School officials' Facebook rummaging prompts mom's privacy crusade

A mother who says her middle-school daughter was forced to let school officials browse the 13-year-old girl’s private Facebook page is speaking out against the practice because, she says, "other parents are scared to talk about it." Pam Broviak, who lives in the Chicago su …

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Facebook: Friend or foe? A Google+ Hangout discussion May 18, 4 p.m.

As Wall Street renders its opinion of the social media behemoth’s upcoming initial public offering, msnbc.com will host a discussion about Facebook’s key product – your privacy. Can sharing coexist with privacy? How should consumers balance the desire to connec …

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The FBI took -- and mysteriously returned -- their server. Here's their story

Ever wonder what it's like to have FBI agents knock on your door? Or to have them walk into your business unannounced and walk away with your computer?  Jamie McClelland and Alfredo Lopez can tell you. Their recent run-in with the men in black – the result of a spate  …

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Bill would make Facebook snooping, digital spying by employers illegal

Legislation that would give workers broad protection from the prying eyes of employers was introduced in both houses of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. Both bills would make it illegal for employers to force workers or candidates to divulge social media passwords, similar to legi …

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Discount cellphone sites come with double dose of termination fees, hassles

Buying a smart phone from a third-party, discount online retailer might seem like a shrewd move, but a $50 discount could cost you $400 later if something goes wrong, in addition to any early termination fees charged by the carrier. That means consumers who buy from big-name …

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EXCLUSIVE: 'SNOPA' would ban employers, schools from demanding Facebook passwords

A New York Congressman has introduced federal legislation nicknamed "SNOPA" that would make it illegal for employers and educational institutions to require a potential or current employee, or a potential or current student, to divulge personal online information as part of the h …

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Cellphone firms oppose California law to make police cellphone snooping public

A California lawmaker wants cellphone firms to report how often they release consumer location information to law enforcement officials, but the industry says it will fight the measure, according to a letter posted by the American Civil Liberties Union. The California legislative …

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Study: ID thieves robbing the grave; 2.5 million dead hit annually

Ruthless ID thieves are robbing identities even from the grave, a new study has found. Nearly 2.5 million dead people are victims of identity theft every year, according to a data analysis by fraud prevention firm ID Analytics being made public Monday. The study offers the first  …

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EXCLUSIVE: What local cops learn, and carriers earn, from cellphone records

The war on drugs has gone digital; but is it also a war on cellphone users? That’s just one of the questions raised by an msnbc.com investigation into use of cellphone tracking data by local police departments across the nation. Msnbc.com built a database of thous …

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NJ flood victims ask: Where did those millions in federal aid go?

Giselle and Zenayda Sedano of Cranford, N.J., never had a chance of keeping the rampaging waters of the Rahway River out of their home when Hurricane Irene roared through northern New Jersey in August. Now they are wondering if they ever had a chance to get any of the $21 millio …

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Are these questionable charges on your credit card? A good list to check

Here’s a handy list of credit card charges that consumers have complained about during the first part of 2012. Do any of them appear on your credit card? Read on to find out why you should probably pull out your statements and check them. There’s a steady stream of ne …

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Pricey 'stingray' gadget lets cops track cellphones without telco help

Why would the well-heeled suburb of Gilbert, Ariz., spend a quarter of a million dollars on a futuristic spy gadget that sounds more at home in a prime-time drama than a local police department? The ACLU caused a stir Monday with its extensive report of cellphone surveillance&nbs …

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Global Payments: Under 1.5 million account numbers hacked

UPDATED April 1, 11:35 p.m. ET Global Payments Inc. hinted on Sunday night that about 1.5 million consumers were impacted by the massive credit card hack that first came to light on Friday -- fewer than the 10 million that was initially reported.   In a statement, the firm s …

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After investigation, AT&T, Verizon agree to stop 'cramming' phone bills

Verizon and AT&T have agreed to stop “cramming” consumers' telephone bills with unauthorized third-party charges, Sen. Jay Rockefeller announced Wednesday. The move comes after a Senate investigation revealed last year that consumers were hit with $10 billion in f …

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EXCLUSIVE: Hackers turn credit report websites against consumers

The most important tool consumers have to fight against ID theft has been turned against them by hackers, msnbc.com has learned. Websites that offer consumers a chance to see their credit reports are being brazenly used by hackers to steal victims' information. The prices o …

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Credit bureaus upsell ID theft victims, FTC report says

A new report by the Federal Trade Commission slams the nation's credit bureaus for upselling identity theft prevention services when victims call looking for help. The report found that consumers face frustrating voice mail systems that often make it hard to reach a live operator …

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Online GED seekers presented with bogus diplomas, lawsuit alleges

Denise Richardson had three kids, worked the night shift and had little spare time to take classes that would earn her the high school degree she never received as a teenager. Nearly 1 million Americans try to get their high school equivalency credentials every year, and she wan …

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School sports waivers: Have you signed away your kids' right to 'enjoy life'?

If someone handed you a form that said your child might lose the ability "to generally enjoy life", would you sign it? If you are the parent of a child playing sports in school, you probably have already done so. Parents of school-age kids know too well that life is a steady str …

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Should you read this story? Why you're having trouble deciding

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by deciding what brand of toothpaste to buy or what flight to book, two marketing professors think they know why. "Decision quicksand," a painful element of 21st century life, ironically strikes hardest when people face trivial choices, say researc …

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Up against the Wall! Should district be allowed to demand middle-schooler's Facebook password?

A 12-year-old Minnesota girl was reduced to tears while school officials and a police officer rummaged through her private Facebook postings after forcing her to surrender her password, an ACLU lawsuit alleges.  The claims are the latest in a string of tales showing that eve …

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EXCLUSIVE: The 'lost' cell phone project, and the dark things it says about us

What would you do if you found a smartphone on the subway or at a coffee shop? If you're like most Americans, you'd rummage through the phone looking for photos, emails and even private banking information.

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Govt. agencies, colleges demand applicants' Facebook passwords

If you think privacy settings on your Facebook and Twitter accounts guarantee future employers or schools can't see your private posts, guess again. Employers and colleges find the treasure-trove of personal information hiding behind password-protected accounts and privacy walls  …

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Register your kids to stop child ID theft? Utah officials say 'Sign 'em up'

Victims of child identity theft and their parents are left with an obvious question when they discover the crime: Why would anyone grant credit to a child? The answer, for those who find it, is perhaps even more infuriating: Creditors often have no way to know an applicant is a c …

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Has Franz Kafka set up shop in the US Office of Government Ethics?

When the expression "red tape" was invented, they had phrases like this in mind: "Request to Inspect or Receive Copies of SF 278/OGE Form 278 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Reports or Other Covered Records." This is a story of what it takes to find out how …

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