The FDA says this Class II recall could cause temporary or medically reversible harm; users should match product details against the agency's enforcement report.
By Anthony Thompson and USA TODAY October 2, 2026
Hundreds of thousands of bottles of eye drops sold under several brand names, including Walgreens, are being recalled because the products may not be sterile, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Sterling Pharmaceutical Services LLC, based in Dupo, Illinois, initiated the recall Aug. 20, 2026, according to an FDA enforcement report. The agency classified the recall as Class II on Sept. 21.
The recall includes nine products: lubricant eye drops, a hypertonicity eye solution and a nighttime eye ointment. Consumers should check the product name, lot number and expiration date to determine whether their product is affected.
Which Eye Drops Are Recalled?
The recall covers nine products and 747,844 units in total:
· Cameron Pharmaceuticals Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium 0.5% Eye Lubricant, 0.5 fl oz (15 mL): 19,284 bottles
· AvKare Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium Ophthalmic Solution 0.5%, Lubricant Eye Drops, 0.5 fluid-ounce bottles: 12,864 packs
· AvKare Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium Ophthalmic Solution 0.5%, Lubricant Eye Drops, two-count twin packs: 107,377 packs
· Reliable-1 Laboratories Sodium Chloride Hypertonicity Ophthalmic Solution, 5%, 0.5 fluid ounces (15 mL): 11,083 bottles
· Reliable-1 Laboratories Lubricating Tears, 0.5 fluid ounces (15 mL): 47,616 bottles
· Walgreens Lubricant Eye Drops, Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium 0.5%, 0.5 fluid-ounce bottles: 301,114 bottles
· Walgreens Lubricant Eye Drops, two-count twin packs: 199,600 packs
· TRP The Relief Products Gentle Eyes Lubricant Eye Drops, Carboxymethylcellulose sodium 0.5%: 14,538 bottles
· Major LubriFresh P.M. Nighttime Ointment, 0.125 ounces (3.5 g) tubes: 34,368 tubes
What Does a Class II Recall Mean?
The FDA says a Class II recall means exposure to or use of a recalled product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or the risk of serious consequences is remote. The recall concerns a lack of assurance that the products are sterile.
What Should Consumers Check?
The FDA’s enforcement report includes specific lot numbers and expiration dates for the affected products. Compare those details with the information on your eye-drop package to determine whether it is included in the recall. If it is, the FDA suggests stopping use immediately and speaking with a doctor.
USA TODAY contacted Sterling Pharmaceutical Services on Oct. 2 for comment but had not received a response at publication time.
Scammers Took $3.5 Billion by Posing As Someone You Trust. Social Media Let Them In
The ‘Medicare representative’ with a better plan
The ‘Social Security raise’ you have to verify
The ‘fraud department’ that wants you to move your money
The surprise refund from Amazon or another retailer
The celebrity who wants to make you rich
The government grant nobody applied for
If you already clicked or paid
Act fast. Call your bank or card company, change your passwords, and report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If you handed over personal information, go to IdentityTheft.gov for a step-by-step recovery plan, and consider freezing your credit. If you’re worried about what a thief could do with your data, you can compare identity protection services in our Solutions Center.
Want the FTC to hear from you? Once its notice is published in the Federal Register, you’ll have 60 days to comment at Regulations.gov on whether the platforms should do more.
And for defenses that work even on your worst day, read “The Scam Defense That Works Even When You’re Tired, Sick or Distracted.”
Crooks are building fake bank websites that play dead. Check one directly, and it’s a blank page. Click it from a Google search, and it turns into a perfect copy of your bank’s login. These fakes jumped 40% in three months.
And Google made the “hover to check” trick useless on many results. You used to be able to hover your mouse over the link and look at the bottom corner of your screen to see where it really goes. Google broke that safeguard.
Some search results now pass through a Google redirect first. Hover over one, and the corner of your screen shows google.com/goto?url= followed by a string of gibberish. Not the bank. Not the store. Google. Google says it’s fighting “evolving forms of abuse.” It didn’t say which. My read: It’s about stopping companies from bulk-copying its search results. You got caught in the cross fire. You can’t check where a result leads before you click. Google still prints a website name above each result. That’s a label. The hover was your second opinion. Now you get one, and it’s Google’s.
Crooks game their way to the top of search results for phrases like “[bank name] login.” It works because that’s what you type when you’re in a hurry to pay a bill.
Here’s the sneaky part. Type the fake site’s address directly, and you get a dead, blank page. That’s what security scanners see, so they shrug and move on. Click it from a search result, and it turns into your bank’s login page. You type your password. They get your password.
