The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers provide information on daily living, including relationships and stress

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty is back in the classroom every week this fall, once as a teacher and twice as a student.

Many baby boomers are interested in pursuing their education, whether for profit, leisure, or cultural enrichment – whether they go to a local adult-education class, attend an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute course at a nearby university, or take off on an educational trip with Road Scholar.

Our baby boomer group, too, is interested in education. They write hundreds of articles every year to provide helpful information to boomers. Here’s this week’s offering:

Attack on Facebook exposes 50 million users’ accounts

Facebook announced Friday that earlier this week, "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted ‘View As,’” a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts."

Ed Mierzwinski, the senior director of U.S. PIRG's consumer program, said:

Early reports of yet another big breach, this one where hackers apparently exploited Facebook vulnerabilities to expose the data of 50 million users, are very troubling. It's yet another warning that Congress must not enact any national data security or data breach legislation that weakens current state privacy laws, preempts the rights of states to pass new laws that protect their consumers better, or denies their attorneys general rights to investigate violations of or enforce those laws.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Uber to pay a record $148 million settlement for not disclosing 2016 data breach

Uber settled charges Wednesday it concealed a 2016 data breach in violation of notification laws. The settlement, which was reached with 50 states and the District of Columbia, requires Uber to adopt data breach notification and data security practices and have its data security reviewed by an outside company. Uber also is required to pay a record $148 million penalty.

“New Yorkers deserve to know that their personal information will be protected – period,” said New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood. “This record settlement should send a clear message: we have zero tolerance for those who skirt the law and leave consumer and employee information vulnerable to exploitation.”

In November 2016, hackers based in the United States and Canada secretly informed security officials at Uber that they’d downloaded the personal information of 57 million riders and drivers, 25 million in the United States and 7.7 million drivers. The information stolen included names, email addresses, and mobile phone numbers; drivers’ license information on about 600,000 drivers nationwide was also stolen. After providing proof of the massive data breach, the hackers demanded “six figures” to delete the data and not disclose the breach. Uber paid the hackers $100,000 to conceal the breach.

Apple Pay scores the highest in Consumer Reports first analysis of peer-to-peer payment services

In its first analysis on peer-to-peer payment services, Consumer Reports rated Apple Pay excellent or very good in the key consumer protection measures of payment authentication and data privacy. In the review, Apple Pay was rated significantly higher than four other leading peer-to-peer services: Facebook Peer-to-Peer Payments in Messenger, Square’s Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle.

Peer-to-peer payment services allow the transfer of funds between two parties using their individual banking accounts or credit cards through an online or mobile app. Most apps’ terms of service prohibit commercial use, such as using them to get paid for selling goods or services. Most popular among millennials, peer-to-peer payments are used for things such splitting rent or food costs.

Consumer Reports announced its first, test-based ratings Monday on this new way to make payments. The ratings focus on how well the services authenticate payments to prevent fraud and error, secure users’ money, and protect their privacy. Other items evaluated included the quality of customer support, whether they insure deposits, and how clearly they disclose fees.

Watch out for online nanny and caregiving job scams

Finding a new job can be a challenge. Websites can help you find work, but scammers also use these sites to find people to rip off.

Do you look for work on caregiver/nanny job sites? Sometimes scammers will offer a job but say you need to buy supplies or other equipment, said Carol Kando-Pineda, attorney for the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Consumer and Business Education. They pressure you to act quickly, before you have time to think. They send you a check and tell you to deposit it and transfer money to their vendor to buy the supplies.

Don’t do it — scammers post fake job listings for nannies and caregivers, then make up elaborate stories to get your money, Kando-Pineda said. The positions seem real, but they’re not — it’s a scam. The check will bounce. So, the money you sent is actually your own — and it’s gone.

Attorneys general ask Congress to protect state election processes from cyberattacks, including Russia’s

Twenty-one attorneys general urged congressional leaders Monday to improve American cybersecurity and protect the integrity of the upcoming 2018 midterm election and elections to come, against cyberattacks and infiltrations such as the ones committed by Russia in 2016.

Investigations have made clear that Russian hackers targeted the American electoral system, stole the private information of hundreds of thousands of people, and infiltrated a company that supplies voting software across the nation, said New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood. 

“No matter how much President Trump waffles, the facts are clear: Russia interfered with our 2016 elections,” said Underwood. “It's high time that Congress act to prevent the next attack – because our democracy depends on it.”

Baby boomers write about positive attitudes

We’re in the middle of the summer doldrums, yet this week seems to have brought out a positive attitude among baby boomer bloggers.

They’re writing about how to inspire people to meet their challenges, why it’s never too late to embrace life, how to overcome tough challenges, a 90-plus mom who needed help getting rid of 69,000 emails, the trauma of getting evacuated from your rural home due to wildfire, how to save a cancer victim, and which states are the most and least energy efficient.

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty reports on these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #555. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure and join in the conversations. Boomer Bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

With hundreds of data breaches occurring each year, it’s important to protect your digital identity

Last night a strange thing happened. I’d just finished writing an article for my other blog, the Boomer Consumer, on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website. It was about the kickoff for a series of events throughout Washington state on how to protect your digital identity.

The phone rang and it was the financial institution that issues one of my credit cards. The automatic message read off a list of recent transactions, and one for about $500 I didn’t recognize. The financial institution blocked my credit card; I need to get a new one.   

It was ironic. I was writing about advice to consumers from the sponsors of the event: AARP, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, Microsoft, the Federal Trade Commission, BECU, and the Social Security Administration.

What should you do about Facebook apps?

I'm a subscriber to Consumer Reports, so I received an email on what to do about Facebook apps in light of recent reports about misuse of users data. I also saw the information on Twitter, so I'm sharing it below.

I was surprised by all the third-party apps that were connected to my account. As recommended in step 1, I deleted most of the apps.

Step 2, turn off Facebook's app platform. It seemed like a good idea, so I did that.

Step 3, install a tracker blocker extension on your web browser. Sounds complicated. I'll try to figure that out later.

Step 4, on mobile, you can block location sharing completely. I guess that's for my mobile phone.

Step 5, delete ads you don't want to see anymore. I did that.

I've never answered any of those quizzes on Face, so that's good in terms of keeping my information from third-party apps. But, there were a lot of apps connected to my account. It was surprising.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Today is National Password Day

Yesterday was National Pi Day, which some people use an excuse to eat pie.

Today is National Password Day, a good day to review the passwords for your bank account, e-mail, and credit card accounts.

Here are tips from the Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau for making your passwords more secure: