Online romance scams can take a variety of forms, but they always end the same: broken hearts and broken bank accounts.

A study released last week shows that women over the age of 50 are the biggest targets for scams and fraud schemes perpetuated through online dating sites. By examining these statistics and spreading the word about online dating scams, we can protect ourselves and the older single ladies in our life.

Internet Fraud Is on The Rise

Anyone who’s seen the movie Catfish or simply spent enough time on the Internet knows how easy it is for a user to pretend to be somebody else online. Sometimes, these false personae are weird yet harmless — other times, they’re downright criminal.

Whether they’re impersonating the deposed King of Nigeria or the FBI Cyber Crimes division, fraudsters are very fond of fake online identities.

Just last week, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (or IC3) released a pretty alarming set of statistics. Covering Internet crime during the year 2012 in general, IC3 noticed an increase of about 8.3%.

As NBC News elaborates:

“‘[C]riminals are increasingly migrating their fraudulent activities from the physical world to the Internet,’ said Richard McFeely, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Cyber, Response and Services Branch.”

In the report, some of the most upsetting information detailed the increasingly-popular activity of online dating.

Unfortunately, it’s become very common for online scam artists to pose as suitors on dating websites, wooing single women with loving emails and even gifts.

Once this trust was established, the scammer invents an “emergency” and asks the victim to wire money. In 2012, victims were collectively taken in these scams for a combined $34 million.

Nearly 30% of the victims were women over 50.

(For a detailed description of one common online dating scam, watch our video Looking for Love Online? Watch Out for Fake Profiles on Popular Dating Sites.)

Elderly women like this one are routinely coerced into giving out things like gifts or cash by online scam artists.

Not Just Older Women

While Internet fraud isn’t limited to women over 50, this demographic is being targeted more and more by scammers using online dating sites to trick people out of money and other possessions.

In fact, when it comes to scams in general, older women accounted for about 10% of all online financial losses that were reported last year. That’s about $56 million worth of fraud.

However, NBC News reminds us that neither older women nor online dating sites are the only tarets of online thieves:

“The breadth of romance trolling is further illustrated by a startling statistic: Only one other type of online scam—auto fraud—made more money last year, accounting for $65 million in reported losses.”

For example, in online auto fraud schemes (which mostly consist of people trying to sell cars they don’t actually own), about 60% of the victims are males.

How You Can Protect Yourself Online

Be sure to stop and think about whether or not there is anything suspicious before you make an online purchase.

Although the danger may seem remote, Internet fraud and scams are real threat.

Luckily, there are a number of simple ways that you can protect yourself. The most important tip is keep your wits about you and learn how to recognize the warning signs and red flags, like:

Making a transaction with someone who says they will only accept wire transfers or cash. This generally indicates a scam. Stick with trusted and verifiable payment transfer services like PayPal.

If you’re getting ready to make a purchase online, you can often judge a book by its cover. When a website doesn’t look reputable, that’s typically because it isn’t.

Receiving an email that asks for your private information or asks you to download an attachment. This scheme, known as phishing, is one of the most common online scams. It can lead to identity theft and computer viruses. Be very careful with emails from anyone you don’t know.

And when you’re not sure, find out what other users are saying. Use Google or search Scambook for complaints about any suspicious individual, store or website.

So how do you stay safe online? Share your anti-scam tips in the comments.

However, once Viacom (MTV’s parent company) had acquired voters’ phone numbers, the voters were flooded with text message spam about MTV programming. A class action suit is alleging that Viacom broke the law with this automatic opt-in.

A single plaintiff from Tennessee stood up for a number of undisclosed recipients of the spam texts, claiming she never gave permission for the media giant to inundate her with texts promoting MTV. The suit is now ongoing.

Viacom Fires Off Mass Spam Texts Without Warning

The plaintiff, Erin Mock, claims that after she voted for the VMAs using her cell phone, she received a series of promotional messages. The texts included content such as, “MTV: ‘Real World San Diego’ premieres Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 10/9c”

However, neither the live broadcast, MTV’s website, nor Ms. Mock’s original text indicated that she opted in to receive additional text message promotions.

