Consumer alert!

To learn the details about how to get a replacement, click here.

Ford recently won kudos for quality for some of its brands.

It’s reaping honors of a different kind in the used car market.

Here’s a list, based on complaints, of the worst of the worst used vehicles.

CNN’s Money section has a nifty cost-of-living calculator that lets you determine how much money you’d have to make to live comparably in a new city and state.

Check it out here.

They say it was a crime of opportunity.

It turns out a Michigan firm had a name very similar to another a half a world away.

Impersonating the other company could lead to a $23 million prize.

If only the FBI hadn’t gotten involved.

The twist on identity theft can be found here.

This time the messages going out represent themselves as being from the Federal Trade Commission.

They are not, and could plant spyware or some other malicious program in your computer.

Read about it here.

Spending for cards and gifts is expected to be up for this Father’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation. It’s estimated the country is spending more than $9.9 billion on dad, with an average of $98.34 per person, up from an average of $88.80 last year. Men will spend most for Father’s Day, about $100 on average, compared to about $98 for women. The most common gifts are greeting cards, by far, followed by clothing items. The total is less than Mother’s Day when an estimated $15.7 billion was spent, or an average of $139.14.

The Federal Trade Commission is offering a Father’s Day e-card you can mail to your dad that provides tips on how to avoid being a “phishing” scam victim.

Phishing is the term applied to e-mails and other messages that try to extract personal information that can be used in identity theft.

To see and send the e-card, click here.

The NBC affiliate in Tampa had an interesting article recently explaining that the more common of a first and last name you have, the more likely you’ll be a target of identity theft.

It even includes a searchable database to let you find out how common your names are.

Check out the article here.

More brands of toothpaste that might be contaminated with the poison found in anti-freeze is being recalled.

The brand names are Dr. Cool, Superdent and EverFresh Smile2.

Here are details.

A new study finds that drinking black or decaffeinated coffee doesn’t necessarily mean lower cholesterol.

Learn about it here.

Nordstrom is recalling two products that could pose a choking hazard to youngsters.

The company marketed jeweled sandals that have ornaments that can become detached and swallowed.

It also sold children’s jackets with zippers that can detach and pose a choking hazard.

A certain model of Asko Cylinda dishwashers have an electrical component that can catch fire.

Here are details of the recall.

A batch of Thomas & Friends wooden railroad toys have paint that contains high levels of lead. Lead, of course, is a neurotoxin.

More than a million of the toys were sold. There’s a list of the products and instructions on how to exchange them for safer models here.

The average cost for a gallon of gas in Monroe County today is about $3.07, ranging from a low of $2.89 to a high of $3.15.

The prices have dropped about 20 cents a gallon in the past month, but still are far ahead of year ago prices.

We saw a chart of recent gasoline prices around the world in Wired magazine. Prices are higher in most other countries — you’d pay $6.65 in London — and, of course, the lowest prices are in the Mideast. In Tehran, Iran, it’s 33 cents a gallon, even though limited refinery capacity forces the country to import most of its gasoline.

Experts say the fall in U.S. prices is due in part to refineries coming back online after modernization modifications.

If you bought shares in Michigan-based AVL Global because you were convinced by glowing press releases that the stock would soar, you’ve been had.

Now the government is putting its two cents in on this penny stock scam.

Read the SEC’s press release.