Woman charged more than $7,000 after buying toilet paper on Amazon

Woman charged more than $7,000 after buying toilet paper on Amazon

— A woman who ordered three cases of toilet paper from Amazon is dealing with a financial nightmare after she was charged thousands of dollars for it  -- and Amazon hasn't been able to refund her money. Now, she’s sharing a warning.

Barbara Carroll is a building manager who takes care of janitorial needs. She told WSB-TV that she placed an order on Amazon.com in March for three boxes of toilet paper, which were delivered to her home. Days later, when she checked her bank statement, she noticed a deduction for over $7,000. 

Confused, she checked her order history on the site. 

"There was this order for three cases of toilet paper for $88.17 and shipping $7,455 for a total of $7,543.12," Carroll said. "After I screamed I thought, 'Oh this is not a problem, this is Amazon and Amazon will take care of it.'" 

But she says Amazon was of little help because it was a third-party seller.

“The hardest part is that Amazon doesn’t stand behind their-third party sellers,” she said.

"The shipping guarantee covers nothing about the charges so they wouldn't even go any further," Carroll said. "I am willing to pay the charges, but they have to be normal charges." 

Carroll says she will continue to fight what she calls unfair charges.

There’s been no statement from Amazon, yet, on the incident.

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Experts at the Consumer Action Center said it is best to pay for online purchases with a credit card and not a debit card. Credit card companies provide an extra layer of protection, which a debit card does not because it’s like paying with cash.

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Apple HomePod on sale for $329 today only; 13" MacBook Air from $869; $240 off 2017 27" iMac 5K

Monday deals have arrived and if you've been waiting to purchase an Apple HomePod, today is your chance to save $20 instantly with no tax outside NY and NJ. Two popular Mid 2017 27" iMac 5K systems are also $240 off with our exclusive coupon, while current 13" MacBook Airs are $130 to $200 off instantly.

$20 off Apple's HomePod today only

Apple HomePod in Space Gray MQHW2LL/A
On sale for $329.00 | Adorama
($20 off + no tax outside NY and NJ*)
*To activate the discount, click through the pricing link above. Adorama will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside NY and NJ.

Today only, Apple authorized reseller Adorama is knocking $20 off Apple's HomePod in Space Gray. Now $329.00 with the special pricing links in this post, this instant discount offers shoppers the lowest price available from an authorized reseller, according to our Smart Speaker Price Guide. What's more, Adorama will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside New York and New Jersey, potentially saving shoppers another $30 on average. This special offer ends today, April 30.

2017 13" MacBook Air from $869

13" MacBook Air (1.8GHz 8GB 128GB) MQD32LL/A
On sale for $869.00 | Amazon
($130 off + special financing offer*)
13" MacBook Air (1.8GHz 8GB 256GB) MQD42LL/A
On sale for $999.00 | Amazon
($200 off + special financing offer*)
*No interest if paid in full within 12 months using the Amazon.com Store Card.

Amazon is also discounting Apple's current 13-inch MacBook Air this Monday. Save $130 instantly on the standard 1.8GHz, 8GB, 128GB config, bringing the price down to $869.00 while supplies last. Those looking for additional storage can also save $200 on the 256GB model at Amazon (now on sale for $999.00). Both configs also qualify for no interest if paid in full within 12 months using the Amazon.com Store Card. A great graduation gift idea, these deals match the lowest prices available from an Apple authorized reseller.

$240 off Apple's Mid 2017 27" iMac 5K

27" iMac 5K (3.4GHz 8GB 1TB FUS Radeon 570)
On sale for $1,559.00 with coupon code APINSIDER | Adorama
($240 off + no tax outside NY and NJ & 0% financing offer*)
27" iMac 5K (3.8GHz 8GB 2TB FUS Radeon 580)
On sale for $2,059.00 with coupon code APINSIDER | Adorama
($240 off + no tax outside NY and NJ & 0% financing offer*)
*Price with coupon code APINSIDER. System qualifies for no interest if paid in full within 12 months using the Adorama Credit Card. Adorama will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside NY & NJ. Need help? Send us a note at priceguides@gmail.com and we will do our best to assist.

Rounding out our list of top deals is an offer available only at AppleInsider. Shoppers today can exclusively save an additional $40 on two popular Mid 2017 27-inch iMac 5K all-in-one desktops with promo code APINSIDER (in addition to a $200 instant rebate). Both the standard model and an upgraded config, which is equipped with a faster 3.8GHz processor, as well as a 2TB Fusion Drive and top-of-the-line Radeon 580 graphics, are $240 off with the systems priced at $1,559 and $2,059 respectively. What's more, Adorama will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside New York and New Jersey, saving many shoppers $385 to $425 on average compared to buying from Apple. You don't have to forgo special financing either as Adorama is also including no interest if paid in full within 12 months using the Adorama Credit Card. According to our 27-inch iMac 5K Price Guide, this exclusive offer provides shoppers with the lowest price available from an Apple authorized reseller by at least $50.

Additional 27" iMac 5K deals
27" iMac 5K (3.4GHz 8GB 1TB FUS Radeon 570)
On sale for $1,599.00 | B&H
($200 off + no tax outside NY and NJ*)
27" iMac 5K (3.5GHz 8GB 1TB FUS Radeon 575)
On sale for $1,859.00 | B&H
($140 off + no tax outside NY and NJ*)
* B&H will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside NY & NJ. CO and VT residents, see here.
See even more 27-inch iMac 5K deals...

Add AppleCare+
You can easily tack on an AppleCare extended protection plan to these 27-inch iMac 5Ks for $169 by selecting the AppleCare option immediately after you press the "Add to Cart" button on Adorama's website.

