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Month: May 2020

Cybercrime / Privacy

If we’re going to talk about Section 230, let’s get it right

May 28, 2020 Bob Sullivan 2

With President Donald Trump threatening retribution against Twitter with an executive order, you’re going to hear a lot about Section 230 this week — and maybe for many weeks. The ensuing discussion could shake the Internet to its very roots.  That’s going to make legal scholars very happy, but it [Keep reading]

Cognitive bias

Groupthink and false consensus were already dangerous; then Facebook showed up

May 27, 2020 Bob Sullivan 2

Ever thought something was a bad idea — like walking down a dark street, or adding a feature to a product you thought no one would want — but did it anyway because everyone else around you seemed to think it was ok? Group process can be a wonderful thing. [Keep reading]

Bob Sullivan's podcast projects

PODCAST: Inside a cybercrime gang that’s stealing millions from U.S. unemployment benefits

May 26, 2020 Bob Sullivan 0

  Scattered Canary sounds a bit like bad band name from high school, but it’s really the name given to a highly organized cybercrime game base in Nigeria that’s managed to steal millions of dollars from state unemployment systems, according to my guest — Armen Najarian is Chief Identity Officer [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Maybe I’m getting soft, but Covid-19 fees really aren’t that bad

May 26, 2020 Bob Sullivan 1

I’ve spent my career writing about the scourge of hidden fees and surcharges — and how they wreck the normal price function of market economics — but for once, I’m not sure how I feel about a new fee making the rounds. (In fact, it’s the 10th Anniversary of Gotcha [Keep reading]

Bob Sullivan's podcast projects

After 40 years, What’s CNN good for? The Lisa Napoli ‘Up All Night’ interview

May 20, 2020 Bob Sullivan 0

k Once upon a time, Americans waited until dinnertime to find out what happened in the world that day. Then, Ted Turner had a crazy itch to scratch and everything changed. Not for the better, I’d argue. For starters, people now tune to TV news — and to the Internet [Keep reading]

Bob Sullivan's podcast projects

Podcast: ‘This is heartbreaking’ – unemployment ID theft victims in red tape nightmare

May 18, 2020 Bob Sullivan 3

 Imagine applying for unemployment benefits only to be denied because…you are already receiving them. Or getting a letter saying you’ve applied for unemployment when you still have a job. It’s happening to ID theft victims around the country as organized crime rings exploit a “perfect storm” that matches a [Keep reading]

Cognitive bias

The Dunning-Kruger effect: It’s not what you think

May 17, 2020 Bob Sullivan 2

I’ve been fascinated lately by the inability of people to use the simple phrase: “I was wrong.”  Being wrong is great!  It’s a powerful life tool! Sure, it hurts for a moment or two, like ripping off a band-aid. But after that, it’s liberating.  Letting go of an idea that [Keep reading]

Bob Sullivan's podcast projects

Podcast: Will someone — or some country — steal the Covid-19 vaccine?

May 14, 2020 Bob Sullivan 1

“We are being robbed…our intellectual property is all the U.S. has left, and we are being fleeced of it.” The news was easily lost in the Covid-19 fray, but earlier this year, U.S. authorities blamed China for what many consider the most important data heist in history — the hack [Keep reading]

Bob Sullivan's podcast projects

VIDEO: This is All I Got — the Lauren Sandler interview

May 14, 2020 Bob Sullivan 0

What’s it like have a baby – to start a family — while living in a homeless shelter? Author Lauren Sandler lets us know by taking us on a painstakingly reported journey through a young mother’s life, from the birth of her son through his first birthday. Readers ride along [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

A quarter of Americans are late on rent, mortgage payments; teleworkers fare better than most

May 12, 2020 Bob Sullivan 0

Nearly one-quarter of Americans say they missed their rent or mortgage payment during the first week of May, double the rate that indicated they missed their April payment, according to a new survey. Another 9% say they were only able to scrounge together a partial payment, signaling a brewing crisis [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.

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