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☆ Premarket stocks: Blue chips are crumbling. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Blue chip stocks have long been synonymous with stability and reliability. Named for the most valuable poker chips, these stocks supposedly represent the crème de la crème of the corporate world, companies like Disney, General Motors and Verizon. Known for their strong financial foundations, longevity, and a healthy flow of dividends, blue chip stocks have long been the go-to for investors seeking steady returns. Their values have surged so high that they’ve been buoying the broader market even as many blue chips have struggled. The problem is that despite being included in blue chip ETF indexes, companies like Nvidia and Tesla aren’t truly blue chip stocks, George Pearkes, an analyst at Bespoke, told CNN.

Persons: Tesla, ”, Henry Allen, George Pearkes, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Linda Yaccarino, Evan Spiegel, Jason Citron, Read, Brian Fung, Joe Biden, Frank Pallone Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Disney, General Motors, Verizon, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Investment, Nasdaq, Big Tech, Deutsche Bank, Tesla, Target, Pfizer, Nike, Charter Communications, CNN, Tech, —, House Democrats, New, New Hampshire voters, YouMail, House Energy, Commerce Locations: New York, DC, —, New Hampshire

☆ House Democrats propose crackdown on fake, AI-generated robocalls
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The number of robocalls placed in the US peaked at around 58.5 billion in 2019, according to estimates by YouMail, a robocall blocking service. For all robocalls, including those Americans have authorized from their bank or doctor’s office, any use of AI would have to be disclosed under the proposed law. But even as officials have gained some ground on unwanted robocalls, those making the calls are increasingly turning to new technologies such as artificial intelligence to stay a step ahead. It would also seek to force phone providers to offer free robocall-blocking services to consumers and require the FCC to maintain a public list of the top 100 illegal robocall campaigns. Other Democratic co-sponsors of the legislation include Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, California Rep. Doris Matsui, Florida Rep. Darren Soto and Illinois Rep. Eric Sorensen.

Persons: Joe Biden, Frank Pallone, Pallone, ” Pallone, Jan Schakowsky, Doris Matsui, Darren Soto, Eric Sorensen Organizations: Washington CNN, House Democrats, New, New Hampshire voters, YouMail, CNN, House Energy, Commerce, Federal Communications Commission, Regulators, Industry, FCC, Federal Trade Commission, Democratic, Illinois, California Rep Locations: New Hampshire, California, Florida

☆ ByteDance has a new AI model that lets users instantly speak in another person's voice. Researchers admitted the AI can be used for 'fraud.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's ByteDance has created a new way for people to immediately change their voice into another person's using generative artificial intelligence technology. People have already this year used AI to impersonate President Joe Biden as the 2024 election nears and pop star Taylor Swift . The output occurs at the speed of livestreaming, with just 124 milliseconds of latency, according to the paper, which noted that AI voice conversion technology thus far has mostly only been effective "offline." It also used open-source code from Meta's Audiodec , which Meta describes as a "plug-and-play benchmark for audio codec applications." They suggested people report illegal usage of voice conversion to the appropriate authorities.

Persons: China's ByteDance, Joe Biden, Taylor Swift, StreamVoice, Meta, Biden, Kali Hays Organizations: Business, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Northwestern University Locations: China, New Hampshire, khays@insider.com

☆ AI deepfakes threaten to wreak havoc with the world's year of elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementRecent advances in generative AI, spurred by OpenAI's ChatGPT , mean the technology is now a much bigger problem. In the UK, research by Fenimore Harper Communications found more than 100 deepfake video ads impersonating Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Facebook. Though it's not clear exactly who is behind the deepfakes in the US and UK, the recent proliferation of AI means almost anyone with internet access and an AI tool can cause some havoc. Earlier this month, OpenAI unveiled its plans to prevent the misuse of AI ahead of this year's elections.

Persons: —, Ethan Mollick, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Joe Biden, Deepfake robocalls, Joe Biden's, Drew Angerer, Biden, Rishi Sunak, Leon Neal, Fenimore Harper's, Meta, it's, Mollick, OpenAI, Lisa Quest, Oliver Wyman, Spriha Srivastava Organizations: Service, Business, Voters, Wharton, NBC News, PLOS, Fenimore Harper Communications, Facebook, UK, Ireland Locations: Britain, India, Mexico, New Hampshire, Turkey, Malaysia, Philippines, United States, Davos

☆ Scammers can use AI tools to clone the voices of you and your family—how to protect yourself
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A robocall impersonating President Joe Biden urged New Hampshire voters not to participate in Tuesday's presidential primary — and it probably won't be the last AI voice scam this election season. "Of course, this will be used by foreign nation states just like the trolling farms they already have. "These messages appear to be an unlawful attempt to disrupt the New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election and to suppress New Hampshire voters." Thanks to the rapid development of the type of AI technology used to clone and mimic people's voices, these types of AI-powered schemes are becoming more common — and scammers aren't just spoofing well-known public figures. In March, the Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert warning people that scammers could target them by using AI technology to clone the voice of a family member in order to convince them to send the scammers money.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden's, Biden, scammers Organizations: New, CNBC, NBC News, New Hampshire voters, Federal Trade Commission Locations: New Hampshire

☆ Fake robocall hurts Joe Biden more than opposition, says Eurasia Group's Ian Bremmer
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFake robocall hurts Joe Biden more than opposition, says Eurasia Group's Ian BremmerHosted by Brian Sullivan, “Last Call” is a fast-paced, entertaining business show that explores the intersection of money, culture and policy. Tune in Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC.

Persons: Joe Biden, Ian Bremmer, Brian Sullivan, “ Organizations: CNBC Locations: Eurasia

☆ New Hampshire voters are getting bogus robocalls with an imitation of Biden's voice telling them not to vote in the state's primary
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some Democratic voters in New Hampshire received calls appearing to be from Biden. The deepfakes of the president pushed Democrats to skip Tuesday's primary election in New Hampshire. AdvertisementJust before the first (but unofficial) Democratic primary of the 2024 election, voters in New Hampshire said they've received phone calls telling them not to turn out from an unlikely source: President Joe Biden. "We know the value of voting Democratic on our votes count," an inauthentic recording of Biden said in the call. The message continued, adding that participating in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire "only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again.

Persons: Biden, —, they've, Joe Biden, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Donald Trump, Dean Phillips —, Marianne Williamson, Prince, Phillips, Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman Organizations: Democratic, Service, NBC News, New Hampshire, PAC, Democratic National Committee Locations: New Hampshire, Carolina, Cleveland

☆ A robocall impersonating Joe Biden telling voters to stay home is the dawn of a devastating new era for phone spam: 'We knew this day would happen, and now it's here'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Madison Hall | Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. NBC News was the first to report the robocalls, which instructed voters to skip out on Tuesday's primary. "We know the value of voting Democratic on our votes count," the deep-faked recording of Biden said in a call. AdvertisementNowadays, even if you trust the incoming phone number, "you can't even trust the voice" on the other line, he said. In the New Hampshire phone scam, the phone number that voters saw when ringing was "spoofed," or faked, to appear to be from the leader of a pro-Biden super PAC.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Biden, Nomorobo, Aaron Foss, Foss, Jonathan Nelson, robocalls, he's, we've, Nelson, it's, they've, Hiya Organizations: Service, New Hampshire, Business, NBC, Democratic, New, New Hampshire voters, Clearing, Biden, FCC, Federal Communications Commission Locations: New Hampshire, Hiya

☆ New Hampshire officials to investigate A.I. robocalls mimicking Biden.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Tiffany Hsu | More About Tiffany Hsu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Voters in New Hampshire received robocall messages over the weekend in a voice that was most likely artificially generated to impersonate President Biden’s, urging them not to vote in Tuesday’s primary election, according to the state attorney general’s office. The fake recordings, which told listeners that “your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday,” were manipulated to seem as if they had been sent by an officer of a Democratic committee, the office said. The attorney general’s office stressed that voting in the primary would not rule out voters from also casting ballots in the general election in November. “These messages appear to be an unlawful attempt to disrupt the New Hampshire presidential primary election and to suppress New Hampshire voters,” the office said in a statement. “New Hampshire voters should disregard the content of this message entirely.”

