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PayPal has a fraud problem
A string of 'invoice' scams suggests PayPal isn't doing enough to prevent fraud.
Research shows answering one robocall doesn't lead to more
Researchers used 66,606 fake phone lines to better understand robocalls.
Steve Wozniak sues Google for not acting on YouTube Bitcoin scams
Steve Wozniak has filed a lawsuit against YouTube, saying the site has repeatedly ignored his requests to take down phony bitcoin giveaways that use his name.
Everything we know about the Twitter Bitcoin hack
Early in the afternoon (Eastern time) on July 15th, a hacker -- or hackers -- gained control of a series of Twitter accounts owned by Bitcoin enthusiasts, executives and exchanges. Upon gaining control of those accounts, the hackers tweeted messages to those accounts' audiences claiming that they would be "giving 5000 BTC back to the community" and directing users to cryptoforhealth.com. People who visited the now-defunct website were told that if they sent Bitcoin to a specified address, they would receive double the amount in return, plus a bonus if contributions exceeded a certain threshold.
Two Nigerians face US charges over online fraud worth 'hundreds of millions'
Two Nigerians have been sent to the US to face charges over massive online fraud schemes.
The UK is cracking down on sales of fraudulent ‘anti-5G’ USB sticks
Police in the UK are attempting to stop the sale of a £283 USB key that claims to protect against the supposed dangers of 5G spectrum.
Pablo Escobar’s brother is trying to sell refurbished iPhone 11 Pros for $499
Pablo Escobar's brother is trying to peddle refurbished "gold-plated" iPhone 11 Pros for $499. It is most likely a scam.
Fraud ring uses stolen data to scam unemployment insurance programs
Fraudsters have been using stolen identity data to milk unemployment insurance systems with poor security.
Facebook sues cloaking software maker for deceptive COVID-19 ads
ILikeAd used cloaking, as well as “celeb baiting.”
FCC, FTC give providers 48 hours to block COVID-19 scam robocalls
The US government's quest to fight robocalls is taking on added urgency in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The FCC and FTC have demanded that gateway providers cut off COVID-19-related scam robocalls of overseas origin within 48 hours or else face "serious consequences." Other phone companies will have permission to block all traffic from those providers if they don't heed the warning, the agencies said.
New York orders Craigslist to remove ads for fake COVID-19 treatments
It's no secret that coronavirus-related scams are flourishing (the FCC put out a guide to avoiding them), and New York is now applying legal pressure to stop them. State Attorney General Letitia James has ordered Craigslist to "immediately remove" ads that either sell fake COVID-19 treatments or engage in price gouging on items like hand sanitizer. James also asked Craigslist to outline all its "proactive efforts" to spot and clamp down on these ads.
Facebook reveals the AI tool it used to ban 6.6 billion fake accounts
Today, Facebook unveiled a machine learning tool that, in the last year, has removed more than six billion fake accounts. That's in addition to the millions of new fake accounts that Facebook blocks from being created daily. According to Facebook, the tool has been in production for two years and it's one of the most advanced methods Facebook has for fighting bogus accounts.
Puerto Rico's government lost $2.6 million to a phishing scam
An email phishing scam duped the government of Puerto Rico into transferring more than $2.6 million into a fraudulent account, The Associated Press reports. A government agency transferred the funds on January 17th, but the incident was just discovered this week. Puerto Rico is working with the FBI to investigate and recover the funds.
Apple engineers propose a way to make using two-factor texts easier
If you've ever used online banking or any other highly-secure website, chances are you've encountered a one-time passcode (OTP) before. These are SMS messages sent to your phone with a unique code that verifies your identity with the website you're on. For a lot of users, inputting this code into the website involves tapping back and forth between the browser and the SMS client -- and in some cases even having to physically write down the code, because it's so long or complicated. Now, Apple engineers have put forward a proposal designed to make the whole process easier and more secure.
Twitter will let you report posts aimed at suppressing voters
Twitter is rolling out another tool meant to protect the 2020 US election. Today, it announced that during "key moments" of the election users will be able to report misleading information about how to participate in an election or other civic event. Users will be able to specify whether the misinformation contains false info about how or where to vote or register, if it intends to suppress or intimidate people from voting or if someone is misrepresenting their affiliation with a candidate, party, etc.
Google adds spam detection and verified business SMS to Messages
Businesses often send one-time passwords, account alerts and appointment confirmations via text. But if you've ever received one of those, you know they tend to come from a random number, and bad actors can take advantage of that by disguising phishing scams as one of those messages. To protect users, Google will soon verify SMS messages from registered businesses.
Twitter is cracking down on financial scams
Twitter has updated its policy on financial scams. As of today, users are not permitted to deceive others into sending money or personal financial information. If you're thinking, it's about time, you're not alone. Previously, Twitter handled cases of fraud via its spam reporting tool. But today's changes detail exactly what is prohibited and should make it easier for users to report fraud.
Google is working on a fix for malicious Calendar spam
Since at least May of this year, malicious individuals have been sending Gmail users unsolicited Calendar invites. The scam takes advantage of the fact most people have their Google accounts set to automatically add and notify them of Calendar invites. Since these invites can include an accompanying URL, scammers will use Calendar as a Trojan Horse to get individuals onto a phishing website. With the summer winding down, Google now says it's working on a fix for the oversight.
Porn bots are now storming Twitter's trending topics
Instagram isn't the only social media app being invaded by porn bots. Now they're on Twitter, too. For the past few days, as I was scrolling through Twitter's trending section, I noticed a number of accounts showing similar behavior as the bots that have taken over Instagram comments. But, whereas on Instagram they're leaving messages like "We gonna ignore the fact that I've GOT A HUGE BOOTY?" or "DON'T LOOK at my STORY, if you don't want to M A S T U R B A T E !" on Twitter the spam also includes pictures of women in bikinis and a bunch of words relevant to topics currently trending on Twitter. And they're even more brazen in their attempts to lure in gullible readers, with messages like "I moan very much during sex, if this does not scare you, call me on whatsapp."
Instagram’s 'huge booty' problem keeps getting worse
There isn't a day when I don't come across comments from bots on Instagram. They're all over the place. But there's nothing they love more than to spam high-profile pages with millions of followers. Whether it's LeBron James, Kim Kardashian, ESPN or Ariana Grande, their posts are often the target of comments such as "We gonna ignore the fact that I've GOT A HUGE BOOTY?" or "DON'T LOOK at my STORY, if you don't want to M A S T U R B A T E !" Behind these, are fake accounts featuring pictures and videos of naked and half-naked women, whose primary goal is to get people to sign up for shady porn sites. This has become a serious problem for Instagram, one that seems to be getting worse by the day and that the company needs to get a handle on, before it gets more out of control.
