Consumer Protection

Meta’s AI Privacy Controversy: How to Protect Your Data Now Recent reports of Meta employees publicly criticizing the company’s data practices for artificial intelligence have renewed concerns about how platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp handle personal information. While the story broke as an investor risk, it has direct implications for the hundreds of millions of people who use these services every day. This article explains what happened, why it matters for your privacy, and what you can actually do to limit how your data is used for AI training. ...

Your Medical Scans Are Being Analyzed by AI—Here’s What That Means for Your Privacy When you go in for an X‑ray, MRI, or CT scan, the images are increasingly read not just by a radiologist but also by artificial intelligence tools that can spot tumors, fractures, or other abnormalities faster than the human eye. That’s good news for diagnosis. But a growing body of research—including work presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)—shows that the same AI capabilities come with serious privacy risks, including the ability to create convincing deepfake medical images and the potential for your health data to be used in ways you never agreed to. ...

TamperedChef Malware: How to Avoid Fake Productivity Apps That Steal Your Data Intro For years, one of the simplest ways to tell if a piece of software was safe was to check whether it carried a valid digital signature. That advice no longer holds. A new malware campaign, tracked as TamperedChef, is using productivity apps signed with legitimate certificates to deliver information stealers and remote access trojans (RATs) to unsuspecting users. If you regularly download text editors, PDF tools, or note-taking apps from anywhere other than the developer’s own website, this matters to you. ...

TamperedChef Malware Is Hiding in Productivity Apps—Here’s How to Stay Safe A recently identified malware strain called TamperedChef is making the rounds by taking advantage of something most users trust: a valid digital signature. The attackers modify popular productivity apps—PDF editors, note-taking tools, office suites—and sign them with stolen or fraudulently obtained code certificates. Those signed apps then serve as delivery vehicles for information stealers and remote access trojans (RATs). If you’ve downloaded a productivity app from anywhere other than an official store or the developer’s site, this is worth understanding. ...

New “TamperedChef” Malware Hides in Fake Productivity Apps—Here’s How to Stay Safe If you’ve ever downloaded a free PDF reader, a Notepad++ alternative, or even a Microsoft Teams installer from a third‑party site, you may have come across something that looks legitimate but isn’t. A recently documented malware campaign, dubbed TamperedChef, is doing exactly that—hiding inside digitally signed copies of popular productivity apps to deliver information stealers and remote access trojans (RATs). ...

Illinois Just Passed a Major AI Privacy Law—Here’s What It Means for You On May 21, 2026, the Illinois Senate Democrats approved a package of bills aimed at regulating artificial intelligence—covering consumer privacy, data rights, and even mental health protections tied to AI systems. While similar efforts have stalled in other states, Illinois’ move is noteworthy both for its scope and for the timing: it arrives as Congress continues to debate federal AI rules without a clear outcome. ...

What Illinois’ New AI Safety Law Means for Your Privacy If you live in Illinois, the way companies can use your personal information in artificial intelligence systems is about to change. On May 21, 2026, the Illinois Senate passed a package of bills that creates some of the strongest consumer protections for AI in the country. ...

1 in 3 Americans has been scammed while shopping online. Here’s how to protect yourself. If you’ve ever clicked “buy” on a deal that seemed a little too good, only to receive nothing or a cheap counterfeit, you’re far from alone. According to a 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, roughly one in three U.S. adults say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. With the holiday buying season fast approaching, that number is worth keeping in mind. ...

How to Spot Online Shopping Scams and Stay Safe: A Practical Guide Online shopping is convenient, but it also attracts scammers looking to steal your money or personal information. The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued several warnings about scams that target shoppers, particularly veterans and their families. With seasonal sales and year-round deals, knowing how to identify a fake offer can save you time, money, and identity headaches. ...

Online shopping scams are getting smarter — here’s how to protect yourself Every time you type your credit card number into a shopping site or click a link in a “deal alert” email, you’re making a bet that the person on the other end is legitimate. Most of the time, that bet works out fine. But online shopping scams are becoming more sophisticated, and even cautious shoppers can get tripped up. ...