As war rages in Ukraine, big technology companies are struggling to keep up. Thousands of small decisions are being made at breakneck speed. Think, for just a moment, about the overwhelming task of sifting through propaganda-spewing social media accounts. Make yourself a tech exec right now. What’s free speech? What’s [Keep reading]
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]
Hearing about an old flame can be…a strange feeling. Maybe it’s charming – you learn that the first girl you ever kissed on the lips, 20 years ago or so, just gave birth to twins – or maybe it makes you a little mad – “They started dating ONE WEEK [Keep reading]
Americans are mad. They feel like they’re getting ripped off all the time — I’ve made a career chronicling this — but I don’t think they are quite sure who to be mad at. There’s a long list of culprits, but here’s one that’s often overlooked. Even people with good [Keep reading]
A California woman who thought she was helping an old friend pay for a kidney transplant has been caught up in an Instagram hacking scheme with a nightmarish twist — criminals drained her bank account via Zelle and then forced her to make a hostage-style video endorsing a get-rich-quick scheme in [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 the news feed, stupid. The algorithm. You’re probably going to read 1,000 things about Tuesday’s Facebook whistleblower hearing, so I won’t belabor the discussion. I have just one point I’d like to drive home. But first– I will say I’m sad that, after all this time, journalists from all [Keep reading]
Early September always fills me with a strange kind of dread. There’s a flood of horrid memories jumbled together with admiration and wonder for all the love and courage that each 9-11 anniversary churns up. I find the Tribute in Light over the World Trade Center a hauntingly beautiful, irresistible [Keep reading]
Facebook profits from advertisements it knows, or should know, are fraudulent, a federal lawsuit filed in California alleges. The social media giant makes it easy for criminals to target consumers who are not only likely to click on certain kinds of ads, but also likely to follow through with purchases, [Keep reading]
For many decades, economists wandered around in the dark, confused that their elegant formulas about consumer behavior failed again and again. They’d yell at their calculations in dark rooms, frustrated that people didn’t actually move through the world as rational actors, like the data they fed into those formulas. Then [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan