uNYC Officials Set On Rooting Out Errant Food Vendors Who Don’t Post Pricesr

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  (KitanaOR)

  It started with one vendor accused of selling $30 hot dogs to unwitting tourists, but now New York City officials want to make it clear that food carts must have their prices listed for customers to see if they don’t want the long arm of the law to come knocking.

  The Department of Consumer Affairs has embarked on a “crackdown” on street vendors who aren’t displaying their prices, reports the New York Post, focusing its efforts on where tourists and visitors are commonly found.

  “We are cracking down on vendors not posting prices — especially in key business and tourist corridors throughout the city,” Consumer Affairs Commissioner Julie Menin said. “We take consumer protection very seriously in New York City, and we want to make sure no visitor to our great city and no New Yorker is taken advantage of by ­unscrupulous vendors.”

  The agency’s inspectors have been told to pay special attention to vendors who either hide how much their items costs or just make them up on the spot.

  Along with the now infamous hot dog vendor caught on tape in downtown Manhattan, the NYP says it also spotted about a dozen vendors breaking the law around City Hall — in other words, right near the area where laws are made against such shady dealings.

  The paper says one vendor tried to sell a reporter a hot dog for $7, changing the price for the jumbo wiener to $8 an hour later. When asked to see his prices, he pulled out a sheet of paper with hot dogs listed at $4, and said the extra money was added on for sauerkraut no one asked for.

  Consumer Affairs officials say there have been 20 complaints about food vendor ripoffs since 2014. Anyone who encounters a cart without prices listed or is charged more than the posted price can submit a complaint to the agency online at nyc.gov/consumer or call 311 in NYC.

  NYC declares war on free-market hot dogs [New York Post]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uData Breaches Now Cost Companies An Average Of $3.8Mr

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  (Mr Seb)

  The aftermath of a now all-too-common data breach can be frustrating for consumers: canceling credit cards, monitoring credit reports for irregularities, and working with banks to recoup unauthorized purchases. But the hacks can also be expensive for the targeted company, with the average cost now sitting at a 10-year high of $3.8 million.

  That figure is courtesy of a new study [PDF] “Cost of a Data Breach” conducted by data-security research organization Ponemon Institute, which looked at data breaches at 350 companies in 11 countries.

  According to the study, the past 12 months – punctuated with several high-profile breaches from JPMorgan Chase, Sony, and Anthem Insurance, just to name a few – saw a significant increase in the financial responsibility incurred by companies suffering hacks.

  The new average cost in 2105 of $3.8 million represents a jump of 8% when compared to $3.52 million in 2014 and a 23% increase over 2013 figures.

  The study ties organizations’ higher expenses to several factors including the fact that cyber attacks are simply more common, customers aren’t returning to the company after a breach and the increased cost of fixing the cause of the attack.

  Although the average price of investigating and fixing a breach increased from $760,000 to $990,000, the most costly part of a breach is loss of business. In fact, lost business constituted nearly 40% of the costs related to a data breach in 2015.

  According to the study, data breaches cost organizations an average of $1.57 million in lost business, an increase from $1.23 million lost in 2013.

  As the overall expense of a data breach has increased for companies, so has the average price of a compromised record.

  The average paid for each lost or stolen record containing sensitive and confidential information increased from $145 in 2014 to $154 in this year’s study.

  While all types of companies saw an increase in the cost related to breaches, different industries were affected more than others.

  For example, if a healthcare organization has a breach the average cost could be as high as $363 per stolen record, while breaches in the transportation industry run about $121 per record.

  The education industry has an average cost per record of $300, and average price for a record in the public sector is $68.

  [H/T Credit.com]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSeattle Couple Realizes After Three Months They’ve Got A $1M Powerball Ticketr

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  (Lisa Brewster)

  You know how they say, “You can’t win if you don’t play?” That’s true, but you also can’t really win unless you remember to check your ticket. That was the case for a Seattle couple who bought a Powerball ticket, left it in the car for months and then decided to check it after all. Turns out they’d won $1 million.

