It is not uncommon to hear that a family member, friend, or a colleague was a victim of credit card fraud. In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission received more than one million fraud reports.[1]The report separates individuals by age groups. Individuals between the age of 20-29 account for 40% of fraud reports while individuals between…
Unfortunately, Veterans are often targets for a wide variety of scams. Being able to identify a potential scam is vital in protecting oneself from a wide variety of risks including identity theft, loss of assets or income, or even the loss of a home. Below are three of the common scams that often target Veterans…
It’s an all too common story on the news these days, data-breaches at banks or other institutions that have our personal information, it happens more frequently as technology becomes more integrated into our daily lives. What does it really mean for us, the consumers? Here are a few tips on how to handle the situation.…
In a 2014 estimate, there were almost 1.4 billion Facebook users in the world, with 890 million of these users spending an average of 21 minutes per day on Facebook. Even senior citizens, traditionally a demographic slow to adopting online technology, are seeing the value of creating a virtual life on social media. In fact, a recent…
Telemarketers seem to target anyone with an active phone number, and their annoying and untimely solicitation calls are usually as appreciated as a fellow movie-goer chewing popcorn with his mouth open. “I’m not interested” might buy you a month or two of respite, but telemarketers seem to use Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous catchphrase, “I’ll be bawck…” as…
The White House has begun to look into what companies do with consumer information and recently completed a report on big data. The report looks at the use of information both by companies and the government. It analyzes areas including education, healthcare, advertising, law enforcement privacy law, and discrimination. The full 85 page report can…
As you may remember from last year’s post on online shopping, the Internet is a fantastic resource but one that must be used carefully. This is particularly true when one is using email and social media sites such as Facebook. Although Facebook and email have transformed the way that we communicate with each other, they…