The U.S. Postal Service needs to boost revenue and it sees your mailbox as a potential moneymaker.

It’s created a service, Every Door Direct Mail, to encourage small businesses to send advertisements through the mail. 

You’ve probably seen more junk mail in the last year because of Every Door Direct. And you can expect to see even more in the future. 

The Every Door Direct program is simple and cost effective. For just 14.5 cents per mailing, a business can send fliers, coupons, menus or other advertising materials to people in a targeted area. 

This is unaddressed mail; it does not require a person’s name or street address. The mailing goes to everyone on the carrier’s route. Another benefit: A business can buy as little as a single route (between 500 and 550 deliveries) for about $75. 

“These are offers that people want because they are from the stores where they shop,” says David Mastervitch, manager of saturation mail and catalogs at USPS.  “They don’t consider this junk. They consider this relevant mail because it gives them offers for the local businesses they deal with.” 

The Postal Service says the small business community has embraced the service. In its first year, the Every Door Direct program generated more than $180 million for USPS. 

“I think the product is going to help small business grow and help the Postal Service in the future,” Mastervitch says. 

That’s what worries Chuck Teller, executive director of Catalog Choice, a non-profit group that helps people stop unwanted catalogs and other advertising mail. 

“More than 1.7 billion pieces of unaddressed mail are sent every year and the USPS plans to increase this by five times, generating billions more pieces of unwanted mail annually,” Teller says. “It is imperative that the USPS respect consumer’s right to control the amount and type of advertising mail they receive.” 

Teller insists he is not against direct advertising mail. He just wants people to have the ability to say no to unsolicited ads going into their mailbox. 

I don’t want this! 
What if you don’t want unaddressed advertising mail from a particular business in your area? 

The Postal Service says you should contact the business sending the mailing. Ask to be placed on its “do not mail” list. The company is supposed to pass this information along to the post office, so the carrier will not deliver to your address. 

Catalog Choice says this is not always happening. People have complained that if they ask to have a mailing stopped, some companies say that cannot be done with this type of mail. That’s clearly wrong. 

People are being told they can’t stop this type of mail – which is clearly wrong. Some respond by telling the person to contact their post office. Again, that’s wrong. The Postal Service does not maintain any sort of “do not mail” list. That is done by individual companies. 

But if a company tells the post office you don’t want its advertising mail, there is a process in place to make sure the carrier doesn’t deliver it to you. 

“There is massive confusion between the post office and companies about whether an individual has the right to opt-out of unaddressed mail,” Teller says. 

About a month ago, Catalog Choice started a campaign, which included an online petition to the Postmaster General encouraging him to “respect consumers’ right to control the amount and type of advertising material they receive.” So far, more than 40,000 people have signed the Citizens for Mail Choice petition. 

It asks U.S. Postal Service to train its staff about opt-out policies and procedures, provide clear information to businesses about how to honor opt-outs with Every Door Direct Mail and penalize companies that fail to honor opt-outs from these mailings. 

Teller believes a successful opt-out program for Every Door Direct mail will be good for the post office because the mail people get will be more relevant. The Postal Service says it agrees. 

“This is a new product,” David Mastervitch at U.S.P.S. tells me. “As we go out and do our training with businesses, we will absolutely talk about the fact that every business should honor consumer choice. And if the choice of the consumer is to not get that mailing piece, then you have to have a method to tell us.” 

My two cents 
I hate junk mail as much as the next person. But I also know that the Postal Service needs money and small businesses need a way to grow. Do you really want to pay more to mail a letter or have your local post office closed? 

The mail is there for all of us. The beauty of this new mail service is that it’s simple. It goes to every door. And quite frankly, an unwanted ad in the mailbox is not the same as a telemarketing call during dinner. With the mailing, you just toss it into the recycle bin. 

Still, smart businesspeople know that if someone doesn’t want to be contacted, they should honor those wishes. Hopefully, that word will get out and everyone can benefit from this service. 

Photo courtesy of Skechers

Kim Kardashian was part of the Skechers ad campaign called "deceptive" by the FTC.

Skechers, the company that makes those extremely popular Shape-ups toning shoes, has agreed to pay $40 million in refunds to settle charges of deceptive advertising brought by the Federal Trade Commission. 

(Click here to get the facts about this settlement and instructions on how to file for a refund if you are eligible.) 

You’ve probably seen the ads for Shape-Ups. They say you can “get in shape without setting foot in a gym.” Some of the ads feature celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian and Brooke Burke. 

Skechers USA said its shoes provided more weight loss and muscle toning and strengthening (of the buttocks, legs and abdominal muscles) than regular fitness shoes. 

The FTC complaint charges Skechers with falsely representing that it had clinical studies to back up those claims. The commission alleges the company made similar deceptive claims about its Resistance Runner, Toners and Tone-Up shoes.

“Skechers’ unfounded claims went beyond stronger and more toned muscles. The company even made claims about weight loss and cardiovascular health,” said David Vladeck, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a written statement. “The FTC’s message, for Skechers and other national advertisers, is to shape up your substantiation or tone down your claims.” 

In a press release, Skechers denied the allegations and "believes its advertising was appropriate, but has decided to settle these claims in order to avoid protracted legal proceedings."

Some of the ads for Shape-Ups featured an endorsement from a chiropractor, Dr. Steven Gautreau, who said his recommendation was based on an “independent” clinical study he conducted. The FTC’s lawsuit alleges this study did not produce the positive results claimed. Dr. Gautreau is married to a Skechers marketing executive and the company paid him to conduct the study. The ads did not disclose this information. 

Under the settlement announced today, Skechers is barred from making claims about strengthening, weight loss or any other health or fitness-related benefits from its toning shoes, unless those claims are true and backed by scientific evidence. 

Last year, the FTC reached a similar settlement with Reebok International LTDk about claims for its toning shoes. Reebook agreed to make $25 million in customer refunds.

The federal settlement is part of a broader agreement that resolves an investigation conducted by 44 states and the District of Columbia.

Something else to consider
I first warned you that the claims for toning shoes appeared to be over-hyped back in November of 2010. (ConsumerMan: Do those funky shoes really promote fitness?) I explained that toning shoes are designed to be unstable, which could cause problems for people who already have trouble maintaining their balance.

At that time, Consumer Reports was concerned that seniors who wore toning shoes could increase their risk of falling, which could result in hip fractures or other serious injuries. That’s still something to consider before you buy a pair of these shoes.

More information:

• How’s that Work-out Working Out? Tips on Buying Fitness Gear 

So you have a cell phone or laptop you don't want anymore. Will you sell it, recycle it or give it away?    

Maybe you should destroy it, so it doesn’t spill your secrets. 

Most smart devices are designed to save your personal information. You may think you've erased everything, but it could still be loaded with data – the sort of stuff an identity thief can use to target you. It's a hidden security risk most people don’t know about.

"I was surprised that I found people's entire digital lives,” says Robert Siciliano, an identity theft expert who consults for McAfee, the digital security company. 

Like many of us, Siciliano used to sell his old digital devices when he upgraded to new ones. Not anymore. 

Here's why. Siciliano did a little experiment. He went online and bought a bunch of digital devices: iPhones, iPods, laptops, desktops, netbooks and notebooks. He wanted to see what type of information he could find on them. 

Of the 30 devices he bought, Siciliano was able to retrieve data from more than half of them. And here’s the really scary part. In most cases, he says, sellers thought they had purged the data. But for someone who knows computers, it wasn’t hard to retrieve the information. 

“I found just about anything you can imagine someone would have in a digital format,” he tells me. “I found family photos, personal documents, court documents, child support documents, user names and passwords, Social Security numbers and birthdates. I found employee records and tax documents. I also found a lot of pornography.”

Siciliano says equipment manufacturers and software developers need to do a better job so people can effectively erase and delete the data stored on their devices. 

