KFI Updates Sunday, May 25, 2003: More Breaking News On The Counterfeit Drugs Front (This Is Information That Could Save Your Life!) Plus: How Your E-Mail Could Destroy You In A Courtroom And: The Next Time Your Doctor Or Dentist Tells You To Open Wide...They're Talking About Your Wallet.  (Here's Why!)

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Didja miss the best 2-hours in talkradio Sunday morning? Whether you were sleeping late or live outside the Southern California broadcast area of KFI: Now listen to what you missed! Click here to access Ben's on-line radio show archive. Hey Einstein, are you taking full advantage of all of Ben's hard work that goes into every show, every KFI Update or Dose of Dover Newsletter? [I doubt it.] Seriously...you're leaving a bunch of additional information and entertainment value on the proverbial table if you don't "click over" to any hot-linked [highlighted] word or sentence you come across. Terrific insights and [frequently] twisted humor are only one click away... From the call me Nostra-Dover Department: Last week I warned you about the growing danger from counterfeit prescription drugs at your local pharmacy...and now the FDA's issued a recall for the popular cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor. Check out the FDA recall press release, and monitor the Fed's bootleg drug list... Wanna know more? Grab yourself a double bacon cheeseburger and click away..... In case you missed it, here's last week's story (definitively worth re-cycling) about the counterfeit prescription drugs crisis..... Caveat Valiumi emptor: [That's Latin for "you'd better make sure you know what you're actually getting the next time you pick a prescription at the drug store"...or it could kill you: You know who's thrilled about the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs? The bad guys of course...they've gotten into the business of creating fake, mis-labeled and bootlegged drugs to U.S. pharmacies. Since the Treasury Department's making it harder to counterfeit our currency, enterprising criminals have turned to forging labels: Forget about the illegal drug trade...the sheer number of new (and expensive) drugs hitting the market combined with the abundance of drug re-sellers/middlemen make the legal drug industry a counterfeiters paradise! But here's what's really scaring health professionals: Grandma going through kidney dialysis with counterfeit drugs. Or AIDS or cancer patients being treated with "drugs" that are nothing more than high-dollar placebos. As counterfeiting and product tampering cases rise, drug manufacturers are facing potentially crippling lawsuits. Plaintiffs are holding drug manufacturers accountable for the authenticity of their products and safeguards to prevent tampering. Take two aspirin and read all about it..... Here's a list of most common counterfeited drugs...as well as an industry "White Paper" on the topic that's worth a read. You can keep your mouth closed the next time your dentist tells you to "open wide," since they're talking about your wallet: Recently, the American Dental Association filed suit against Cigna, MetLife and Mutual of Omaha, alleging that these huge insurance companies aren't paying dentists what they're owed. So why should you care? Because when dentists don't get paid on time by the health insurance benefits you pay for, who do you think's gonna get drilled for the difference? (Take a good look in the mirror and smile.) But the dentists aren't the only ones putting the hurt on insurance companies: Last week, Aetna turned-and-coughed tothe tune of $170 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by doctors for cutting payments and (surprise!) interfering with patient care. Ben's Bottom Line? The continued greed of the health insurance industry is gonna cost you when you visit your doctor or dentist...and it's only gonna get worse unless you hold your insurance company's feet to the fire the next time they reject a claim because it "exceeds usual and customary." When insurance companies pay less than they owe, both you and your health care provider are getting screwed. You've gotta make 'em pay! Here's some ideas that should help you achieve this goal... How would you like a new cell phone for free? If you've been with the same cell phone company for at least 12-18 months, all you've gotta to do is ask. That's because the more you spend every month, the easier it's gonna be to squeeze a new phone outta them. And if you've been with the same carrier for 3 years or more, they really will break their backs to keep you...so don't be afraid to hit 'em up for a newer model. What if you're a low-to-moderate cell phone user? Give it a shot, but be ready for them to try to get you to sign a new contract for your new phone! Don't do it - at least not until you do your homework and are sure you're signing up for the deal that best fits your calling area needs. Speaking of cell phones...I've got to tell you how terrific the customer service folks at Nextel have been: A few weeks ago, one of the enlightened Dover Disciples followed my Six Steps to Effective Complaining and Nextel really came through with a new $400 phone and 8 months of free service! But apparently prompt, good-faith customer service just isn't good enough for everyone: Because another listener, inspired by my reporting of Nextel's actions, e-mailed me about his own Nextel problems. And once again, Nextel came through big time. But instead of accepting their generous offer, this jackass tried to hold up Nextel for a bunch of free stuff...as well as a chunk of cash. His actions were disgusting and this guy's the poster child for greed! I told the Nextel rep that he was abusing their offer and only making it tough for the rest of us who just want to be treated fairly...and suggested they tell him to stuff it. The moral of the story? If you want companies to do the right thing when you complain, don't be a greedy bastard! At some point, you've gotta let it go and get on with your life! Especially if they offer you a fair deal. And if you can't let it go and wanna pursue punitive damages, go hire an attorney, and quit yer