Many 2011 VMAs voters were hit with a flurry of MTV spam texts.

As entertainment website The Wrap described the case:

“At no point during this [VMAs vote] solicitation, did Defendant advise its viewers, including Plaintiff, that by voting, they would be consenting to receipt of future text SPAM advertisements from Defendant and/or its subsidiaries and/or employees and/or agents,” the suit reads.

The spam texts consisted of promotional content for MTV shows such as The Real World and Jersey Shore, attaching links and videos. Ms. Mock is seeing $1,500 for each defendant as well as penalties for Viacom ensuring the text spamming will stop in the future.

Spam Texts: Irritating AND Unethical

Consumers are no stranger to unwanted advertising on their cell phones — we’ve seen an alarming rise in robo-calls, leading to nationwide attention from the FTC. Spam texts are particularly annoying because they can take up your phone’s memory and arrive at inconvenient moments.

And as Ms. Mock discovered, sometimes requesting a stop to the service doesn’t even work — she kept receiving the spam texts even after asking to opt out.

Plus, spam texts can cost you money! Receiving texts from an outside number, especially bulky multi-media texts, can rack up small charges on your phone bill.

Clicking on links contained in a spam message — like the Season 5 video promo for Jersey Shore sent in the MTV texts — can also potentially infect your smartphone with a virus or result in unwanted downloads.

How to Block Spam Texts and Keep Your Bill Free of Unwanted Charges

Ever gotten a text like this? Then you know the feeling of being mobile-spammed!

While this lawsuit will hopefully stick it to the spammers at Viacom, other organizations continue to inundate consumers with spam calls and texts.

Here are some tips for freeing yourself from the spam:

1. Don’t use toll-free numbers, especially to vote in contests. You may want to support your favorite American Idol, but calling those toll-free numbers can hit you with a hefty charge and place you on a list for future spam calls.

2. Inspect your phone bill. If you’re consistently seeing small charges here and there that you don’t remember making, you may have inadvertently subscribed to a spam texting service.

3. Don’t loan out your phone. If your friend is bored and feels like downloading Tetris on your iPhone, don’t let them do it! When you’re phone’s out of your supervision, even the most well-meaning person can load unwanted applications and thus open your phone up to spam.

Do you have any tips for avoiding spam texts? Let us know in the comments!

While this has made shopping more affordable for some consumers, Congress is now considering a bill that might make your mouse-click purchases a little more expensive. New legislation, if passed, would essentially allow states to collect sales tax from retailers that are based in other states.

So what exactly does this mean for you? Let’s discuss how this proposed tax bill will affect consumers who shop online.

A Change in Precedent

First, a very brief history lesson. Understanding the origin of our current tax legislation is an important step to understanding this issue.

In 1992, the Supreme Court laid down the ruling that essentially governs online sales tax currently. It dictated the aforementioned guidelines about physical presence, which became very convenient upon the advent of online shopping a few years alter.

Most online shoppers don’t have to deal with any kind of sales tax, but states are starting to demand that this changes, as they feel that they’re collectively missing out on billions of dollars in revenue. The fact that many states are dealing with budgetary issues doesn’t really make the situation easier.

Several states have been putting the pressure on Congress, hoping to get a change in the law that will allow them to collect the sales tax that they feel they’re owed.

Physical retail locations require that shoppers pay sales tax. In most cases, online retailers do not include sales tax.

Why Hasn’t This Happened Already?

The Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling certainly seems outdated when considering it was only passed two decades ago. There are, however, online retailers are insisting that a number of factors make it tough or impossible for them to properly collect sales tax from shoppers in other states.

For one thing, different states have different rules and regulations that apply to sales tax, and keeping track of all of them can become very complicated. There are also different rates that must be considered.

Another factor that makes things difficult is the fact that different products are taxed differently in different states. It’s a lot to keep track of.

Of course, that’s not the only reason, as TIME points out:

“Out-of-state retailers don’t emphasize this, but not having to collect the taxes also makes their products cheaper, compared with in-state retailers that have to.”

States are arguing that advancements in software and other technologies have made it entirely possible for stores to keep track of the various rules and rates associated with individual state sales tax.

What This Means for You

Shopping online will still continue to be cheaper than shopping in physical stores, due to lower overhead costs.

Thankfully, even if the online sales tax does pass, it’s unlikely to have any serious effect on consumers right away.

Online shopping will likely continue to be cheaper than its brick-and-mortar counterpart as stores that operate out of physical locations have more overhead expenses.

However, charging state sales tax for online goods will allow local businesses to be more competitive with their digital peers and potentially help local economies.

Are there any ways that you save money when you’re shopping? Whether it’s online or in real life, let us know in the comments section!

Currently, so-called “Explorer” Google Glass headsets are only available to industry experts, members of the media or other individuals selected for the Google Glass pilot program. If you’re lucky enough to be one of these Google Glass pioneers, you can stare through your headsets to see virtual data projected about whatever you happen to be looking at.

As the Explorer reviews are coming in, however, it seems that Google Glass may not be living up to all the hype. Let’s take a closer look at some of these early adopter reports and describe how Google Glass is supposed to revolutionize the world:

How Google Glass Works (It’s Not Magic)

Right now, you can’t get your hands on a Google Glass headset unless you sign up with Google and get selected to join the Explorer program. Even then, the unit will set you back around $1500.

But once you’ve got the headset in your hands, all you  need to do is configure the nose-piece and the eyepiece. They’re both adjustable so that they can properly fit the contours of different faces, with the eyepiece sitting just above your left eye.

It doesn’t block your vision when it’s engaged; rather, you’ll glance upwards a little bit to see what’s on the display.

An example of the Google Glass “screensaver” display.

Based on The Verge‘s report, actual connectivity isn’t quite as streamlined as many have anticipated.

In fact, your Google Glass headset won’t even be able to connect to a mobile network on its own. To use Glass, you’ve got to be connected to a WiFi point of access, or have the device tethered to your phone. Critics note that this tethering will drain your smartphone’s battery pretty quick.

Further, if you want to connect your Glass headset directly to your password-protected WiFi access point, you’ve got to use the My Glass app or a separate computer before you can get plugged in.

If you want to make a call on Google Glass, you’ll have to wait until that Gmail contact has been specifically added to your Glass account by syncing it a separate computer.

Needless to say, setup can apparently be a little bit tedious.

The Google Glass User Experience

Once your Glass headset is all set up, you’re ready to go, right? Well, sort of.

The interface is a simple one. On the right side of the headset is a little flat surface where you can tap, swipe, and physically manipulate the system. Swiping backwards takes you to your settings panel, while swiping forward takes you through a carousel of recently-accessed items.

If you’re in an area with a lot of LTE coverage, you should be able to have as much data access as you need, but actually interacting with the information you desire might be another story altogether.

As The Verge points out:

“Glass’ ability to look up important information on the go is extremely thin right now. Googling ‘Sir Richard Branson’ brought up only the barest ‘oh, that guy’ blurb, and other web searches were similarly limited to identifying websites rather than actually reading their content.”

Google Glass has a ton of potential, but apparently still needs work when it comes to user interface and functionality.

Additionally, the article indicates that the display isn’t super easy to use, especially when you’re doing something that takes up a lot of your attention like driving a car.

Looking at the display requires that you look up from the road, and the display brightness is often too dim to be clearly seen. For now, it’s probably best to keep Google Glass off the road.

On top of all this, less than an hour of usage reportedly chewed up nearly a third of the Verge reviewer’s smartphone battery.

Some Improvements Are Necessary

It’s pretty clear, at this point, that Glass is a great idea that still needs some fine-tuning. It’s unknown when the technology will be perfected or commercially available (not to mention more affordable).