“A problem with a lot of the digital devices we have today is that when you reset the operating system, when you reinstall or reformat, it often doesn't do the job it says it does,” Siciliano says. “So you're leaving a lot of bread crumbs that can be all spliced back together, which allows a bad guy to basically steal your identity.” 

Based on his experiment, Siciliano says BlackBerries are the best at completely scrubbing deleted data.

Apple products also do a good job. Devices that run on Google’s Android operating system, he says, are the worst. Even when users did a factory reset, Siciliano still could find a tremendous amount of data. He also found that it was hard to completely scrub devices that run on Microsoft’s Windows XP.

Asked to comment on Siciliano's findings, Microsoft said newer versions of its operating systems have considerable security and privacy improvements. Google did not respond.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Siciliano tells me what he found scared him so much that he will never again sell an unwanted digital device that has storage capability.

"I will take it and put it in a vice and I will drill holes through it. I will smash it with a sledgehammer. Or I'll put it in a bucket of salt water for a year,” he says. “But you're not going to see me selling it.” 

One more important finding from this study: Many of the used smartphones and computers Siciliano bought were infected with viruses and other malicious software. If he had used them, his personal information could have been compromised. That’s something to think about before you buy someone else's digital device. The money you save may not be worth the risk.

If you make a purchase with your debit card and overdraw your checking account, will you get hit with a fee? What if you overdraft because of an ATM withdrawal? Are you sure? 

According to a new study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, more than half the people who overdraw did not know they had signed up for overdraft coverage that would result in a fee. 

More than one-third of the respondents surveyed did not know their bank offered overdraft coverage until they incurred a penalty. 

“Many people didn’t feel they fully understood the bank’s policies,” says Susan Weinstock, director of Pew’s Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project. “Forty-three percent said they didn’t think their bank’s policies were very clear about overdrafts.” 

How could this be? It’s been nearly two years now since the Federal Reserve required financial institutions to change their overdraft policies on debit card transactions. You must agree to be enrolled in an overdraft protection plan (that covers point-of-sale debit card purchases or ATM transactions) if there’s a fee involved. 

This opt-in requirement was supposed to clear up the confusion and prevent unintended overdraft charges. And yet, most bank customers still don’t understand how the system works. 

“The study confirmed the concerns we have about whether those who overdraft understand if they opted-in to overdraft protection,” Weinstock says. “More than half of those who had overdrafted didn’t think they had opted-in to overdraft coverage when they had.” 

Note: If you opt-in for the debit card overdraft protection plan and there isn’t enough money in your checking account to cover the ATM withdrawal or the in-store purchase, you’ll get hit with that $35 fee. If you do not opt-in for the coverage, the transaction will be declined – but you won’t pay a fee. Based on the Pew study, you'd be smart to check with your bank to see how your account is set up. Remember, you can change your decision about overdraft protection at any time.

Another interesting finding 
The bank customers in this survey overwhelmingly (75 percent) said they preferred to have their transaction declined if they had insufficient funds, rather than have it processed for a $35 fee. (That is the median price for an overdraft in the U.S. right now.) 

The Pew study also makes it clear that people don’t like to be hit with surprise overdraft fees. More than 60 percent of those who had paid an overdraft fee said this service hurts more than helps. About a third of those surveyed said they had closed a checking account because of such a fee. 

Are new rules needed? 
The Consumer Financial Protect Bureau (CFPB) is investigating checking account overdraft protection programs to see how they are impacting customers. 

As part of that process, the CFPB wants feedback on a prototype “penalty fee box” it designed for bank statements. This box would highlight how much you paid in overdraft fees and why. Comments are being accepted until the end of June. 

The CFPB also issued a consumer advisory about overdraft coverage. It’s short, simple and should help you figure out your overdraft status. 

Pew would like to see the CFPB issue a rule that would require all overdraft penalty fees to be reasonable and proportional to the bank’s costs in covering the overdraft. 

