Bob Hansen Biography
Bob Hansen is an American journalist who was born in Southern California. He is working as a consumer reporter. Bob talks about things that matter in peoples’ lives, try to save them money, even catch a “snake oil salesman” now and again.
Bob’s unique style of consumer reporting has made him a San Diego favorite for 28 years. He keeps his finger on the pulse of what interests San Diego viewers from scams too sales.
Bob Hansen Age
Hansen’s age information will be updated soon.
Bob Hansen Education
He has a bachelor’s degree from U.C. San Diego and a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri.
Bob Hansen Career
He started in the business as a Copyboy for the Houston Chronicle and later as a freelance reporter for National Public Radio. He’s been on television for 34 years reporting in Missouri, Florida, Kentucky, and San Diego. Along the way, he’s received many local and national awards.
Bob Hansen Facts
Hansen enjoys photography, volleyball, and surfing. He’s happily married and has four children and seven grandchildren.
Whether it’s talking about great deals, how to save money or avoiding the latest scam, don’t miss Consumer Bob’s unique perspective.
You can watch him every Monday through Friday on NBC 7 San Diego News.
He now heads up NBC 7’s Consumer Investigative Unit, NBC 7 Responds, where the promise is every call and email will get a response. Consumer Bob and the NBC 7 Responds Unit is standing by to hear your story, gather pertinent documents and research the details all to work towards finding you a resolution.
Bob Hansen Used Smartphones
Buying Used Smartphones: Save Money, But Be Careful
We buy used cars and used homes. So, why not use a smart-phone?
Nerdwallet.com finance writer Kelsey Sheehy says previously-owned phones can be a great option for the budget-conscious.
“A used phone may have some dings and scratches, but the money you save will more than cover a case to hide those imperfections,” Sheehy said. Sheehy told our NBC San Diego Responds team there’s some serious money to be saved going pre-owned.
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“You can save hundreds of dollars if you buy a used phone instead of a new one,” Sheehy said.
Not everyone is sold on that idea. Aaron Cockerill, chief strategy officer at San Francisco-based mobile security firm Lookout, says a used phone might contain hidden software.
“Those devices could be used to perform surveillance of you,” Cockerill said. “They can use the microphone or camera; listen to your calls; or intercept all your communications.”
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That’s an open door to identity theft. Your photos and videos might be a target, too. Cockerill says Lookout has found some phones surreptitiously logged in to shady cloud accounts. In other words, your private data would be automatically saved to a prospective ID thief’s cloud account.
“Then the bad guy has access to that information as it gets synchronized off the phone,” he said.
The good news: pre-owned, refurbished phones sold directly by manufacturers and major carriers should be safer. Cockerill says buying a secondhand phone from a carrier or a reputable store might have built-in protection or a safety guarantee.
Those safeguards are likely not part of the package when you buy a phone from a private party. If you do a person-to-person deal, Cockerill strongly advises you watch the seller “wipe” the phone’s memory clear, and reset it.
“[You should see] a complete factory reset in the presence of the person that is selling it,” Cockerill said.
If the seller can’t, or won’t perform a factory reset for you: “It’s likely stolen,” he said.
Even if the seller does erase and reset the phone in your presence, you should still check to see if it’s been reported missing or stolen. That takes two steps: first, get the phone’s serial number. Dial *#06#. (That’s star-pound-zero-six-pound.) Your phone will then display its serial number, and other identifiers, like its IMEI number.
Once you have the serial number, look it up on StolenPhoneChecker.org. That’s a free, real-time database run by the wireless phone industry. If you see the phone listed there, it’s likely stolen.
“You can’t reset the phone” if it’s listed as stolen, Cockerill said. “It becomes useless to you.”
Bob Hansen Electric Versus Gas-Powered Vehicles
Buying Electric Versus Gas-Powered Vehicles
Labor Day car sales are right around the corner. But is buying a gas-powered car the best choice for consumers? NBC 7 Responds looks into the benefits of going electric.
“I think one of the biggest hurdles for shoppers to make that leap into electric vehicles is a range,” said Senior Reviews Editor Mark Takahashi for Edmunds.com. “They’re afraid that they simply can’t go far enough or they’ll be stopping and charging more often and for a long time.”
But Takahashi stressed different models exist for different needs. Nissan Leafs give you between 150 and 220 miles of range, whereas a Tesla Model S can provide up to 370 miles of range.
“What you’re looking at is going to depend on your budget and how you’re going to use it.” This points to another common concern for buyers: the cost.
“Well some of the myths that are probably holding some shoppers from making the leap into these are they think it’s too expensive; That it’s just for rich people and that’s simply not the case anymore,” Takahashi told NBC 7 Responds.
He acknowledged electric vehicles, on average, cost more than your regular gas-powered car, but the prices will continue to drop as manufacturing costs decrease.
“We now have some EVs that are selling as low as the low thirty thousand dollar range,” added Takahashi. Another common concern for buyers, said Takahashi, is battery life: how far you can drive on one charge.
The addition of more car charging stations could alleviate some of that anxiety, said Takahashi. In fact, there are more charging stations in the country than there are Starbucks.
“They’re not these slow poky little golf cart pods anymore,” said Takahashi. “They’re stylish, they’re luxurious and some of them are just blisteringly fast.”
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