  Officials with the Washington Lottery say the Powerball ticket sat in the couple’s car for three months — including during a break-in where a thief stole a pair of sunglasses sitting on top of the ticket, but left the winning paper behind — before they thought to check if they’d won anything.

  They’d already lost out on the $350 million jackpot drawing in February, but hadn’t explored other possibilities.

  “We didn’t even think about a second chance prize,” the couple told the Washington Lottery, saying the ticket could’ve been lost entirely.

  They just recently checked the ticket online and realized they were winners after all. The store where they bought the ticket will win too — a $10,000 selling bonus.

  The couple now plans on planning trips to Paris and Iceland, as well as taking care of their house. Everyone else is planning on double-checking all old tickets stuffed in odd places around the house/in wallets/under the car seat.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uMan Arrested After Police Say He Stuffed An AK-47 Down His Pantsr

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  These are toy guns, which also should not be stuffed down your pants. (Sean)

  The AK-47 is many things, but it is definitely not a small and discreet weapon. That’s why it’s not surprising that a man in Florida was arrested after trying to shove one of the assault rifles down his pants in a pawn shop, evidently thinking that this was something he would be able to get away with.

  Unfortunately for all of us, the surveillance footage of this incident that allegedly exists hasn’t been released, but the store owner says that he spotted the 19-year-old walking strangely, then confronted him and took the rifle back. Police caught up with the suspect later, and he did confess to attempting to steal the rifle.

  A judge set his bond very high: it turns out that the man was already out on bond for a domestic violence arrest and had an injunction from a different state not to go anywhere near guns. That makes this case significantly less hilarious. Maybe even not hilarious at all.

  “It’s one thing to try to steal a firearm,” the prosecutor said in court. “It’s another thing trying to steal an AK47 and potentially trying to put a stolen firearm out on the street.” Exactly: being legally permitted to buy the weapon and purchasing it using actual money are one thing, but the poor judgement needed to steal a weapon when not legally permitted to have one…that could lead to some serious trouble.

  Man stuffed AK-47 rifle down his pants at Davie pawn shop, police say [Sun-Sentinel]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uClash Of The Fitness Trackers: Jawbone Lawsuit Accuses Fitbit Of Stealing Trade Secrets, Other Infor

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  (theglobalpanorama)

  That rumble you hear in the gym, amid the clanking and whirring and grunting? It’s two fitness trackers going at it, just in time for one of the companies to go public: Jawbone has filed a lawsuit against Fitbit, claiming its rival stole Jawbone employees in order to get trade secrets the workers had swiped on the job, among other things.

  According to the complaint filed in California State Court on Wednesday, Jawbone says Fitbit was “systematically plundering” confidential information, after hiring Jawbone employees who’d downloaded sensitive material before leaving, reports the New York Times.

  “This case arises out of the clandestine efforts of Fitbit to steal talent, trade secrets and intellectual property from its chief competitor,” lawyers for Jawbone wrote.

  The complaint says recruiters for Fitbit got in touch with almost a third of Jawbone’s employees early in 2015. Some workers decided to leave, but the lawsuit says they downloaded information like the company’s current and future business plans and products on the way out, allegedly using special programs to cover up their tracks or delete system logs afterward.

  According to one example given in the lawsuit, a Jawbone worker was hired by Fitbit and waited six days to disclose that she planned to leave. Two days before the end of her time at Jawbone, Fitbit’s complaint says she met with Jawbone to discuss the company’s future plans and then downloaded what the company calls a “playbook” outlining its future products.

  Jawbone also quoted an unnamed executive search consultant in the court filing, who reportedly said, “Fitbit’s objective is to decimate Jawbone.”

  Though the complaint notes that Fitbit’s chief people officer Marty Reaume admitted to Jawbone in a phone call that her company had been poaching workers, she said nothing about allegations of stolen information.

  “As the pioneer and leader in the connected health and fitness market, Fitbit has no need to take information from Jawbone or any other company,” Fitbit said in a statement. “Since Fitbit’s start in 2007, our employees have developed and delivered innovative product offerings to empower our customers to lead healthier, more active lives. We are unaware of any confidential or proprietary information of Jawbone in our possession and we intend to vigorously defend against these allegations.”