Google Glass may change the world and permanently alter the way we interact with our surroundings — or it may end up gathering dust alongside laser discs and 8-tracks.

What do you think? Will Google Glass be the way of the future? Share your thoughts below.

Whether you love it or hate it, the food pic trend is here to stay, but a recent news story might make you think twice before you Instagram that slice of pizza — if you’re breaking the law, that is.

Two identity thieves were recently busted by the IRS in South Florida and after one of the perpetrators uploaded a photo of his dinner. The whole scenario plays like a sequence straight out of a movie, but the involvement of an Instagram photo is something of a real-world cherry on to the top of this delicious crime sundae.

Two Identity Thieves in Love

The story begins with Nathaniel Troy Maye, aged 44 from Harlem, New York. He and his girlfriend Tiwanna Tenise Thomason (aged 39, from Miramar, Florida) both plead guilty last week in federal court. The two were charged with possession of unauthorized access devices and aggravated identity theft.

The IRS caught the pair after a period of surveillance and enlisting the help of a witness who was willing to go undercover. Apparently, the IRS caught wind of Maye’s activities when he was overheard discussing possession of upwards of 700,000 stolen identities. Maye was allegedly offering to sell the stolen identity information.

Needless to say, this brought Maye to the IRS’s attention, who immediately began an investigation.

Undercover Witnesses and Instagram Accounts

The IRS’ plan involved the use of a witness who was willing to go undercover, interact with Maye and Thomason, and gather the evidence that the IRS would need to arrest the pair.

On January 5th, the IRS’ undercover witness carried out the first of two meetings with the suspects. Everyone met up in a Fort Lauderdale restaurant, and it was at this point that the IRS’ witness confirmed most of the case’s important details.

Arrangements were made to purchase a flash drive that would contain 50,000 identities. These could be used to file fraudulent income tax returns.

A USB drive, not unlike this one, said to contain 50,000 stolen identities, was handed off in a Florida Morton’s Steakhouse.

On January 7th, the IRS’ witness met Maye and Thomason at Morton’s Steakhouse in South Florida. The well-known steakhouse set the stage for the trio’s final meeting, and would also bring about Maye and Thomason’s arrest in a pretty hilarious way.

The drive obtained by the witness didn’t have 50,000 stolen identities. It had 50.

The fateful Instagram food shot that ended two crooks’ careers.

What it did have, however, was information that allowed the IRS to link the drive to Troy Maye, specifically. The next thing the IRS did was track down a “TROYMAYE” account on Instagram.

It was there that they found a photo of a juicy steak with the caption “Morton’s.”

It was dated January 7th. As the Sophos Naked Security blog describes:

“IRS special agent Louis Babino found a profile for “TROYMAYE” on Instagram, along with a photo of a steak and macaroni and cheese meal containing the caption “Morton’s” that coincided with the second meeting between the witness and the couple.”

Whoops.

The two identity thieves were arrested at their apartment shortly after.

Keep Your Identity Safe

While this story is definitely not without its humorous aspects, it also underscores the need to keep our personal information safe and protected, so that your identity isn’t stolen by crooks like Maye and Thomason.

There are many ways to safeguard your privacy, but the best method is to educate yourself.

Did you know that having an unsecured WiFi network at your home actually puts you at risk for identity theft? When your wireless Internet signal isn’t secured, anyone with the right skills and equipment can see what you’re doing online, and this includes peeking at your personal information.

This is just one way that you can easily make sure you’re protecting your personal information.

What do you think? Are there any other measures you take to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen? Let us know in the comments!

When you’ve got a list of things to get done, an uncooperative, fuzzy mind can really get in the way of the day’s productivity. Luckily, there are a few easy (and mostly natural) solutions you can try to jump-start your headspace and get back on task.

When you find yourself getting to the point where a desktop nap seems like the only option, try one of these 6 Tips instead. They’re less likely to get you in trouble with the boss and a lot more likely to efficiently jump-start your mental processes.

Tip #1. Fuel Up!

