I've Been Mugged Blogtag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-13446642019-11-06T10:00:00-05:00Consumer views and news since 2007 about identity theft, privacy, and corporate responsibility -- by George JenkinsTypePadTaking a Breaktag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4949845200c2019-11-06T10:00:00-05:002019-11-11T11:01:17-05:00Dear readers, First I'd like to thank you for your readership. We've covered plenty of important topics together. The good news: there has been plenty to cover. The bad news: there remains plenty to cover. Lately, the important news seems to come non-stop and daily. Second, after writing this blog...George JenkinsThe Obscure Charges That Utility Companies Add to Your Billstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4949814200c2019-11-04T10:00:00-05:002019-11-04T10:00:00-05:00[Editor's note: today's guest post by reporters at ProPublica explores billing practices within the utility industry. Everyone uses electricity, so these new billing practices can negatively impact all consumers. The post is reprinted with permission.] By Talia Buford, ProPublica New Jersey was reeling from the Great Recession, and Gov. Jon...George JenkinsReport: Auto Emergency Braking With Pedestrian Detection Systems Fail When Needed Most tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4deda6b200b2019-10-31T10:08:00-04:002019-10-14T11:10:47-04:00The American Automobile Association (AAA) reported new research results from tests of automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection systems in automobiles. The AAA found that these systems work inconsistently and failed when most needed: at night. Chief findings from the report: "... automatic emergency braking systems with pedestrian detection perform...George JenkinsGoogle Has Started Home Deliveries Of Packages By Dronestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4949750200c2019-10-29T10:00:00-04:002019-10-29T10:00:00-04:00MediaPost reported: "The first drone home deliveries of packages from Walgreens have started from Wing, the Alphabet subsidiary. Wing recently received an expanded Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration allowing the first commercial air delivery service by drone directly to homes in the U.S. The FAA permissions are...George JenkinsUPS Announces Expansion Of Its Drone Delivery Programtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4e29193200b2019-10-28T10:00:00-04:002019-10-28T10:00:00-04:00Last week, UPS announced an expansion of its B2B drone delivery program titled UPS Flight. The expansion included three items focused upon the healthcare industry. First, UPS began a: "... new drone delivery service in support of the University of Utah Health hospital campuses, in partnership with Matternet. The University...George JenkinsVPN Service Provider Announced A Data Breach Incident Which Occurred in 2018tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4e2740b200b2019-10-24T11:00:00-04:002019-10-24T11:00:00-04:00Consumers in the United States lost both control and privacy protections when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by President Trump appointee Ajit Pai, a former Verizon lawyer, repealed in 2017 both broadband privacy and net neutrality protections for consumers. Since then, many people have subscribed to Virtual Private...George JenkinsCourt Says Biometric Privacy Lawsuit Against Facebook Can Proceedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4e1ff8b200b2019-10-22T11:00:00-04:002019-10-22T11:00:00-04:00MediaPost reported: "A federal appellate court has rejected Facebook's request for a new hearing over an Illinois biometric privacy law. Unless the Supreme Court steps in, Illinois Facebook users can now proceed with a class-action alleging that Facebook violated Illinois residents' rights by compiling a database of their faceprints... The...George JenkinsThe National Auto Surveillance Database You Haven't Heard About Has Plenty Of Privacy Issuestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4afa60b200d2019-10-21T10:00:00-04:002019-10-21T12:16:59-04:00Some consumers have heard of Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras, the high-speed, computer-controlled technology that automatically reads and records vehicle license plates. Local governments have installed ALPR cameras on stationary objects such as street-light poles, traffic lights, overpasses, highway exit ramps, and electronic toll collection (ETC). Mobile ALPR cameras...George JenkinsPrivacy Lawsuit Involving Google Street View Moves Forwardtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a4919c68200c2019-10-17T10:00:00-04:002019-10-17T10:00:00-04:00MediaPost reported: "Google's $13 million settlement of a privacy lawsuit stemming from data collection by Street View cars moved forward [October 9th], when U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco granted the deal preliminary approval. The agreement calls for the company to pay around $10 million to nonprofits...George JenkinsSurvey: Consumers Use Smart Home Devices Despite Finding Them 'Creepy'tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a48bfbbc200c2019-10-15T10:00:00-04:002019-10-15T10:00:00-04:00Last month, Selligent Marketing Cloud announced the results of a global survey about how consumers view various brands. Some of the findings included smart speakers or voice assistants. Key findings: "Sixty-nine percent of surveyed consumers find it “creepy” when they receive ads based on unprompted cues from voice assistants like...George JenkinsFacebook To Pay $40 Million To Advertisers To Resolve Allegations of Inflated Advertising Metricstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a48f3a45200c2019-10-14T10:00:00-04:002019-10-14T11:55:32-04:00According to court papers last week, Facebook has entered a proposed settlement agreement where it will pay $40 million to advertisers to resolve allegations in a class-action lawsuit that the social networking platform inflated video advertising engagement metrics. Forbes explained: "The metrics in question are critical for advertisers on video-based...George JenkinsFTC To Distribute $31 Million In Refunds To Affected Lifelock Customerstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e008d035db88340240a48e4e33200c2019-10-10T10:00:00-04:002019-10-11T13:24:27-04:00The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Tuesday the distribution of about $31 million worth of refunds to certain customers of Lifelock, an identity protection service. The refunds are part of a previously announced settlement agreement to resolve allegations that the identity-theft service violated a 2010 consent order. Lifelock...George Jenkins