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Target vows to avoid the 'Christmas creep' this year
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In this March 29, 2016 photo, Joanna Gaines, left, and Chip Gaines pose for a portrait in New York to promote their home improvement show, "Fixer Upper," on HGTV. (Photo by Brian Ach/Invision/AP) - photo by Herb Scribner
Customers are tired of Christmas creeping up on them.

As The Washington Post reported, Target customers hope to avoid the Christmas creep a time in which companies promote Christmas ahead of other holidays, like Thanksgiving this year.

In response, the retailer said it has listened and plans to celebrate Thanksgiving ahead of Christmas.

They want us to pause, and be really intentional and recognize Thanksgiving, Rick Gomez, Targets chief marketing officer, told The Washington Post. What they dont want us to do is go right into Christmas. So, we are going to respect that.

Target said that it will keep signs and displays for Turkey Day up, hoping that marketing will play up Thanksgiving meal preparation and entertaining for shoppers, according to The Washington Post.

And Target plans to keep the holiday season by offering meaningful promotions," Target chief merchandising officer Mark Tritton told The Star Tribune.

One of those promotions includes Chip and Joanna Gaines new line of holiday-themed decor. The founders of the hit HGTV show Fixer Upper will be selling a new Hearth & Hand collection this holiday season, according to CNBC.

The holiday decor collection, which includes wreaths, ornaments and stockings, launches on Nov. 5.

Target hopes the new collection will boost the companys troubling sales numbers.

"The initial response has been exponential," Tritton told CNBC.

The National Retail Federation expects all holiday sales to increase between 3.6 and 4 percent, reaching a total spending of $682 billion, according to The Telegraph.

To capitalize on those high numbers, analysts say that Target should continue to highlight big promotions, even though customers might not want them too early, The Star Tribune reported.

Leon Nicholas with Kantar Retail told the Star Tribune that companies with bigger promotions during the holidays tend to have better sales numbers. But businesses that downplay their holiday sales suffer in the early winter months, he said.

The risk around the holiday season is that employing this strategy too stridently leaves some folks to feel theres not as much excitement there, he said.
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New Medicare cards are in the mail and scammers are on the prowl
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has begun mailing new Medicare Health Insurance ID cards. The program no longer uses Social Security numbers to identify people. - photo by Lois M Collins
The federal government is beginning to send out new ID cards to the 58 million Americans who benefit from Medicare. But since many of the people who will receive them don't know they're coming or why, scammers are already gearing up to take advantage.

An AARP survey shows as many as three-fourths of Americans 65 and older have no idea the cards are coming, so some individuals may be duped with claims that they're supposed to pay a fee or provide personal information that will be used, instead, to defraud them.

The new cards are the first reissue in years, and the most striking part of the redesign is that the cards no longer carry the beneficiary's Social Security number. Congress mandated the removal of that number as an identifier for Medicare beneficiaries by next April. Instead, the card has a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier number, an 11-digit combination of numbers and letters.

The new Medicare cards are now being mailed out in batches, starting with the Eastern seaboard and moving west. Most Medicare beneficiaries will receive their cards over the next six months, as long as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has their correct mailing address. Once the cards are in hand, people can share the new identification number with their health care providers. During a transition period, either card is valid.

The old cards, which used Social Security numbers as the personal identification number, should be destroyed.

AARP recently launched an education campaign to warn consumers about scams related to the new Medicare cards.

The membership organization's "Fraud Watch" consultant, Frank Abagnale reformed con man, scammer and the subject of the movie and book "Catch Me If You Can" tells senior citizens the only time they need to carry the actual Medicare card is to health care appointments. Otherwise, it should be left in a safe place. If they want to carry one in their wallet or purse, he says, make a copy and black out the first seven numbers.

Since the cards were announced, scammers have already:

  • Called seniors and asked for their bank account information so that money on their old card could be returned. There is no money on the old card and CMS never asks for personal information over the phone.
  • Offered to send the new card after Medicare beneficiaries pay a $25 fee to cover expenses related to the card. The card is free.
  • Said the card will be mailed out as soon as the older person verifies his or her Social Security number, mailing address and other personal information. CMS already knows the beneficiary's Social Security number and it's no longer being used in conjunction with health care.
AARP and the Federal Trade Commission will hold a free online seminar about the cards and the fraud attempts they have spawned on Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m. EDT. Register at: www.aarp.org/FraudWebinar. CMS also offers a "frequently asked questions" guide to the new cards.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network says consumers can sign up for its Watchdog Alert emails that deliver breaking scam information, or call a free helpline at 877-908-3360 to speak with volunteers trained in fraud counseling. Abagnale also hosts a weekly podcast for AARP, called The Perfect Scam.
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