Nourishment is your body’s gasoline. When you’re feeling mentally fatigued and having trouble breaking out of your midday funk, a bit of sustenance might be just what the proverbial doctor ordered.

Try a snack that’s rich in vitamins and/or protein to give yourself a boot on energy. Fruits and nuts are among the most convenient, healthy, and easily-obtained snacks that can be enjoyed while you work. Plus, these foods won’t weigh you down too heavily as you consume them throughout the day.

And of course, if you’re really needing a jolt of energy, coffee is always a great idea.

Tip #2. Get By with a Little Help from Your Friends

Many of us have mentally demanding jobs that can result in some serious brain fatigue by the end of the day.

A little bit of external motivation never hurt anybody, and some interaction with a real human being might be exactly what you need to snap you out of your 2 PM sleepies.

Get off your computer and ask a friend or coworker to come sit with you for an idea session. Try brainstorming, and talk through the day’s plans.

Simply engaging with someone else can seriously help you to shake your mental fatigue and get you back on track with your work.

Tip #3. Timeboxing

“Timeboxing” is just a cool way to say “precisely scheduling out your day.”

If you need a little help staying on task, it’s a good idea to write down everything that you need to do and to give yourself specific blocks of time in which you do them.

A great bonus to this strategy is that you can kind of mentally cheat yourself into working harder for more of the day. When you break your schedule down in to easily-managed time blocks of 60 to 90 minutes or so, with a break of about 15 minutes in between, your productivity will stay a lot higher.

Believe it or not, when you know you’ve got a short break coming up relatively soon, it becomes a lot easier to stay on task and keep your productivity at a higher level.

Tip #4. Move Yourself Around

Change your scenery if you’re having trouble getting focused at work. Leaving your office might not be an option, but there will always be times when you can stretch your legs and walk down the hall for a change of pace.

If there’s work you can do in another part of the office, or even outside, this is often another great way to get unstuck and reclaim your productivity.

No energy on the job? Something as simple as a protein-rich snack can help you to pick yourself up and get on with the day’s work.

Tip #5. Cut Through the Weeds

Often, flagging productivity can also be brought about by a super boring to-do list. Instead of letting these menial tasks dull your brain, use them to your advantage. Grit your teeth and power through your smaller, more boring jobs right away.

Give yourself some easy objectives to overcome at the start of your list. This will get you a bit more energized and will have you feeling more productive when it comes time to tackle those bigger tasks.

Tip #6. Adjust the Focus

If you’ve got something like an important meeting or idea session coming up, but don’t think you’re going to be as mentally prepared as you’d like to be, you can work around this by taking the attention off yourself.

Send out a list of your talking points and make sure everyone involved will be bringing some contributions to the table. This way, the pressure is greatly reduced and you’re not the only person relied upon for ideas.

As The Daily Muse elaborates:

“This meeting format will take the attention off of you (and your inability to form coherent sentences), and will put the focus on the attendees. Then, delegate a note-taker to record the details of the meeting. When all is said and done, you’ll have a detailed record of what was discussed.”

What About You?

Do you have any special solutions to help fight off that afternoon brain fuzz? It happens to the best of us.

Let us know in the comments if you’ve got a solution that helps you stay on top of your workday in a serious way!

The cancellation of Nordstrom’s policy came on the heels of a CBS news story informing customers that the mega-chain had been using wireless signals to monitor their movements and habits in the store.

The tracking system detected iPhones, Android phones and other smartphones whenever the mobile device attempted to connect to WiFi networks in Nordstrom stores.

Although the data was ostensibly being collected to measure foot traffic in different areas of the stores, customers worried that their personal information was at risk. Nordstrom responded to their privacy concerns and complaints by cancelling the program.

Shoppers Send Signal to Stop WiFi Tracking

The experiment to track shoppers through different departments, called Euclid, began in September 2012. The idea was to pick up signals from smart phones which were attempting to use the in-store wireless internet.

