About Bob

Bob Sullivan, author and investigative journalist

Contact Bob via e-mail — Bob at BobSullivan dot net.

BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists Public Service Award, a Peabody award, and the Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness Consumer Media Service Award. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a degrees in history and mathematics from Fairfield University.

He worked for MSNBC.com/NBC News for nearly 20 years, much of them creating and writing the popular consumer/tech blog The Red Tape Chronicles. Now an independent journalist, he is still a contributor on CNBC.com and NBCNews.com, and continues to appear on NBC TV programs as a consumer and technology expert. He is a contributor at Credit.com, writing about fraud, scams, and the economy. His stories have also appeared in The New York Times, New York magazine, and on dozens of other sites.

Contact Bob via e-mail; Connect with Bob on Facebook or Twitter

SELECTED VIDEOS

: Animation: How fees are stealing your retirement

: Day in the Life or your data

: We haven’t enhanced our security

: At Google Talks

: Animation: The Death of the Price Tag

: Readers helped me expose more Bell, Calif.-like salaries

: The Gotcha Room

: Family intervention: Avoiding Gotchas

Bob is the winner of the prestigious 2002 Society of Professional Journalists Public Service Award for his series of articles on online fraud, and of a 2013 Peabody award for his part in an NBC series called In Plain Sight, about hidden poverty in American. And he is winner of the Consumer Federation of America’s 2012 Consumer Excellence Award.

He is the nation’s leading journalist covering identity fraud and has written more than 100 articles on the subject since 1996.

His first book, Your Evil Twin, was published in 2004 and was among the first to describe the digital crime of the 21st Century.

Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day and What You Can Do About It, explored the world of hidden fees, and how the death of the price tag threatens the very foundations of our market economy.

Stop Getting Ripped Off: Why Consumers Get Screwed and How You Can Always Get a Fair Deal reveals the 7 reasons why American consumers are so ripe for rip-offs, then offers a bill-by-bill recipe to help consumers stay one step ahead of crooks and corporations.

Bob is also an engaging speaker, having appeared at Google Talks in 2013, and in past years before trade associations, consumer groups, and government agencies, including the National Association of Attorney Generals. He lives in Maltby, Washington with his third rescued golden retriever, Rusty.

Feel free to click on this thumbnail for a high-resolution jpg image of Bob, courtesy Christine Gacharna:

Bob also runs an online support group for families who have recently lost a beloved pet. Called “So Lucky Memorial,” the group began after Bob wrote about suddenly losing his dog Lucky, and received an overwhelming response. Pet owners are invited to post pictures on the Facebook page and write a post beginning with the phrase, “I was so lucky that….” See Bob’s original story.

Lucky on the road — This is Lucky, on the road with me to places unknown.

For fun, he has been quoted on the Colbert Report and the Daily Show.