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Open House

Electronics Worth Your Money this Holiday Season; Where to Find Free Things; How to Avoid Identity Theft

Aired November 24, 2007 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

GERRI WILLIS, HOST: Hello. I'm Gerri Willis and this is OPEN HOUSE, the show that saves you money. Coming up from iPhones to digital cameras, we'll show you what's worth your money this holiday season. Then some things in life are free. I'm going to show you where to find them.
But first, it's the first big weekend of the 2007 holiday shopping season, but watch out. Last year, nearly 700,000 people were victims of identity theft and fraud, that's according to the Federal Trade Commission. Whether you're shopping online or in the malls, we want to give you the best advice to protect your identity.

Greg Daugherty is the executive editor of "Consumer Reports." He's coming to us from Yonkers, New York.

Welcome Greg, good to see you.

GREG DAUGHERTY, CONSUMER REPORTS: Hi Gerri.

WILLIS: You know, I think a lot of people worry about identity theft when they're shopping online. What's the most important thing to do to keep from being ripped off?

DAUGHERTY: Know who you are doing business with. It's pretty easy these days to create a beautiful Web site, but you don't know whether it belongs to a legitimate company or a crook.

WILLIS: One of the things, obviously, that you can look for is https, "S" for secure on that Web page where you're filling out your Visa card number. But there are other things to look for as well, what are they -- Greg.

DAUGHERTY: Well, do look for whatever privacy protections and so forth they say they have. You can also Google the name of the store and see if any complaints come up that you need to be aware of. But, you know, generally speaking if it's a company you've done business with before and heard of, it's a famous company, your probably on pretty safe ground.

WILLIS: So, you might want to avoid some of those no-name retailers, right?

DAUGHERTY: For safety sake, yeah.

WILLIS: OK, well you know, it's not just online that you might not be safe. Even in the mall there are things to watch out for. What are they?

DAUGHERTY: Well, you know, we would say that using a credit card is one of the best things you can do to protect yourself, although it won't protect you much against identity theft, but it does give you a lot of protections after the fact if something happens. So, you know, use your credit card in stores, but keep an eye on it because there's a common scam where somebody says, you know, I'll be right back. They run off with your credit card, they can put it through a hand-held scanner and the next thing you know, you've charged all kinds of stuff. And when you get your monthly statement from your credit card, don't just throw it in the drawer, take a careful look at it, make sure all that stuff is stuff you remember buying.

WILLIS: Especially now, especially during the holiday season, for sure. Let's talk about ATM scams in the mall. You say people get shoulder surfed. There can be big problems, even when out shopping in a traditional mall.

DAUGHERTY: Well, it makes sense if you are typing in your pin number, as many people do these days, to look around, make sure nobody's looking at you. Do it quickly. You know, one thing or another, try to protect that information. When we mention ATM scams, you know, there have been cases where people set up fake ATMs simply to get people to swipe their cards in and get electronic information off of them.

WILLIS: It's just crazy. They set up fake ATMs, unbelievable. Let's talk about extended warranties for just a minute, here. You know, folks out there are always offered extended warrantees on a lot of electronics goods. Should they take them?

DAUGHERTY: Usually no. We're not big fans of extended warranties. Most products are pretty reliable, especially if you make a point of buying, you know, a brand known to be reliable. So, generally speaking you just won't get your money back. They are big moneymakers for retailers, but they're not that -- not of that much use to consumers.

WILLIS: Well, and a lot of electronics won't even last as long as the warranty is for. That's one big problem.

DAUGHERTY: That's right. It'll be outmoded, right.

WILLIS: Let's talk about returns for just a second. Are there things people should be thinking about when they're buying an item and they're worried they're going to have to return it? What should they know?

DAUGHERTY: Well, especially this year because the rules are tightening up in a lot of stores. The best thing you can do is to save a receipt and if you buy something for yourself, save the receipt. If you buy it as a gift, either enclose the receipt with it or have it available to give to them later on if they need it because many stores are not taking things back with receipts, now.

