Keep your cell number safe from hackers
If you’re not familiar with SIM swap fraud, prepare to be terrified. This scam, also known as port-out or SIM splitting fraud, allows criminals to hijack your cell phone number. Once they have your number, the bad guys can clean out your financial accounts, confiscate your email, delete your data and take over your social media profiles. Fraudsters can do all this because many... READ MORE
Best Buy invests in tech for older adults
The nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, known for selling TV sets, cellphones and laptops, is looking to healthcare as a big source of its future growth. Best Buy Co. said last fall that in five years it hopes to provide five million seniors with health monitoring services, which can range from sensors placed throughout a home to a pendant worn around the neck. It currently... READ MORE
Apps can track spending in retirement
When Lauren Lindsay joined a large group of about 20 friends for brunch in Houston recently, things quickly got complicated. “Different people ordered different things, and some had to come and go at different times,” says Lindsay, 49, a financial planner. “And the place wouldn’t do separate checks.” But the friend who organized the brunch had a simple solution, Lindsay... READ MORE
Online thrift shops offer new ways to save
It’s not just eBay anymore. A slew of websites and apps act as virtual thrift stores for vintage devotees, deal hunters and those just looking to unload stuff they don’t want anymore. These sites have proliferated as the recession of a decade ago and the slow comeback in wages since then dramatically altered how people shop. Discounters like T.J. Maxx have been sweeping up, while... READ MORE
New drones promise deliveries in minutes
Walgreens and a Google affiliate are testing drone deliveries that can put drugstore products on customer doorsteps minutes after being ordered. Snacks like Goldfish crackers or gummy bears, as well as aspirin for sick kids, were delivered in October in Christiansburg, Virginia, by a 10-pound drone flying as fast as 70 miles per hour. Customers will be able to order from a list of... READ MORE
Watch for websites’ psychological tricks
You’re on the checkout page when something appears in your shopping basket that you didn’t put there — say you’re buying a laptop, but insurance sneaks in, too, unless you uncheck a box. Or you think you’re signing up for a one-time deal or even a free trial, but you’ve unintentionally committed to a subscription with recurring fees. Maybe your relaxed online browsing... READ MORE
Beacon Links & Apps – October 2019
Apps Medicare coverage app Does Medicare cover that? The feds have a new app to help determine what your costs will be. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “has launched a new ‘What’s Covered’ app that lets people with Original Medicare, caregivers and others use their mobile device to check whether Medicare covers a specific medical item or service,” according to... READ MORE
Electric bikes coming to a park near you
Motorized electric bicycles may soon be humming along serene trails in national parks and other public lands nationwide. It’s part of a new Trump administration order — hotly opposed by many outdoors groups — that will allow e-bikes on every federal trail where a regular bike can go. Sales of the bikes, powered by both pedals and battery-driven small motors, are booming, and... READ MORE
Beacon celebrates 20th year of 50+Expos
For the past 20 years, the Beacon newspaper has been providing free community education events every fall for readers and their families. Known as the 50+Expos, they are held in both suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia for the convenience of residents throughout the metro area. Between the two events, more than 100 informative exhibitors will provide giveaways and helpful... READ MORE
UPS to add pickup spots at many stores
United Parcel Service Inc. is responding to the growth in online shopping and pressures for speedy delivery by seeking to expand its drone deliveries and adding thousands of new spots where customers can pick up and return packages. The Atlanta-based package delivery giant recently announced it is adding 12,000 new package pickup locations inside CVS pharmacies, and Michaels Co. and... READ MORE
Technology 2024
