Memorial Day marked the unofficial start of summer and the start of door-to-door summer scams. Jim Hegarty, with the Better Business Bureau in Omaha/Council Bluffs, says they’re already getting complaints about one group knocking on doors in the region.  “They claim to be raising money for veterans and active soldiers,” Hegarty says. “We’ve investigated the company they claim to be representing and they have an ‘F’ rating. They’ve been the subject of law enforcement investigations down south.”

Young people are sometimes recruited by crooks to take part in bogus fund-raising schemes. “There’s going to be kids showing up at our doors selling magazines or candy bars to fund mission trips or going to camp,” Hegarty says. “In some cases, it could be legitimate but it really is wise to just take some information from them and let them know that if you’re able to check them out and find out that it’s reputable and worthwhile, then you’d be happy to maybe make a contribution.”

Another door-to-door scam that’s bringing complaints in the region involves home security systems.  “They may say they’re with ADT or Protection One or another well-known company,” Hegarty says. “What we’re learning is, a lot of times, the bad actors use reputable names like ADT just to get a foothold, get in your door and get you to switch contracts and get you engaged in a deal that’s not going to be favorable to you.”

He says to also watch out for fly-by-night offers from traveling scam artists who offer to do home repairs, tree trimming or seal your driveway. Don’t make on-the-spot decisions. To make a contribution to real charities, he suggests donations can be made online at “give.org”, a service offered by the BBB.

(Radio Iowa)

The number of people killed in traffic crashes in Iowa climbed over 100 earlier this month and now the busy summer driving season is here. Dennis Kleen tracks crash data for the Iowa Department of Transportation. “Once summer gets here, you’ve got people on vacation and a lot more people driving during the summer,” Kleen says. “Put the phone down and buckle up. Those are a couple of the best things you can do.”

There were 320 people killed in traffic crashes in Iowa in 2015. Last year, that number rose to just over 400. Kleen suspects distracted drivers, people who are texting or doing something else with their phone, are causing more crashes. “It’s hard to prove that someone was distracted in a fatal crash…unless there were actual witnesses and a lot of times, there aren’t (witnesses) in many of these crashes,” Kleen said. “But, we’ve all seen people using their phones as we’re driving, so we know distracted drivers are a big part of these crashes.”

The Iowa legislature this year passed and Governor Branstad signed a bill in to law that will allow police to pull over drivers who are looking at their cell phone rather than the road. The fine for a texting-while-driving ticket will be $30 when the new law takes effect on July 1.

(Radio Iowa)

Changes are coming in how credit scores are calculated, which a financial expert says should help college students and other young adults establish and build credit. Jonathan Fox, director of Iowa State University’s Financial Counseling Clinic, says it’s traditionally been a vicious cycle as you can’t get credit without already having a credit history, so the pending improvements in the system are a big plu

“It’s not as much a policy change that stands to help college students as alternate types of scores that will use other bills that college students and young people more typically have, like cell phone bills, cable bills or a utility bill,” Fox says. “If they can show credit responsibility in those ways, that could add to the score.”

Credit scores may not be so important while a young person is in college, but Fox says those scores will have a significant influence as they begin to make the transition into their adult, post-college lives. “A good credit score is going to impact, very possibly, their job prospects,” Fox says. “Employers look at credit scores as an indicator of general reliability. Whether that’s appropriate or not, is another whole topic.”

Fox, an I-S-U professor of Human Development and Family Studies, says some students may be responsible money managers, but without a credit card or a bank loan, they’re not establishing a credit history. “It’s going to impact even while they’re in college the insurance rates they’re paying if they’ve moved independent from parents or guardians, for example,” Fox says. “Of course, it’s going to impact them as soon as they seek any sort of structured loans, to buy a car, to buy a home.”

Attorneys general from Iowa and 30 other states reached a settlement with the three leading credit reporting agencies in 2015 to improve credit report accuracy and to enhance consumer protections. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion will implement the changes this summer. In addition to including the bill payment history when figuring a credit score, credit agencies also plan to remove tax liens and civil judgments from reports. Fox says those are the source of most inaccuracies on people’s credit reports.

(Radio Iowa)

No injuries were immediately reported following a rollover accident late Monday night, in Lewis. According to dispatch reports, a vehicle rolled over near 500 E. Main Street, at around 10-p.m.  The male driver of the vehicle was said to have been  trapped by his seat belt until he could be cut free.

Lewis Fire and Rescue, Griswold Rescue and Medivac were originally sent to the seen, but Griswold and Medivac were later cancelled. Additional details are currently unavailable.

A man from Ft. Madison died Monday afternoon, during a single-vehicle rollover accident in southeast Iowa’s Lee County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 33-year old Hoyt Floyd Grossman died at the scene of the crash that happened at around 1:40-p.m.

Authorities say Grossman, who was not wearing a seat belt, was driving a 2000 Ford Ranger eastbound on Lee County Road J-48 when the pickup went off the road, to the right. Grossman over-corrected, causing the vehicle to go out of control. It drove off the road to the left and hit a culvert before flipping over and landing on its top.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say rescue crews have been unable to find a man spotted in the Des Moines River. Des Moines firefighters recovered a boat the man was seen using Monday afternoon. Fire Inspector Brian O’Keefe says the man had pulled the boat from debris upstream from the Scott Street Bridge. He somehow became separated from the boat when he reached the bridge and went over the dam.

O’Keefe says the man may have been living in a homeless camp near the river.