WILLIS: OK, let's talk restocking fees for just a second. Are folks still charging those?

DAUGHERTY: More and more, unfortunately, and not just on electronics items where they started out and were very common. We're hearing of all kinds of things, so to avoid it if you possibly can, keep the packaging all together. When you open something, a gift, say, don't rip it open like that, but gently take it open. If what's inside the box is broken or otherwise damaged, you shouldn't have to pay a restocking fee and if they tell you do, you know, argue with them.

WILLIS: Well, and that's no small amount, 25 percent of the value of the goods. Greg, excellent information. Thank you so much for the help.

DAUGHERTY: Hey Gerri, thank you.

WILLIS: OK. To avoid a holiday spending hangover, create a budget. Make a list of who you're going to spend money on and how much you want to spend. Keep your total budget low enough that you can pay it off in a month or two and don't forget all those little things that can add up like holiday decorations, gift cards, tips you'll distribute. A good way to avoid last-minute temptations is to shop online.

If you do decide to hit the stores, do bargain hunting on the Web. Check out Bizrate and MySimon.com. This way you'll know a great deal when you see it. And if you're going to use a credit card, stick with one card so it'll be easier to track what you've bought. A lot of cards also offer an online review of your purchases.

Next on OPEN HOUSE, the best and worst electronics out there this holiday season.

Then, it's a free-for-all, literally. We'll show you where to find goods and services that won't cost you a dime. And how to deal with common accidents at home.

But first, how to protect your online passwords in this week's "Tip of the Day."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS (voice-over): Online passwords are the gateway to your private information. To make sure you're the only one with access, keep this in mind when selecting one: Make it lengthy. Each character that you add increases protection. Use a minimum of eight, but more than 14 is ideal. Use the entire keyboard, combine upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols like these.

(on camera): Better yet, combine all that into a full sentence that's easy for you to remember.

(voice-over): And finally, test it. You can find password checkers online that tell you how strong or week your new protection is. That's your "Tip of the Day."

(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

Consumers could spend more than $155 billion on electronics this year.

(END GRAPHIC)

WILLIS: That's a lot of money. Whether it's the new iPhone, iPod, digital camera or a flat-screen TV, electronics are often at the top of holiday wish lists. Here to help is Jeremy Kaplan, he's executive editor of "PC Magazine."

Jeremy, good to see you.

JEREMY KAPLAN, PC MAGAZINE: Thanks for having me.

WILLIS: All right, you've got best, you've got worst. Let's go to the list, let's start with the Canon camera.

KAPLAN: I brought a Canon camera out because on our recent service and reliability survey, our readers said hands down, Canon cameras are the best ones, whether they're little small ones or the super big ones with the long zooms.

WILLIS: You say it's all about customer service.

KAPLAN: Exactly, customer service. You want to go to a company that you can trust. And that's what we found. People thought Canon cameras were trustworthy.

WILLIS: Now, we've got some competitors here in the category for iPods. Big competition, you say, in this prize winner.

KAPLAN: Out of nowhere, yeah, these brand new Microsoft Zune products. They just launched them this year and people were saying, well, everyone knows iPod. Ipod is it, that's all you can get. No, the Zunes, a close second in our survey. People said they were good. They were responsive, if they had problems they could go back to Microsoft and they would fix them. I was surprised. Frankly, I thought iPod was going to keep on dominating, but this might be good competition.

WILLIS: And price competitive, good to know about that. All right, here is the iPhone. Is this a best or a worst.

KAPLAN: It's a best. It's a best. I almost didn't want it to happen because you just sort of expected it, but of all the cell phones we've ever rated in this survey, we've been doing it for three or four years, this got the highest marks ever. So, hands down, a great product.

WILLIS: And tell me about the features, here, because it does a lot of different things.

