Consumer alert!

Fentora, a recent drug used for treating pain in cancer patients, has been found to have some serious side effects in some patients.

Details are here.

Late-model Lexus and Toyota Camry floor mats are being recalled because they can interfere with the accelerator pedal and owners of other Toyota models are being asked to check the driver’s side mats for similar problems.

For more info, click here.

More Toby & Me jewelry sets for kids are being recalled because of excessive lead content.

For more info, click here.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is urging the federal Food and Drug Administration to crack down on advertising claims made for Coca-Cola’s “Fuze” line of fruit and tea beverages.

They say the various health claims for the beverages are unsupported and, further, that the drinks contain cystalline fructose, which contributes to obesity.

Details are here.

A study that included University of Michigan researchers found that the availability of soft drinks in schools is one of the factors that contributes to childhood obesity.

Here’s a synopsis.

 Monroe County has a hazardous waste disposal day set for 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Kroger store at 3642 W. Sterns Ave. in Lambertville.

It’s a good opportunity to get rid of various household hazardous wastes, including some you might not think of as hazardous – fluorescent bulbs. Both compact fluorescent bulbs commonly used in lamps and tube-shaped bulbs commonly found in shoplights contain small amounts of hazardous mercury. Those are accepted at hazardous waste days.

The federal government advises consumers to dispose of fluorescent bulbs that way or by putting them in plastic bags and throwing them out with household trash. But Michigan is among the states that has a law against disposing of fluorescent bulbs in landfills, so the a hazardous waste disposal day is one of the best bests for getting rid of them.

Making a move?

Check out the J.D. Power satisfaction survey on moving firms here.

How many times have you wondered how some online marketer got your e-mail address or how some telephone solicitor got your phone number.

It probably came from an online search engine, database or information vendor. Not all of these entities allow it, but some do have opt-out provisions that allow you to request that your information be deleted from their databases.

The hoops you have to jump through to pull a disappearing act can be found here.

Some single-pole children’s swing sets have a manufacturing flaw that can cause them to collapse.
They are being recalled.

A certain dry, hard Mexican cheese that was distributed in Michigan and several other states might be contaminated with salmonella.

Here is the recall notice.

The Federal Trade Commission has banned a California firm from marketing a work at home envelope-stuffing scheme through newspaper classified ads.

Learn more details here.

The feds also offer advice on how to avoid getting taken in by such scams.

Scammers are using “Verified by Visa” as a new disguise to capture passwords and other financial information from consumers via e-mailed messages.

“Your Bank of America card has been automatically enrolled in the Verified by Visa program,” says one bogus e-mail. “To ensure your Visa card’s security, it is important that you protect your Visa card online with a personal password. Please take a moment, and activate for Verified by Visa now.”

Verified by Visa is a commercial service that adds an another security layer to online credit transactions. If your card is part of the Verified By Visa program, anyone using your card must use a password to complete the transaction.

But people responding to the bogus e-mail are taken to a counterfeit site run by scammers and asked to divulge credit card information.

The e-mail’s return address is enroll@boa.com and the last line says: “Please note: If you FAIL to update your Visa card, it will be temporarily disabled.”

Actually, if you FAIL to delete the message, your credit rating might be temporarily disabled.

Consumers who receive spam using the Bank of America name should forward it to abuse@bankofamerica.com.

The IRS devoted a section of its Web site to provide tax relief information for people who have lost their homes due to foreclosure.

For details, click here.

Here’s an interesting take from Marshall Loeb of CBS MarketWatch on why “credit” is the best way to answer that question.

The average gasoline price in the Monroe area over the weekend was $2.96, with the low being $2.85 and the highest being $3. An industry survey found the national average at $2.79.