Persons: Biden’s, ”, “ Organizations: Democratic, New, New Hampshire voters, “ New Locations: New Hampshire, “ New Hampshire

The New Hampshire attorney general's office on Monday said it was investigating reports of an apparent robocall that used artificial intelligence to mimic President Joe Biden's voice and discourage voters in the state from coming to the polls during Tuesday's primary election. Attorney General John Formella said the recorded message, which was sent to multiple voters on Sunday, appears to be an illegal attempt to disrupt and suppress voting. “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”It is not true that voting in Tuesday's primary precludes voters from casting a ballot in November's general election. The attorney general's office said anyone who has received the call should email the state Justice Department's election law unit. “Any effort to discourage voters is disgraceful and an unacceptable affront to democracy,” Dolan said in a statement.

Persons: Joe Biden's, John Formella, ”, Donald Trump, Biden, “, Kathy Sullivan, Sullivan, Joe Biden, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Hany Farid, Katie Dolan, Dean Phillips, Phillips, ” Dolan Organizations: New, The Associated Press, Democratic, Democratic Party, University of California, Dean Phillips of, Trump, Associated Press, AP Locations: New Hampshire, November's, South Carolina, America, Slovakia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Berkeley, Dean Phillips of Minnesota

☆ Voice cloning AI startup ElevenLabs was worth $100 million five months ago. Now, sources say it's about to hit $1 billion.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ElevenLabs, a generative AI startup focused on voice, is in talks to raise capital in a deal that would catapult its valuation to $1 billion. It is unclear as yet whether Sequoia would invest alongside Andreessen Horowitz or if they are competing with one another. Five months on, the prospective new round will increase that valuation 10 times over to $1 billion, three sources said. ElevenLabs and Andreessen Horowitz did not respond to a request for comment. Bruce Reed, President Biden's AI chief, said that voice cloning "keeps me up at night," in an interview with Politico.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Joe Rogan, Emma Watson, Gizmodo, ElevenLabs, Sequoia, OpenAI's ChatGPT, FOMO, Mati Staniszewski, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Eric Adams, Adams, Bruce Reed, Biden's, Meta Organizations: Google, VC, Sequoia, Meta, Britain's Companies, Concept Ventures, New York City, White, Politico Locations: London, New York

☆ We can use AI to fight predatory robocalls, experts tell senators
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Senators took a bipartisan stance against abusive robocalling on Tuesday, appealing to experts for enforcement measures as more scammers employ deceptive artificial intelligence. Witnesses told the Senate Commerce's Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband that generative AI can also work in regulators' favor. Mike Rudolph, chief technology officer for robocall-blocking firm YouMail, Inc., said the AI could flag insufficient mitigation controls in the Federal Communications Commission's Robocall Mitigation Database. "That's a great place where you could apply that [AI] technology and probably discard half the entries in the database in an afternoon or a week of work," Rudolph said. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., chair of the subcommittee, said robocalls have eroded the public's trust in the nation's communications networks.

Persons: robocalling, Mike Rudolph, Rudolph, Sen, Ben Ray Luján, Chuck Schumer Organizations: WASHINGTON, Senate, Communications, Media, Inc, Federal Communications, Capitol

☆ NYC mayor says his AI robocalls are so convincing that people are stopping him on the street to ask if he speaks Mandarin
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NYC Mayor Eric Adams's office is using AI to clone his voice into languages like Mandarin for robocalls. People have even asked him if he speaks Mandarin, Adams said at a press conference on Monday. Since March 2022, Adams' office has reached over 4 million residents through these calls, a spokesperson for the mayor told Insider. Adams' office did not comment on the concern or specify how many languages the mayor speaks. AdvertisementAdvertisementNew York City also quietly rolled out AI surveillance technology at subway stations to track fare evaders earlier this year.