Additional Apple Deals

AppleInsider and Apple authorized resellers are also running a handful of additional exclusive promotions this month on Apple hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the items, but also throw in discounts on AppleCare, software and accessories. These deals are as follows:

• Deal #1: $350-$500 off iMac Pros + no tax in 48 states
• Deal #2: $70-$170 off 2017 13" MacBook Pros with Touch Bar + no tax in 48 states
• Deal #3: Lowest Prices Ever on closeouts Macs + no tax in 48 states
• Deal #4: $50-$100 off 2017 13" MacBook Pros with function keys + no tax in 48 states
• Deal #5: Free Apple TV 4K with 3 months of DirecTV Now

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WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum Exits Facebook-Owned Company, Will Focus on Porsche Collection

WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum Exits Facebook

Whatsapp CEO Jan Koum

WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum announced on Monday he’s leaving the popular, Facebook-owned messaging app.

Koum’s exit comes only hours after a Washington Post report he’d been looking to leave the company after “clashing” with Facebook execs over its handling of user privacy. WhatsApp  made all of its messages end-to-end encrypted in 2016 — a feature Facebook Messenger has as well, although users have to opt-in to it.

“I’m leaving at a time when people are using WhatsApp in more ways than I could have imagined,” said Koum in a Facebook post announcing the decision. The team is stronger than ever and it’ll continue to do amazing things. I’m taking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology, such as collecting rare air-cooled Porsches, working on my cars and playing ultimate frisbee. And I’ll still be cheering WhatsApp on – just from the outside. Thanks to everyone who has made this journey possible.

WhatsApp was bought by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion, only five years after launching. The messaging app continued to grab users across the globe, climbing to 1.5 billion monthly users earlier this year.

“Jan: I will miss working so closely with you,” commented Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Koum’s post. “I’m grateful for everything you’ve done to help connect the world, and for everything you’ve taught me, including about encryption and its ability to take power from centralized systems and put it back in people’s hands. Those values will always be at the heart of WhatsApp.”

Koum’s departure follows in the footsteps of co-founder Brian Acton leaving the company last September. Acton has went on to criticize Facebook since leaving the company, saying “it is time” to join the #DeleteFacebook movement in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data leak.

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How Antivirus Software Can Be Turned Into a Tool for Spying

Employees of Kaspersky Lab at the company’s offices in Moscow. Intelligence officials in the United States believe Kaspersky’s antivirus software was turned into a tool for spying. CreditMaxim Shemetov/Reuters

It has been a secret, long known to intelligence agencies but rarely to consumers, that security software can be a powerful spy tool.

Security software runs closest to the bare metal of a computer, with privileged access to nearly every program, application, web browser, email and file. There’s good reason for this: Security products are intended to evaluate everything that touches your machine in search of anything malicious, or even vaguely suspicious.

By downloading security software, consumers also run the risk that an untrustworthy antivirus maker — or hacker or spy with a foothold in its systems — could abuse that deep access to track customers’ every digital movement.

“In the battle against malicious code, antivirus products are a staple,” said Patrick Wardle, chief research officer at Digita Security, a security company. “Ironically, though, these products share many characteristics with the advanced cyberespionage collection implants they seek to detect.”

Mr. Wardle would know. A former hacker at the National Security Agency, Mr. Wardle recently succeeded in subverting antivirus software sold by Kaspersky Lab, turning it into a powerful search tool for classified documents.

Continue reading the main story

Mr. Wardle’s curiosity was piqued by recent news that Russian spies had used Kaspersky antivirus products to siphon classified documents off the home computer of an N.S.A. developer, and may have played a critical role in broader Russian intelligence gathering.

“I wanted to know if this was a feasible attack mechanism,” Mr. Wardle said. “I didn’t want to get into the complex accusations. But from a technical point of view, if an antivirus maker wanted to, was coerced to, or was hacked or somehow subverted, could it create a signature to flag classified documents?”

That question has taken on renewed importance over the last three months in the wake of United States officials’ accusations that Kaspersky’s antivirus software was used for Russian intelligence gathering, an accusation that Kaspersky has rigorously denied.

Last month, Kaspersky Lab sued the Trump administration after a Department of Homeland Security directive banning its software from federal computer networks. Kaspersky claimed in an open letter that “D.H.S. has harmed Kaspersky Lab’s reputation and its commercial operations without any evidence of wrongdoing by the company.”

For years, intelligence agencies suspected that Kaspersky Lab’s security products provided a back door for Russian intelligence. A draft of a top-secret report leaked by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, described a top-secret, N.S.A. effort in 2008 that concluded that Kaspersky’s software collected sensitive information off customers’ machines.

The documents showed Kaspersky was not the N.S.A.’s only target. Future targets included nearly two dozen other foreign antivirus makers, including Checkpoint in Israel and Avast in the Czech Republic.

At the N.S.A., analysts were barred from using Kaspersky antivirus software because of the risk it would give the Kremlin broad access to their machines and data. But excluding N.S.A. headquarters at Fort Meade, Kaspersky still managed to secure contracts with nearly two dozen American government agencies over the last few years.

Last September, the Department of Homeland Security ordered all federal agencies to cease using Kaspersky products because of the threat that Kaspersky’s products could “provide access to files.”

A month later, The New York Times reported that the Homeland Security directive was based, in large part, on intelligence shared by Israeli intelligence officials who successfully hacked Kaspersky Lab in 2014. They looked on for months as Russian government hackers scanned computers belonging to Kaspersky customers around the world for top secret American government classified programs.

In at least one case, United States officials claimed Russian intelligence officials were successful in using Kaspersky’s software to pull classified documents off a home computer belonging to Nghia H. Pho, an N.S.A. developer who had installed Kaspersky’s antivirus software on his home computer. Mr. Pho pleaded guilty last year to bringing home classified documents and writings, and has said he brought the files home only in an attempt to expand his résumé.

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