Imagine going online to look for home loan information. You find a website and enter some basic information, then click “Get a free quote” – and the next day, your phone is besieged with calls and texts hawking mortgages. A recent court decision shows that in this situation, it’s not enough for a company to have a website disclaimer about telemarketing; the disclaimer must be clear and conspicuous. If it’s hard to find or hard to read, consumers may be entitled to damages under the Telephone … [Read more...]
What To Do If Your Data is Breached
On the heels of major cyber security headlines in 2017, experts predict that 2018 could bring even more data breaches and security threats. Indeed, the MIT Technology Review said the Equifax cyberattack – which exposed personal information for 145 million people – was a “stark reminder that hackers are thinking big when it comes to targets. Other companies that hold lots of sensitive information will be in their sights in 2018.” Chief Security Officer magazine agreed: “Breaches will be … [Read more...]
GOP seeks to gut class actions, declaring war on consumers and other victims of big business
Congressional Republicans, emboldened by the GOP’s control over all three branches of the federal government, have launched a frontal assault on consumers with a flurry of bills aimed at crippling the class-action lawsuit. Class actions are often the only way consumers and other victims can hold big businesses accountable for harms that would otherwise be too small to justify individual lawsuits. Those big businesses and their Republican allies in Washington have long sought to gut the power … [Read more...]
When is it OK to record a phone call in California?
When it comes to recording telephone calls and other private conversations, California is a "two-party consent" state. Under the California Invasion of Privacy Act and in particular Penal Code section 632, all parties to the conversation (even if there are more than two) must give their permission or else recording it will be illegal. This applies to plain old eavesdropping, too. The law applies to any "confidential communication,” whether carried on in person or via telegraph, telephone, or … [Read more...]
How Bad Can Things Get for Employees Whose Data is Stolen in a W-2 Phishing Scam?
The IRS recently issued an urgent bulletin warning of the dangers of so-called “W-2 phishing" scams. In these cons, fraudsters use phony emails to fool someone in the company into handing over employees’ W-2 records and other personally identifying information and then use the data for all manner of identity theft. While phishing is as old as the internet, the current wave of W-2 scams—often coupled with an old-school wire transfer scam—has reached an unprecedented level. And the consequences … [Read more...]