By now you’re probably used to going to your bank’s website and being upsold on everything from car loans to mortgages to retirement accounts before you can move on to see how your money is doing. But have you ever gone to your bank’s site only to be told you must update your income with the bank before going any further? [More]
privacy
The Many Ways In Which Your Kid’s Smartwatch Can Be Hacked
By 10.18.17
Most of us aren’t going to spend hundreds of dollars on an Apple Watch for our kids, but there are many less-expensive, kid-targeted smartwatches available. Unfortunately, a new report claims that your young one’s tiny screen may also be a huge privacy risk. [More]
Pizza Hut Alerts Customers Of Possible Theft Of Credit Card & Other Info
By 10.16.17
Tens of thousands of Pizza Hut customers received something unexpected this weekend. No, not a pizza, but notice that their credit card information may have been impacted during a security breach at the pizza company… two weeks ago. [More]
The Best Bits From John Oliver’s Takedown Of The Equifax Scandal
By 10.16.17
Equifax, the credit bureau that ignored warnings and failed to update its software, leading to a data breach that exposed private information for half the U.S. adult population, stepped into the crosshairs of Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver on Sunday, adding a bit of levity to this otherwise dire ongoing scandal. [More]
Increased Use Of Machine Learning, Facial Recognition Outs Sex Workers’ Real Names
By 10.13.17
If you operate a video-sharing site with millions of user-uploaded clips, it sounds like a great idea to use software that is smart enough to identify some of the faces in those videos. The clips would be indexed more accurately, you might be able to more readily identify copyrighted content, but you could also be risking the privacy — and maybe the physical well-being — of those identified by the software. [More]
Judge Reins In DOJ’s Attempt To Get Info On Users Of Anti-Trump Site
By 10.10.17
A judge in Washington, D.C., has thrown a wrench into the Justice Department’s effort to collect information on people who communicated through a website site critical of President Trump, ruling that the DOJ “does not have the right to rummage through the information” on the site to “discover the identity of, or access communications by, individuals not participating in alleged criminal activity.” [More]
Uber To Pay $20M For Allegedly Spamming People With Illegal Text Messages
By 10.10.17
More than a year after a Chicago resident filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber, claiming the company violated federal law by sending unsolicited text messages to people who want nothing to do with the service, the ride-hailing company has agreed to pay $20 million to put the legal challenge behind it. [More]
Equifax Security Failings Were Flagged By Wall Street Firm More Than A Year Ago
By 10.6.17
A company that supplies stock market indexes reportedly warned investors in August 2016 that Equifax, one of the nation’s three major credit bureaus, appeared to be ill-equipped to fight off a sophisticated cyber attack. Apparently Equifax didn’t get that warning; otherwise, hackers may have been prevented from accessing the sensitive financial information for more than 140 million Americans. [More]
Mattel Scraps Always-On ‘Aristotle’ Monitor Amid Slew Of Privacy Concerns
By 10.5.17
Facing a new wave of privacy questions from lawmakers, consumer advocates, and concerned parents, Mattel has decided that it won’t go ahead with its delayed launch of Aristotle, the always-listening kid monitor designed to track and learn about your child from birth through adolescence. [More]
Everyone Gives Facebook Their Data, But Nobody Trusts Facebook With It
By 10.4.17
Facebook is one of the biggest companies in the entire world. More than 26% of the entire population of Earth uses it, in one way or another, including roughly 230 million Americans… but it seems that the vast majority of us are aware that although we let Facebook have our data, we shouldn’t trust them with it. [More]
Equifax Says 2.5M More Customers Affected By Breach; Ex-CEO Apologizes To Congress
By 10.3.17
When 143 million people have already been affected by a massive data breach at one of the three major credit reporting agencies, what’s a few million more? That’s apparently the reality for Equifax, which upped its estimate of how many consumers were affected in the hack just hours before company executives were scheduled to discuss the incident with lawmakers. [More]
Birchbox Says It Will No Longer Share Gift Recipients’ Addresses
By 10.2.17
Days after Consumerist highlighted privacy concerns related to Birchbox sharing the personal addresses of gift recipients with the person who sent the gift, the company says it has changed its practices. [More]
Lawmakers Say Mattel’s Always-On ‘Aristotle’ Kid Monitor Raises “Serious Privacy Concerns” For Families
By 9.29.17
Despite announcing the product in January, toy giant Mattel has still not released the always-on, always-listening Aristotle kid monitor that has already raised red flags among privacy advocates. Now, a bipartisan pair of U.S. legislators are asking Mattel to address what they see as serious concerns about this connected-home device that is intended to track info about your kid from birth through adolescence. [More]
Birchbox Will Share Your Mailing Address With Anyone Who Sends You A Gift Subscription
By 9.28.17 — Updated: 10.2.17
UPDATE: Birchbox has discontinued its practice of sharing gift recipients’ addresses with gift givers. The company tells Consumerist that sharing the information was an “oversight.”
We live in a world where it’s becoming increasingly common for people to send gifts to others without ever knowing their mailing address. Many online retailers now let you at least purchase gift cards or gift subscriptions with only the recipient’s email address. But for some reason, Birchbox will also tell you the recipient’s full shipping address. [More]
Tinder Has Loads Of Data On You; Says You Shouldn’t Expect It To Remain Secure
By 9.26.17
Human beings say and do a lot of stupid things when trying to connect romantically. Before the internet, there was no record of all the idiotic pick-up lines you used or that others used on you, no permanent file of all the people you randomly dismissed as unattractive (or inexplicably found attractive at the moment). Dating sites like Tinder now have vast amounts of data on their users’ preferences, peculiarities, and peccadilloes, but are they concerned about keeping it safe? [More]
Baltimore Ravens Postpone DNA Test Giveaway After Public Health Officials Get Involved
By 9.19.17
If you showed up to the Baltimore Raven’s home opener on Sunday expecting to receive a free DNA test, you were likely sorely disappointed. The NFL team’s planned promotion with Orig3n was canceled at the last-minute following increased scrutiny from federal and state health officials. [More]
California ISP Privacy Bill Stalls Out After Heavy Pushback From Industry
By 9.18.17 — Updated: 9.19.17
There is no federal-level law protecting your private web data from your internet-providing company anymore, and there likely won’t be a replacement anytime soon. So some states are trying to take matters into their own hands. But the latest, last-ditch effort in the tech capital of the U.S. has failed, after strong pushback from the very companies it would regulate. [More]
Would You Take A DNA Test At An NFL Game? The Baltimore Ravens Want You To
By 9.15.17
Fans attending the Baltimore Ravens’ home opener on Sunday will be leaving more than empty cups, nacho tins, and possibly their team spirit when they exit M&T Bank Stadium: Guests can leave their DNA to be tested if they take part in the team’s latest promotion. [More]
