Mr. Watchdog

How low can gas go?

Spied this morning in the Columbia area: Gas going for less than $1.90 a gallon on Bush River Road and along S.C. 6 near I-20.

The last time prices that low were the norm in the Midlands was mid-March 2005, when gas was getting ready to pass the $2 barrier for the first time.

For now, the area metro average for regular stands at $2.06.5 after the weekend -- down almost $1.53 a gallon over the past month, according to AAA data.

That means you're saving nearly $23 on a 15-gallon fill-up since October.

No Circuit City stores closing in S.C.

None of the 155 stores Circuit City plans to close in a cost-saving move are in South Carolina.

The closings announced Monday represent 20 percent of the electronics store chain's stores.

For more information from the company about the closings, click here.

For a full story on Circuit City's move, go here.

Gas prices with a $1 in front?

I spotted gas prices under $2.30 a gallon near central Columbia over the weekend -- down more than 40 cents from the previous weekend and more than $1.25 over the past three weeks.

And the prices could get lower, perhaps even below $2.

Current wholesale costs suggest pumps getting close to the $2 zone soon.

So when was the last time we had sub-$2 gas in Columbia?

Try 20 months ago on Feb. 8, 2007, according to AAA data.

It's so strange to think we paid a record $4.21 gas just six weeks ago.

Pump prices plummeting

Where did the $3 gas go?

Columbia-area gas prices have tumbled four cents overnight to a little under $2.80 a gallon. 

Midlands gas prices have fallen more than $1.15 a gallon in the past month since the area's main gas supply was cut off when Hurricane Ike struck the Texas coast on Sept. 13.

And with oil prices falling to 2008 lows on Wednesday, drivers should be paying less for fill-ups soon.

Some Midlands stations already were charging around $2.50 a gallon -- some 30 cents below the region average, according to AAA data.

Oil price have fallen below $70 a barrel, suggesting prices could slide well below $2.50.

   

How to avoid a phishy tale like this one

Don't fall for the bait-and-hook of a phishing e-mail.

These are e-mails that lead you to Web sites that looks exactly like they belong to an official organization, such as a bank or government agency, but are really built by scammers trying to steal your financial information.

I got a real good one today at work, allegedly from the IRS.

It was good news -- I was owed a $620.50 long-delayed tax refund, the e-mail read. All I needed to do was click a link to fill out a form.

So what told me off the bat this was no good?

The subject field was a bunch of numbers, instead of words. And the e-mail itself was pretty bare bones, no logos, phone numbers or Web addresses. Also the IRS does not have my work e-mail address. (Usually the agency sends letters.)

Still I might want 620 bucks, so if I ignored all the problems with e-mail and clicked the link, what I found was a very good copy of the IRS Web site.

Now to prevent me from any hanky-panky, the site warned, "For security reasons, we will record your ip-address and date"  and "Deliberate wrong inputs are criminally pursued and indicted." (I look forward to the feds coming to my desk.)

Then I was first asked to type in my Social Security number and filing status, and lead to a page that asked for my:

-E-mail address (Now, why would the IRS need that? I got an e-mail from them in the first place. The real reason to ask: So the crooks can send me more scams.)
-Full name, address, phone and date of birth. (These are the building blocks of identity theft.)
-Debit card number, expiration date, password and bank. (Why does the IRS need that to send me a refund? The site never explains. The real reason: To buy stuff in my name.)

And here's my favorite: The site suggests I close the Web broswer after I'm done "for security reasons." (In truth, for their security, not mine.)

While the site looked legit with all the graphics and links, I quickly spotted a few problems.

The Web address was a series of letters and numbers, not "irs.gov." And clicking the links, such as on frequently asked questions, got me nowhere.

Now when I was done giving away all this financial information, I was forwarded to a page on the legitimate IRS site -- a common phishing tactic to make you think you have been on the official site all along.

The lesson here: Call the official customer service phone line of company or agency that appears to send you an e-mail like this.

Don't use any numbers provided in the e-mail. Go on the Internet and look them up on the official Web site. Or use the numbers included on a monthly bill or statement.

If you have given financial information on a Web site you think might be fake, call the three credit reporting agencies to have fraud alerts put on your files. Get the contact information to place the alerts here.

What does the Verizon-Alltel deal mean for you?

So what's the fallout of Verizon's deal to buy Alltell for customers?

Really, Alltel customers should see no changes until the merger is finished at year’s end.

The biggest change soon after that will be a new logo on monthly bills, telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan said.

He expects, like in other wireless mergers, that Alltel customers should be able to keep their phones and calling plans until their contracts expire.

And they might be able to keep their phones beyond that because the Alltel and Verizon use the same type of wireless service. Whether Verizon plans to permanently adopt any of the Alltel’s calling plans is unknown.

