consumer reporter susan hogan is going to show you how to improve your credit score by 20 points. >>> plus, out with the old and in with the new. the new look and new flavors of diet coke that will have a lot of you talking. >>> and chopper 4 is chasing some breaking news. we've got a report of an aptment fire in arga

consumer reporter susan hogan is going to show you how to improve your credit score by 20 points. >>> plus, out with the old and in with the new. the new look and new flavors of diet coke that will have a lot of you talking. >>> and chopper 4 is chasing some breaking news. we've got a report of an aptment fire in arga we are the tv doctors of america, and we may not know much about medicine, but we know a lot about drama. we also know that you can avoid drama by getting an annual check-up. so go, know, and take control of your health. it could save your life. cigna. together, all the way. >>> at first glance, these things may look like the real thing but they are not real air jordans. they are fake nikes. counterfeit shoes recently caught by custom and border protection officers at dulles international airport. the shipment was listed as auto parts and has a street value of nearly $60,000. >> it was going to virginia. >> where was it coming from? >> hong kong. >> this latest shnt small fraction of the problem. customs and border protection officers say they seize about $4 milli

. >> consumer reporter susan hogan will show us some simple steps you can take with your car that can prevent a big problem in the near future. >> speaking of the cold, we haven't been above freezing in days. another deep freeze is coming. and if you think it's cold now, this is nothing. so, i'm going to go join doug your husband wants to stay free from artificial ingredients. you want to stay free from artificial preservatives. and your debit card wants to stay on a diet. fill your cart with small victories like giant's nature's promise brand. great prices on over 1,300 items. eat well for less. only at my giant. small business, internet providers promise you a lot. let's see who delivers more. comcast business offers fast gig-speeds across our network. verizon doesn't. we offer more complete reliability with up to 8 hours of 4g wireless network backup. verizon, no way. we offer 35 voice features and solutions that grow with your business. verizon, not so much. get internet on our gig-sp

susan hogan working for you to explain what to look out for now. >> all right, wendy. we are talking about shimming, not skimming. skimming is the fraud we warned you about when crooks attach a small device to the outside of an atm or gas pump to scan and steal your information from the magnetic strip. shimming is the new way thieves steal your information and it is harder to detect. is a paper thin device that thieves put inside the card machine slot, the same slot you now use to put in your chip on your credit card. it contains an embedded microchip and flash storage that can actually intercept the data right off your card. >> that actually interacts directly with the chip, with the microprocessor, gets that information upon removal from the slot. so, again, very hard to detect, very new. more expensive in a device, but something we have been seeing more increased awareness of. >> so, there is good news. shimm is not as common as skimming. it is safer to use the chip option over swiping your card. here are four other options you can use to protect yourself. use apple

. >>> susan hogan reports on the solution some have found of this delivery dilemma. >>> and chopper 4 staying on top of the news of the car that is stuck on the icy ten-mile creek in montgomery county. same place a car crashed in exact same way just yestday. anotherer iand i like these award-winning cheddar puffs. first place. both events? booyah! we're an awards family. you'll like them both but love our price. award-winning organic cheddar puffs from aldi. simply smarter shopping. >>> followed by a polar air coming down on us. >> polar vortex. >> we've got it all covered for you. doug and just a moment. chopper 4 flying above ten mile creek where an suv somehow ended up in a body of water. it's a frigid night. the rescue that took place was very dangerous and had to happen fast. the driver expected to be okay. this is the same spot where another car wound up in a creek yesterday. had crews out on the ice earlier honing their skills. chris gordon is in pot tomorrow mock county with -- potomac river with how they rescue someone. >> reporter: grab a branch and try to reach them but if

