Consumer News: Here’s what to consider when buying a teen’s first car

Apple Intelligence is a suite of AI-powered features

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Apple is bringing artificial intelligence directly to the iPhone, integrating AI features across apps and system functions rather than offering a standalone chatbot.

• Many AI tasks will run on the device itself, helping protect user privacy while delivering faster responses and personalized assistance.

• The rollout could reshape how consumers interact with smartphones, making routine tasks more automated and potentially increasing demand for newer iPhone models.

Apple's long-awaited entry into consumer artificial intelligence is arriving on the iPhone, one of the company's most significant software shifts since the introduction of Siri more than a decade ago.

The company has begun rolling out what it calls "Apple Intelligence," a suite of AI-powered features designed to help users write messages, summarize notifications, edit photos, and manage everyday tasks more efficiently. Unlike some competitors that have focused on standalone AI chatbots, Apple is embedding AI capabilities throughout its operating system and applications.

For consumers, the most immediate impact may be convenience. AI tools can help rewrite emails, generate text, organize information, and surface relevant content across apps. The technology is also expected to improve Siri's ability to understand context and handle more complex requests.

Emphasis on privacy

Apple says a key difference in its approach is its emphasis on privacy. Many AI functions run directly on the device using Apple's custom silicon, reducing the amount of personal information that must be sent to cloud servers. For more demanding tasks, Apple says it uses a system called Private Cloud Compute, designed to provide additional processing power while maintaining security protections.

The introduction of AI could also influence purchasing decisions. Some advanced features require newer iPhone models equipped with the latest processors, potentially encouraging users with older devices to upgrade.

Industry analysts view the move as Apple's response to a rapidly evolving competitive landscape, with Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and other technology companies investing heavily in generative AI.

By integrating AI into the iPhone ecosystem, Apple is betting that consumers will value practical, everyday assistance over standalone AI experiences. Whether the strategy succeeds will depend on how useful the new features prove to be in daily life.

Tellers are being trained to recognize out-of-character behavior and intervene

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Bank tellers are increasingly serving as the first line of defense against financial targeting older and vulnerable customers.

• Financial institutions are training frontline employees to recognize warning signs of fraud and intervene before money leaves an account.

• Industry experts say teller intervention has prevented millions of dollars in losses as become more sophisticated.

Online banking has replaced many bank tellers, but these employees at brick and mortar financial institutions are playing an increasingly important role in preventing their customers from being scammed.

While technology, artificial intelligence, and fraud-detection software have become essential tools in the fight against financial crime, experts say the human element remains one of the most effective safeguards. In many cases, it is a conversation with a vigilant teller that stops a scam before money changes hands.

Banks across the country are reporting growing numbers of customers arriving at branches seeking to withdraw large sums of cash or wire money under suspicious circumstances. Often, customers have been manipulated by scammers posing as government officials, law enforcement officers, tech support representatives, romantic partners, or even distressed family members.

Law enforcement officials say tellers are uniquely positioned to spot unusual transactions and ask the right questions. In some cases, they know their customers and can recognize behavior that seems out of character.

What tellers look for

Common warning signs include customers appearing nervous, secretive, or unusually rushed. Some scam victims remain on the phone with fraudsters while conducting transactions, while others insist they must complete a withdrawal immediately to avoid legal consequences or protect their accounts.

This trend didnt just happen. Many financial institutions have expanded employee training programs to help tellers identify these red flags. Staff members are taught to ask probing but respectful questions about the purpose of large withdrawals or wire transfers and to recognize common scam narratives.

In some cases, tellers have persuaded customers to pause a transaction long enough to verify claims made by scammers. Others have involved branch managers, fraud specialists, or even local law enforcement when they suspect a customer is being victimized.

Particularly helpful for older adults

Consumer advocates say these interventions are particularly important for older adults, who are often targeted by fraud schemes involving fake government agencies, investment opportunities, or emergency requests from supposed relatives.

The financial stakes are significant. According to fraud prevention experts, victims can lose thousandsor even hundreds of thousandsof dollars in a single transaction. Once money is withdrawn in cash, wired overseas, or converted into cryptocurrency, recovery is often difficult or impossible.

Banks acknowledge that preventing can be challenging because customers have the legal right to access their money. Nevertheless, many institutions encourage employees to engage customers in conversation when transactions appear suspicious.

As scammers continue to adapt their tactics, industry observers say the role of bank tellers is becoming increasingly important. Their ability to recognize warning signs, build trust with customers, and intervene at critical moments is helping prevent financial losses that technology alone cannot always stop.

Hidden texting flaw allowed attackers to impersonate trusted contacts

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Researchers discovered a flaw that allowed attackers to impersonate trusted contacts in text message conversations on both Android and iPhone devices.

• The vulnerability affected all major U.S. wireless carriers, including Verizon, T-Mobile and Google Fi, as well as messaging apps on Apple and Google smartphones.

• Carriers and smartphone makers have now patched the flaw after working with researchers at the University of California San Diego.

A security flaw that allowed attackers to impersonate trusted contacts in text message conversations has been patched after researchers at the University of California, San Diego, uncovered the vulnerability and worked with carriers and smartphone makers to fix it.

The flaw affected both Android and iPhone devices and could be exploited across major wireless carriers, including Verizon, T-Mobile and Google Fi, as well as smaller operators such as Mint Mobile.

Researchers said the vulnerability stemmed from a little-known feature that allows emails to be delivered as text messages. While the capability was introduced by carriers more than two decades ago to help popularize texting, the translation between email and text message formats created opportunities for attackers to disguise their identities.

Design problem

"Email and text messaging weren't designed to work together," said Stefan Savage, a professor of computer science and engineering at UC San Diego and one of the study's senior authors. "It's a little bit like reading postcards to someone over the phone and needing to figure out where the sender and recipient information and the message itself are."

According to the researchers, attackers could exploit inconsistencies in the way email information is converted into text messages. By using special characters and formatting tricks, bad actors could make messages appear to come from someone already stored in a victim's contact list.

In some cases, the researchers were able to inject fraudulent messages directly into existing text conversations with known contacts, increasing the likelihood that recipients would trust the messages.

The attack did have limits. While attackers could send convincing messages that appeared to come from trusted contacts, they could not intercept or view replies sent by victims.

"There are no standards for converting emails to texts and that opens the door to all sorts of vulnerabilities," said Sumanth Rao, a UC San Diego doctoral student and the paper's lead author.

Carriers response

The researchers disclosed the vulnerability to carriers and technology companies, which subsequently implemented fixes. Verizon, T-Mobile and Google modified the way email address information is translated into text messages to prevent the impersonation technique.

Google also patched the vulnerability in Google Messages, while Apple addressed the issue in its Messages app for iPhones.

Verizon is taking an additional step by eliminating the ability for customers to send text messages via email, a process the company expects to complete by March 2027.

The findings raise broader questions about the security of traditional text messaging, which many consumers continue to use for personal and business communications.

Dangerous miscalculation

"The whole ecosystem of cellular communication is built on the assumption that the system that transports text messages from phone to phone, or email to phone, is reliable and robust," the researchers wrote. "That is not the case."

Savage said consumers often assume that a text message's displayed sender accurately reflects who sent it.

"People don't realize that there's no guarantee that text messages have integrity," he said. "You can't count on authenticity."

The researchers presented their findings at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in San Francisco.

Experts say its not just the economy

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Major restaurant chains including Wendys, Jack in the Box, and Pizza Hut have closed locations as operators face shrinking profit margins, rising labor and ingredient costs, and higher transportation expenses.

• Industry experts say changing consumer preferences, increased competition, aging customer bases, and economic pressures such as inflation and tariffs have made it harder for many franchise locations to remain profitable.

• Today's diners expect strong value, convenience, and seamless digital experiences; brands that fail to keep pace with technology, service expectations, and perceived value risk losing customers and closing more locations.

Has your favorite chain restaurant closed your favorite location? For a growing number of consumers, the answer is yes.

Wendys, Jack in the Box and Pizza Hut are just a few of the chains that have shuttered stores in the last few years. Yes, the economy might have something to do with it, but the industry experts we consulted said there are other factors at work as well.

"The closings come down to margins, Eric Lam, CEO at Berry AI, told ConsumerAffairs.

For years, operators could cover thin unit economics with promotions to increase traffic and price increases. Both of those are tapped out now. What's left is operational efficiency; the seconds and percentages that decide whether or not a location makes money. The chains' closing units are likely running blind to what's happening inside their four walls, and couldn't fix it fast enough once the cushion disappeared."

Brandon Dorsky is a co-owner, consultant and former chef of Yeastie Boys Bagels, which operates multiple food trucks in Los Angeles. He traces the multiple closings to both underlying economic pressures and evolving consumer demographics.

Changing tastes

Some chain closures have impacted brands with an aging core customer base or a style of food fare that is waning in popularity, whereas others are seemingly the result of expiring leases and increasing profit compression from the rising costs of labor and ingredients, he told us.

Milos Eric is a co-founder of OysterLink, a hospitality job platform. He takes a more nuanced view.

Firstly, consumers have become more cautious and selective about where they want to spend their money, he said. It means the competition in this market has become brutal. Many chains were in their prime when traffic was steadily growing, but now the times have changed.

Secondly, Eric says operators have to face higher food prices because of tariffs, general inflation, and higher cost of labor.

Costs off the chart

Chains are closing because the cost and difficulty of owning and operating a food-service business are off the charts, Joel Libaba, of Franchise Selection Specialists, told us. And these costs are being passed on to consumers.

Specifically, Libaba points to transportation costs, which have surged since the start of the Iran war. But there are other things working against franchisees.

Specifically, transportation costs are ridiculously high because of the price of diesel fuel.

Its still difficult to find a stable workforce in the food business, he said. Staff shortages provide one more reason for today's busy consumers to skip restaurants.

Robin Gagnon, co-founder and CEO of We Sell Restaurants, says it all comes down to inflation. The pie is getting smaller.

Perceived value wins

Consumers today are more selective with their spending, prioritizing experiences where they perceive the value as worth the price, Gagon said. They're evaluating the full experience, including food quality, speed, consistency, convenience, digital ordering, atmosphere and whether the brand still feels relevant. When a brand's prices outpace the customers sense of what they are receiving, traffic falls.

So, without significant declines in inflation and increases in consumer income, chains may continue to struggle. Gagon said its not that consumers are refusing to spend, they just expect more when they do.

Today's consumers expect a seamless experience, largely driven by technology: frictionless ordering, loyalty integration, delivery execution and personalized offers, Gagon told us. Brands that aren't keeping pace in the digital world fall behind quickly.