The move was initially opposed by the Consumers Federation of Kenya, a campaign group which said the action would punish users who were not to blame for the fact fakes were sold.

BBC: Kenya to switch off 'fake' mobile phones

Consumers Union, Consumer Federation and other advocacy groups asked the Federal Trade Commission in September to help prevent gift card losses by requiring retailers to put money from card sales in a separate trust fund that would be affected by a bankruptcy.

FORBES: Retail

Privacy advocates, including the Consumer Federation of California, Consumers Union and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, hope she's right.

FORBES: Privacy Showdown

The National Retail Federation found that 53% of consumers are planning to shop on their smartphones this holiday season and tablet owners are more likely than mobile shoppers to use their device for holiday shopping, with more than one-third (34.8%) planning to make a purchase with their device.

FORBES: Apps to Beat the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Rush

Consumers are still worried about their finances and unemployment and are making holiday gift lists and sticking closely to them, according to a survey of more than 8, 700 consumers conducted earlier this month by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation.

WSJ: Card Issuers Reward Purchases

"I think that consumers are still very much looking forward to celebrating the holiday, " federation spokeswoman Sarah Scheuer said.

CNN: Halloween may offer welcome diversion

Despite a national unemployment rate of 9.6%, the National Retail Federation is forecasting a 2.3% increase in holiday sales this year and analysts expect consumers to purchase at least one or two trendy gadgets.

FORBES: Will Electronics Shortages Cause Holiday Retail Crisis?

Eighty-eight percent of consumers will celebrate the Fourth this year, up from 85% in 2004, according to the National Retail Federation.

FORBES