Consumer News: Scammers are beginning to work in teams: Here’s why it’s dangerous

The fashionable frames are renewing questions about who controls the images

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Kylie Jenners $399 Meta Glasses collaboration has become a new flash point in the debate over wearable cameras, privacy and consent.

• Critics worry that smart glasses make it difficult to know when someone is recording, while an unreleased facial-recognition feature has added to surveillance concerns.

• Meta says facial recognition is not available in glasses sold today and that photos and videos remain on the users device unless the wearer shares them.

Meta hoped Kylie Jenner could help make its artificial intelligence glasses look less like a computer and more like a fashion accessory. Instead, her collaboration has become the latest focus of a growing backlash against wearable cameras.

The controversy intensified this week as critics took aim at the Meta Glasses by Kylie, a slim, oval frame designed with the cosmetics entrepreneur and reality television personality.

Comments on Jenners social media announcement included descriptions such as predator glasses, while a British activist group used her image in a guerrilla bus-stop advertisement declaring, Were always watching you.

Singer Lorde also recently weighed in during a concert, telling her audience not to buy AI glasses.

Meta and eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica introduced the broader Meta Glasses collection on June 23. The Kylie-designed Starfire edition starts at $399 and includes a 12-megapixel camera, microphones, speakers and Metas AI assistant using Jenners voice. It can take hands-free photos, record 3K video, make calls, play music, translate languages and answer questions about what the wearer sees.

The glasses are increasingly popular. More than 7 million pairs of Meta smart glasses reportedly sold in 2025, suggesting consumers see real value in being able to take pictures or get information without reaching for a phone.

But their growing presence is also making the privacy issue harder to ignore.

The people in front of the camera dont have controls

Smartphones can record people without permission, but a person holding up a phone is usually easy to spot. Metas glasses are deliberately designed to resemble ordinary eyewear, making the camera much less noticeable.

A small white LED is supposed to light up when the camera is recording. Critics argue that the indicator can be difficult to see, particularly from a distance or in bright sunlight. Videos posted online have also demonstrated efforts to cover or obscure recording lights.

That has prompted fears about the glasses being used to secretly film dates, service workers, strangers and people in sensitive locations. Some social media creators already use the devices to record pranks and encounters with women, sometimes uploading the footage without the subjects knowledge.

The concern is not simply what the owner records. It is also what may be sent to Metas AI systems.

The complaints may be heard in court

A class-action lawsuit filed in March alleges that Meta misled consumers about how recordings could be reviewed. The complaint followed reports that workers employed by a Kenya-based subcontractor saw sensitive footage submitted through Meta AI, including images involving nudity and bathroom use. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Meta said media captured by the glasses stays on the users device unless the user chooses to share it with Meta or someone else. When users submit material to Meta AI, however, the company says contractors may sometimes review it to improve the service. Meta says it takes steps to filter identifying information and protect privacy.

An even larger controversy surrounds NameTag, a facial-recognition system Meta has explored for its glasses.

The proposed feature could help wearers remember someone they had previously met by recognizing the persons face and displaying or announcing the name. Meta has promoted its potential usefulness for people who are blind, have low vision or have difficulty remembering faces.

But privacy advocates warn that facial recognition in ordinary-looking glasses could eventually allow wearers to identify strangers or collect biometric information without meaningful consent.

Parent company Yum Brands lost billions in market value as restaurant traffic plunged

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Customer visits to Taco Bell fell nearly 30% on July 18 as consumers reacted to the Cyclospora outbreak.

• Shares of parent company Yum Brands dropped nearly 10% after health officials linked illnesses to shredded iceberg lettuce served at some Taco Bell restaurants.

• Taco Bell responded with a one-day promotion offering its lettuce-free Enchirito for $1.

Taco Bell is trying to win back customers with a deep discount on a lettuce-free menu item after a Cyclospora outbreak dealt the fast-food chain a significant financial and reputational blow.

The company offered Enchiritos for $1 at participating restaurants on July 22, while supplies lasted. The Enchiritoseasoned beef, beans and onions wrapped in a flour tortilla and topped with red sauce and cheesenormally sells for about $4 to $5.50, depending on location.