Persons: Eric Adams's, Adams, —, Eric Adams, it's, who's, they've, Annika Marlen Hinze, Caitlin Seeley George Organizations: Service, NYC Department of, Fordham University Locations: New York City, Haitian, New York, York City

☆ Warren Buffett dumps stock, regulators open probes as claims of abuse and fraud mount against a top Globe Life agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Susan Antilla | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

Five other current or former agents confirmed to Insider that some Arias agents wrote up policies in the names of fictional people or people who were dead. Amy Williamson, an attorney who represents dozens of current and former Arias agents in civil claims, said she received an inquiry from a US attorney's office. With regard to Insider's specific questions about Globe, AIL, and Arias, she said, "It is the Company's policy not to comment." Lusty asked questions about Russin's campaign of aggressive social-media posts since Zinsky filed suit, Williamson said, including posts about his gun purchases. Since Zinsky filed suit against him, Russin has made a string of threatening social media posts featuring firearms.

Persons: Simon Arias, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Arias, Trina Orlando, Michelle Billotte, Billotte, she'd, Orlando, Nancy Andrews, William McKee, McKee, Brett Hambright, Amy Williamson, AIL, Renee Zinsky, Michael Russin, Russin, Jennifer Haworth, Benjamin Webb, Chris Williams, Natalie Price, dialers, DocuSign, Scott Dehning, Steven Greer, Joel Scarborough, Dehning, Haworth, Greer, Zinsky, Abeni Mayfield, Mayfield, Columbia , Maryland Rosem Morton, Abeni Mayfield Orlando, texted, Kailey Andrasko, propositioned, Russin texted, he'd, Kailey, Williamson, Anne Hilbert, Hilbert, Debbie Gamble, Zinsky's, Webb, didn't, interrogatories, Jonathan Lusty, Lusty, I'm Organizations: Arias, . Insurance, Wexford, Berkshire, Globe, Life, American, Arias Organization, Arias Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Insurance, Department of Insurance, Department, Pennsylvania, Globe Life, Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, AIL, Organization, Russin, Insider Orlando, Caesars, Employment, Commission, Caesars Palace, Russin's, Consulting, Court, Western District of Pennsylvania Locations: Wexford , Pennsylvania, Wexford, Morgantown , West Virginia, AIL, Michigan, Scarborough, Columbia , Maryland, Las Vegas, Stockholm, Orlando, Morgantown, Mayfield's, Western District, Pittsburgh

☆ How 'consent farms' turn one click on a website into an open invitation for spammers to blow up your phone with robocalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Spam phone calls have been annoying Americans for decades. Most people are on the Do Not Call list, but "consent farms" claim they sell a way around it. Farming consent from unwitting consumersKelly Pinn gets a lot of spam phone calls. Consent farms run rampantThe FTC and other regulators call websites like HealthInstantly.org "consent farms." On one side are affiliate marketers, who get paid to steer traffic to the farms' websites.

Persons: —, you've, Kelly Pinn, she's, Pinn, Ethan Preston, Chad Smanjak, ActiveProspect, Preston, He's, Smanjak, winky, Rob Seaver, Josh Gillon, Giulia Porter Organizations: Service, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, telemarketers, ActiveProspect Inc, LinkedIn, FTC, Smanjak, FCC, Urth, PACE Association, Viceroy Media Solutions, Flatiron Media, C4R Media Locations: Wall, Silicon, Austin, Orange County, Washington, Panama