The address looks close enough, your bank’s name with an odd ending like .ph.com. On a phone screen, you’d never notice.
A few minutes of research can save you many hours (and headaches) down the road.
By Lydia Mansel Published on September 24, 2026
Some travelers like to plan their trips very loosely, booking a flight and a few hotel nights and figuring out the rest after they land. Others who are more type A prefer to have their itinerary nailed down and every worst-case scenario accounted for. If you fall into the former category, you may want to read a new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on how to avoid travel scams—and then spend a bit more time on the research phase of your next trip.
But don’t worry: It’s an incredibly simple step that could help you avoid a potentially disastrous and expensive situation, and all you need is a smartphone (or computer) and access to the internet. “Look up the names of travel companies, hotels, rentals, and agents with the words ‘scam,’ ‘review,’ or ‘complaint,’” the agency shared on its website. “See what others say about them before you commit.”
If your search turns up one or two bad reviews, don’t immediately assume the travel hotel or organization is a scam. “Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish, but consumers can look for patterns of troubling complaint topics such as: unauthorized charges, unexpected fees, bookings falling through, unreachable customer support, or an inability to secure promised refunds or cancellations,” an FTC spokesperson told Travel + Leisure via email.
If you do happen to come across a Reddit thread or comment section filled with worrisome experiences, pause and set aside time to dive further into the topic before booking anything or sharing any personal information. “Research is just one tool to arm consumers and isn’t foolproof, but it can surface red flags,” the FTC spokesperson said. “Use trusted resources or type the company’s website directly into the browser, if you know it.”
The agency recommends taking a few additional steps if you have a feeling a hotel, travel agency, or rental company could be illegitimate. The website suggests seeing how recent the reviews are or looking for a “burst of reviews over a short period of time.”
You can also look at the profile of a reviewer, analyze their past review activity, and determine your level of trust. “You won’t always know if a reviewer got something—like a free product—in exchange for writing a review. But, on some websites, you’ll see a label or badge next to the review that tells you the reviewer got an incentive. How you weigh those reviews is up to you,” the FTC shares.
At the end of the day, it’s best to trust your gut—and do your own research—when it comes to travel scams.
Your refund, your balance, even your tax transcripts are now on your phone. So are the scammers hoping you download the wrong app.
Stacy Johnson CPA September 29, 2026 Best-Selling Author, Emmy Recipient, Personal Finance Expert Since 1981
After 15 years, the IRS has retired its IRS2Go app. In its place is a new app, simply called IRS, that does a lot more.
Announced Sept. 25, the free app lets you check your refund, see what you owe, make payments, read IRS notices, pull tax transcripts and get an Identity Protection PIN, all from your phone, according to the IRS.
“The new IRS app puts more services at taxpayers’ fingertips,” said IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano.
But anything this convenient is also a gift to scammers, who’ll push look-alike apps and fake messages claiming to give you access to your IRS account.
Here are five things the real app can do, and one thing the IRS will never ask you for.
1. Track your refund, no sign-in required
You can check the status of your refund or an amended return. According to the IRS’s frequently asked questions, checking refund status still works without signing in.
If you used IRS2Go and have automatic updates turned on, you’ll get the new app through a normal update. Otherwise, download it only from the Apple App Store or Google Play, using the links at IRS.gov/app.
It works in English and Spanish, and it needs iOS 15.1 or Android 7.0 or later.
2. See what you owe and pay it
Sign in, and you can see your balance and payment history and make a payment.
The sign-in is the same secure login you use for your IRS Individual Online Account, and you enter your credentials in a separate secure browser window, not in the app itself, the IRS says.
If the balance is more than you can pay at once, don’t ignore it. The IRS offers payment plans, including a short-term plan of up to 180 days with no setup fee if you owe less than $100,000.
Interest and some penalties keep adding up until you pay in full, though. If you’re in over your head, you can explore tax debt relief options in our Solutions Center.
3. Read your IRS notices
The app shows select notices and letters the IRS has sent you. That’s more useful than it sounds.
When a letter shows up in your mailbox claiming to be from the IRS, you can check whether the real IRS has it on file. That’s one of the easiest ways to catch a fake.
4. Pull your tax transcripts
Need proof of income for a mortgage, a refinance or financial aid? You can access available tax records and transcripts in the app.
Transcripts are also handy for spotting identity theft. If income or a return shows up that you don’t recognize, you’ll know something’s wrong.
5. Get your IP PIN
An Identity Protection PIN is a six-digit number that stops anyone else from filing a tax return using your Social Security number. Anyone who can verify their identity can get one, and a new PIN is issued each year, according to the IRS.