consumer reporter susan hogan has some tips on how to make it work for you: >> alexa, start a groceryt. >> whether it's making a shopping list or converting cups to ounces, a voice assistant can help you out in ways you never imagined. but first you actually have to set it up. >> when you get a new voice assistant or smart speaker, you need to download the app that goes with it. from there it will walk you through how to set the device up. >> once you have that, you might have to add skills for action and google home. think of it as added features that make your assistant smarter. >> it can tell you what the weather is. >> 46 and cloudy. >> or have it read your calendar for the day. you can get the latest sports scores. >> new england patriots lost 31-24. >> or play trivia games. >> with high-tech add-ones like smart light bulbs, door locks, you have an instant smart home. >> if you have a smart plug, you can turn on and off whatever you have plugged into it. whether it's a lamp, in my case the christmas tree. >>> alexa, turn the christmas tree off. >>> what it lets you do is get thin

coming up consumer reporter susan hogan tells you how to haggle to get the deal. we'll have all this and more news at 5:00. like to do. see you in a bit. >> david letterman gets ready for a comeback. where and when you can see him and who he landed for his first interview that you'll see all over the news next week. >> and the flu, update on this rapidly worsening season as well as what you can do to protect yourself. >>> prosecutors say a howard county man ripped off d.c. public schools. court records obtained today by the news4 i-team show that the feds say charles scott billed the district for hours of teaching services for special needs kids he never provided those services, but he pocketed all the money. the case now part of a d.c. inspector general investigation that's already resulted in the prosecutions of two other men accused of fleecing d.c. public schools for phony work. he is scheduled for court next month. >> david letterman is rye triumphant return to t.v, his first guest will be president obama. he still has that beard. other guests for the season

. >> still susan hogan is working with you with ways to make it actually work. >> buff even begin to think about making a budget, there's one simple thing you have to that is track. you want to track the money coming in versus the money going out. let's take a look at four simple things that you can do to make this easy for you. to dig yourself out of debt, fill envelopes with cash. what i mean by that. once you know what your fixed spending is every month, utilities, car payments, rent, so on. label a bunch of envelopes and fill them with cash for other en expenses, food, entertainment, shopping for a new pair of shoes. this is to avoid credit card debt. >> keep track of everything on your smartphone. good budget is -- it syncs -- you can add features for a monthly fee. mint is one of the most popular budget applications. you can link accounts, cards and bills to see what you have and what you owe. last month, mint added a new bill tracking and payment feature so you're never late. pocket guard automatically and income. it can help you figure out what you can afford to spend before

this morning, consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you to improve your score by 20 points. >> okay. so the average credit score is around 679, this is according to wallet hub. a lot of people have some room for improvement and you could actually save a lot of money as a result. first, what is your credit score? you can get it for a small fee from the credit bureaus or you can ask your bank. sometimes they will offer it to you for free. knowing what your score is really gives you an sense of your starting point and enables you to track your progress over time. the best way to improve your credit is to maintain an open credit card account that is in good standing. that means the card will then report positive information to the major credit bureaus each month. if you don't have a credit standing necessary to qualify for a normal credit card, apply for what's called a secured credit card. this is really a great tool for rebuilding damaged credit. don't get close to your credit limit. credit scoring models look at how close you are to being maxed out. keep your balances low. one o

consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you.you need to know before yo] hire someone to help you reduce your debt. >> if you're struggling with debt and you can't figure out about playing with your creditors. while some are okay, many of them can put you deeper into debt. here's what to avo to the federal trade commission. any company that charges fees before it celts yosettles your . you should never pay anything up front. never let a company pressure you to make voluntary contributions. that's another name for fees. they're touting a new government program and stay away from a company that tells you to stop communicating with your creditors but doesn't explain the serious consequences. before you sign up with a debt relief company, there are disclosure requirements that the company must follow. we have a list for you on our nbc washington app. just search debt relief. back to you. >>> "news4 today" starts now. >>> now on "news4 today," haiti prepares to mark eight years since a devastating magnitude 7 earthquake. but president