KAPLAN: Oh yeah, you can browse the Web very handily. It's got this incredible interface, it's so neat look. It might be a little bit hard, because all you have is that touch screen. There's in tactile response. You don't have any buttons you can push. So, I don't know. I didn't buy one, personally, but I know a lot of people that rushed out and love this thing, so...

WILLIS: And they've changed the price point on this already.

Now, another category people thinking about this year, maybe not typical, but they are thinking about cell phones because they have so many great features. Your best in this category are?

KAPLAN: In our survey, people loved Verizon, they said Verizon is great, also U.S. Cellular, but that's sort of a smaller company. I brought out some really neat Verizon phones to show you here.

WILLIS: Look at that.

KAPLAN: This one's all over the ads. It's cool looking. It plays MP3s, which is a pretty neat feature. Maybe you don't need an MP3 feature at all, you just get that feature right in your phone there.

WILLIS: Yeah, pretty exciting and this one is pretty groovy, too. Tell me about this one.

KAPLAN: Ordinary looking. You almost wouldn't realize it receives television signals. They have a special protocol that they've developed, rolling out this new network and you can actually get broadcast quality television on your phone.

WILLIS: All right, should watch OPEN HOUSE on your phone. OK, what are the bad choices. What are the worst choices in this category, according to your readers who you did the survey with.

KAPLAN: Not me. I'm not saying this, it's our readers. They really did not like Sprint. You're talking about cell phones, Sprint did surprise surprisingly poorly. In fact, the only company that did worse was Nextel whom Sprint went out and bought, so customers of Sprint maybe want to look at these funky Verizon phones this year.

WILLIS: So, you're -- what are your customers, readers, telling you about what are going to be the most popular electronics for this Christmas season?

KAPLAN: I think a lot of cameras still being sold, a lot of MP3 players. These are the same things we've seen before. There's no revolutionary new category coming out this year. But, I think a lot of people are going to be looking to upgrade their products with newer versions, better, more features and prices this year are really pretty good. I think a lot of electronics manufacturers are just trying to move a lot of product.

WILLIS: What do I need to know when I go shopping for this? Do you have any tips for buying these products?

KAPLAN: Well, I would urge people to look first at a manufacturer. Think about things like the camera here, you really want -- it's not just megapixels anymore. You really want a company that's reliable. So, in case there's any problem you can go back to them, if you have any service issues, if it doesn't work right out of the box, you need a company that you can trust, which is why this survey came at a really good time.

WILLIS: Jeremy, thanks for your help today, I appreciate it.

KAPLAN: Oh, it was a pleasure, thank you.

WILLIS: Still ahead on OPEN HOUSE, forget the saying you only get what you pay for. We'll show you what you can get for free.

And household mishaps answer to the most common headaches for homeowners. But first, your mortgage numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIS: Rising gas prices, buying gifts. Hey, your wallet is probably getting a workout this holiday season, but there are some things you can get for free. Yes, free. Erin Burt is with Kiplinger's Personal Finance in Baltimore.

Erin, welcome.

ERIN BURT, KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE: Hi, thank you.

WILLIS: Hey, I love free. Free works for me and we've got a long list of things to get through here, I'm excited about them. Let's start -- and it's holiday shopping season with Web sites that allow free ship. This is really important because it adds so much to that holiday budget.

BURT: Right. Right. I mean, free shipping, the great news is that there are free shipping deals out there this holiday season. According to Bizrate research, about 80 percent of online retailers plan to offer some sort of free shipping promotion this year. So, you can keep your eyes open for them. There are some sites that offer free shipping for what the minimum purchase, such as Amazon.com for $25 (IA) for $75, but there are some out there that will give you free shipping no matter how much you spend, how little or how much. LLBean is running a promotion right now offering free shipping on whatever size order you have.

WILLIS: Oh, I love that. That's great news. That's great stuff. OK, now if you're shopping online, you are probably worried about being safe online. You say there's some free software out there.

BURT: That's right. Before you hit the Web, you to make sure your computer is protected from intruders, so you should get a free firewall from. You can get a free firewall from Zonealarm.com. You can also get free anti-virus software from AOL safety and security center and for spyware check out Microsoft windows defender.

WILLIS: OK, that all sounds good. Now, some things aren't free, but you almost get some free stuff. Let's talk about rewards credit cards. Which are your favorites? BURT: Well, rewards cards are a great deal because you're going to be spending the money anyway this holiday season on gifts and travel, so you may as well get some free money back. A great option is American Express's Blue Cash Card. It has no annual fee, so it is absolutely free. The key, though, if you go from the rewards credit card is you want to pay off the balance each month, so you don't wrack up the interest charges, otherwise it really isn't free.

WILLIS: Well, those interest rates on those cards can be pretty high. No, is that a travel card or is that for everything?

BURT: Well, it gives you one percent cash back on everyday purchases up to $6,500. And after that you get five percent cash back on all your purchases.

WILLIS: Not bad. Good deal. OK, you have kids, you go out to dinner, you spend a fortune because the kids they sit down, they don't even eat what they order. You know, now it works. Where can I get free food for the kids?

BURT: Yeah well, free food. Denny's and Lone Star Steakhouse still offer free meals for kids every Tuesday. And there are also some IHOPS and Hooters and Red Robin restaurants that offer free meals for kids at select locations. So, you can go to kidseatfree.com to look for restaurants if your area.

WILLIS: Oh, hey, let's repeat that. Kidseatfree.com, if you're looking for these restaurants. They're listed on that Web site. OK, bargain airfare.

BURT: Oh, bargain airfare. You know, when you're heading out for holiday travel this season, sign up for the frequent flier program. It's absolutely free and you can start wracking up miles from day one. You can use the miles to get free plane tickets, free hotel stays, free merchandise you know, and other perks.

WILLIS: You know, Erin, I just have to mention my favorite freebie in the world. Not that this isn't all that much fun, but you should take advantage of it. Free annualreport.com. Anuralreport.com, go get your annual report...

BURT: Annualreport.com.

WILLIS: And then you can make sure that nobody's using your credit cards any way they shouldn't be, right?

BURT: Right, and especially this holiday season when you're using your credit card a lot, you might want to pull your free credit report. That's annualcreditreport.com and make sure there's nothing fishy going on.

WILLIS: How about free ATMs?

BURT: Oh, free ATMs, you can get hit with surcharges left and right if you don't watch your ATM charge. It's an all point network, it's one free ATM that won't charge you any surcharges. WILLIS: And free music?

BURT: Oh, free music. You know, Internet radio is the great way to get your free groove on nowadays. You know, you have to pay at Napster and iTunes, but you know, if you find a great radio station online that you like, that's one way to do it. Also slaker.com is a new Web site that has plenty of artists and you can make your own playlist, it's a really great site.

WILLIS: And it's free. Did we mention free?

BURT: It's free. You got to love it.

WILLIS: Erin, thanks for being with us today, I really appreciate it.

BURT: Oh, absolutely. Thank you.

WILLIS: As always, if you have an idea on how to save money, send us an e-mail to openhouse@cnn.com. And if you want to check out this "Project Savings again," check out our Web site, cnn.com/openhouse.

Still ahead, answers to the most common household mishaps.

But first, how to see Boston for free in this week's "Local Lowdown."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS (voice-over): Check out what you can do for free in Boston. The Freedom Trail is one of the best known tourist activities and won't cost you a penny. Take this 2-1/2-mile walk to visit 16 historic sites. Try out sailing at the Boston Sailing Center. Once a month, you can take a 30-minute ride around Boston Harbor for absolutely no cost. And if you are looking for something you'll never forget, visit the Museum of Dirt. That's right, dirt. It contains more than 300 viles of dirt from celebrity homes and other exotic locations. That's this week's "Local Lowdown."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIS: Certainly not what you'd expect to find in your Christmas tree, but you never know. Here to tell us about how to deal with life's little disasters, Alexandra Bandon from "This Old House" magazine.

