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]
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]
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]
I’ve been thinking a lot about distraction lately. We are all living lives of grand distractions these days, with one eye over our shoulder keeping track of Covid and its consequences. The constant drumbeat of cases and science and conspiracy and bickering never ends. If you are lucky enough that [Keep reading]
Day after day, week after week, month after month, the strangers came knocking and asked one question: Where’s my puppy? Rochelle Dallons couldn’t help them. She had recently purchased her dream home, in charming Leesburg, Virginia, outside Washington D.C. But criminals took a liking to her home address — the [Keep reading]
When we talk about Facebook’s bad behavior, it’s easy to get bogged down in the details. Don’t. We should focus more on the outright fraud enabled by its platforms. There’s been near constant talk about Facebook’s misbehavior lately, reaching a new crescendo after whistleblower Frances Haugen told Congress the firm [Keep reading]
A new rash of Zelle hacks has left consumers with empty banks accounts and little hope for refunds — but there is hope that federal regulators might finally impose fair rules to protect victims. Anyone who’s lost money through Zelle, or who is currently fighting their financial institution over lost [Keep reading]
Kay Bransford’s elderly mom had a generous but lonely heart — her husband had passed away recently – so she began donating to charities that sent her solicitations by mail. Pretty soon, that led to an avalanche of junk mail. At its worst, Bransford spent her visits with mom scrambling [Keep reading]
Consumers are reporting a recent rise in Instagram account hack attempts, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). Victims find they are locked out of their accounts, and criminals are using these stolen Instas to set other digital traps. A hijacked account can be used to message followers and [Keep reading]
It’s been a busy week in Facebook-must-answer-to-someone land. I really do feel like the conversation has been elevated by whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony before the Senate on Tuesday. I feel strongly that Facebook should be forced to offer an algorithm-free version of its product, as I argued earlier this week. [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan