Tammy & Friends, LLC

Some people come to the DMA choice mail preference service planning on completely stopping all the direct mail they receive because they think that doing so will help save paper and the environment. But before you do this, here are some numbers you may find interesting.

• Direct mail is a green way to shop. If Americans replaced two trips to the mall each year with shopping by catalog, we'd reduce our number of miles driven by 3.3 billion—a 3 billion pound reduction in carbon dioxide and a savings of $650 million on gas alone.
• Mail represents only 2.4% of America's municipal waste stream. 
• The production of household advertising mail consumes only 0.19% of the energy used in the United States.
• Mail is made from a renewable resource. The vast majority of paper produced in America today comes from trees grown for that specific purpose. The forest industry ensures that the number of trees each year is increasing, so trees are not a depleting resource. In fact, forest land in the United States has increased by 5.3 million acres in the past three decades.
• Direct mail is critical to the economic well-being of communities, businesses, and charities throughout the United States. Last year it represented more than $686 billion in sales, supporting jobs at more than 300,000 small businesses across the country.

Where did they get your name?

If you just bought a new home, you're probably in the market for furniture. But if you live in an apartment building, chances are you won't be shopping for a lawnmower. Companies want to reach people who are most likely to be interested in what they have to offer. That's why they rent or buy relevant mailing lists to help them find prospective customers—instead of just sending mail at random.

These prospect lists are created from information about your past purchases and interests. And this information can come from public records, phone directories, club memberships, and other sources.

What's the benefit of being on these lists?

What can the mail preference service do for me?

Commitment to Consumer Choice and Other DMA Requirements

Resources:

• HOW DO CONSUMERS REGISTER FOR DMAchoice?
• Learn more about the standards for DMA members and the role DMA plays in protecting consumers' rights.

Online registration:

Consumers can register at DMA's consumer website: www.DMAchoice.org for a processing fee of $2 for a period of ten years. Registering online is the fastest way to see results. DMAchoice offers consumers a simple, step-by-step process that enables them to decide what mail they do and do not want.

In addition, DMAchoice online offers registration for DMA's:

· eMail Preference Service (reduce your unsolicited commercial email);
· Telephone Preference Service (to reduce national commercial calls for consumers who live in Pennsylvania and Wyoming - consumers in other states are referred to the National Do Not Call Registry: www.donotcall.gov);
· Deceased Do Not Contact list (for name removal of deceased individuals' names); and
· Do Not Contact list for Caregivers (for caregivers to register name removal on behalf of those individuals for whom they care)

Mail-in registration:

If you do not wish to complete your registration online, you can register for DMAchoice by using the mail-in form that is online: fill out the DMAChoice Mail In Form with all required information, print it and mail to the address below.

Or, if you do not have access to the Internet, you can register by sending your name and address (with signature), along with a $3 processing fee (check or money order payable to DMA) to:

DMAchoice
DMA
P.O. Box 900
Cos Cob, CT 06807

No Certified or Registered Mail

Processing by mail will take longer than online registration. Please note that categorical and specific company or organization opt-out requests, and other preference services, are not offered through mailed-in requests.Why choose DMAchoice?Founded in 1917, the DMA represents nearly 3,600 organizations—including most of the leaders in the direct marketing community. This gives us the power and know-how to help you manage your mail preferences. And you can be sure that any personal information you provide to DMAchoice will only be used to put your mail choices into effect.

Resources:

• If you want to stop mail from being sent to a deceased individual, you'll need to register for the Deceased Do Not Contact List.
• If you want to manage mail sent to a dependent in your care, you'll need to register for the Do Not Contact for Caregivers List.

Apple

Be aware of scams involving App Store & iTunes Gift Cards and Apple Store Gift Cards.

_{If you believe you're the victim of a scam involving App Store & iTunes Gift Cards or Apple Store Gift Cards, you can call Apple at 800-275-2273 (U.S.) and say "gift cards" when prompted.}

A string of scams is taking place asking people to make payments over the phone for things such as taxes, hospital bills, bail money, debt collection, and utility bills. The scams are committed using many methods, including gift cards. As the fraudsters are sometimes requesting codes from App Store & iTunes Gift Cards or Apple Store Gift Cards, we want to make sure our customers are aware of these scams.

Regardless of the reason for payment, the scam follows a certain formula: The victim receives a call instilling panic and urgency to make a payment by purchasing App Store & iTunes Gift Cards or Apple Store Gift Cards from the nearest retailer (convenience store, electronics retailer, etc.). After the cards have been purchased, the victim is asked to pay by sharing the code(s) on the back of the card with the caller over the phone.

It's important to know that App Store & iTunes Gift Cards can be used ONLY to purchase goods and services from the iTunes Store, App Store, Apple Books, for an Apple Music subscription, or for iCloud storage. Apple Store Gift Cards can be redeemed ONLY on the Apple Online Store and at Apple Retail Stores. If you're approached to use the cards for any other payment, you could very likely be the target of a scam and should immediately report it to your local police department as well as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

Never provide the numbers on the back of a Gift Card to someone you do not know. Once those numbers are provided to the scammers, the funds on the card will likely be spent before you are able to contact Apple or law enforcement. 

Tips to avoid becoming the victim of a scam

• If you are NOT purchasing an item from Apple — such as from the Apple Store, iTunes Store, App Store, Apple Books, or for an Apple Music subscription or iCloud storage — do NOT make a payment with an App Store & iTunes Gift Card or Apple Store Gift Card. There's no other instance in which you'll be asked to make a payment with either of these gift cards.
• Do not provide the numbers on the back of the gift card to anyone that you don't know.
• Immediately report potential scams to your local police department as well as the FTC (ftccomplaintassistant.gov).

Contact Apple

If you have additional questions, or if you've been a victim of a scam involving App Store & iTunes Gift Cards or Apple Store Gift Cards, you can call Apple at 800-275-2273 (U.S.) and say "gift cards" when prompted, or contact Apple Support online.

Other Articles on Scams

• FTC: Scammers Increasingly Demand Payment by Gift Card
• FTC: Scammers push people to pay with iTunes gift cards
• AARP Scam Alert: iTunes Gift Cards the Latest Go-To Tool in Many Gotchas
• IRS: IRS Warns Taxpayers of Summer Surge in Automated Phone Scam Calls; Requests for Fake Tax Payments Using iTunes Gift Cards

Technology is about to spend our entire national security infrastructure.

By Glenn S. Gerstell

_{Mr. Gerstell is the general counsel of the National Security Agency.}

Just down a staircase outside the operations center is the Defense Special Missile and Aeronautics Center, which keeps track of missile and satellite launches by China, North Korea, Russia, Iran, and other countries. If North Korea was ever to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile toward Los Angeles, those keeping watches might have half an hour or more between the time of detection to the time the missile would land at the target. At least, in theory, that is enough time to alert the operations center two floors above and alert the military to shoot down the missile.

But these early-warning centers have no ability to issue a warning to the president that would stop a cyberattack that takes down a regional or national power grid or to intercept a hypersonic cruise missile launched from Russia or China. The cyberattack can be detected only upon occurrence, and the hypersonic missile, only seconds or at best minutes before the attack. And even if we could detect a missile flying at low altitudes at 20 times the speed of sound, we have no way of stopping it.

The threats of cyberattack and hypersonic missiles are two examples of easily foreseeable challenges to our national security posed by rapidly developing the technology. It is by no means certain that we will be able to cope with those two threats, let alone the even more complicated and unknown challenges presented by the general onrush of technology — the digital revolution or so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution — that will be our future for the next few decades.

The digital revolution has urgent and profound implications for our federal national security agencies. It is almost impossible to overstate the challenges. If anything, we run the risk of thinking too conventionally about the future. The short period of time our nation has to prepare for the effects of this revolution is already upon us, and it could not come at a more perilous and complicated time for the National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the other components of the intelligence community.

Internet-enabled crimes and cyber intrusions are becoming increasingly sophisticated and preventing them requires each and every user of a connected device to be aware and on guard.

