Washington Post: Are Social Media ‘Finfluencers’ Coming for Your 401(k)?. “Social media’s next victim could be your 401(k). Finance influencers — or ‘finfluencers’ — are becoming a hot new thing on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram. This may be the next big content moderation headache for the industry.”
Money Saving Expert: Google introduces new checks to tackle scam financial ads from today – but there are major exclusions. “Certain financial services providers will have to prove they are authorised by the financial regulator before advertising on Google from today (6 September). It’s an effort by the search engine to tackle online fraud, but the new policy doesn’t apply to ads for cryptocurrency or debt services and there are some other exclusions.”
WGNS: $1.2 billion in Unclaimed Property – Tennessee Treasury launches enhanced, mobile-friendly claims portal. “The Unclaimed Property Division is a consumer protection program of the Tennessee Department of Treasury that works to reunite the millions of missing dollars turned over every year with its rightful owners. Treasury estimates that one in six Tennesseans could have missing money.”
Small Business Trends: Gas Prices May Be Coming Down as COVID Cases Go Up. “Concerns over demand have caused oil and gasoline futures prices to plummet, with Florida gas prices already down by 3 cents and set to drop even lower. The price decrease will continue unless futures prices recover from the recent sharp declines, with Florida gas prices now averaging $2.98 per gallon. It is not looking good though as wholesale gasoline prices are currently at their lowest point since April, when they were at $2.80 per gallon.”
KGW: Fake review attack targets Portland businesses. “KGW Investigates learned of at least twenty pest control companies in the Portland metro area that have received dozens of fake one-star reviews on their Google business profiles over the last year. The reviews were not left by unhappy customers with a gripe — they’re fake, computer-generated and designed to hurt a company’s reputation. The fake reviews have lowered the companies’ Google ratings, cost them thousands of dollars in lost revenue and tarnished the reliability of the rating system for consumers.”
News4Jax: Until 2023? Parts shortage will keep auto prices sky-high. “Back in the spring, a shortage of computer chips that had sent auto prices soaring appeared, finally, to be easing. Some relief for consumers seemed to be in sight. That hope has now dimmed. A surge in COVID-19 cases from the delta variant in several Asian countries that are the main producers of auto-grade chips is worsening the supply shortage. It is further delaying a return to normal auto production and keeping the supply of vehicles artificially low.”
Search Engine Land: How Google and Yelp handle fake reviews and policy violations. “Unfortunately, bad actors may seek to harm a business’s online reputation through fake reviews or by crowding them out with fake listings. While Yelp and Google both have extensive systems and policies to fight bad actors, there are important distinctions that every local marketer should be aware of, and knowing them can help frame your expectations for each platform as well as enable you to make more informed decisions about where to spend your time and resources.”
Japan News: Japanese firms help falsify Google reviews to boost medical clinic ratings . “When you look for a store or facility on Google’s search engine, a review section is displayed along with a map. Reviews on the internet not only influence people’s choice of products, but also where they go. The existence of several specialized companies that erase all the low ratings posted and replace them with high ratings has been uncovered by The Yomiuri Shimbun. These companies are said to target local medical clinics, where such ratings can make a big difference, to use their services.”
Motley Fool: These Free Tools Will Make Anyone a Better Investor. “In this episode of Industry Focus: Tech, we take a break from talking about specific companies to loop listeners in on our go-to free resources for information on companies. We give a rundown of our favorite primary and secondary resources for information and spend some time talking about the decision that leveled the playing field for the average investor.” Video podcast with captions AND a complete transcript.
Women Love Tech: Why COVID-19 Has Accelerated The Need For Open Data Sources. “Open banking guru and Head of Product for Envestnet | Yodlee, Tonia Berglund and Jamie Leach from global open banking industry body FData, are leading the way for Australia’s open banking sector. We sat down with both Tonia and Jamie to discuss the recent developments in Australia’s open banking regime, including the recent change by the Treasury to amend the Consumer Data Right (CDR), giving consumers greater access to, and control over, their data.”
Phys .org: Large number of Americans reported financial anxiety and stress even before the pandemic. “A substantial number of adults in the United States between the ages of 21 and 62 felt anxiety and stress about their personal finances well before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report published today. Researchers found that financial stress and anxiety are highly linked to low levels of financial literacy, problematic financial behaviors and decreased financial security.”
CNET: Amazon makes it easier to file complaints about faulty marketplace products. “Amazon is updating its returns policy to make filing complaints about faulty products from third-party sellers easier. From Sept. 1, you’ll be able to contact Amazon directly with property damage or personal injury claims, and the company will connect you with the seller. Right now, the e-commerce giant encourages customers to contact sellers directly about problems with their products.”
Reuters: EU gives Google 2 months to improve hotel, flight search results. “Alphabet unit Google has two months to improve the way it presents internet search results for flights and hotels and explain how it ranks these or face possible sanctions, the European Commission and EU consumer authorities said on Monday.”
KGW: Washington couple sued for $112,000 after leaving one-star reviews . “When Autumn Knepper and Adam Marsh’s roof started to leak at their Vancouver home a few months ago, their landlord sent over Executive Roof Services (ERS) to check it out. An employee came, looked in the attic and said there were a few spots to fix.” I experienced REALLY LOUD AUTOPLAY VIDEO on this page, so be careful if you’re wearing headphones.
