February 9, 2024 at 10:24AM The FTC reported over $10 billion losses to scammers in 2023, a 14% increase from the previous year. Ransomware payments also hit a record of over $1.1 billion. Imposter scams were the most reported fraud, with investment scams leading in losses. The FTC added 5.4 million consumer reports to their … Read more
January 30, 2024 at 11:13AM New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Citibank for failing to protect customers from hacks and scams, unlawfully denying reimbursement to fraud victims, and exploiting exceptions in regulations. The lawsuit alleges substantial financial losses for New York consumers, citing inadequacies in Citibank’s response to fraudulent activities and mistreatment of victims … Read more
January 22, 2024 at 04:42PM The FTC ordered Intuit to stop promoting its software as “free” unless it’s truly free for all consumers, following a deceptive advertising campaign for TurboTax. The order prohibits misleading ads and requires clear disclosure of eligibility and terms for free products. Intuit is also barred from providing false information about … Read more
January 22, 2024 at 03:03AM The U.S. FTC has banned InMarket Media from selling precise location data without consumer consent and ordered it to destroy collected data subject to user approval. InMarket and Outlogic faced bans for allegations of improper location data use. InMarket allegedly harvested location data from various apps, while a study revealed … Read more
January 19, 2024 at 12:14PM The FTC settled with InMarket, prohibiting it from selling Americans’ location data. The company collects data from its own and third-party apps, creating detailed advertising profiles without users’ consent. The FTC found InMarket’s data retention policy excessive and proposed measures including data deletion and consent enforcement. This is the FTC’s … Read more
January 9, 2024 at 03:37PM The U.S. FTC banned data broker Outlogic, formerly X-Mode Social, from selling Americans’ sensitive location data. The move responds to data brokers exposing individuals’ location data revealing sensitive information. Outlogic lacked protocols to remove sensitive locations and sometimes failed to respect individuals’ opt-out preferences. The ban follows an August 2022 … Read more
November 17, 2023 at 07:48AM The FCC is implementing new rules to protect consumers from SIM-swapping attacks and port-out fraud. These scams involve malicious actors gaining control of a consumer’s phone number without physical access to the device. The rules require wireless providers to use secure authentication methods and notify customers of any SIM changes … Read more
October 30, 2023 at 04:01PM The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has amended the Safeguards Rules to require non-banking financial institutions, such as mortgage brokers and investment firms, to report data breaches within 30 days. The goal is to enhance data security and protect customer information. Companies must disclose incidents impacting 500 or more consumers, … Read more
October 23, 2023 at 04:25PM Game maker Valve announced that it will require developers on its Steam platform to provide their phone numbers for SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) starting October 24. However, SMS-based 2FA is not entirely secure, as attackers can bypass it through various methods. Despite its flaws, SMS-based 2FA is still used by … Read more