☆ Ryan Tracy — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Ryan Tracy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Ryan TracyRyan Tracy covers technology policy for The Wall Street Journal, with a focus on the government’s interactions with the largest U.S. tech companies. Since taking on the tech beat in 2019, he has written about antitrust legislation, broadband subsidies, online speech, privacy regulation, tech industry lobbying, robocall mitigation, wireless spectrum, artificial intelligence and other topics. His previous beat at the Journal was financial regulation, where he tracked federal banking regulators’ implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and the legislative battles to change that law. Before banking, he covered energy policy during the Obama administration, writing about solar-industry subsidies, environmental rules, and other topics. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in history and has a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Persons: Ryan Tracy Ryan Tracy, Dodd, Frank, Obama, Ryan Organizations: Wall Street, Times, Newsweek, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Locations: Journal’s Washington, Trenton, New Jersey

☆ FCC issues historic $300 million fine against the largest robocall scam it has ever investigated
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday cracked down on a massive illegal robocall operation responsible for billions of auto-warranty scam calls in recent years, with regulators imposing a record $300 million fine on what authorities said is the largest such network it has ever investigated. The globe-spanning illegal operation violated US telecom laws by making more than five billion robocalls to more than half a billion phone numbers over the course of just three months in 2021, the FCC said in a release Wednesday. But the campaign had been in existence for even longer, the FCC added. At the same time, the FCC directed US voice providers to stop carrying calls originating from providers used by the network. “We know the scam artists behind these calls are relentless — but we are coming for them and won’t stop until we get this junk off the line,” Rosenworcel said.

Persons: —, Roy Melvin Cox Jr, Aaron Michael Jones, Dave Yost, Jessica Rosenworcel, ” Rosenworcel Organizations: CNN, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Ohio, of, Justice Department Locations: United States, Ohio, of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, New Mexico

☆ FTC, U.S. regulators crack down on illegal robocalls, telemarketing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Tuesday announced a nationwide crackdown to stop companies from inundating people with billions of unwanted and illegal robocalls and telemarketing calls. "We don't know too many people out there who enjoy getting scam calls," Samuel Levine, director of the FTC consumer protection bureau, told reporters. In addition to targeting telemarketers, the crackdown targets Voice over Internet Protocol providers that facilitate robocalls, which often come from outside the country. In a statement, the company said it shared the FTC's concerns about robocall technology, and is confident its telemarketing consent practices are legal. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Samuel Levine, Dave Yost, Jonathan Stempel, Aurora Ellis, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Authorities, Republican, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington, New York, Ohio