If you’ve ever had your personal information exposed in a data breach, this is one of the best free protections you can get. Now it’s on your phone.
The one thing the IRS will never ask for
Your IP PIN — the IRS says it will never ask for it, and that calls, emails or texts asking for your IP PIN are scams.
More broadly, the IRS won’t ask for sensitive personal or financial information through an unsolicited text, email or pop-up message. So if a text or ad promises to activate your new IRS app, verify your account or release a refund, don’t tap it.
Instead, forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM), and send phishing emails to phishing@irs.gov, the IRS says. We’ve covered why you should think twice before responding to IRS texts or emails.
The new app doesn’t replace IRS.gov, where forms and guidance still live. But for checking on your money, it’s a real upgrade. Just make sure the one you download came from the IRS.
AZ Secretary of State: Track your ballot like you track every game. Sign up for BallotTrax at www.Arizona.Vote to get a text when it's received and when it's counted.
iPhone, Pixel and Samsung Galaxy can record a phone call, transcribe it as you talk and hand you a transcript and some can do a summary with the next steps, right on the phone. Nothing to install, nothing to pay. The legal pad by the phone is officially retired. Steps below.
iPhone (iOS 18.1 and up)
On a call, tap the waveform icon in the top-left corner. A voice tells everyone, “This call is being recorded.” Hang up, and the audio and a full transcript are waiting in Notes. On an iPhone 15 Pro or newer with Apple Intelligence, tap the note for a summary.
In-person meeting? Open Notes, tap the paper clip, tap Record Audio. Same transcript, same summary.
Pixel 9 and 10 (not the A models)
Turn it on once. Phone app > three dots > Settings > Call Notes. On a call, tap Call Notes. The other side hears a notice. Afterward, you get the recording, a transcript and a summary with action items, and Google says all of it stays on your phone.
For meetings, the Recorder app transcribes live and summarizes on Pixel 8 and up.
Samsung Galaxy (One UI 7 and up)
On a call, three dots > Record call. Both sides get the announcement. When you hang up, open Phone > Recents, tap the call, then View recording and transcript. Samsung’s Voice Recorder app does the same for a meeting in the room.
Older Android? The free Google Recorder app transcribes meetings, but it won’t record calls. Put the call on speaker next to it, and you’re close enough.
The legal part
Twelve states require everyone on the call to agree to the recording: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. The rest allow it if one person on the call (you) knows, like here in Arizona.
Here’s why the built-in tools matter: They all play that announcement, and they won’t let you shut it off. If the other person stays on the line after hearing it, that’s consent. If they say no, stop.
And if you’re calling into one of those 12 states, the strict rule applies no matter where you’re sitting. Don’t use a third-party app that skips the announcement. That’s how people end up on the wrong side of a wiretap law over a plumber’s quote.
3-second tech genius, instant lantern: Power’s out and your phone flashlight throws a skinny beam that lights up one spot. Turn on the flashlight, lay the phone face down, and set a clear plastic water bottle full of water right on top of the light. The water spreads the beam and glows like a lamp, filling the whole room with soft light. Hurricane season, camping, hotel blackout. Sorted.
The thought of becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft can be scary. Luckily, there are things you can do to help protect yourself to minimize the effects if your accounts are compromised.
Three easy steps you can take to help secure your accounts right now.
If you have not logged into your account online, do that! Register your account and choose a unique username and password if you haven’t already. Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA). If your phone is lost or stolen, auto-lock features or "location tracking" services can help prevent unauthorized access and assist with recovery.
Reminder: This makes it harder for a fraudster to pretend to be you. If you don’t register with your username and your unique password, it is much easier for a fraudster to take over your account.
Provide your email addresses and phone numbers for security alerts. For banks, set alerts for withdrawals and deposits. For credit cards set the alerts to come to your email or text for every transaction that occurs. With alerts, if a fraudulent charge or withdrawal occurs you can do something about it right away instead of waiting for the statement to come in the mail.
Review security alerts immediately and if there is unauthorized or suspicious account activity and you believe one of your accounts has been compromised, immediately change your passwords, then contact the Customer service at your bank, credit card company, or other entity to assist you in securing your account.
Be sure to use a known phone number from the back of your card, or your actual statement, etc. Don’t trust an internet search.
Oops money, real trap:
Money you didn’t expect lands in your Venmo, Zelle or Cash App.
Then a text: “So sorry, sent that to the wrong person. Can you send it back?” Don’t.
The original payment is often stolen money. It gets reversed later, and the cash you “returned” is gone for good.
Don’t spend it, move it or share codes.
Contact the app or your bank through official support.
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