. >> and i'm susan hogan in for pat lawson muse. it is brutal out there. gloves, the hood, anything you can find. temperatures barely got into the 20s and that is before you fact for in the wind chill. >> when it's this cold some of the water mark haines belins un streets can't take it. it didn't take long for the water to turn into ice on those streets. >> the cold has turned deadly in milwaukee where it is only 5 degrees above 0. the cold is blamed for two deaths. a third man was found dead outside a church in detroit where it was well below 0 this morning. what is coming next for us as many of you head back to work and back to school tomorrow? >> storm team4 working for you on that this afternoon. let's start things off in the storm center. doug is tracking this bitter cold. doug, what's the world? >> guys, cold has been the word the last cup many of days, continues to be the word. we're going to get a little bit of of a break and then even colder, yeah, colder than we've been the last couple of days. take a look now at the wind chill. this is the wind

. >> consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you to improve your credit score she says by 20 points>>> okay. so the average credit score is around 679 according to wallet hub. so most people have some room for improvement. and you could actually save a lot of money as a result. so, first, what is your credit score? you can get it for a small fee from the credit bureaus or you can ask your bank, sometimes they will offer it to you for free. knowing what your score is really gives you an accurate sense of your starting point and enables you to track your progress over time. the best way to improve your credit is to maintain credit card account that is in good standing. that means the card will report positive information to the make tear credit bureaus each month. if you don't have the credit standing to qualify for a normal credit card a ply for what's called a secured credit card. this is really a great tool for rebuilding damaged credit. and don't get close to your credit limit. credit scoring models look at how close you are to being maxed out. to keep your balances low. one other

if your mailbo bills, susan hogan is working for you so you can start digging out of debt. >> reporter: okay, first of all, don't panic, you have this. you have to be strategic when trying to pay off your debt. so first things first. from this point going forward, do not use your credit cards anymore. you really can do this. if you have good credit look for a credit card with 0% balance transfer, that way you can combine your debt and put it all on one card and have at least one year of no interest. super easy to have one bill to focus on. but if you can't do a balance transfer then start paying off with credit card with highest interest payment. i'm talking about doubling the payment due. pay your credit cards right after receiving your paycheck, taking care of your monthly obligations before letting yourself indulge in other expenses is really a helpful budgeting strategy that will help you dig out of debt. now credit card can consume you, but don't let it take over your have right now and take control of your finances simply learn to say no. now, let's improve your credit score by 2

consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you making sure you don't get ripped off as well. >>> has no age limit. >> we wanted to put an iphone into our mother's hands. >> he decided to upgrade and give mom older one. >> and started looking for a deal. >> reporter: searched craig's list for iphone 8. >> all less than still under warrant. this is perfect. >> reporter: well at least it started 0 of that way. here is the ad james saw. $625 iphone 8, unlocked, that's important, because a locked phone is useless to a buyer, it can mean that the carrier locked the phone or the original owner locked the phone because it was stolen. >> so my first text message with them was what's the catch? >> reporter: the seller said no text. even texted the phone so they could verify. >> they showed me the box, cables average that came with this device. i thought it was a great deal. >> reporter: but it wasn't. after hours on the phone with tech support and trip to apple james was told his used phone was locked. >> i eventually found out when i went to the carrier's store, that they had bought it on a p

susan hogan joins us now with what you need to know. tap there are thousands of users from d.c.to san francisco. a technical glitch may have led to customer information being exposed on web pages that were not pass code protected. they observed records of more than 100 customers, including more than 50 with lock box information before the pains were taken down. news4 reached out to wag. a company spokesperson says they are going to investigate and are reaching out to customers. they said, "we have no reason to believe that the information was misused. no social security numbers were exposed." back to you guys. >> hogan, thank you. >>> the search continues in southern california. for more than two dozen people who are still missing in the aftermath of the deadly mudslides yesterday. >> 15 people now confirmed dead. that number is expected to go up. ur almaguer. he's in montecito where hundreds are still waiting to be rescued. what is the latest there? >> reporter: leon and doreen, we're getting a better sense of the damage here. this is 1 of 100 homes that were completely wiped o

consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you with information that you need to know before beingripped off. >> have you seen the prices of smartphones lately? 900, $1,000. if you can score a d what you're about to hear is why you shouldn't. our obsession with smartphones is alive and well and has no age limit. >> we desperately wanted to put an iphone into my mother's hands. >> reporter: so james decided to upgrade his iphone and give his mom his older one. >> i started looking for a deal. >> reporter: he searched craigslist for an iphone 8 and found a ton of deals. >> they were all less than a-month-old, still under warranty, this is perfect. >> reporter: well, at least it started off that way. it's important because it can mean that the carrier locked the phone for nonpayment or the original owner locked the phone because it was stolen. >> so my first text message to them was, hey, what's the catch? >> the seller said no catch. even texted the phone's i.d. >> they showed me the phone and box and cables and everything that came with the box. i thought it was a great deal. >> rep

consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you to dig out of debt. >> okay.st of all, don't panic. you've got this. you just have to be strategic when you're trying to pay off your debt. first things first. from this point going forward, do not use your credit cards anymore. you really can do this. if you have good credit, look for a card with a zero% balance transfer. that way, you can combine your debt and put it all on one card and have one year of no interest. it's easy to have one bill to focus on. if you can't do a balance transfer, start paying off the card with the highest interest rate first. i'm talking about doubling the minimum payment, too. wallet hub suggests that you pay your paycheck. taking care of your monthly obligations before letting yourself indulge in other expenses is really a helpful budgeting strategy that will help you dig out of debt. credit card debt can consume you, but don't let it take over your life. remember the feeling you have right now and take control of your finances, simply learn to say no. this improves your credit sco

consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you.what you need to know before you hire somebody to help you reduce your debt. >> if you're struggling with debt and you can't figure out what to do, be careful not to get tempted with a debt relief company. while some are okay, many of them actually can put you deeper into debt. here's what to avoid according to the federal trade commission. any company that charges fees before it settles your debt. you should not have to pay anything up front. never let a company pressure you to make voluntary contributions. that's another name for fees. avoid companies that tout a new government program that will bail out personal credit card debt and stay away from a company that tells you to stop communicating from your creditors but doesn't explain the serious consequences. before you sign up with any debt relief company, there are disclosure requirements that the company must follow. we have a list for you on our nbc washington app. just search debt relief. k >>> next at 5:30, her ancestors were s

. >> consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you to improve your credit score by 20 points. >> the average credit score is around 679 according to wallet hub. most people have room for improvement and you could actually save a lot of money as a result so first what is your credit score. you can get it from your credit bureau for a small fee oryo of your starting point and enables you to track your progress over time. the best way to improve your credit is to maintain an open credit card account that is in good standing. it means the card will then report positive information to the major credit bureaus each month. if you don't have the credit standing to qualify for a normal credit card, apply for what's called a secured credit card. this is really a great tool for rebuilding damaged credit. don't get close to your credit limit. credit scoring models look at how close you are to being maxed out. keep your balances low. one other thing that will improve your credit score, only apply for the credit you need. if you apply for a lot of credit cards over a short period of time it may ap

our consumer reporter susan hogan working to help you improve your credit score by 20 points. >> okay. so the average credit score is around 679. this is according to wallet hub. so most people have some room for improvement. you could actually save a lot of money as a result. first, what is your credit score. can you get it for a small fee from the credit bureaus. you can ask your bank. sometimes they will offer it to you for free. knowing what your score is really gives you an accurate sense of your starting point and enables you to track your progress over time. the best way to improve your credit is to maintain an open credit card account that is in good standing. that means the card will then report positive information to the credit bureaus each month. if you don't have good enough credit, apply for what's called a secured credit card. this is a great tool. don't get close to your credit limit. credit scoring models look at how close you are to being maxed out. keep your balances low. one other thing that will improve your credit score, only apply for the credit you need. if you

