How many times can we say that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will NOT email or telephone you? We will say it again. If you receive a telephone call, email or text from someone saying they are from the IRS, it is A SCAM. It’s that simple. If you don’t believe me, check out
Privacy Tips
Privacy Tip #278 – Privacy Rights Education
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Many people continue to be unaware of how their data are collected, stored, used, disclosed, retained, or destroyed. As technology explodes it is hard to stay current, and educating individuals on their privacy rights has diminished.
There are many organizations devoted to educating consumers on their privacy rights and committed to teaching them about the…
Privacy Tip #277 – Beware of Vaccine Surveys
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Coronavirus, Privacy Tips
Criminals use current events to launch new schemes designed to prey on victims’ vulnerabilities or fears. Throughout the pandemic, criminals have used fear of COVID-19, or the anticipation of a cure or a vaccine, to lure victims and persuade them to provide information they can use for fraudulent purposes.
The most recent scam being reported…
Privacy Tip #276 – Free Weekly Credit Reports Offered by Credit Reporting Agencies
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
The best way to find out if you have been the victim of identity theft and to determine what accounts may have been opened in your name by criminals is to get a copy of your credit report. Prior to the pandemic, individuals were eligible to obtain a free credit report from each of the…
Privacy Tip #275 – Think Twice Before Posting Your Vaccine Card on Social Media
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Coronavirus, Privacy Tips
Some of those who are fortunate enough to have received the COVID-19 vaccine are so excited that they have been posting their vaccine card on social media accounts. Perhaps when they post it, they are not looking at it as they would a credit card number, driver’s license, or Social Security card. However, the information…
Privacy Tip #274 – COVID Vaccine Scams Rampant
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
The news is full of stories about crashing vaccination scheduling websites, seniors who are unable to get their vaccine appointment, and how different states are rolling out their limited supplies of COVID vaccines.
People are becoming desperate in the scramble to get vaccinated during or even before their allotted time, and scammers know that and…
Privacy Tip #273 – What’s with WhatsApp’s New Privacy Policy?
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
WhatsApp started notifying its 2 billion users last month about an update to its privacy policy. Most of its users probably didn’t look at the details, and simply clicked “I agree” when the notice popped up on their phones. (To use the app, one must click “I agree.”) There has been a backlash from privacy…
Privacy Tip #272 – To Get Up to Speed on Facial Recognition Technology Read This
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
It’s called This is how we lost control of our faces in the February 5, 2021 edition of MIT Technology Review, written by Karen Hao.
The article outlines a study recently published by Deborah Raji and Genevieve Fried titled About Face: A Survey of Facial Recognition Evaluation, which includes a survey of over…
Privacy Tip #271 – Getting In on the Cryptocurrency Frenzy? Assess Risk of Theft First
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Oh, if I had just bought that Bitcoin when I first thought about it a decade ago…I might risk a flight to Fiji right now, which is on my bucket list, even in the midst of the pandemic. Alas, I didn’t, because I assessed the risk first and made my own decision. Yes, I lost…
Privacy Tip #270 – What To Do if You Received a Form 1099 for a Fraudulent Unemployment Claim
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
My phone was ringing this week with inquiries from clients, friends and acquaintances who received a Form 1099 in the mail for an unemployment claim that they did not file, asking what should they do.
The statistics on the successful filing of fraudulent unemployment claims throughout the country in 2020 are staggering. The pandemic created…