The item contains no lettuce, making it a timely choice for the promotion. Taco Bell did not directly tie the offer to the outbreak, promoting it instead as a thank-you for those whove been riding with us.

Rewards members could also purchase regular Nacho Fries for $1 with an Enchirito order through the Taco Bell app, according to the companys promotion terms.

Customer traffic drops sharply

The promotion followed a steep decline in business after federal health officials identified shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants as the likely source of illnesses in five states.

Visits to Taco Bell fell 18.9% on July 17 compared with the average for Fridays earlier in the year, according to location-data firm Placer.ai. Traffic was down 29.8% on Saturday, July 18, compared with the average Saturday between Jan. 1 and July 6, Reuters reported.

Taco Bell has not disclosed how much revenue it lost. However, the traffic figures suggest a substantial short-term reduction in sales at both company-operated and franchised restaurants.

The damage also reached Wall Street. Shares of Taco Bell parent Yum Brands fell from about $167 on July 7 to approximately $147 by July 17, a decline of roughly 12%. That erased billions of dollars from the companys market value, although the stock-price loss reflects investor concerns and is not the same as a direct loss of sales or company cash.

Yum Brands also owns KFC and Pizza Hut. The company is scheduled to report its second-quarter financial results on July 30, but much of the outbreaks impact occurred after that quarter ended.

Taco Bell removed the suppliers lettuce

The Food and Drug Administration said 1,644 people who reported eating at Taco Bell were infected with Cyclospora in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. At least 94 people were hospitalized, and no deaths were reported.

Of 190 Michigan patients whose food choices were closely analyzed, 90% reported eating iceberg lettuce.

Taco Bell stopped using iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico nationwide and replaced the product throughout its supply chain. The company said the potentially affected lettuce was no longer being used as of July 17.

The FDAs investigation traced the lettuce served at restaurants associated with illnesses to Taylor Farms de Mexico. The supplier subsequently removed all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market.

However, the investigation remains complicated. The FDA initially reported finding Cyclospora in a lettuce sample but later said the test was a false positive. As of July 19, no product sample had produced a confirmed positive result. The agency said epidemiological and traceback evidence continued to implicate the recalled lettuce.

Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant thanked customers who continued supporting the chain and pledged that the company would prioritize safety and communicate more openly.

Public health officials worry that cigarettes are being glamorized by celebrities

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Country star Ella Langley, 27, smokes a cigarette in her music video for her song Nicotine.

• Cigarette smoking among young adults has fallen sharply, from nearly 30% four decades ago to less than 10% in 2024.

• Health officials remain concerned that smoking in music videos, movies and social media can influence young audiences, even when no tobacco company is involved.

The media has noticed the trend. Why is Gen Z smoking? asks People magazine. Is Gen Z trying to make smoking cool again? asks an article in Paper magazine. They know it kills you. Gen Z is smoking cigarettes anyway, notes The San Francisco Standard.

To be clear, the number of young Americans smoking cigarettes is not currently rising. In fact, data show the long-term decline has been substantial.

In 1985, approximately 29.3% of Americans between 18 and 24 were current smokers, according to historical National Health Interview Survey data. By 2024, 9.6% of young adults ages 18 to 25 reported smoking during the previous month.

That works out to about 3.4 million young adults. While still a large number, the smoking rate is roughly two-thirds lower than it was four decades ago.

However, data often lags current trends, and growing attention on young smokers is no doubt of concern to public health officials who are trying to preserve decades of progress in reducing cigarette smoking among young Americans.

Reemerging in pop culture

While smoking mostly disappeared from popular culture decades ago, 27-year-old country music star Ella Langley has written and recorded a song entitled Nicotine. In the music video below, she smokes a cigarette.

Pop Out Video

The cigarette imagery fits country musics long association with bars, drinking, heartbreak and rebellion. However, its been largely absent from the work of younger performers. Public health leaders have taken notice.

"From Ella Langleys music video to Kylie Jenners recent Instagram posts, we are seeing a growing trend where cigarettes and smoking are being pushed as cool again, Dr. Matthew DUrso, clinical director at Renaissance Recovery, told ConsumerAffairs.

From a public health perspective, that is very concerning. A lot of hard work has been done over the last few decades to shift the narrative away from smoking being a trendy aesthetic to highlighting the reality of what it actually does to your health.

There is no evidence to suggest that one appearance by a popular performer will lead to a smoking revival. However, federal health officials have concluded that tobacco imagery in entertainment can affect young peoples attitudes toward smoking.

Dr. Ayesha Bryant, clinical advisor at Alpas Wellness, located in Maryland, takes some comfort in the fact that smoking rates have declined drastically in recent years.

That being said, there does seem to be growing evidence that cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are becoming increasingly glamorized in popular culture through fashion, music videos and social media, which could potentially influence youth attitudes toward smoking, Bryant said.

The Surgeon General has said that tobacco advertising, promotion and depictions of smoking in movies are causally related to youth tobacco use. Public health researchers worry that repeated images can make cigarettes look fashionable, rebellious or socially acceptableparticularly when they are associated with celebrities admired by younger audiences.

Cigarette smoking has fallen sharply

Cigarette use among teenagers has fallen even further. In 2024, only 1.4% of middle and high school students reported smoking cigarettes during the previous 30 daysthe lowest rate recorded by the National Youth Tobacco Survey.

CDC officials called the overall decline in youth tobacco use an extraordinary public health achievement. However, they cautioned that more than 2 million middle and high school students still used at least one tobacco product.

Another concern is that some people who avoid cigarettes during adolescence begin smoking after turning 18.A National Cancer Institute study found that, among people who had tried cigarettes by age 22 or 23, the proportion who first smoked between ages 18 and 23 rose from about 20% in 2002 to more than 42% in 2018.

Among those who became daily smokers, the share making that transition during young adulthood increased from approximately 39% to nearly 56%.

Researchers stressed that the shift did not mean smoking was becoming more common overall. Instead, initiation was occurring later among the smaller population that did take up cigarettes.

That finding has led health officials to argue that smoking-prevention campaigns should not end when teenagers graduate from high school.

Vaping is the larger concern

Cigarettes are no longer the most common source of nicotine among young adults. In 2024, approximately 8.3 million people ages 18 to 25 reported vaping nicotine during the previous monthmore than twice the estimated number who smoked cigarettes.

The CDC says nicotine is highly addictive and can harm the developing brain, which continues maturing into a persons mid-20s.

For health officials, the concern surrounding celebrity smoking imagery is less about evidence of a new cigarette epidemic and more about preventing a reversal. Cigarette use has reached historic lows, but millions of young people remain exposed to nicotineand popular culture can still influence whether smoking is viewed as dangerous, outdated or glamorous.

Skip the 'Whole Paycheck' trap with these proven money-saving strategies

• Use Prime: Link your Amazon Prime account to unlock exclusive discounts and combine them with affordable 365 store-brand products.

• Shop Tuesday & Friday: Tuesdays feature deals on easy weeknight meals, while Fridays often bring discounts on pizza, sushi, seafood, and other weekend favorites.

• Shop smart: Compare produce prices, buy frozen and sale items, and stick to a list to avoid overspending.

For years, Whole Foods carried the nickname "Whole Paycheck," and for good reason. Organic produce, premium meats, and specialty foods often came with premium prices.

But today's Whole Foods is a different store than it was a decade ago.

Since Amazon acquired the chain in 2017, the retailer has introduced Prime member discounts, expanded its affordable 365 private-label line, and lowered prices on hundreds of everyday items. Shoppers who know where to look can often find surprisingly good deals, especially on pantry staples, frozen foods, produce, and prepared meals.

The key is shopping strategically. Here are eight insider tips that can help you save money every time you visit Whole Foods.

1. Never shop without linking your Amazon Prime account

If you only follow one tip on this list, make it this one.

Amazon Prime members unlock some of the biggest discounts available at Whole Foods, including exclusive weekly deals and additional savings on many sale items. Those discounts can add up quickly over the course of a year.

To receive them, simply connect your Prime account to Whole Foods through the Amazon app and scan your Prime code or phone number at checkout.

Even if you only shop at Whole Foods occasionally, the discounts can easily outweigh the few extra seconds it takes to scan your account.

2. Learn what the different price signs actually mean

Whole Foods uses several different shelf tags, and understanding them can instantly help you spot the best values.

