperate for jobs or who seek extra cash.
Dis-Services
Cloud Computing
What's Behind the Billowing Privacy & Security Concerns
Can you trust the “cloud” to keep your personal data safe?
Consumer Protection
License to Steal
Outrageous Bank Fees and Business Practices
Banks are living high on the hog while consumers are hog-tied by exorbitant fees. The government can’t be counted on to help.
Consumer Protection
Total Recall
Why Product Safety Has Taken a Back Seat
Recall of automobiles and products is hampered by a system that depends on the release of safety information from manufacturers.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
In Your Face
How Cosmetics Companies Conceal the Truth
The lack of regulation and transparency on ingredients means that you could be applying dangerous materials to your face.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
Crunch Time
The Way Cereal Companies Sugarcoat the Facts
Breakfast cereal has too much sugar and far fewer nutritional benefits than what cereal companies brazenly imply.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
Nowhere to Hide
New Frontiers in Advertising
Ads are more aggressive as they target an audience that doesn’t use traditional media.
Investigative Reports
Grave Concerns
Digging Up the Dirt on Cemetery Scams
You might face more than the grief of the loss of a loved one: grave desecration and double-sold plots.
The Green Consumer
The Great Illusion
Curbside Recycling
Much recyclable waste picked up at the curb ends up in the same place as the trash: the landfill.
Consumer Protection
The Fine Print
Why Credit-Card Reform Comes Up Way Short
New rules provide some more protection for consumers, but banks are exploiting the loopholes that are in the reforms.
The Green Consumer
Burning Out
What’s Behind Energy Star’s Diminished Value
The Energy Star logo is supposed to identify highly efficient appliances, but flaws have weakened its usefulness.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
Bottled Waters: Flooding the Market
Big Water is trying to tempt you to buy with eco-claims and fancy flavors. All this does for us is leave a bad taste in our mouths.
Dis-Services
Deal or No Deal?
Liquidation Sales
Liquidation sales often lure shoppers with misleading promises of discounts that amount to no deal at all.
Investigative Reports
Against the Grain
The Problems with Ethanol
The government is pouring billions of dollars into promoting ethanol, but evidence is mounting that it actually damages the environment and fouls up your engines.
The Green Consumer
Next-Generation Green
The next generation of affordable “green” products includes erasable paper and fuel cells for electronics.
Investigative Reports
Degrees of Difficulty
The Truth About Online Universities
Dubious methods have us raising our hands with questions about the value of earning an online degree.
The Green Consumer
Inside America’s Green Machine
There’s more hype about products’ eco-friendliness, although many of these claims are far from true.
Marketing: Behind the Scenes
When Charity Begins at Retail
Where Do Your Purchase Donations Really Go?
Most of your purchase money usually ends up in the pockets of the company sponsoring the promotion.
Investigative Reports
How to Avoid Computer-Repair Ripoffs
Think twice before you take your computer to the nearest repair specialist. Many people are scammed by technicians who are moved more by profit than principle.
Dis-Services
Stop the Presses!
What Aspiring Authors Must Know About Print-on-Demand Publishing
Print-on-demand is not as simple, nor as profitable, as you might think.
Investigative Reports
Optical Illusion
Influence by frame makers decreases the medical focus for this product.
Dis-Services
The Sneaky Side of Online Shopping
Online shopping features offered by stores are meant to make customers feel as if they have the upper hand, but retailers benefit just as much.
Investigative Reports
Dirty Little Secrets
Why Rehab Centers Must Come Clean
New methods for treating drug and alcohol abusers have created confusion and sometimes flawed choices for consumers.
Dis-Services
Getting Out of Hand
Nail Salons
While the number of nail salons grew tremendously in the last few years, the incidence of infection and disease related to their use rose as well.
Stay Connected