Some consumers may have been actively attempting to access the store’s WiFi, while other phones were attempting to connect automatically from inside the user’s purse or pocket. Once these devices were pinpointed, Nordstrom analysts were able to track their locations and determine which parts of their stores were most populated at certain times of day.

Nordstrom planned to use data gleaned from cell phone wifi to track customer foot traffic.

However, following negative public attention after a CBS news report revealed the tracking policy, Nordstrom spokesperson Tara Darrow says the company decided to discontinue these activities:

We’d been testing Euclid since September and have said all along this was a test for us. We had been discussing what made sense in terms of concluding the test; after 8 months we’d felt like we had learned a lot and determined that it was the right time to end it.

Hopefully for the superstore, the announcement hasn’t come too late for their core customer base, but some skeptical shoppers may not be so quick to forgive the privacy violation.

Cell Phone Privacy is an Important Issue for Today’s Consumer

After the CBS story, scores of Nordstrom customers caused the WiFi tracking to be shut down by letting their voice be heard.

From angry comments on the CBS Facebook page to numerous customer service calls, Nordstrom quickly caught on to the fact that no one wishes to have their information tapped without permission — even if it’s simply your location while you shop.

Customers say they’re OK with Nordstrom tracking their purchases, but not their physical location.

The Public anxiety over Nordstrom’s Euclid system indicates that consumers want to ensure that their privacy is safe and respected. In addition to the potential risk of identity theft, it’s troubling for some that a retailer would gather private data without customer consent.

After all, if the store doesn’t inform you that you’re being tracked, then what else may be shared without your permission?

Speak Up to Protect Your Personal Info

Thanks to hundreds of consumers who stepped up and complained about the wireless phone sensors, Nordstrom customers are now able to breathe easy knowing they’re safe from location tracking. By complaining through major news outlets and social media sites, shoppers were able to voice their dissatisfaction.

But many other business use similar tactics to map out and analyze their customer base, making it easier to advertise to you during your shopping experience.

So if you feel like a business is employing illegal or unethical practices to gather your personal information, use Scambook’s consumer complaint platform to get the ball rolling towards consumer justice!

We all find the time to vacuum now and then, and some of us even dedicate a weekend or two each year to a good shampoo session. As it turns out, however, springing for a professional carpet cleaning can benefit you in a number of ways.

Professional cleaning creates a much cleaner atmosphere in your home, extends the life of your carpets, and might even save you some money in the long run. So when is the right time to have your carpet cleaned?

How and Why to Clean Your Carpet

For one thing, your carpet can attract and store a ton of allergens. It can even start to affect the health of you and your family members. Dust can accumulate, along with other allergens like pollen and cat fur.

Dust and other air pollutants can get saved up in your carpet and then released by something as simple as walking around. Everything from pet dander to cockroach allergens and lead particles can get trapped in your carpet.

Additionally, AngiesList points out that your carpet can even trap dangerous gases that adhere to the various particles of dirt and dust:

“Toxic airborne gases can adhere to these particles and also get trapped within the carpet. These…gases can be released through everyday activities such as vacuuming and walking across the carpet, which can cause them to contaminate the air in your home.”

Many carpet-owners may also have a dust mite infestation without realizing it. These microscopic critters aren’t allergens in and of themselves, but dust mites can spread and carry a number of allergens.

There are a few ways that you can get your carpet professionally cleaned, and they all have their fair share of benefits.

One of the best methods is steam cleaning. This uses super-hot, highly-pressurized water to clean and lift dirt and moisture out your carpet. This requires a drying time, but kills bacteria and mites in short order.

The original method of professional carpet cleaning is a good shampoo, which is good for very dirty carpet. After this, however, the carpet has to be thoroughly vacuumed to account for the lack of extraction that this process involves.

Dry cleaning your carpet uses a minimum of water, and dissolves soil before its drawn out with a commercial vacuum. This is a great way to clean carpets that are damaged easily, such as carpets made from natural fibers like hemp or sisal.