This will be the second recent wireless phone merger for South Carolinians. T-Mobile completed its takeover of Suncom in February but does not plan to transfer customers until October. In the meantime, Suncom customers can use the same phones and plans.

Kagan also expects, like in other wireless mergers, that Alltel customers will not be able to break their contracts if they don't want to join Verizon without paying the early termination fee. Alltel’s fee is $200, according to its Web site.

Verizon offers more services than Alltel, especially in videos and higher-speed connections, he said. Upgrades to Alltel systems could take up to a year to complete after the deal is finished, Kagan said.

Can your car really run on water?

Recently I was asked:

is this a scam:  http://www.runyourcarwithwater.com/?hop=cbadmin&gclid=CKOQlNzPupICFQEpxwod_F_8bQ

they claim you can run your car on water? As hybrid conversion, you can buy a kit to convert your car into vehicle that runs on water and gas?

It's doubtful. Most of the experts I have interviewed over the years said their tests show these "gas-savers" don't work.

And the Wall Street Journal weighed in with a story today: 

"...Auto-industry officials and federal energy experts say most fuel-saving add-ons don't work. The Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Trade Commission have tested products that claim to boost fuel economy and found they generally don't improve vehicles' efficiency — and they sometimes actually harm performance and increase emissions."

See the full story here.

The best fuel saver is your foot. By not speeding and avoiding fast starts and stops, you'll save gas.

Consider my brother-in-law: He said he got two more miles to the gallon by going the speed limit during his daily commute.

And he said he got to red lights the same time as drivers who sped by him.

BurnLounge site MIA

The web site for BurnLounge, the online music store operator that was a craze in Columbia in 2006 and 2007, is offline.

The site was running last month when The State last updated the lawsuit filed by federal regulators against the company and several associates, including ex-Gamecock football star Rob DeBoer.

But as the suit nears its one-year anniversary, the only message the BurnLounge's Web site is "This account has been suspended." A call to BurnLounge's L.A. attorney was not immediately returned today.

The government claims BurnLounge is a pyramid scheme where investors in online music stores earned more money for recruiting other investors than selling songs.

The defendants have denied any wrong-doing, though the company eliminated the rewards for recruiting new store owners and increased bonuses for selling songs.

The Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing that BurnLounge had more than $30 million in overall sales in 2006 and 2007, but just $1.7 million came from song downloads.

The government is seeking $30 million in restitution for 37,000 customers, according to court records.

Many in Columbia and statewide marketed or invested in the company, including former Clemson head football coach Danny Ford, USC assistant coach Steve Spurrier Jr., rock band Hootie & the Blowfish and ex-USC football players Todd Ellis and George Rogers.

DeBoer, a former sideline announcer for Gamecock football games, would travel nationwide promoting BurnLounge. DeBoer is accused in the federal lawsuit of making false claims, which he has denied.

Such a good investment?

"I am not sure if any crime has been committed here, or not, and I honestly believe that it is not anyone's place to judge that. ... If this was a pyramid scheme, then there definitely was the potential for people to be wronged, but as of yet, no one was wronged before the government stepped in."

This online comment written about the story that appeared in today's State newspaper on the arrest of the leaders of the 3 Hebrew Boys investment group mimics several others left by readers.

I just wanted to make clear where the rub lies in this case:
You cannot run an investment where the only "income" is money from other investors.
Investments must be for something of value.

The government said they found no evidence that the 3 Hebrew Boys and its subsidiary, the Capital Consortium Group, generated any income other than from money given to them by investors.

Even if you were getting some payments from your investment with the Capital Consortium or 3 Hebrew Boys, the money was coming from  payments from other investors, the government said.

At some point, history has shown these type of investments collapse because not enough money is coming in to pay out to investors. The government says 3 Hebrew Boys had $17 million in the bank last spring to pay $1 billion in obligations due in over the next two years.

The case is ongoing, but Joseph Brunson, Timothy McQueen and Tony Pough are going to have to show where they invested the money that was given to them.

And remember -- check out any investment before sending a dollar:

-Salespeople have to be registered with the State Attorney General's office and Securities and Exchange Commission.

-Walk away if salespeople -- are pressuring you to invest, say a deal is for a limited time, promise guaranteed returns, say their offer is secret or offered to just a special few.

-Don't invest if you don't understand where your money is going.

What would you like to learn about?

Here's your chance to tell us what to cover in the Sunday Business section.

We're looking for good consumer-related ideas -- stories on smarter shopping and investing, and protecting yourself from bad deals and scams.

We want to know about what issues you would like to learn more about.

Post your ideas in the comments section below.