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 Tips
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…
Privacy Tip #269 – COVID-19 Vaccine Scams are Rampant
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Coronavirus, Privacy Tips
Those of us who are not health care workers, essential workers or the highest-priority cohort in our state to receive the COVID-19 vaccine are patiently awaiting our turn. We are anxious to receive the vaccine for our personal safety and health, while monitoring complaints about vaccine rollouts in different states.
As we have reported before,…
Privacy Tip #268 – Changing Your Router Password
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Following Ubiquiti’s security incident and its subsequent recommendation to change your router password and enable multi-factor authentication, and the fact that it is widely reported that using default passwords on routers while working from home is a security risk, we thought it would be helpful to remind you to change your router password sooner rather…
Privacy Tip #267 – Fertility Tracking App Settles with FTC
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Flo Health, Inc., (Flo) which offers a fertility-tracking app (Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker) used by more than 100 million customers, has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to dismiss the FTC’s claims that Flo shared the health information of its users with data analytics firms despite promising users that it would…
Privacy Tip #266 – Getting Lots of Ads After Online Holiday Shopping? Some Tips for Browsing History
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
We all probably did a lot more online shopping this year during the pandemic than ever before. After online shopping, you will notice that pop-up ads are constant, and continue to pop up even if you continue to “x” them out. Or you might check the weather, and find that the site you access knows…
Privacy Tip #265 – COVID-19 Phone Scams Continue to Victimize
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Working from home has shed a new light on robocalls. It is unbelievable how many robocalls I get at home even though I am on the Do Not Call List. It is very easy to monitor these calls. If I recognize the number, I may pick up. If I don’t, I let it ring until…
Privacy Tip #264 – Gift Card Scams
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
I admit this has not been my best gift shopping year. I tried, but with the pandemic, I limited my shopping outings, and I don’t like shopping online for obvious reasons. My new mantra is “How about no gifts this year and we all give the money we would have spent to our favorite charities?”…