U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, recently introduced comprehensive privacy legislation, known as the “Mind Your Own Business Act” (MYOB Act), to provide protections for the private data of Americans and to hold corporate executives accountable if they abuse such information. While this isn’t the first such legislation introduced in Congress and is unlikely to be the … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an Order to File a Special Report to seven Internet broadband providers in the U.S., requesting information on how the companies “collect, retain, use and disclose information about consumers and their devices.” According to its press release, the FTC “is initiating this study to better understand Internet service providers’ … Continue Reading
In the midst of unending robocalls, news of big tech companies collecting, using and monetizing consumers’ information, and hackers and scammers, we forget that anyone is doing anything to protect our privacy. Only somewhat comforting against that backdrop is the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) annual report on its privacy and security work, which was released … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced yesterday that it will release on a quarterly basis instead of annually an aggregated report of all of the consumer complaints lodged by individuals . The goal is to provide more up-to-date information about what consumers are experiencing so others can learn from them and protect themselves from becoming … Continue Reading
Last week, two Senators, Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding apps designed for children and whether they are in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), See 15 U.S.C. 6501 and regulations at 16 C.F.R. Part 312 … Continue Reading
Facebook announced late last week that it had suffered the largest breach in its history with 50 million accounts were compromised, and another 40 million accounts affected. Yes, that equals 90 million accounts. If you use Facebook and were locked out of your account over the weekend, your account was most likely affected. The 50 … Continue Reading
As Hurricane Florence bears down on the Carolinas in the next few days, beware of scammers trying to take advantage of the good hearts of those of us who want to help the victims. We have seen it before, and no doubt it will happen again in the next few weeks as the devastation of … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), which requires marketing entities to eliminate from telemarketing campaigns telephone numbers that are listed on the Do-Not-Call Registry (the Registry). Although many of us have both our residential and cell phone numbers listed with the Registry, we still get many, many annoying and inconvenient … Continue Reading
We previously reported that LifeLock suffered a data breach and has been sued by the Federal Trade Commission for allegations of misleading customers [view related post], for which it settled with the FTC for $116 million [view related post] and then settled a suit alleging false statements to customers for $68 million [view related post]. … Continue Reading
Although the U.S.-E.U. Privacy Shield Framework has been intensely criticized by E.U. Authorities, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to enforce violations of it by U.S. companies. On July 2, 2018, the FTC issued a press release that it has settled its complaint against ReadyTech, a California online training company for “falsely” claiming that it … Continue Reading
Summer is finally here, and with summer comes vacations. Some of us are planners and plan vacations far in advance. Others look for last-minute finds that include “super savers.” If you are looking for a super saver, be aware that scammers are using different methods to commit fraud on unwary vacationers looking for vacation rentals. … Continue Reading
How low can these scammers go? Too low. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is alerting consumers this week that imposters are calling people, and saying they are from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), then telling them that they may be eligible for compensation from the fund. They have spoofed New York area codes … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a scam alert this week notifying consumers that it has received an up-tick in complaints that scammers are calling consumers claiming they are from the Social Security Administration. The scammers tell the individual that there has been a computer problem at the Social Security Administration and that they need … Continue Reading
Who knew—but yes, next week is Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week. How sad is it that we have to have a week devoted to education and awareness on this topic? It’s tax season (“busy season” as my CPA friends call it), and prime time for identity thieves to reap millions in fake and fraudulent tax … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) potential reversal of the Obama Administration’s ‘Net Neutrality’ rules have been a constant headline lately. Most media coverage goes to the core principals of net neutrality, including blocking, throttling and pay for priority of internet content; however, privacy is also a factor. Primarily, the FCC issued broadband privacy rules in … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has concentrated on small businesses this year with the launch of www.FTC.gov/SmallBusiness , which provides data security awareness information to small businesses. The site includes articles about data security, how to develop a data security plan, what happens when ransomware affects your business, what to do in response to a … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on September 5, 2017, that it has settled with Lenovo regarding allegations that Lenovo “harmed customers by pre-loading software on some laptops that compromised security protections in order to deliver ads to consumers.” According to the FTC’s complaint against Lenovo, it pre-loaded “man in the middle” software, VisualDiscovery that … Continue Reading
It has been so difficult to watch the news reports of the devastation and havoc left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and now anticipated this weekend by Hurricane Irma, which is being reported as the most powerful storm to hit the Caribbean and the southeast in almost a century. Not only do those who … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved TRUSTe’s proposed modifications to their Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) safe harbor program this week. COPPA requires, among other things, that commercial website and mobile app operators that knowingly collect personal information from children under age 13 post comprehensive privacy policies on their websites and in their mobile … Continue Reading
Last January, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched the IoT Home Inspector Challenge, a contest that requested participants to come up with a tool that would identify security issues that are caused by out-of-date software in IoT devices to better educate and protect consumers about the security vulnerabilities of IoT devices. To remind you of … Continue Reading
We all dream about winning the lottery or the Publishers Clearing House folks secretly coming up our walkway and knocking on our door telling us we won millions of dollars. Well, I do. Unfortunately, because we all wish for such luck, criminals prey on our wishes and have come up with a scam where they … Continue Reading
Ashley Madison, which suffered a data breach in 2015 [view related posts here] involving the loss of 37 million users’ personal and financial information, has settled the suit for $11.2 million. Ashley Madison’s parent company previously settled data security allegations with 13 states and the Federal Trade Commission for $17.5 million, but ended up paying … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it has settled its Complaint against operators of the lead generation business Global Media, LLC and its CEO Christopher Kay for $104 million. The judgment has been suspended because the defendants are unable to pay it. It represents the amount the defendants made by selling loan applications. … Continue Reading
This week (May 8-12, 2017) is Privacy Awareness Week—an annual initiative of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum (APPA) that concentrates on sharing information about privacy practices and rules. The APPA is an interesting group made up of privacy regulators from Australia, British Columbia, Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macao, Mexico, New South Wales, … Continue Reading
