Facebook faces a $5B FTC fine, the largest ever in tech
At $5 billion, the fine the FTC is about to levy on Facebook is by far the largest it’s given to a technology company, easily eclipsing the second largest, $22 million for Google in 2012.
The long-expected punishment, which Facebook is well prepared for, is unlikely to make a dent in the social media giant’s deep pockets. But it will also likely saddle the company with additional restrictions and another lengthy stretch of strict scrutiny.
Multiple news reports on Friday said the FTC has voted to fine Facebook for privacy violations and mishandling user data. Most of them cited an unnamed person familiar with the matter.
Facebook and the FTC declined to comment. The 3-2 vote broke along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition to the settlement, according to the reports.
The case now moves to the Justice Department’s civil division for review. It’s unclear how long the process would take, though it is likely to be approved. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the Facebook matter.
recipient with a unique account number — a process projected to be complete by December 2019. Widespread changes like this one will be helpful in the long term, but in the short term scammers realize people often have questions. And confusion for scammers often translates into an opportunity to act. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reported that scammers are now calling people to request payment for their new Medicare cards. Others are posing as medical insurers and threating to cancel insurance coverage if the people do not share their new Medicare card info.
How to shut them down: Protecting yourself always begins with being informed and making wise choices. Guard your Medicare card like it’s a credit card. Realize that Medicare will never contact you unless you have requested them to do so. Realize that thanks to “ID spoofing,” you cannot always trust your caller ID. ID spoofing is a process scammers use to deliberately falsify the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. If you receive a call you believe it fraudulent, hang up immediately. You can always call Medicare back yourself to see if it was a legitimate call. And if it wasn’t, you can take further action to report the activity to the FCC so they can alert others.
2. Social Security scams. In the last 12 months, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has reported a skyrocketing increase in fraudulent telephone calls. Scammers today often call with false claims about “suspended” social security numbers that have been linked to a suspicious activity or even crimes. Scammers love to use fear to motivate potential victims and they always want you to act quickly.
How to shut them down: Understand that the SSA will never threaten to freeze your bank accounts or ask you to withdraw cash. They also will not bully you into thinking you might face arrest or other legal action. Sometimes scammers may say they are trying to help you by activating a suspended Social Security number, but if you have not contacted Social Security realize that even calls offering help are likely fraudulent. Hang up and report this activity immediately.
3. Tech Support scams. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) people 60 and over are five times more likely to lose money on tech-support scams. Tech support scammers target potential victims by convincing them they have a serious computer problem like a virus. Based on this false belief they convince their victims to provide payments in forms that are difficult or impossible to reverse (i.e. wiring money, money transfer apps).
How to shut them down: Never click on any links or call a number that pops up on your computer screen warning you of problem. Furthermore, never give control of your computer or share passwords with anyone who contacts you. Hang up on any unexpected calls from a person claiming to be tech support. Partner with a computer technician you can trust, even if that person is an informed friend or family member.
4. Smartphone scams. Smartphones can be a onestop shop for hacking into banking apps, gleaning payment information and a wealth of other personal details. As a result, scammers will often impersonate banks and government agencies through deceptive emails and text messages that lure consumers into providing financial information. Scammers are even creating apps that look and might even function like legitimate apps, but are actually malware. Unsuspecting victims who download these malware apps are in danger of having their personal and financial information stolen. Scammers can even send text messages on your behalf without your knowledge and track your location using your phone’s GPS. Malware apps operate in the background of a device’s operating system, and can easily go undetected.
How to shut them down: Be wary of any email or text message from anyone you don’t know and resist the urge to click on any unknown links. Never provide usernames, passwords, credit/debit card numbers, PINs, or other sensitive information to anyone. Always ensure the legitimacy of the apps on your smartphone by buying or downloading apps only from trusted sources. Read the Terms of Use or Privacy Policy of your apps to understand what information your apps will access and how that information will be shared. If you have any doubts about an app, delete it until you can find out more from a trusted source.
To learn more about how you can protect yourself from scams like these contact the National Center on Elder Abuse at 1-855500-3537.