Animals in the house, are you kidding me? What do you do?

ALEXANDRA BANDON, THIS OLD HOUSE MAGAZINE: Well, you know, they're called wild animals for a reason. So, the first thing you should do is not try to sweep them out with a broom or with a tennis racket.

WILLIS: Well, that would be my first -- my first impulse would to be find the biggest thing I could find and hit them over the head. BANDON: They're not do what you want them to do. The best thing to do is to close the door to the room, but first open a window or door because they'll feel the fresh air and then they'll go towards that. They'll go towards the light.

WILLIS: You actually turn off the lights, right?

BANDON: Yeah, that would be helpful. And of it's nighttime, turn on the lights outside. Just get them away from the room and let them do it naturally. And if that doesn't work, call animal control because they'll do it better than you.

WILLIS: Exactly, and they won't be scared like I would be. Basement flooding, though. Big problem, could happen this holiday season. You could have a house full of guests with a mot.

BANDON: Yeah, a lot of storm in the winter or maybe your pipes burst because it's cold. First thing, don't go in the basement if you think that there is electricity below the water level. If you have any outlets down there, that's very dangerous. You're going to walk right into electrocuted water. So make sure, before, check out your basement and make sure that you don't have any outlets down there before you even have this problem.

WILLIS: Great advice.

BANDON: But, if it's a burst pipe, find the water main and turn it off. If it's a storm, just let it subside. It's going to do down when the storm is over and that's the best way to deal with that.

WILLIS: Boy, I bet getting a plumber for the holidays is tough work.

OK, let's talk about something I actually know somebody who did this, they dropped their cell phone in the toilet. Yuck.

BANDON: I have done this. I did this two months ago. And, you know, the best thing you can do is reach in and get it out as fast as you can because the more water that's in there the more damage you can do.

And then take your cell phone apart. Just take out the battery. If you have a phone that has a sim card, not all of them have that, but take them out and dry them off with a paper towel and then wait.

WILLIS: Can I wash it them with a little soap and water, though?

BANDON: No, I wouldn't do that because the more water in there, water and electricity don't mix. You don't want water in with your electrical parts.

WILLIS: OK, so it was bad to drop it in the toilet in the first place.

BANDON: OK, you can take care of it. It's not really a problem. It'll work again, I promise. WILLIS: All right, frat boys next door. This is about noise and noise at all the wrong times. You know, a lot of people have experienced this where they have noisy neighbors, big problem. What is the best way to deal with it?

BANDON: Well, you know, when you worried that your neighbor is going to rent to a frat boy, then maybe you can talk to them first. Offer to get the neighborhood together and maybe pay the rent for a couple of months while they find a nice family or maybe then you can fix up the house for them if it's gong to appeal to a family better. But otherwise, see if there's a local law that keeps them from having too many people in a house at once.

WILLIS: Is there a way with negotiating with those folks once they are in the place to get them to hold it down and not to get angry with you and be even louder?

BANDON: Yeah, I think you just need to appeal to their softer side. Be diplomatic in this situation. Don't be angry, it's only going to ire people up some more. So, just be nice to them and maybe they'll be nice to you and understand.

WILLIS: Well, I hope so. Alex, thanks for helping us avoid those disasters. I appreciate it.

BANDON: Thank you.

WILLIS: You can hear much more the impact of this week's news on your money with YOUR MONEY with Christine Romans and Ali Velshi coming up in a few hours at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

As always, we thank you for spending part of your Saturday with us. OPEN HOUSE will be back next week, right here on CNN. And you can catch us on HEADLINE NEWS every Saturday and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Don't go anywhere; your top stories are next in the CNN NEWSROOM. Have a great weekend.

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