Cynja
The Cynja, Vol. 7: People could lose their money, their data, even their lives
What is this? Learn about the Cynja comic series here
Year: 2015
Gotchas / Consumer
Debt collector connected to huge hospital chain, Tenet, ignored billing dispute laws for years
It’s a basic tenet of billing practices, debt collection, and fairness — if someone sends you a bill, and you think it’s wrong, you have the right to dispute it and get a prompt response. It’s also federal law. Except Tenet Healthcare, through a firm that handles some of its [Keep reading]
Gotchas / Consumer
Share your password with Mint, other apps? Who pays if you are hacked? Banks, law seem to disagree
Consumers routinely share their online banking passwords with third-party apps that help with everything from budgeting to tax preparation. Apparently banks would like this to stop. JPMorgan Chase posted this notice on its website in April: “If you give out your chase.com User ID and Password, you are putting your [Keep reading]
Gotchas / Consumer
PayPal agrees to change its robocalling / texting policy
PayPal has backed down on its robocalling and robotexting policy. The online money company sent a letter to the Federal Communications on Monday saying it will change its terms of service to clarify when it will use automated calls or texts, and offer an easy way for users to opt out of [Keep reading]
Gotchas / Consumer
Supreme Court ruling eliminates some ‘cost of being gay’ couple penalties
Welcome to the marriage penalty, gay couples! And the end of the health care benefit tax penalty, along with added Social Security benefits — at least in the 13 states where gay marriage wasn’t formerly legally recognized. While emotions overflow about today’s Supreme Court ruling, it’s easy to overlook the real-world [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
Expedia warns users about ‘unauthorized access’ of name, phone, email and booking info
UPDATED: Third party blamed for unauthorized access. Some Expedia.com customers are getting emails from the firm warning that a would-be criminal has obtained “unauthorized access … (to) your name, phone number, email address and travel booking.” The details are being used in an attempt to trick customers into sharing even more [Keep reading]
Uncategorized
Here’s another infuriating reason it’s a bad idea to co-sign a (private) student loan
Co-signers for private student loans have had significant difficulty handing off the obligation to the primary borrower, despite what the lenders’ marketing materials say, according to a report issued Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Of those who applied for release from their co-signing agreement, 90% were rejected, the [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
The next fraud wave: When banks cash the same check twice, you might have to pay
Can someone cash a check you’ve written more than once? Yes, thanks to the intersection of very old and very new banking technology. Impossible until recently – payees formerly were required to hand paper checks over to banks during a deposit – some experts predict “double presentment” will be the [Keep reading]
Cynja
The Cynja, Vol. 6: On the verge of letting the Internet slip into darkness
What is this? Learn about the Cynja comic series here
Gotchas / Consumer
Avoid sleepless nights when bed shopping; how the Web helps with mattress-buying gotchas
Buying a mattress fits somewhere in between buying a car and buying a home on the dreaded “babe in the woods” scale. As a big-ticket, infrequent purchase, consumers who go looking for a better night’s sleep find themselves navigating a hazy world full of intentional brand confusion and seemingly meaningless [Keep reading]