On February 5, 2026, a Massachusetts federal judge issued an order staying information-sharing between the IRS and ICE, as well as a preliminary injunction prohibiting Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, acting-Director Todd Lyons, and any DHS and ICE agent from “inspecting, viewing, using, copying, distributing, relying on, or otherwise acting
Privacy Tips
Privacy Tip #478 – Intrigued With Using AI to Help with Your Tax Return? Please Think Again
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
It’s that time of the year when W2s and 1099s pile up in preparation for that dreaded tax return filing deadline. Now that everyone is using AI tools to assist with complicated tasks, as they seem to make any task, even the most dreaded, more efficient, it is tempting to use one to assist with…
Privacy Tip #477 – This is Identity Theft Awareness Week
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Years ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) designated the last week of January asIdentity Theft Awareness Week. For 2026, this week is devoted to education and awareness about identity theft, which is an ever-present problem.
According to the FTC, “identity theft is one of the most-reported problems to the FTC every year.” The FTC…
Privacy Tip #476 – What is a Bikini or Non-nude Deepfake?
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
On January 13, 2026, eight United States Senators sent a letter to Alphabet, Meta, Reddit, Snap, TikTok, and X stating that they“are alarmed by reports of users exploiting generative AI tools to produce sexualized ‘bikini’ or ‘non-nude’ images of individuals without their consent and distributing them on platforms including X and others.” The senators requested…
Privacy Tip #475 – Gmail Users Urged to Switch Off New Smart Features Over Privacy Concerns
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Gmail users are being urged to review and disable two key “Smart Features” settings following privacy concerns stemming from reports that these tools may allow Google to access email content to support AI‑driven services and may use users’ data for training. The two features are included in Gmail, Chat and Meet, and Google Workspace Smart…
Recap of the Top Read Blog Posts in 2025
Happy New Year! 2025 was a busy year for the Insider authors—we published 271 posts throughout 2025. To kick-off 2026, in case you missed them last year, we are providing the articles from 2025 that were the most interesting to our readers across various categories.
We hope you enjoy them and look forward to another…
Privacy Tip #474 – TransUnion Breach Affects 4.4 Million Individuals
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
TransUnion has announced that attackers gained unauthorized access to a third‑party application used in its U.S. consumer support operation that is reported to be linked to a broader wave of attacks targeting Salesforce‑connected applications across major industries.
The breach affected more than 4.4 million individuals, but TransUnion emphasized that its core credit reporting systems were…
Privacy Tip #473 – Rental Scams Fleecing Consumers Out of $65 Million
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
An analysis by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that, since 2020, consumers have been swindled out of $65 million by rental scams. This statistic is particularly relevant during the holiday season when many people are traveling and renting places to stay.
According to the FTC, most of the scams involve fake rental listings…
Privacy Tip #472 – FTC Issues Proposed Order Against Illusory Systems Over Allegations of Lax Security
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
On December 17, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release announcing that it is taking action against Illusory Systems, Inc. “for failing to implement adequate data security measures, leading to a major security breach in which hackers stole $186 million from consumers.”
In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Illusory, doing business…
Privacy Tip #471 – SMS Phishing on the Rise Before the Holidays
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
The holidays are always a busy time—sending holiday cards, cooking, present shopping and giving, and spending time with family and friends. It’s also an opportune and busy time for scammers too.
A new report by KrebsonSecurity reminds us that fraudsters use the holidays to launch new campaigns, in this case, SMS phishing scams. According to…