. >> consumer reporter susan hogan working with you with ways to make your budget work. >> before you even begin to think about making a budget, there's one simple thing to do first and that is track. you want to track the money coming in versus the money going out. let's take a look at four simple things that you can do to make this easy for you. so, to dig yourself out of debt, fill envelopes with cash. what i mean by that, once you know what your fixed spending is every month, utilities, car payments, rent and so on, label a bunch of envelopes and fill them with cash for other expenses such as food, entertainment, maybe shopping for when you want a new pair of shoes. this is a good way to avoid credit card debt. you want to keep track of everything on your smartphone, good budget is the digital envelope system built into an app. it syncs your mobile things on the web. mint is one of the most popular budget application. you can link accounts, cards and bills to see what you have and what you owe. last month, mint added a new bill tracking and payment info so you're never late. it ca

so, news4's consumer reporter, susan hogan, is here with some advice on how to keep you safe on the roadwayseporter: every year, more than 200,000 car crashes happen due to these wintry conditions, but there are some things that you can do right now to your car to prevent some dangerous situations. "consumer reports" says one of the best ways to stay safe on slick roads is to prep these things on your car. >> cold weather affect battery's performance, so it's a good idea to check the contacts are nice and solid and free of corrosion. it's also a really smart idea to check your battery every four years to see if it needs to be replaced. >> reporter: and while your hood is popped, top off your washer fluid. you'll need it to keep dirt, salt and ice from blocking your view. make sure you're using winter formula so the tank and nozzle won't freeze. now check the air pressure on your tires. cold weather can decrease air pressure, which can affect your car's handling and traction. "consumer reports" said you can check the treads on your tires using a quarter. if you can see the top of george washi

susan hogan is working with you with ways to actually make your budget work. >> before you even beginthink about making a budget, there's one simple thing you have to do first. that is track. you want to track the money coming in versus the money going out. so let's take a look at four simple things that you can do to make this easy for you. so to dig yourself out of debt, fill envelopes with cash. so what i mean by that, once you know what your fixed spending is every month, things like utilities, car payments, rents and so on, label a bunch of envelopes and fill them with cash for other expenses, food, entertainment, maybe shopping for a new pair of shoes. this is away to avoid >> keep track of everything on your smartphone. it's the system built into an app. it's free and lets you add features for a monthly fee. mint is one of the most popular budget applications. you can link accounts, cards and bills to see what you have and what you owe. just last month, mint added a new bill tracking and payment feature so you're never late. pocket guard, automatically calculates your month i e

if your mailbox is brimming with credit card bills, susan hogan is working for you so you can start digging of debt. >> okay. first of all, don't panic. you've got this. you have to be strategic when trying to pay off your debt. so first things first, from this point going forward, do not use your credit cards anymore. you really can do this. if you have good credit, look for a card with a that way you can combine your debt and put it all on one card and have at least one year of no interest. it's super easy to have one bill to focus on. but if you can't do a balance transfer, then start paying off the credit card with the highest interest rate first. i'm talking about doubling the minimum payment too. wallet hub suggests that you pay your credit card bills after receiving your paycheck. taking care of your monthly obligations before letting yourself indulge in other expenses is a helpful budgeting strategy that will help you dig out of debt. now credit card debt can consume you. remember the feeling you have right now and take control of your finances. simply learn to say no. this will imp

our consumer reporter susan hogan says you need to know a few things before you hire someone to reduceyour debt. >> if you're struggling with debt and you can't figure things out, be careful not to get company. while some are okay, many of them can put you deeper into debt. so here's what to avoid according to the federal trade commission. any company that charges fees before it settles your debt, you should not have to pay anything up front. never let a company pressure you to make voluntary contributions. that's another name for fees. avoid companies that tout a new government program that will bail out personal credit card debt and stay away from a company that tells you to stop communicating with your creditors or doesn't actually explain the serious consequences. before you sign up with any debt relief company, there are disclosure requirements that the company must follow. we have a list for you on our nbc washington app. just search debt relief. back to you. >>> dumped in the street. a woman left out in the cold wearing only a medical gown. how this could happen and the maryland