Money-saving tips 
The American Bankers Association says most customers don’t pay overdraft fees. And the Pew survey confirms that. About one in five of those surveyed (18 percent) said they had paid an overdraft penalty fee. 

Consumer Reports recently published a list ways to avoid overdraft fees: 

• Decline overdraft protection. If you’ve already signed up, you can contract your bank to opt out. Your debit card will be declined if you exceed your balance, but you won’t get hit with overdraft fees. 
• Link your accounts. Ask your bank to link your savings to your checking account for overdraft protection.  You might get hit with a transfer fee but it’s generally lower, about $5 to $10. 
• Consider an overdraft line of credit. Any overdrafts will be covered by the line of credit. They will incur interest but you’ll probably pay less than overdraft fees. 
• Budget better. Sign up for email or text alerts to know when your account balance falls to a certain level.  Balance your checkbook regularly and keep track of all checks you have written, plus debit transactions, automatic bill payments, and direct deposits. 

Getty Images file

Your phone could be part of a scam being run against you.

It's the scam that just won't go away. About 20 million phone customers in this country become cramming victims each year, according to the Federal Communications Commission. That is, unauthorized charges for services they did not order are put on their phone bills. 

The FCC voted on Friday to do more to combat this telecom fraud. It unanimously approved new rules requiring landline telephone companies to tell customers -- at the point of sale, on their websites and on each bill (whether paper or online) -- how to block unauthorized third-party charges if the company offers that option. 

"Cramming is a big issue," says FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Landline carriers that bill for non-telecommunications services from third parties will now be required to place those charges in a section of the bill separate from all of the phone company charges. Charges for each section of the bill must have separate subtotals. The idea is to make it easier for you to spot bogus charges when you review your bill. 

The FCC did not adopt the stronger protections requested by consumer advocates and some state prosecutors to prohibit third-party charges on phone bills unless the customer consents (opts-in) to this service. 

Instead, the commissioners asked for comments about whether more rules were needed. 

John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud for the National Consumers League is disappointed the commission wasn't more aggressive in its new cramming rules. He says disclosure isn’t enough.

"The system of third-party billing that the phone companies have had in place since the late 1990's is an invitation to fraud,” Breyault says. “Crammers rely on the fact that most consumers don't look at their bills. That’s even more so today since people are increasingly turning away from getting a paper bill and getting a paperless bill, often with auto-pay that provides even less incentive for them to check their bills."

And what about wireless phones?
Consumer groups say the FCC dropped the ball by limiting anti-cramming protection to landline phone service. 

A number of prominent organizations, including Consumers Union, AARP and the Consumer Federation of America, urged the FCC to extend anti-cramming protection to mobile phone and VoIP service.

The commissioners decided against that. Instead, they will "monitor" cramming complaints from wireless and Internet phone customers.

“Any step taken to expand consumer protections against cramming is a welcome one” says Parul Desai with Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports. "However, more consumers are moving away from landlines towards wireless and VoIP services that aren’t guaranteed the same protections to combat unauthorized third-party billing.”

Fraud experts warn that cramming on cell phones will become worse than on landlines, as soon as mobile payment technology takes off.

"There's significant potential for cramming fraud on wireless devices," says Linda Sherry, director of national priorities at Consumer Action. "We want to see an FCC rule requiring consumer opt-in before any third-party charges can be billed on any phone bill."

Protect yourself
Crammers are sneaky and they won't be easily stopped. That's why it's so important to check all of your phone bills every month for mysterious charges that could be bogus.

If you find an unauthorized charge, dispute it with your phone company and the company that placed the charge -- if you can find them. Then file a report with the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. These agencies use consumer complaints in their investigations.

Unless you plan to let outside companies bill you via your phone bill (which opens you up to the potential for fraud), contact your phone company and ask about their blocking service. If they don't offer it, tell them they should.

My two cents
The FCC's new rules should make it easier for you to spot on your landline phone bills. But clearly, more needs to be done to stop crammers from getting that bogus charge on your bill in the first place.

The FCC commissioners say cramming on wireless and VoIP are not serious right now. But their own statistics show that a third of the cramming complaints are from wireless customers. Why wait until the cramming problem gets out of hand, as it is with landline service?

AT&T, CenturyLink and Verizon, recently announced plans to stop billing for “enhanced” services from outside companies -- such as web hosting, voicemail, and email -- starting later this year. It’s a positive step, but inadequate. It's voluntary, limited to only some charges and not industrywide.

This is why the FCC needs to act. If the commission truly wants to protect people, it needs to prevent all third-party billing to all phone numbers -- landline, cell and VoIP -- unless the customer specifically permits it.

If you agree, I urge you to contact the FCC and let them know you want this anti-cramming protection across the board.

Read more:

ConsumerMan: Are there bogus charges on your phone bill?

FCC:  How to spot and prevent cramming

FTC:  Mystery phone charges

MyGreenWealth.com

Green Millionaire LLC of Los Angeles agreed to pay almost $2 million in refunds to victims.

The Federal Trade Commission just shut down a marketing operation that allegedly tricked people into signing up for subscriptions to an online magazine. In its complaint, the FTC says the lure was a supposedly “free” book that falsely promised to explain how to “get free gas for life.” 

The “Green Millionaire Book” also promised to show people “how to put solar panels on your roof for free” and how to “make your electricity meter go backwards paying you.” 

The television ads, which ran from September 2009 through November of 2010, said over and over again that the book was “free.” 

“The word ‘free’ was on the screen for a lot of the commercial in large white letters with exclamation points,” says FTC attorney Carmen Christopher. “And the author, Nigel Williams, who was in the commercials said the book was ‘free.’ ” 

To order the book, people had to go to the company’s website which said: “GET YOUR FREE BOOK TODAY!” They were required to provide their credit card or bank account number to pay for a $1.95 shipping and handling fee. 

In its lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission says people who ordered the Green Millionaire Book were billed for an online magazine subscription they didn’t want and never knowingly agreed to. The cost of the subscription was either $29.95 for a two months subscription or $89.95 for one year. 

(Read: FTC News Release) 

The federal complaint says the company broke the law by not clearly disclosing the automatic subscription and how to cancel it to avoid being charged. 

The Green Millionaire website did have some disclaimers about the costs associated with the book, but FTC attorney Christopher says they were “pretty well hidden” from the consumer. 

“It would have to be a pretty savvy person to realize that there would be additional charges,” she says. 

The FTC also alleges the testimonials used in the TV commercials, such as “I don’t pay for electricity,” “I don’t have car payments,” and “I don’t pay for fuel,” were phony. 

In settling the FTC complaint, Green Millionaire, LLC of Los Angeles agreed to pay almost $2 million in refunds to victims. Most customers should get checks for about half the amount they paid. 

The bottom line
I’ve warned you about “free” offers and the risk you take anytime they want your credit or debit card number.  (Read: Con artist took in $359 million with bogus 'free-trial' offers) 

This is an ongoing problem. That’s why I steer clear of such offers. It’s simply not worth the risk. If you want to give me a free sample – give it to me for FREE.

An FTC video, Free Trial Offers tells how to check out a free trial before you sign up, and what to do if you are charged for merchandise you don't want and didn't order. For more information on free trials, read "Free Trials" Aren't Always Free. 

Candice Choi / AP

Prepaid cards are "one of the few major financial products that has grown in usage in the past year," accprding to a new report.

There’s a big change taking place. Many young people and those who want to avoid, or don’t qualify for, traditional financial products are choosing to use prepaid debit cards. 

A new study from Javelin Strategy and Research finds that the use of prepaid cards rose by about 18 percent last year.  About 13 percent of the households in this country had one of these cards in 2011. 

Debit cards linked to checking accounts are still significantly more popular than prepaid cards. But the Javelin report points out that prepaid cards are “one of the few major financial products that has grown in usage in the past year.”  In fact, the number of Americans with credit cards, checking accounts, and bank debit cards is actually falling. 

Beth Robertson, director of payments research at Javelin, says these cards are no longer just for people who don’t have a lot of money. 

“Today’s prepaid features match and even surpass the features of many checking accounts, Robertson says. “ They include allowing you to manage your card through your mobile device or social media account, or make person-to-person transfers. 

The use of these cards is soaring. According to the Mercator Advisory Group $28.6 billion was placed onto reloadable prepaid cards in 2009. By next year that figure could reach $200 billion. 

Why are these cards so popular? 

To find out, the Pew Health Group’s Financial Security Portfolio conducted focus groups with people who buy prepaid debit cards. Users said they like the cards because they help them budget and control their spending.  They put a certain amount of money on the card and when it’s empty, they’re done. 

(Read: Key Focus Group Findings on Prepaid Debit Cards) 

Most of those in the focus groups also had checking accounts. But they use prepaid cards to avoid overdraft fees. 

“They’d rather pay the $3 and $4 fees to load and reload rather than pay a $35 overdraft fee,” says Pew’s Susan Weinstock. “And just the fear of the overdraft fee seems to be driving them toward using a prepaid card." 

Focus group participants said things like:

“I don’t like the fees on prepaid debit cards…but I’d prefer to pay the $3.95 than have to deal with the things that I know that people go through with their checking accounts.

“I think (prepaid card fees) are fair because they’re upfront. This is the cost of the card; this is the cost for the services. It’s up to you at that point.”

The Pew researchers were surprised to find that prepaid cards also appeal to people who don’t want their purchases tracked. These consumers buy the cards but don’t register them. When the money’s gone, they buy another. 

“They like the anonymity of the card,” Weinstock says. 

Watch out: tons of fees
There’s no question a prepaid card can be a useful money management tool for some people. But most cards have all sorts of fees. 

“There are more fees than you will typically find on either a credit or debit card,” says Ruth Susswein, deputy director of national priorities at Consumer Action, an advocacy group based in San Francisco. 

Consumer Action just released a survey of the prepaid card market. They examined 28 cards from 11 issuers. Most are available nationwide.

The survey compared the costs to buy, load and use the cards. It found fees vary greatly from card to card.  

“Some of these fees can really be unconscionable,” Susswein says.

There were fees for reloading money, ATM cash withdrawals, balance inquiries, or making a purchase without enough money on the card. There may even be a fee if you close the account or don’t use the card for a few months.

Most of the cards (20 out of 28) have monthly maintenance fees. The READYdebit Visa Prepaid Platinum had the highest fee in this survey – $14.95 a month.

Consumer Action found that some cards make it possible to avoid the monthly charge:

• Mango, Bank Freedom, Capital One and Regions Bank waive monthly fees when you load $500 or more per month.
• Green Dot cards waive the $5.95 fee if you make at least 30 purchases or load at least $1,000 onto your account each month.

The bottom line: “Some prepaid cards should be avoided because of the ‘gotcha’ fees,” Susswein advises. “Other cards really can be quite a good deal and quite a convenience tool for people if they know how to avoid many of the fees.” 

For example, if there’s a charge to withdraw cash from an ATM, get extra cash back at the register when you make a purchase.  If there’s a fee to check the balance over the phone, see if the card company offers free balance updates online or via text message.

Warning: consumer protection lacking
Prepaid cards are every bit as convenient to use as a checking account debit card. But federal law does not require them to provide the same protections for fraud and error resolution. Most prepaid cards do offer those protections voluntarily.  But because it’s voluntary, it can change at any time for any reason.

Something else to remember: unlike checking accounts, prepaid cards may not have FDIC protection. If the company goes bust, you could be out the money loaded onto the card.

Finally, prepaid card companies do not have the same obligation that banks have to disclose fees. So you’d better take the time to find out before you buy that card.

Read: Consumer Action Prepaid Card Survey (April 2012)