Finally, bonnet cleaning is a method by which a rotating buffer spreads cleaning product all over your carpet. This will do the trick, but leaves behind the deepest layers of dirt, and should be thought of as a temporary solution between deep cleans.

The “bonnet” method of cleaning uses a buffer much like this one.

You should think about cleaning your carpets about once or twice a year, depending upon how much traffic the area receives.

Why You Want to Hire a Professional

Why should you hire a professional carpet cleaner?

Areas that receive heavy traffic are in special need of professional cleaning.

For one thing, all rugs and carpets are different. Professionals know how to take care of each kind. Similarly, different stains and spots require different solutions.

In the long run, getting your carpets cleaned professionally can save you serious money, too. It’ll lengthen the life of your carpets and give you more time until you have to replace them again.

When you’re going to have your carpets cleaned by the professionals, there are a few things you can do to prepare:

1. A preliminary vacuum session will make things run more smoothly for the cleaners.
2. Dust your baseboards to make sure they don’t dirty your carpet after it’s cleaned.
3. Move fragile items from the areas getting cleaned.
4. Move valuables out of the way.
5. Pick up any clutter or loose things lying on the floor.
6. Get rid of any furniture that might be in the area.
7. Clear a parking spot so that your cleaners can run their equipment from the van to your home.
8. Point out any trouble spots that might warrant special attention.

Carpeting is an important part of just about any home, and typically deserves special attention if it’s to be kept clean.

Tell us, how do you make sure your carpets and rugs stay neat?

Small bits of plastic have reportedly been found in some California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza, which led Nestlé to investigate and subsequently issue its recall. The affected varieties are DiGiorno and CPK pizzas, all of which were produced in February and March of this year.

Check Your Freezer

Since the pizzas in question were produced relatively recently, Nestlé has advised that consumers check out their freezers to make sure that they don’t have any of the pizzas that have been affected. The varieties in question are as follows:

• California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust White
• California Pizza Kitchen Limited edition Grilled Chicken with Cabernet Sauce
• DiGiorno Crispy Flatbread Pizza Tuscan Style Chicken
• DiGiorno Pizzeria! Bianca/White Pizza

DiGiorno frozen pizzas are among the affected variety. You might want to check out your freezer if you frequently purchase this type of frozen pizza.

Each of these  pizza varieties might contain little bits of plastic, according to reports from a small number of consumers.

If you have recently bought any of these types of pizza, you might want to check out the contents of your freezer. In case there is any confusion, here’s the additional UPC information for each variety:

• California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust White: UPC 71921 98745. Production codes 3062525951, 3062525952 and 3063525951.
• California Pizza Kitchen Limited Edition Grilled Chicken with Cabernet Sauce: UPC 71921 00781. Production code 3059525952.
• DiGiorno Crispy Flatbread Pizza Tuscan Style Chicken: UPC 71921 02663. Production codes 3057525922 and 3058525921.
• DiGiorno Pizzeria! Bianca/White Pizza: UPC 71921 91484. Production code 3068525951.

The Culprit?

After posting their announcement on the FDA’s website, Nestlé USA was quick to begin assessing the cause of these little bits of plastic on their pizzas. The good news is that only a small number of consumers reported finding the plastic fragments and they were only found on California Pizza Kitchen Thin Crust White pizzas.

Once the incident was reported, Nestlé was able to figure out where the bits of plastic had come from:

“The company traced the fragments to a lot of spinach received from one of its suppliers. That prompted recalls of the other three pizza varieties that used this spinach, though no complaints were received for those varieties.”

Frozen pizza is a very popular dish, which makes this recall an important one.

Stores have been asked to pull the affected pizzas from shelves, so if you’ve got pizza on your grocery list it’s unlikely that you’ll wind up buying one of the recalled items.

Still, if you’ve got a pizza in the freezer it might be a great idea to check the packaging and make sure that yours isn’t among the problematic batches.

Eating healthy is always important, and avoiding dishes that contain bits of plastic definitely falls under that category.

