Consumers don't have to be victims

The internet giveth, and the internet taketh away.

Where would we be without the now indispensable tool that allows us to do weeks worth of research in a few seconds? To conjure up music of the millennia in milliseconds? To communicate with almost anyone almost anywhere in the world? Yes, in the blink of an eye and the flick of a finger tip.

And where would we be without the ruthless rats who prey on the innocent and bilk them out of their bucks? Who use the internet via smart phones and various other computing devices to transfer funds from the hard-working to the heartless-stealing?

The fact that many scam plots are re-runs is proof that too many victims aren’t paying attention. On Wednesday, Idaho AARP and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office teamed up for a massive info blitz. The guess here is that the statewide, telephonic town hall will save Gem State victims millions of dollars and almost as many headaches and heartaches. Well done, AARP and AG.

On Jan. 18, 2017, The Press got into the consumer defense game. Bill Brooks, whose consumer advocacy roots go back to work he did as a University of Illinois student in the ‘70s, wrote a twice-weekly column for The Press for nearly two years. He did it as a public service, devoting nearly full-time hours without getting paid a single penny. By all accounts, Bill’s column was likely the most-read regular feature in the newspaper.

Last November, while Bill was preparing to shift his public service to a new role as county commissioner, professional writer Terri Dickerson took over the consumer column. And she’s been logging similarly overwhelming hours as Bill, working with locals as they navigate the many minefields of scams and cheats, then writing about how to avoid them.

Terri’s Consumer Gal columns rival Bill’s for popularity, but all the hours donated as a public service simply isn’t a tenable long-term arrangement. So starting in May, Terri will be writing one Consumer Gal column a week and getting paid for it. The Press is also working with Jason Kama of the Better Business Bureau to supplement Terri’s outstanding work.

The internet is being used for good and evil; frequently, it seems, more for the latter than the former.

Terri and Jason aim to arm all you good guys and gals with shields.