  Jawbone is seeking both financial damages and relief from the court to keep former employees from using the information the company says they took.

  Jawbone Accuses Fitbit of Stealing Information by Hiring Workers Away [New York Times]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uWill A More Toasty Bun Make You Want To Eat A McDonald’s Burger?r

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  (Eva A.)

  By now, most of us are aware that McDonald’s is struggling to attract and retain new customers – mainly those labeled as millennials. The fast food giant’s latest attempt to turn things around doesn’t involve a plethora of new artisanal or healthy menu items. Instead, it entails making sure your order comes out piping hot and correct.

  McDonald’s, aiming to improve the taste of its meals, plans to toast buns longer and sear its burgers, the Associated Press reports.

  New Golden Arches CEO Steve Easterbrook announced the changes during the Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference in New York Wednesday.

  While toasting the buns longer might make you think McDonald’s is turning to a crunchy burger, it’s actually an attempt to keep sandwiches warmer longer.

  As for the change to the way McDonald’s sears and grills its beef, Easterbrook says the new method will make burgers juicier.

  “It’s these little things that add up to big differences for our customers,” he said of the company’s turnaround progress.

  In addition to unveiling the updated cooking method for staple menu items, McDonald’s announced Wednesday that it is testing a new, rather repetitive, protocol for taking orders, the Wall Street Journal reports.

  Called “Ask, Ask, Tell,” the new system was initiated by a Wyoming franchisee in an attempt to make sure orders go out correctly.

  According to a 31-page manual on the new system, order takers must repeat the entire order to customers and ask if it’s correct. Cashiers then repeat the process by saying something like: “Hi, does your order include [menu item]?”

  When the food is ready to be handed over, the next employee is supposed to once again verify the order asking, “Hi, here is your order WITH [menu item].”

  Purchases made at the drive-thru will also get a new order-accuracy system, with employees now instructed to present the customers with open bags.

  “Leaving the bag open speeds up the line because customers don’t stop to open their bag and check it,” states the manual.

  McDonald’s claims that since the system was implemented with select franchisees in late 2013, customer complaints have gone down, while sales have gone up. The protocol is expected to roll out national this summer.

  McDonald’s Targets Bun Toasting, Burger Searing [The Associated Press]
  McDonald’s Rolls Out New Protocol for Taking Orders [The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uStudy: Streaming Video Is Now More Than Half Of All Prime-Time Internet Trafficr

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  (Jeffrey)

  
  If you’re in the United States, and you use the internet of an evening after work, then chances are you like your Netflix. In fact, chances are you like your Netflix a lot. And millions of other Americans seem to agree with you, because Netflix is taking up a huge amount of all prime-time internet traffic in the country.

  That’s in the latest report (PDF) from internet analytics company Sandvine, which has been tracking trends in national and international data use for several years.

  Netflix by itself, the research finds, accounts for about 36.5% of all downstream internet traffic at that time of day. YouTube comes in second place, at about 15.5% of downstream prime-time traffic. That means, between those two services alone, streaming video accounts for over half of all prime-time internet traffic.

  Amazon Video and Hulu do both also barely make the top-ten list, way down in the 1.9% – 2% range. Add all four together and you’re looking at about 56% of all downstream internet traffic being video entertainment.

  Looking back over Sandvine’s reports over the past few years shows how quickly Netflix’s streaming presence has grown. In 2010, Netflix cracked the 20% mark of internet traffic, but on average viewers were streaming less than an hour of content per day.

  Now, Netflix has over 41 million members in the U.S. who each stream an average of over 90 minutes per day of TV and movies. Small wonder that adds up to so much bandwidth.

  We may not all turn on the big screen and channel surf between 8 and 11 p.m. anymore, but old habits die hard. Like our parents and grandparents before us, we’re all still spending prime time watching TV… we just have a new way to do it.

  Global Internet Phenomena Report [Sandvine]

  
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by Kate Cox via Consumerist