KVAL - News - Consumer

New program offers break on student loans

There's some good news for college graduates who have big student loans to pay off. You may be able to get some help from Uncle Sam. The U.S. Department of Education launched its new repayment plan on Wednesday. It lets college graduates reduce their student loan based on their income.

Gov't announces 'Operation Short Change'

The Federal Trade Commission announced a major crackdown Wednesday on scammers trying to take advantage of people worried about the tough economy by promising jobs that don't exist, get-rich-quick schemes and other phony services.

Options for patients with medication-resistant depression

Psychotherapy, talk therapy and electro-convulsive therapy have been available for many years, and now there's the emerging field of “pharmacogenomics."

Program offers layoff protection for home buyers

You've made the decision. It's time to buy a house. You pre-qualified for a loan and found the perfect place, but you're worried about your job. There's a new program designed to ease that concern.

Tough times can drive people to commit crimes we all pay for

Tough times can drive people to do desperate things. Faced with car payments they can no longer afford, more and more people are choosing to commit fraud to get rid of their cars. But those are crimes we all pay for.

Good time to check your tax withholding

With the year half over, it's a good time to see how much you have the IRS take out every paycheck so you don't get a big surprise when you file you 2009 tax return next April.

How to keep those con artists from your nest egg

Whether you've saved a little or a lot, we all want to build up a bigger nest egg for retirement. But be careful! Get sucked in by a con artist and your nest egg could fly away.

Check your phone bill for unauthorized charges

When you get your phone bill, you assume the charges are directly connected to your phone service. But some of those charges could be coming from a third party for services you know nothing about.

Beware of thieves posing as travelers at airports

There's no question that bad apple employees are the biggest part of the baggage theft problem. But outsiders posing as passengers are also to blame.

A new amazing car offer you'll want to pass up

An e-mail is making the rounds pretending to be from Ford telling of discounts up to 35 percent if you send them your personal information. But as you might suspect, it's a scam.