Look for the following signs in-store:

• Blue Prime Member Deal signs for exclusive discounts available only to Prime members.

• Yellow Sale signs for temporary promotions available to everyone.

• Yellow Low Price signs for products with reduced everyday pricing.

• 365 by Whole Foods Market products, which are the retailer's private-label brand.

Once you recognize the difference, it becomes much easier to prioritize the best bargains throughout the store.

3. Shop around Tuesday and Friday promotions

If you're a Prime member, Tuesday and Friday are the two best days of the week to shop at Whole Foods because the chain runs recurring one-day promotions that focus on different types of meals.

Rather than random sales, the discounts are designed around when most people are planning their meals.

Tuesday is built around easy weeknight dinners. That's when you'll often find deals on rotisserie chicken, prepared soups, ready-to-heat meals, ground beef, salad kits, and bakery bread. Serves as an ideal day to buy ingredients for meals later in the week or stock your freezer with discounted prepared foods.

Friday shifts to weekend entertaining and more of your convenience foods. Expect promotions on fresh pizza, sushi, oysters, cut fruit, desserts, and other grab-and-go items that are popular for Friday night dinners, family gatherings, or weekend get-togethers.

The exact offers vary by store and season, so check your local weekly ad or the Whole Foods app before heading out.

Pro tip: Freeze more than you think. Bread, tortillas, shredded cheese, cooked grains, soups, and many prepared meals freeze exceptionally well. Buying discounted products before their sell-by date and freezing them can stretch your grocery budget while reducing food waste.

4. Don't overlook the prepared foods

Whole Foods' hot bar can get expensive if you're paying by the pound.

Instead, compare prices on the refrigerated prepared meals, family-size entres, soups, and rotisserie chickens. Many provide multiple servings for less than the cost of takeout and are often included in weekly promotions.

For busy families, these meals can be a convenient compromise between cooking from scratch and ordering restaurant food.

5. Compare produce prices instead of assuming they're higher

Many shoppers skip the produce department because they assume Whole Foods is always more expensive.

That's not necessarily true.

Items like bananas, avocados, organic spinach, apples, eggs, and milk are often competitively priced especially when Prime discounts are available.

Instead of relying on old assumptions, compare the unit price with your regular grocery store. You may be surprised by how often Whole Foods is the better buy.

Pro tip: Shop Whole Foods like a specialty store. You don't need to buy your entire grocery list there. Many experienced shoppers visit Whole Foods specifically for products where it offers exceptional value (365 pantry staples, organic produce, Prime promotions, specialty cheeses, and prepared meals), then purchase everything else at a lower-cost supermarket.

6. Buy more 365 products

The 365 brand may be the best-kept money-saving secret at Whole Foods.

The store's private-label products often cost significantly less than comparable national brands while still meeting Whole Foods' ingredient standards. In many cases, the ingredients are remarkably similar.

Some of the best values include:

• Frozen fruit

• Frozen vegetables

• Pasta

• Olive oil

• Peanut butter

• Canned beans

• Rice

• Oats

• Yogurt

• Cheese

• Organic snacks

Many shoppers automatically reach for familiar brands, but choosing the 365 version can trim several dollars off a shopping trip without sacrificing quality.

7. Shop with a list and stick to it

Whole Foods excels at merchandising. Beautiful displays, seasonal products, and specialty foods can quickly turn a quick shopping trip into an expensive one.

Walking in with a shopping list (and resisting impulse purchases) is one of the simplest ways to keep your grocery budget under control. Treat the specialty items as occasional splurges rather than routine purchases.

8. Check the freezer aisle

Frozen foods are often one of the best values at Whole Foods.

Frozen fruit, vegetables, seafood, and vegetables are picked and frozen at peak freshness, helping reduce food waste while often costing less than fresh alternatives.

Keeping a few frozen staples on hand also makes it easier to prepare meals at home instead of ordering takeout.

Pro tip: Stock up when your favorites go on sale. If you find a pantry staple, frozen food, coffee, or household product at a significant discount, buy enough to last until the next sale. Building a small pantry of frequently used items purchased only during promotions is one of the easiest ways to reduce your grocery spending over the course of the year.