Weeks later, Mr. Trump is the former President Trump. Instead, in a brief televised address shortly before 2:30 a.m., Mr. Trump furiously laid down his postelection lie. For weeks, Mr. Trump had been peppering him with tips of fraud that, upon investigation by federal authorities, proved baseless. The cavalry “is coming, Mr. President,” Kylie Kremer tweeted to Mr. Trump on Dec. 19. On Jan. 15, Mr. Trump acquiesced to an Oval Office meeting with Mr. Lindell, who arrived with two sets of documents.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Joseph R, Biden, Justin Clark, Rudolph W, Giuliani, Clark, Weeks, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Jared Kushner, McConnell’s, Biden’s, William P, Barr, Mr, Trump’s, Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, sleuths, MyPillow, Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, Stephen K, Bannon, Michael T, Flynn, platformed, Jared Taylor, Enrique Tarrio, Doug Mills, Eric, “ We’re, ”, Fox, Eric Trump, Newt Gingrich, Joe Biden’s, Kevin McCarthy, Laura Ingraham, Obama, Dennis Montgomery, Thomas McInerney, McInerney, John McCain, Bannon’s, “ it’s, Paul Gosar, Doug Ducey, Roy Blunt of, Roy Blunt, Anna Moneymaker, —, “, ” Mr, Mark Meadows, Josh Holmes, Kushner, — Mr, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Lindsey Graham, Sean Hannity, Lindsey Graham of, Sean Hannity’s, — I’ve, Let’s, Graham, Pat A, Axios, Brendan Smialowski, “ Hannity, Thomas, Jenna Ellis, Matt Morgan, Al Gore, George W, Bush, Brooks, Stefan Passantino, Powell, Lynsey Weatherspoon, Gore, William H, Rehnquist, Giuliani —, Kris Kobach, Mark Martin, Lawrence Joseph, Kobach, Uncle Sam, Mr . Biden, Ken Paxton, Jeffrey M, Landry, Paxton, Kyle D, Hawkins, Jacquelyn Martin, Joseph, Richard L, Chris Carr, Carr, Mike Johnson of, Mike Johnson, McCarthy, Privately, Ted Cruz of, John Sauer, ’, ” James E, Nicolai, North, Wayne Stenehjem, Stenehjem, Wayne, Tasos Katopodis, MAGA, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Marsha Blackburn of, Ms, Blackburn, Amy Kremer, Ann Stone, Roger Stone, Amy Coney Barrett, Kremer’s, Kylie Jane Kremer, Jennifer Lawrence, Dustin Stockton, Lawrence, Stockton, I’ve, Lindell, they’d, Taylor, Greg Locke, Covid, Michael McKinney, Tucker Carlson, Carlson’s, “ Donald Trump, ” Ms, Meadows, Georgia runoffs, Byrne, Cipollone, he’d, Martin, Mike Pence, reconvene, ” Kylie Kremer, James Yeager, Kylie Kremer, Yeager’s, Lawrence whooped, John Kennedy, James Lyle, Josh Hawley, “ You’ve, Lyle, Couy Griffin, Kennedy, Pete Marovich, Kremer, Julie Jenkins Fancelli, Alex Jones, Caroline Wren, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr, Katrina Pierson, Brad Raffensperger, Jeffrey A, Rosen, Department’s, Jeffrey Clark, Scott Perry, Hawley, Cruz, Year’s, Tom Cotton of, Cotton, Cindy Chafian, Chafian, Jones, Stone, Locke, Jan, “ You’ll, Gosar, Griffin, Robert O’Brien, I’m, ’ ”, Kenny Holston, Donald Trump, ” Mark Walker, Ben Margot, Stefani Reynolds, Samuel Corum, Erin Schaff, David J, Ted Cruz, John Bazemore Organizations: Twitter, Dominion Systems, Trump, Biden, Dominion, New, New York City, The New York Times, Senate, New York, Republican Party, Capitol, White, Times, The Times, America News Network, Fox, America, Boys, New York Times, American, Air Force, Electoral College, Republicans, Joe Biden’s Democratic Party, Republican, Facebook, Democrats, Associated Press, “ Fox & Friends, White House, West Wing, “, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Veritas, Justice Department, Postal Service, York Daily, Agence France, Zignal Labs, Amistad, Thomas More Society, Mr, Electoral, Supreme, Lawyers, General Association, Associated, State, University of California, Republican House, Women, Tea Party, Trump -, Breitbart, of, Credit, SPAN, Tea Party Express, Republican National Committee, Internet, Army, Des Moines Register, Marine, General Services Administration, Swedish, Cowboys, Capitol ., Street Journal, Save, General Association ., Law Defense Fund, Freedom, Coalition, Proud Boys, Willard, Homeland Security, Party, Getty, Georgia Electoral College Locations: Detroit, Arizona, Georgia, New York, America, China, Trump, Grand Rapids, Mich, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Santa Cruz ,, Arizona —, Russia, North Vietnam, United States, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Kentucky, Utah, Alaska, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Erie, Pa, Pennsylvania, Long, Bush, Florida, tightest, Kansas, North Carolina, Ken Paxton of Texas, Texas, State of Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Irvine, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Ted Cruz of Texas, Missouri, Washington, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Trump’s, Hudson, Stockton, Tennessee, Des Moines, Meadows, White, fistfights, Nashville, West Monroe, La, Louisiana, drumbeating, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Delaware

☆ Two guys who were fed up with spam calls created a ChatGPT tool that trolls telemarketers and wastes their time
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jolly Roger is a telephone service that uses AI to fight back against pesky telemarketing calls. With the prevalence of robocalls across the country, Jolly Roger serves as a way to fight back. A telephone service called Jolly Roger harnesses ChatGPT and voice modulation software to create and read scripts to telemarketers. There were 4.7 billion spam calls made in November 2022 and 5.08 billion this past May, according to YouMail's robocall index. Until a world where dubious calls from unidentified numbers exists, Jolly Roger will do its best to alleviate the annoyance.

