customer

Tue
10
Nov
John Lister's picture

Late Payment? Google Releases App to Cripple Phone

Google has built an app that will stop smartphones working if a customer is behind on payments for the handset. It could also be a way to make more expensive phones available to people with poor credit histories. The app is already being used by a ... carrier in Kenya. There's no word yet on whether Google plans to offer it to carriers in other countries. (Source: 9to5google.com ) "Device Lock Controller" is an app that can be pre-installed by carriers on new phones. It appears that once the app is in place, the carrier is able to remotely reinstall the app even if the customer removes it. If and ... (view more)

Thu
23
Jun
John Lister's picture

Fake Tech Support Scam Gets New Twist

A newly-publicized take on a long-running scam involves on-screen messages that falsely appear to be from a user's Internet service provider. It's a trick with a variety of ways to profit from the customer. For many years, scammers have been calling ... people on the telephone claiming to work for Microsoft or other computer companies, saying the person receiving the call has a virus. The scammer will then usually try to get the victim to pay for bogus tech support services. While most people realize it's a scam, the idea is to call enough people so that even a small percentage of ... (view more)

Tue
29
Sep
John Lister's picture

Google Ads to be Based on Your Email Address

Google is offering advertisers a new service based around customer email addresses. It won't mean users will receive more spam emails, but may be considered a misuse of email list advertising. The service is called Customer Match. It involves ... advertisers uploading a list of email addresses to Google (for example, a company's mailing list); in turn, Google will then check that list against its own database of people who have signed up for a Google account. If there's a match between the two email addresses, it will then run advertisements for the company when the relevant person is ... (view more)

Thu
09
Apr
John Lister's picture

AT&T Fined $25M for Offshore Customer Data Leak

AT&T will pay a $25 million fine after regulators held it responsible for thieves taking personal details of 280,000 customers. The breaches were said to have occurred around November 2013 and April 2014, with the FCC beginning its investigation ... around May of 2014. It's the biggest ever such fine in the communications industry. The stolen information included the customers' names, part or all of their social security numbers, and some details about their account. On its own, the data wouldn't be enough for criminals to immediately steal money from customer's bank accounts, but could ... (view more)

Wed
18
Feb
John Lister's picture

Microsoft Cloud Gets Data Privacy Promise

Microsoft has signed up to an international standard for protecting customer privacy with online data. Among other measures, Microsoft promises to tell customers when the government demands access to their data. The company has followed ISO standard ... number 27018, which are guidelines set forth by the International Organization for Standardization. It's an attempt to set internationally recognized rules and regulations for the way "personally identifiable information" is handled in cloud services, and where data is stored or processed online rather than on the user's own computer ... (view more)

Wed
13
Aug
John Lister's picture

Comcast Customer Service Under Fire Again

Comcast has been embarrassed yet again by a recording of a call to its customer service team. This time, a representative was caught trying to charge a Comcast customer for repairs , despite the company already promising the work would be done free ... of charge. Last month, Comcast came under fire when another customer repeatedly tried to cancel his Comcast service over the telephone. During the recording, which reportedly lasted eighteen minutes, the customer service representative repeatedly badgered the customer and demanded to know why he wanted to cancel his service. The audio recording was ... (view more)

Wed
28
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

PayPal Launches Smartphone Credit Card Reader

PayPal has unwrapped a new device that allows anyone with a smartphone to accept credit card payments. Unlike some other systems, "PayPal Here" doesn't require any special chips be installed in the phone itself. The idea is to tackle two existing ... problems for merchants who want to take credit and debit card payments: First, card payments usually require the merchant to have a device with telephone connectivity, to allow instant bank verification of the customer's identity and account. Second, taking such payments often entails hefty fees from the card-issuing bank, the merchant's ... (view more)

Fri
09
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

AT&T (Still) Ranked Worst Carrier

Are you unhappy with your mobile service? If so, there's a good chance you're an AT&T customer. According to a recent customer satisfaction survey, AT&T once again ranks dead last among all mobile service providers. The survey comes from ... Consumer Reports, which released this latest report on mobile service providers this past Tuesday (December 6). For the second straight year , AT&T came in well behind its major competitors, including Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Even worse, AT ... (view more)

Wed
18
May
Dennis Faas's picture

Rent-To-Own PC Records User after 'Missed' Payment

A company that rents both furniture and PCs has been accused of spying on its customers. A lawsuit alleges Aaron's Inc remotely accessed a spy camera on a PC to take a shot of a customer using it. No Disclosure of Spy Software The claims arose in a ... case involving a customer who had taken a computer from Aaron's Inc on a rent-to-own agreement. That allows a customer to pay a monthly fee for a set period: after this period they own it outright, but before then they can also simply return it and stop paying. In the case of customer Brian Byrd, Aaron's believed he had stopped paying (which ... (view more)

Tue
19
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

FCC Unveils New Rules for 'Mobile Phone Bill Shock'

If regulators have their way, cellphone companies will have to warn customers before they incur unusually high charges. It's a new program designed to prevent situations where a customer unexpectedly receives a bill for $68,505, as was the case for ... one customer in the first quarter of 2010. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the mobile industry, is proposing three new rules regarding how and when companies should tell users about potential charges beyond their normal fees. Cell Phone Bill Shock: Shocking Statistics In May, the FCC released a report suggesting that ... (view more)

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