“It’s no longer enough to be on the lookout for something in your inbox that appears suspicious,” said FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Matt Gorham. “As criminals have grown savvier and their efforts more targeted, individuals and organizations need to scrutinize messages and requests that appear legitimate.”

Some of the most common and damaging Internet-enabled crimes begin with an employee clicking a link in an email that appears to be from a colleague, following the instructions in a message that looks like it came from a supervisor, or opening an account link or invoice that seems to be from a trusted vendor.

“These routine actions can be what exposes a computer or an entire network to a ransomware attack, data breach, or another crime,” said Gorham. “As we mark National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, our hope is to focus attention on the efforts required to safeguard individual computers and accounts and secure and protect critical data and infrastructure.”

Now in its 16th year, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is hosted every October by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance. Multiple agencies and organizations, including the FBI, collaborate to raise awareness about cybersecurity and stress the collective effort needed to stop cyber intrusions and online thefts and scams.

“Today’s cyber threat is bigger than any one government agency—frankly, bigger than government itself,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a cybersecurity conference in March. “But I think no agency brings the same combination of scope and scale, experience, tools, and relationships that the FBI has.”

The FBI works in close coordination with the private sector as well as with state, local, and international partners to understand and anticipate cyber threats and pursue cyber criminals.

During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the FBI joins in asking every user of a connected device to Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.

“We look to the public and to organizations to engage by understanding these threats, taking preventive action, and reporting cyber crimes when they occur,” said Gorham.

Since human trafficking is often a crime that is hidden in plain sight, it is important to be aware of its warning signs. Some indications that a person may be a victim of human trafficking include (especially in the case of women and children):

• Appearing malnourished
• Showing signs of physical injuries and abuse
• Avoiding eye contact, social interaction, and authority figures/law enforcement
• Seeming to adhere to scripted or rehearsed responses in social interaction
• Lacking official identification documents
• Appearing destitute/lacking personal possessions
• Working excessively long hours
• Living in place of employment
• Checking into hotels/motels with older males, and referring to those males as a boyfriend or “daddy,” which is often street slang for pimp
• Poor physical or dental health 
• Tattoos/ branding on the neck and/or lower back
• Untreated sexually transmitted diseases
• Small children serving in a family restaurant
• Security measures that appear to keep people inside an establishment - barbed wire inside of a fence, bars covering the insides of windows
• Not allowing people to go into public alone, or speak for themselves

Resources:

• Innocents at Risk

_{Author: Doug Delony, Janelle Bludau}

_{Published: 7:00 AM PDT July 31, 2019
Updated: 4:54 AM PDT August 7, 2019}

Before kids go back to school, police around the country are reminding parents about potentially dangerous apps.

The recent arrests of 25 men in Florida for allegedly trying to have sex with children has prompted a sheriff there to issue another 'app warning' for parents, reports CBS Miami.

The arrests happened from July 17 to July 20 after the suspects responded to internet ads, online apps and social media sites, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

During his press conference last week, the sheriff listed 15 apps as ones that parents need to know about. (Six of them were used by suspected predators who were recently arrested.)

• 'MeetMe,' an app where teens can easily be in contact with users much older than them, with an emphasis on dating.

• 'WhatsApp' and 'SnapChat' are for messaging, but what you should know is teens can send unlimited messages, have video chats and even share their live location with other users, people they may not even know. 

• 'Skout' is a flirting app that's used to meet and chat with new people. Teens and adults are in different groups, but ages aren’t verified. 

• 'TikTok' is used for sharing user created videos that can contain bad words, even adult content.

• 'Badoo' and 'Bumble' are dating apps for adults, but teens can still find ways to join. 

• 'Grindr' is geared towards the LGBTQ community. It allows users to share photos and meet up based on phone’s GPS location.  

• 'Kik' is specifically for kids, but anyone can join and anyone can contact or direct message your child. 

• 'LiveMe' is a live streaming app, but you don’t know who’s watching and your kids location is revealed.

• 'Holla' is all about connecting strangers around the world through video chat. Enough said. 

• 'Whisper' is a social confessional where kids can remain anonymous, but still share their feelings. And it can reveal your child’s location for a meet up. 

• 'ASKfm' encourages people to allow anonymous users to ask them questions, which opens the door for online bullying.

• 'Hot or Not' rates users on attractiveness. There’s no age verification and users can send each other messages. 

• 'Calculator%' apps are several secret apps that allows kids to hide their photos, videos, even browser history. 

_Resources:

• Report:  CBS Miami

_{Thomas Brewster - Forbes Staff
Cybersecurity
Associate editor at Forbes, covering cybercrime, privacy, security, and surveillance.}

FaceApp is a massively popular face-altering app for Android and iOS, but there are privacy concerns about its AI tech.

No, FaceApp isn’t taking photos of your face and taking them back to Russia for some nefarious project. At least that’s what current evidence suggests.

After going viral in 2017, and amassing more than 80 million active users, it’s blowing up again thanks to the so-called FaceApp Challenge, in which celebs (and everyone else) have been adding years to their visage with the app’s old-age filter. The app uses artificial intelligence to create a rendering of what you might look like in a few decades on your iPhone or Android device.

But one tweet set off a minor internet panic this week when a developer warned that the app could be taking all the photos from your phone and uploading them to its servers without any obvious permission from the user.

The tweeter, Joshua Nozzi, said later he was trying to raise a flag about FaceApp having access to all photos, even if it wasn’t uploading them to a server owned by the Russian company.

Storm in an internet teacup?

This all turns out to be another of the Web’s many storm-in-teacup moments. A security researcher who goes by the pseudonym Elliot Alderson (real name Baptiste Robert) downloaded the app and checked where it was sending users’ faces. The French cyber expert found FaceApp only took submitted photos—those that you want the software to transform—back up to company servers.

And where are those servers based? Mostly America, not Russia. A cursory look at hosting records confirmed to Forbes that this was true: The servers for FaceApp.io were based in Amazon data centers in the U.S. The company told Forbes that some servers were hosted by Google too, across other countries, including Ireland and Singapore. And, as noted by Alderson, the app also uses third-party code, and so will reach out to their servers, but again these are based in the U.S. and Australia.

Of course, given the developer company is based in St. Petersburg, the faces will be viewed and processed in Russia. The data in those Amazon data centers could be mirrored back to computers in Russia. It’s unclear how much access FaceApp employees have to those images, and Forbes hadn’t received comment from the company at the time of publication about just what it does with uploaded faces.

So while Russian intelligence or police agencies could demand FaceApp hand over data if they believed it was lawful, they’d have a considerably harder time getting that information from Amazon in the U.S.

Permission to land on your phone

So is there a privacy concern? FaceApp could operate differently. It could, for instance, process the images on your device, rather than take submitted photos to an outside server. As iOS security researcher Will Strafach said: “I am sure many folks are not cool with that.”

It’s unclear how well FaceApp’s AI would process photos on the device rather than more powerful servers. FaceApp improves its face-changing algorithms by learning from the photos people submit. This could be done on the device, rather than the server, as machine learning features are available on Android and iOS, but FaceApp may want to stick to using its own computers to train its AI.

Users who are (understandably) concerned about the app having permission to access any photos at all might want to look at all the tools they have on their smartphone. It’s likely many have access to photos and an awful lot more. Your every move via location tracking, for instance. To change permissions, either delete the app, or go to app settings on your iPhone or Android and change what data tools are allowed to access.

FaceApp responds

Forbes contacted FaceApp founder Yaroslav Goncahrov, who provided a statement Wednesday morning. He said that user data is not transferred to Russia and that "most of the photo processing in the cloud."

"We only upload a photo selected by a user for editing. We never transfer any other images from the phone to the cloud," Goncharov added.

"We might store an uploaded photo in the cloud. The main reason for that is performance and traffic: we want to make sure that the user doesn't upload the photo repeatedly for every edit operation. Most images are deleted from our servers within 48 hours from the upload date." 

He said that users can also request that all user data be deleted. And users can do this by going to settings, then support and opt to report a bug, using the word "privacy" in the subject line message. Goncahrov said this should help speed up the process.

And he added: "We don't sell or share any user data with any third parties."