whinin'. Nostra-Dover strikes again...5 weeks ago, I predicted this would happen: Did you know the average mailbox gets 18 sales pitches, three bills and one financial statement every week? Wait until you hear what our pals at the U.S. Post Office are cooking up that'll trigger a new tidal wave of junk mail from credit card giant Capitol One. The new US Postal Service program that the post office says will help them survive the decline in revenues lost to the popularity of e-mail and electronic bill paying services: Now that this deal has been approved, plan on seeing the post office make thousands of "special postage pricing deals" just like it in the months ahead. I predict that we're gonna see heavy incentives for companies to mail during slow periods of the year...like the weeks following the Christmas and New Years' holidays. This deal became reality last week...read all about it here. Be extremely careful about what you're e-mailing, in the wake of a court ruling last week that's set a dangerous precedent that you may end up regretting: UBS Warburg was ordered to pay for the recovery of e-mail messages that may prove an ex-employee's sexual discrimination suit against the giant investment banking firm. So why should you care? Because more and more people are naively sending personal (and frequently, extremely-sensitive) information via e-mail...and e-mail can "live" on servers around the Internet for years. Ben's Best Cyber-Tip: Assume that anything you put in writing/send via e-mail will eventually end up in front of your boss, your spouse, the police...or even a judge and a jury. "Wiping e-mails off" of your computer hard drive is useless. While it is a start, remember that all of those mail servers your e-mail was routed to-and-through will maintain copies, cyber-smoking guns that dangle all sorts of potential liability out there for years to come. If you're on the financial fence and even remotely considering debt or credit counseling or bankruptcy, I've got an update and some perspective that might help you change your mind: You heard about Aron Ralston, the rock climber that amputated his own arm to save his life a few weeks ago. Talk about guts...this guy had an incredibly tough decision - a life-or-death decision to make - and he made it and he'll live to rock climb another day. Many of you are facing similar circumstances: Okay...so maybe you're not being forced to cut off your own arm but then again, it's all relative, isn't it? Whatever rock-and-a-hard-place you're stuck between, use Raltson's guts and determination to survive as inspiration to do the right, smartest and best thing in your best interest...for a change. If you're naively hoping your pals at some debt or credit counseling service will be the answer to your mess, get ready for the day when you realize that you wasted alotta time and money trying to do the right thing for everyone else but yourself. You might be feeling guilty because you've gotta friend or relative telling you that you've gotta dig out of the hole you're buried in...but unless they're willing to write you a check and help you dig out of your personal financial hell, tell 'em to shut up and buzz off. It's none of their business, and the last thing you need is someone piling on a bunch of guilt on top of the threatening phone calls and letters you're already having to put up with. I don't care how you got there...all I care about is getting you out and letting you get on with your life: It's not my job to pass judgment about your predicament...but it is my job to make you aware of your alternatives, and to fill-in the blanks that many journalists seems to gloss over when it comes to the truth behind those precious non-profit credit counseling services. A week ago it was announced that the record-pace of personal bankruptcies continues through the first quarter of 2003, up 7.4%: As long as the Providians and Capital Ones and other irresponsible credit card issuers of the world continue their reckless ways, Americans will be faced with making some difficult financial life-or-death decisions. Los Angeles bankruptcy attorney Leon Bayer joined us to discuss the recent news about the rising tide of personal bankruptcy filings...as well as an update on the aggressive lobbying efforts of the nation's leading banks and credit card companies to change the federal bankruptcy laws. Check out Leon's website for more information..... If you want more information about our pals as the credit counseling agencies or the latest news about the attempts to change the bankruptcy laws, click here. And no matter what challenges you're having to (or need to) deal with, meet them head on and know all of your options. Check out Ben's special section designed to help you accomplish this feat...and get on with your life! If you receive an e-mail from Microsoft and it has an attachment, do not open it! A new computer worm is spreading because many of you are unknowingly opening up attachments! The e-mail containing the worm appears to come from support@microsoft.com, but it's not from the software giant. By the way...this worm can secretly install spyware programs. Which leads us to Ben's cyber-reminder #1-A: You'd better have anti-virus software installed on your computer and make damned sure it's configured to scan every single e-mail as it's received but before you get a chance to open them! And don't forget to update your anti-virus definitions every single day: And please, no matter who they're from, do not open any attachments!!! (I don't care if you know who they're coming from.) Good news if you're concerned about Mad Cow disease affecting the U.S. beef supply...just in time before you fire up the grill over this Memorial Day weekend. Go crack a beer and read all about it here... Your insurance company's increasingly concerned about what you're doing in your personal life: I'll tell you the Top 3 things you need to avoid...or risk getting your insurance canceled altogether. Like a good neighbor, you'll be in good hands next week on the Sunday, June 1, 2003 edition of The Benjamin Dover Show on KFI-AM/640, Los Angeles!

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