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San Diego Fights Back Against Digital Coupons

Vons Digital CouponLast week, the San Diego city council passed an ordinance to require stores that advertise digital-only deals to also provide paper versions of those coupons so anyone without digital access or know how can still benefit from the savings.

This is believed to be the first government action to fight digital discrimination in retailing and become law. As readers of Consumer World and Mouse Print* know, consumer advocates have been urging stores to offer easy, offline alternatives to digital coupons so that the many digitally-deprived seniors and lower income folks who have been shut out of these deals can have equal access. [See our series of stories.]

The bill, sponsored by city councilor Sean Elo-Rivera, is elegantly simple:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Any grocery store that offers digital discounts to consumers for the purchase of goods must make physical coupons for the digital price available to consumers upon request.

It also provides that stores post a sign alerting shoppers to this requirement.

Simplicity, sometimes, can have its own issues too. We pointed out to the city councilor that stores in San Diego like Vons and Albertsons offer 400 – 500 digital coupons each week via their apps and websites, and it would be cost prohibitive for stores to have to print a 40 or 50 page book each week with them. We suggested that the law only apply to those digital coupons and digital-only discounts that are advertised to shoppers in their weekly or periodic circulars. He agreed and said they would add clarifying language, but as the ordinance heads to the mayor for his signature, that has not been done yet.

Other states have been considering legislation that would require stores to offer shoppers other easy alternatives to digital coupons. New York and New Jersey in a particular have had bills in their legislature on the subject, but they have yet to pass. Additional states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Illinois also are considering similar proposed laws this year. (See update at Coupons in the News.)

And at the beginning of 2025, Stop & Shop, with over 350 supermarkets in the Northeast, rolled out digital coupon kiosks in all their stores so shoppers merely have to scan their loyalty card or enter their phone number and then all that week’s advertised digital coupons are automatically loaded on their account. [See our story.]

Kudos to San Diego for passing their ordinance which goes into effect this summer, and to the other states and stores working to make digital-only deals accessible to everyone.

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Hackers Are Trying to Break Into Your Accounts — See the Proof!

Regular reader David B. wrote recently to say that hackers are working relentlessly to break into people’s accounts using passwords they have found online from big data breaches.

He suggested I look at my Microsoft account to see a sample of what he was talking about. So I did that. And…. WOW…. every few hours hackers from around the world were trying to log into my account.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Microsoft security log

Scroll down the list.

Do you believe this… crooks from Brazil, Argentina, Russia, China, Ukraine, Bosnia, Chile, etc. are trying to access my account multiple times a day!

What can you do to protect yourself? I’m no security expert, but at a minimum turn on two-factor authentication on your various accounts, so it is not just a simple password that is needed to log in. You will typically instantly be sent an email with an additional passcode that you have to enter in order to access your account. Using a passkey is another way that some sites use where face recognition or a fingerprint is needed to authenticate your access.

To check your own Microsoft account for hacker activity, go to Account.Microsoft.com, and sign in. Once you do that, select “security” from the menu, and then “View my sign-in activity.”

You will be shocked.

Here are some resources to help improve your computer security:

  • How to turn on 2-step verification on your Microsoft account;

  • How to secure your Google account;

  • Online privacy and security tips from the FTC;

  • 12 simple things to do to be more secure online.

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    Conclusion to MrConsumer’s Tempur-Pedic Mattress Saga

    Costco Tempur-PedicBack in February, MrConsumer told you about his decision to buy a $2,000 Tempu-Pedic Supreme mattress sight-unseen from Costco.com after trying the hardest to learn its specs and test the most similar model in a retail store. This was contrary to his long-held belief and counsel to never buy a mattress mail order. (See original story.)

    The mattress and foundation arrived on a cold day in mid-February. The delivery people warned me that it was frozen because it had been in the truck for a long time. And yep, it was literally hard as a rock.

    Once it came to room temperature, it still felt very hard despite the fact this was a “medium” firmness mattress, not a “firm” one. Jumping into bed that night felt like hopping onto a board. I am quite familiar with memory foam mattresses having had one for over 10 years, where you only slowly sink into it (and then have to climb out of that hole to roll over). And I was aware that memory foam tends to become firmer when in a cooler environment.

    The next day, I decided to heat it with an electric blanket hours before bed to try to soften it up. That worked only slightly, but am I really going to have to use an electric blanket on it even in the summer? I keep my bedroom at 65 degrees year-round, which is right in the optimal temperature range (65° – 75°) for their mattresses according to the Tempur-Pedic website.

    I called the dedicated Costco-Tempur-Pedic hotline and was advised to walk on it, to speed up the breaking in process. So for four days in a row, I paced back and forth on every inch of it 15 minutes at a time. It did not make one bit of difference.

    To demonstrate how hard the mattress felt even after having it for a week, I made a video showing me knocking and pounding on it like a door and even being able to bounce a half-dead tennis ball off it.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Needless to say, I called Costco-Tempur-Pedic to take back the mattress. And they did so without any pickup fees or hassle (part of the reason I felt protected buying from them in the first place). A few weeks later, I got a full refund.

    Lesson learned.

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