Stay Sharp, Pay Attention to Recall Announcements

A food-related recall only serves to underscore the importance that surrounds this type of announcement. It’s smart to keep your eye out for product recalls. You never know when something that you use every single day could place you in a dangerous situation.

Of course, product recalls are usually announced as soon as a manufacturer becomes aware of the issue, but this is only useful to the consumer who manages to catch the recall.

So tell us — what do you do to make sure that you’re up-to-date on the most recent recalls and consumer alerts?

As it turns out, this pattern of staying up all night and sleeping in the next day may be an actual sleep disorder.

It’s called Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, or DSPD, and it might be the reason why you can’t fall asleep when you want to, and why your mornings are such a serious challenge.

Read on to find out how to figure out if you’re experiencing something like DSPD, and how you can go about realigning yourself if you are.

How to Tell if You Have Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder

Perhaps the most important thing to note about DSPD is that it is quite different from insomnia, which is another common sleep disorder. Individuals suffering from insomnia have trouble falling asleep, and experience difficulty getting a good night’s rest once they do.

DSPD is different. For people suffering from DSPD, trouble staying asleep isn’t usually the problem. Instead, their inability to fall asleep at a normal hour leads to a delayed wake-up time.

When this happens, getting up for work on time in the morning can seem like a much larger chore than it should be.

Trouble getting up and functioning in the morning might be the result of a delay in your circadian rhythms.

Many of us stay up late and sleep in on the weekends, but getting up early for work or school on Monday is then extremely difficult.

Your body operates according to an internal clock that’s referred to as your circadian rhythms. These natural rhythms do things like regulate your sleep schedule and tell you when to get hungry.

If you’re experiencing DSPD, your circadian rhythms are delayed. Instead of falling asleep and waking up when you’re “supposed” to, your natural sleep cycle doesn’t kick in until much, much later.

As Psychology Today explains:

“DSPD is essentially the result of a delayed circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is a biologically-driven alarm clock that runs our body. These rhythms tell us when to fall asleep, when to wake up, when to get hungry, and when to have certain hormones secreted in our body. In DSPD, the circadian rhythm drifts later, leading to delayed sleep and wake times.”

Of course, if your lifestyle isn’t disrupted by this, then you might not need to look into treatment at all.

But if you consistently have problems with normal activities like getting up and going to work, seeking professional assistance might be a good idea.

How You Can Treat Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder

It’s important to note that DSPD should be diagnosed and treated according to the advice of a medical professional. If you think you have DSPD, you can certainly try out some of these easy solutions, but always make sure to consult with your doctor or a sleep specialist beforehand.

A sleep specialist can not only tell you exactly what type of sleep issue is bothering you, but they can recommend a specific treatment that will be best-suited to you and your specific needs. Everyone is different, so it’s smart to get a personalized recommendation.

Chronotherapy is one of the best solutions for DSPD, and involves “manually” resetting your sleep cycle.

Chronotherapy is one solution for DSPD. It involves basically performing a “hard restart” on your sleep cycle. To accomplish this, you would go to bed (and therefore wake up) about two to three hours later every day, until you’ve successfully brought your sleep cycle back around to a normal time.

This can require you to sleep throughout most of the day and stay awake all night at certain points, so you might need a friend to help you stay on schedule.

Another solution to DSPD is known as morning bright light therapy, and consists of pretty much exactly what it sounds like. This treatment involves the use of bright light (natural or otherwise) in the morning to help you wake up. Make sure you talk to a specialist, however, as this treatment must be implemented at the proper time of day.

A third option is melatonin, which you can obtain over the counter at a drug store or health food store. It’s a natural supplement that your body makes on its own already. Adding melatonin to your daily diet can help you sleep better at night, but it can also interfere with your daytime alertness.

Again, make sure you consult your doctor or sleep specialist before beginning any kind of medical treatment or drug regiment.

How Do You Fall Asleep and Stay Awake on Schedule?

Do you struggle to snooze at the right hour? Are you often late for work or school because it’s hard to get out of bed? How do you keep your sleep schedule on track? Let us know in the comments.