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privacy
US Gov To Compile And Share Database Of Flier Personal Information
By 7.28.07
According to the Washington Post, the United States and the European Union have agreed to compile and share a database of information on consumers who travel on aircrafts between the two continents.
Would You Buy Groceries With A Fingerprint?
By 7.25.07
Jewel-Osco, a Midwest supermarket, introduced a biometric payment system. After signing up and associating your fingerprint with your credit card, you can buy groceries just by pushing your finger on a reader at checkout and entering your “search number.”
Defense Contractor Suffers Potential Data Breach
By 7.22.07
Defense contractor SAIC Inc. transmitted personal information about US Military personel over the internet without encrypting it first, according to the LA Times.
How Geek Squad Steals Your Porn
By 7.16.07
According to an insider, these are the tools, programs, and procedures one Geek Squad precinct exploits to snarf up your porn:
Is Your Printer Spying On You?
By 7.13.07
MIT”s Media Lab has started a website that helps consumers contact the manufacturer of their printer so they can request that “tracking dots” be eliminated from their machines.
By 7.12.07
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Hot on the heels of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s announcement that consumers are now much safer from identity thieves because they’re making stores shred instead of merely toss customer records out the back door, id theft watchdog Steven Peisner showed how easy it was to steal Abott’s identity through the incredibly insecure Secretary of State Online Access database. [Freakonomics]
Geek Squad Hatched Plot To Harvest Porn From Pornstar Jasmine Grey's HardDrive, Days Before She Died In Car Crash
By 7.12.07
“I worked for Best Buy 285 several years ago (2003-2005) and was both a Blackshirt and an Agent once the Geek Squad rolled out.
Botnet Targeting Consumers Interested In iPhone
By 7.11.07
Ars Technica is reporting that a there is a 7,500-computer (and growing) botnet infected by a Trojan called Aifone.A.
2 More Former Employees Claim Geek Squad Stole Customers' Personal Files
By 7.9.07
Two more individuals identifying themselves as former Geek Squad employees have stepped forward with allegations about the repair company’s employees unauthorized copying of personal information from customer’s hard-drives.
How Frank Abagnale Protects Himself From Identity Theft
By 7.4.07
How does Frank Abagnale, an infamous check forger in the 60’s, protect himself from modern day identity thieves?
30 Free Personal Finance eBooks
By 7.2.07
Mint has collated a collection of thirty free ebooks on personal finance and money management. The selection ranges from budgets to credit cards to mortgages to general consumer advice. Each one is in PDF format. Check ’em out and get your learn on.
By 6.29.07
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Target construction worker climbs ladder and peeps on female customer trying on bras (it was a temporary dressing room with no roof). When confronted about the incident, the store manager effectively shrugged her shoulders. With video.
Sample Letter For Objecting To Lame BoA Settlement
By 6.28.07
If you’re disgusted by the pitiful compensation proposed in the Bank of America privacy violation settlement, check out Hayden’s sample letter for inspiration for registering your objection.
Proposed Settlement For BoA Selling Your Private Information: $200 Off Your Next Mortgage!
By 6.27.07
The proposed settlement for a class action lawsuit against Bank of America that would affect everyone who has ever had a checking or savings account with them since 1995 is pathetic. In return for selling your private information without your knowledge, and depending on your account, you can get: $200 off your next mortgage with Bank of America! OR…
Family Stalked Using Cellphone Snoopware
By 6.22.07
Holy crap, this is scary! A family interviewed on the Today show is being stalked by “hackers” who have taken over their cell phones. The stalkers use the cell phones to record conversations and the play them back to scare the family. They also leave messages saying they are going to rape one of the family members.
6 Things To Do When You Lose Your Wallet
By 6.18.07
Losing your wallet is a major drag but if you act quickly you can mitigate the fallout, writes The Mint Blog:
Laptop Containing Personal Data Of All 64,000 Ohio State Employees Stolen
By 6.16.07
A laptop containing the personal information of all 64,000 Ohio state employees and their dependents has been stolen from an employee’s car. Ironically, the laptop was taken home by the employee “as part of a security procedure.” Governor Ted Strickland is not taking the matter lightly. He has already issued Executive Order 013S, giving Ohio’s Chief Privacy Officer 75 days to develop an impressive-sounding “privacy impact assessment protocol.”
“As we are continuing an ongoing review of the data contained in the stolen device, we have determined that information pertaining to participants in the state’s pharmacy benefits management program, including information such as names, social security numbers, addresses and phone numbers of the employees and the names and social security numbers of their dependents, may be contained in the device,” Strickland said.
Strickland’s office has set up a site for Ohioans concerned about their data. The state will provide affected employees free credit monitoring for one year. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