. >> consumer reporter susan hogan recently reported on this very with what she's learned about it. > this is really interesting. it was quite eye opening, in fact, because these two major investors actually wrote an open letter to apple over the weekend saying that the company must offer more choices and tools to help children fight addiction on its devices. the letter asked apple to give parents more options to protect their children's health. the letter also cited various studies on how the heavy usage of smartphones and social media negatively affects children's mental and physical health. now, in november, news4 put a spotlight on digital addiction as you may remember. we were challenging viewers, right, lie oeon, you remember t. including my son jack. we also told you about a survey that gathered information about how kids 8 and under are actually consuming media today. the report shows a big jump in the use of tablets. just 1% of kids under 8 years of age had a tablet now 42% have their own, access to mobile devices is so widespread, a whopping 95% of families with young kids n

consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you. she has ways you can actually make your budget work. >> well, before you even begin to think about making a budget, there's one simple thing you have to do first, and that is track. you want to track the money coming in versus the money going out. so, let's take a look at four simple things you can do to make this easy for you. so, to dig yourself out of debt, fill envelopes with cash. what i mean by that, once you know what your fixed spending is every month, things like utilities, car payments, rent and so on, label a bunch of envelopes and fillem food, entertainment, maybe shopping for when you want a new pair of shoes. this is also a good way to avoid credit card debt. you want to keep track of everything on your smartphone. good budget is the digital envelope system built into an app. it syncs your budget to the web. it's free. it lets you add features for a monthly fee. mint is one of the most popular budget applications. you can link account, cards and bills to see what you hav

news4's susan hogan learned the hard way. the salt is bad for your pets.ome advice now you need to hear before your next walk. >> well, our family learned the hard way when our little dog sadie got sick. she had just come in from the cold and licked the salt off her paws and got sick. the ice and snow. it can be a hidden danger for our pets. here's some advice from the aspca. if you can avoid walking your dog where salt has been used, massage petroleum jelly or other paw protect ant into their paw pads before going outside. the little booties, those can provide even more coverage and they can prevent salt and sand from getting lodged in between their paws. use pet friendly ice melts whenever possible and really do ask your vet about recommending a paw protection moisturizer. they are pretty expensive, around $30. way better than the $200 vet bill. by the way, sadie is fully recovered. back to you guys. >> that is good to hear. i didn't know that vaseline petroleum jelly on their paws. >> mine does lick his paws every time he comes back in. when we come bac

consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you to help you get out of the red. >> okay.t of all, don't panic. you've got this. you just have to be strategic when you're trying to payoff your debt. so, first things first. from this point going forward, do not use your credit cards any more. you really can do this. if you have good why, lo credit card with a 0% balance transfer. that way you can combine your debt and put it all on one card and have at least one year of no interest. it's super easy to have one bill to focus on. but if you can't do a balance transfer, then start paying off the credit card with the highest interest rate first. i'm talking about doubling the minimum payment due. wallet hub also suggests if you pay your credit card bills right after receiving your paycheck, taking care of your monthly obligations before letting yourself indulge in other expenses is really a helpful budgeting strategy that will help you dig out of debt. now, credit card debt can consume you, but don't let it take over your life. remember this feeling you have right now and take

. >> consumer reporter susan hogan is in our newsroom to tell you how to haggle for the best deal. >>right. well, whether you're buying tires or tomatoes, there is often wiggle room. and according to consumer reports, you don't necessarily have to actually haggle in person. you can get a company to either lower the price or even get more bang for your buck, but have to ask for it. ask and you may receive. that's the reality when it comes to haggling. the problem is many of us aren't asking and end up paying more than we actually need to. >> a lot of people are actually really uncomfortable bargaining a price like in store because they think it's rude. they think they're being cheap. >> which is why consumer reports recommends using the live chat feature on a retailer's website. not only does it help overcome the awkwardness, it may boost your odds of nabbing a bargain. consumer reports readers who haggled online reported greater success than those who did so face to face. even major retailers like amazon may be willing to work with you, even though they officially do not offer price m