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Year: 2014

Cybercrime / Privacy

The five new scams and hacks you should watch for in 2015 (and some old favorites, too)

December 31, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

If 2014 was the year of the credit card hack, what will 2015 be? Here’s an early look at candidates — the scams, hacks and hiccups that could trip up the most consumers next year. 1. Hacked Kitchen Appliances and the Internet of Things Even as our cellphones get bigger, technology [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Don’t max out your credit cards — even for one month

December 23, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Doing some research for a larger story about the “damage points” associated with having a credit-related boo-boo, I stumbled on this important factoid: A consumer with excellent credit who maxes out a credit card will see a credit score drop of 25 to 45 points. In other words, someone with a superb 780 score [Keep reading]

Credit cards

‘Staggering’ — half of negative credit report entries involve unpaid medical debt

December 22, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

We’ve long suspected, but now we know: A large part of America’s personal debt problem is medical debt.  About half of the unpaid debt entries in credit reports are related to medical bills.  Getting sick can ruin a household, leading to pock-marked credit reports, trouble with other borrowing, and eventually [Keep reading]

Uncategorized

A great book is the gift that keeps on giving; here’s a cool last-minute guide to book gifting

December 19, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Free of an old media job, I don’t have to write a tech gift guide this year! So instead, I’m taking a writer’s privilege today, to do something that I hope will help people read. Scrambling for last-minute holiday gifts?  Books are great emergency presents.  And they are easy to wrap. [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

U.S. to hit back at N. Korea over Sony — but how? Cyberwar favors the weak

December 19, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

The stakes in the Sony hack keep getting higher. We are all about to get a lesson in asymmetric warfare, and that has me really concerned.  Now that the U.S. government has so openly accused North Korea of attacking America, and its way of life, the U.S. has a really [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

Sony hackers sound like al-Qassam Cyber Fighters; and where’s the gloating, Guardians of Peace?

December 18, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Two quick thoughts about the Sony hack today. First: Haven’t we all seen (or, not seen) this movie before? The one where a corporation is brought to its knees, allegedly by hackers from a foreign enemy upset about an offensive movie? And second: Where’s the gloating?  The hackers’ silence right [Keep reading]

No Picture
From the Archives

Archive: Why your bank’s website might go down soon, and why hackers seem unstoppable

December 18, 2014 Bob Sullivan 1

Oct 23, 2012 — The attacks seem straight out of a movie plot: An anonymous note is posted online — usually on a Monday or early Tuesday — declaring that week’s victims. The targets then are besieged at some point during that Tuesday through Thursday stretch. On Friday, the group [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Sprint accused of being complicit in massive hidden-fee, ‘gotcha’ cell phone cramming

December 17, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Wireless giant Sprint enabled hidden-fee abuse of its customers for nearly a decade, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged on Wednesday. Sprint allowed third-party firms to “cram” unwanted services onto consumer bills, and kept about one-third of the proceeds for itself, the CFPB said.  In other words, Sprint was complicit [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

Hackers start to hit Sony where it hurts — press events canceled after real-world threats issued

December 17, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

I don’t know if the North Korean government has anything to do with the Sony hack, though I seriously doubt it.  I don’t know if the group connected to it has any ability to carry out real-world attacks, though I have even more doubts about that.  I don’t know  what [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

The Sony hack, and why your email might be next

December 15, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Sony reminds me of the chaos theory in the hacking world. Yes, you should be very afraid of what’s happening at Sony right now. Here’s why. Four years ago, I wandered the halls at the giant RSA security conference collecting scuttlebutt. Companies spend thousands, even millions of dollars, to make a splash at [Keep reading]

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About me

BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists prestigious Public Service award, a Peabody award, and The Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness award, and been given Consumer Action’s Consumer Excellence Award.

Bob Sullivan

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