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Home2022February

Month: February 2022

Cybercrime / Privacy

The IRS ‘upload your selfie’ controversy — facing facts about facial recognition, and government services

February 11, 2022 Bob Sullivan 0

After years of fighting to beat back identity thieves, last November, the IRS launched a new authentication system the agency hoped would start to turn the tide.  The tool was designed for a limited set of taxpayers — those who wanted to access past tax returns online, or get access [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Forced to Venmo at gunpoint; smartphone crime gets more violent, more tech-y

February 10, 2022 Bob Sullivan 0

A set of armed robbers who terrorized residents near Duke University recently are being called “tech-savvy” after they allegedly demanded their victims Venmo them money and wipe their smartphones — disabling anti-theft measures — before stealing the gadgets. In one case, a 28-year-old woman was robbed at gunpoint and forced [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

Cookie pop-ups, and the data behind them, ruled illegal

February 4, 2022 Bob Sullivan 0

Hate pop-ups that interrupt your web browsing — and probably come with consequences you don’t fully understand? Well, there’s hope. When Europe passed its ambitious law designed to protect consumer privacy, known as GDPR, many Internet users noticed only one impact — annoying pop-ups jammed with mini-privacy policies.  To any [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

Don’t like being stared at? That’s why we have a primal need to fix the Internet

February 2, 2022 Bob Sullivan 0

Ever sit in a coffee shop, staring idly into space, when you get the weird sensation that someone is staring at you? How did you know? What a strange skill to have. Our innate desire for privacy is indeed powerful. It’s also primal. Privacy is a human right, at least [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