Persons: Jolly Roger, pesky, Whitey Whitebeard, Sally, telemarketers, Roger Anderson, Anderson, Steve Berkson, Berkson, Steve, Sid Berkson, Berkson's, ChatGPT, it's Organizations: Morning, Street Journal, robocalls, Force Locations: Washington, Arizona

Our experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here's how). Fraudulent activity by scammers trying to get your personal information has increased significantly. Check washing, robo calls, and even student loan forgiveness scams can walk scammers right into your bank account. Student loan forgiveness scamHow it works: Under the Biden Administration, student loan forgiveness applications opened in 2022. Be skepticalRight now, money scams are at an all-time high.

Persons: —, scammers, they're, It's Organizations: Service, Biden Administration, Social, Department of Education, US Postal Service

☆ Three years after a pandemic shut down the country, COVID-related phone scams are once again on the rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Three years after COVID-19 swept through the United States, COVID-related phone scams are back on the rise. Hiya, a robocall-blocking app, released a report detailing recent popular COVID-19 phone scams. The COVID-related phone scams include defrauding Medicare and the IRS. "Callers who offer 'free supplies,' 'no-cost' lab tests, or say you need a replacement Medicare card are scammers trying to get your Medicare number," the FTC wrote. According to Hiya, there's been a sharp rise in scammers trying to gain personal information and money by helping people file for ERTCs.

Persons: —, Hiya, it's, there's Organizations: IRS, Service, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Internal Revenue Service Locations: United States, scammers

☆ DeSantis Goes 0-for-2 on Election Night
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nicholas Nehamas | Shane Goldmacher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ron DeSantis of Florida went out on a limb. To make matters worse for Mr. DeSantis, a Republican he had endorsed conceded to a Democratic opponent in the mayor’s race in Jacksonville, the largest city in his state. Mr. DeSantis’s preparations to enter the 2024 primary are intensifying. He has held a series of private dinners in Tallahassee with top donors, and on Tuesday he took a direct shot at Mr. Trump over his dodging whether he would sign a six-week abortion ban. But on Monday, Mr. DeSantis made a last-minute endorsement and robocall for Kelly Craft, a former United Nations ambassador under Mr. Trump and a member of a Republican megadonor family.

☆ FCC cracks down on spammy text messages
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —The Federal Communications Commission is cracking down on spammy text messages with new rules for telecom companies, citing a surge of consumer complaints in recent years tied to unwanted robotexts. The new rules require phone providers to block text messages from suspicious sources including phone numbers that appear to be “invalid, unallocated, or unused.” Carriers will also have to block text messages coming from phone numbers that claim not to ever send text messages, or that the government has identified as numbers not used for texting, the FCC said. But in recent years, an explosion of spam and scam text messages appears to have taken their place, leading to more than 18,000 consumer complaints at the FCC last year. The FCC is mulling additional regulations that could, among other things, apply Do Not Call registry protections to text messages for the first time. The FCC said it is also considering making it harder for marketers to use a single consumer consent to flood that user with calls and text messages from multiple sources and numbers.

☆ Minnesota just shut down a student-loan forgiveness company accused of illegally taking money from borrowers for services they could've gotten for free
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Minnesota shut down student-debt relief company Direct Account Management over fraudulent behavior. It accused the company of illegally taking money from borrowers for services that are otherwise free. The company is required to pay the state $20,000, which will be distributed to impacted borrowers. This marks the 13th time Ellison has shut down a student-debt relief company in the state over fraudulent behavior. In light of the uncertainty, and the potential of broad relief, the Education Department launched a communications campaign to protect borrowers from scams.

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