Cynja
The Cynja, Vol. 5: Not all worms live in the garden
What is this? Learn about the Cynja comic series here
The Restless Project
Renting: The new ‘American Dream?’
Is renting a home the new American dream? A report by the Urban Institute projects that even after the housing crash and the Great Recession are a distant memory, homeownership rates in America will continue to decline. The report estimates that between 2010 and 2030, the majority (59%) of the [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
FCC to PayPal: Robocalling/texting fine print raises ‘serious concerns for the enforcement bureau’
The Federal Communications Commission sent a letter to PayPal on Thursday that was highly critical of the firm’s robocalling and robotexting fine print, which I first chronicled earlier this month. The letter says PayPal’s terms of service “raise serious concerns for the (FCC) enforcement bureau.” In a report for Credit.com last [Keep reading]
Credit cards
You (probably) have a chip credit card by now. Why can’t you use it anywhere?
Like a teacher dealing with a procrastinating student, it is tempting after all the delays with the implementation of new chip-enabled credit cards to say, “That’s it, no more extensions!” And that’s what it sounds like when the financial industry criticizes merchants for requesting yet another extension for them to [Keep reading]
Gotchas / Consumer
Mortgage ‘gotchas’ make a comeback — shopping around is your only defense
During the heyday of the housing bubble, mortgage sellers made a killing via kickbacks. They often got bonuses for steering borrowers toward more expensive mortgages. Financial reform, including a strict rule that took effect in 2011 from the Federal Reserve known as the “Compensation Rule,” banned the practice of giving [Keep reading]
Privacy
Now, it’s your turn to be Big Brother — what will you do?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — If power corrupts, does technological power corrupt absolutely? At an intimate workshop in Georgetown this week, just a quick Uber ride from the Halls of American power, discussion turned to a different power struggle — parents vs. teen-agers. Some of the brightest minds in the world are here to discuss the fragility of the life in [Keep reading]
Cynja
The Cynja, Vol. 4: Another attack coming from a different vector
What is this? Learn about the Cynja comic series here
Cybercrime / Privacy
Feds hacked again — 4 million employees’ personal info at risk — China blamed, but no evidence yet
For the second time in the past 12 months, the agency that acts as the human resources department for federal employees has been hacked. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management said on Thursday that it would be notifying 4 million current and former federal employees that hackers may have stolen their [Keep reading]
Privacy
Fine print alert: PayPal says it can robocall or robotext users, who can’t opt out (check eBay’s terms, too)
NOTE: Since this story broke on Credit.com earlier this week, PayPal has told BGR.COM that users will be able to opt-out of robocalling and robotexting. That is different from what PayPal told me, though it isn’t clear that this is a change or simply a clarification. As this story notes, PayPal has [Keep reading]
RoadTrip
Cheap gas means you should be planning your summer road trip right now (like me!)
Time to break out the old nationwide atlas road map — it’s going to be a great summer for road trips, thanks to low gas prices. You might want to splurge on an app or GPS with up-to-date traffic information, too, because lots of other families will have the same [Keep reading]