They might not be hiding listening devices in our cheese, as overly paranoid Rob Lowe frets in the famous TV commercial. But they are hiding microphones in our cities. Perhaps I’m being Overly Paranoid Bob Sullivan, but I’m unconvinced we’ve had a decent public conversation about this. On St. Patrick’s [Keep reading]
A massive telemarketing robocalling campaign pestered up to 12 to 15 million consumers every day with sales pitches for cruises disguised as political surveys, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday. The total number of calls involved in the campaign was “over a billion,” an agency spokesman said. The FTC and [Keep reading]
I spent a year studying English Common law in college, and here’s the only thing I really remember: Law exists to prevent mob rule. It only survives when it’s considered effective by the masses. If it’s not, people start taking the law into their own hands. This is the precipice [Keep reading]
A mobile phone virus that spreads by texting contacts in the victim’s phone book is hitting U.S. Android users, security firm AdaptiveMobile says. Dubbed Gazon, the worm tricks recipients into downloading an app by promising $200 in Amazon gift cards. Some 4,000 users have been infected — most in the U.S. [Keep reading]
Anyone who’s tried using the Internet to rent an apartment knows it’s a cesspool of scams and fake listings. But Kelly Kane found out this weekend that con artists are getting aggressive and vindictive. After she called out a would-be con artists on a fake ad, her cell phone number [Keep reading]
The Internet can be pretty weird, but “digital kidnapping” is about as weird as it gets. Internet “kidnappers” pilfer photos of other peoples’ kids, then share them acting as if the kidnappers are the parents. It’s called babyrp, short for baby roleplay. It can range from bizarre and arguably harmless [Keep reading]
I’ve received a couple of emails recently that made their way into my inbox (and away from my spam folder) that I think are troubling. They are well-drafted attacks designed to convince the recipient that their Gmail or YouTube account is about to be deleted unless he or she clicks [Keep reading]
As if on cue, the Internet exploded yesterday with a vigorous debate involving millions of people around the globe, celebrating the arrival of Net Neutrality. The debate was about the color of a dress. Thank goodness for Net Neutrality. So before I get to Net Neutrality, let me get this [Keep reading]
After we all did Big Brother stories last week about Samsung’s ominous Smart TV privacy policy, more alarming information was found. The biggest “Doh!” — Samsung not only collects what you say in your living room, it uploads the content in the clear, without encrypting it. That means anyone who [Keep reading]
Elder financial abuse is a big problem that’s getting bigger. Back in 2010, MetLife released a report estimating that $2.9 billion is lost by America’s elderly each year, based on published accounts of fraud, but most observers believed that figure was low. A new survey released last week might be [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan