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☆ Russia accuses Ukraine of orchestrating a phone scam scheme to trick elderly Russians into setting military recruitment offices on fire amid string of arson attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia accused Ukraine of inciting elderly Russians into attacks on military recruitment offices. Russia offered no evidence of the alleged phone scam scheme and Ukraine has not yet responded to the allegations. Several attacks on Russian recruitment centers have been documented since the country invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russian state media reported that use of the scheme has exploded in just the last week, tying Ukraine's alleged arson attempts to Russian military gains in Ukraine. The government noted that arson attacks carry up to 20 years in jail.

Persons: general's Organizations: Ukrainian, Service, General's, Russia, Russia's Federal Security Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, St . Petersburg

☆ AI Scams, Spam, Hacking, Are Ruining the Internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Shubham Agarwal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A report from Europol expects a mind-blowing 90% of internet content to be AI-generated in a few years. A report from Europol, the European Union's law-enforcement agency, expects a mind-blowing 90% of internet content to be AI-generated in a few years. And while AI bots have telltale signs now, experts indicate that they will soon get better at mimicking humans and evading the detection systems developed by Menczer and social networks. While misinformation has long been a problem with the internet, AI is going to blow our old problems out of the water. But security researchers have discovered that the AI bots in your apps and devices might steal sensitive information for the hackers.

Persons: HBO Max, haven't, ChatGPT, Christian Selig, Reddit, Martijn Pieters, He'd, NewsGuard, Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard's, Filippo Menczer, NewsGuard's Crovitz, Christopher Cowell, Cowell, John Licato, Bing, Florian Tramèr, Toby Walsh, Walsh, Shubham Agarwal Organizations: HBO, Europol, Market, Indiana University's Observatory, Social Media, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, University of South, ETH Zürich, University of New, University of Oxford, Wired, Company Locations: Cambridge, Europol, Portland , Oregon, Etsy, University of South Florida, University of New South Wales, Ahmedabad, India

☆ How Foreign Thieves Are Scamming Americans on Welfare
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Dan Frosch | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-foreign-thieves-are-scamming-americans-on-welfare-9c48d0eb

Persons: Dow Jones, 9c48d0eb

☆ Over 7,100 student-loan borrowers will get $3.5 million in refunds after a debt relief company was accused of illegally charging them up to $699 in fees to reduce their federal balances, a consumer wa
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

7,100 borrowers will receive $3.5 million worth of checks in the mail after the CFPB said they were scammed. The CFPB accused Timemark, a debt relief company, of illegally charging federal borrowers fees. Scams are likely to grow following the Supreme Court decision to strike down student-debt relief. According to the bureau, Timemark charged borrowers "illegal advance fees" to reduce their federal student-loan balances when the Education Department offers those services for free. Over the past few years, the CFPB — along with the Federal Trade Commission — have scrutinized a range of student-debt relief companies over potential fraudulent behavior.

Persons: Timemark, —, Joe Biden's, scammers Organizations: Service, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Timemark, Inc, Education Department, Epiq Systems, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Federal Locations: Timemark

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Shopify's midlife crisis, how to land deals with brands, and Microsoft's former human resources vice president shares advice
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Also, please let me know what you want to see in Insider Today. Startup studios like Fractal think of startup ideas, then hire founders to execute the vision. But multiple Fractal founders say their businesses are on life support. Many of them think it's because of how startup studios structure terms and conditions for investing — they take a massive chunk of ownership. Investors also prefer when startup founders create the ideas themselves.

Persons: I'm, Siu, Chelsea Jia Feng, Melia Russell, Stephanie Palazzolo, Tyler Le, Shopify's, Chris Williams, Lindsay Noah, Vermillion, Jim Vermillion, Diamond Naga Siu, Alistair Barr, Hallam Bullock Organizations: Startup, Investors, Nike, Abercrombie, Amazon, OpenAI, Syracuse Land Bank, Leasing, Galactic, Space Station, Computing, Intel, Microsoft, MIT Locations: Tech, Syracuse , New York, Syracuse, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Silicon Valley, London

☆ 37,800 student-loan borrowers are getting $3.3 million worth of checks in the mail after a debt relief company 'falsely' promised loan forgiveness but instead 'pocketed customers' payments,' a federal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC accused Arete Financial Group of scamming student-loan borrowers out of $3.3 million. Specifically, the FTC said the group promised debt relief but instead pocketed consumers' payments. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is sending checks totaling over $3.3 million to 37,800 student-loan borrowers who gave money to Arete Financial Group, a debt-relief company. According to the FTC's press release, Arete Financial pretended to be affiliated with the Education Department and "falsely" promised borrowers debt relief, but instead, "pocketed customers' payments and never provided the promised relief." "These lawsuits to shut down student loan debt relief schemes continue the agency's crackdown on junk fees, unwanted calls, and financial exploitation."

Persons: —, Arete, Joe Biden's, Samuel Levine Organizations: FTC, Arete, Service, Federal Trade Commission, Arete Financial, Education Department, Administration, White House and Education Department, Consumer Financial, Bureau, FTC's Bureau, Consumer

☆ Don't send checks through the mail, the post office is warning. Criminals are stealing more than ever.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Reports of check fraud have steadily risen since 2020, with stimulus checks becoming a target. There were 680,000 reports of check fraud in the US in 2022, compared to 350,000 in 2021. Don't put checks in the mail, the US Postal Service is warning. The Postal Service investigated and Fischgrund has recovered about 70% of the revenue, but some of the cases haven't yet been resolved. Fischgrund said he'd never previously had an issue with check fraud in the nearly 10 years he has run his own business.

Persons: Banks, Eric Fischgrund, Fischgrund, he'd, Leonardo DiCaprio Organizations: Morning, US Postal Service, US Postal Inspection Service, Federal Reserve, US Mail, Network, PR, Postal Service Locations: United States, New York

☆ Opinion: Ambitious, tech-savvy and jobless. Why India’s young people could reshape the internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Opinion Snigdha Poonam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Her book, “Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World,” was longlisted in 2019 for the PEN America Literary Awards. Unlike China, which leveraged its demographic dividend through large-scale factory employment, India’s economic growth does not rely on young workers manufacturing goods. Catering to a market of 750 million smartphone users, India’s fast-growing gig economy is attracting young workers in great numbers. As incidents of abuse and exploitation pile up, many of India’s gig workers are questioning their career choice. Feeding the social media monsterThere are other ways in which India’s young people are shaping the future of technology.

Persons: ”, Raju Rai, Rai, “, ” Rai, Dhiraj Singh, Mithun Kumar, Kumar, hyperlocal, Jewel Samad, Mohit Yadav, Monu Manesar Organizations: PEN, CNN, Delhi CNN, Facebook, Catering, Bloomberg, Getty, YouTube, Big Tech, Twitter, New York Times Locations: Delhi, India, Thailand, Indian, Varanasi, Bangkok, Myanmar, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Southeast Asia, Europe, China, Mumbai, Bihar, Covid, AFP

☆ The spam and the scam: What's driving those incessant political fundraising email and text campaigns blowing up your inbox
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Each and every day, political campaigns send out fundraising requests via email and text messages. "It's an accepted part of fundraising that you're going to ruffle feathers," said one political consultant. Increasingly, consumers are drowning in a sea of spam messages and scams from political campaigns, and experts said it's not going to change anytime soon. And while they themselves said they get annoyed by the flood of spam messages, political campaigners said that annoying voters is simply part of the job. After the RNC repeatedly lobbied Google to drop its spam filter for political spam, the company briefly acquiesced before changing its mind after the 2022 midterm elections.

Persons: It's, —, Michael Escobar, Escobar, he's, He's, I've, she's, it's, Josh Nelson, Rory McShane, McShane, " McShane, it'll, they've, Nelson, there've, Donald Trump's, Anne Mitchell, Mitchell, Nick Daggers, I'm Organizations: Service, Institute for Social Internet, RNC, Google, Telephone Consumer Protection, FCC, Democratic, GOP

☆ A group of scammers cheated student-loan borrowers out of $12 million by misleading them about repayment programs and 'loan forgiveness that did not exist,' a federal watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC said two companies cheated student-loan borrowers out of $12 million. It accused the companies of lying about repayment programs and debt relief that did not exist. "As Americans struggle with massive student loan debt and uncertainty around the prospect of forgiveness, scammers are looking to cash in," Samuel Levine, Director of FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "These lawsuits to shut down student loan debt relief schemes continue the agency's crackdown on junk fees, unwanted calls, and financial exploitation." Along with the FTC's latest action, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also cracked down on fraudulent behavior targeting student-loan borrowers over the past months.

NEW DELHI, May 8 (Reuters) - Truecaller (TRUEb.ST) will soon start making its caller identification service available over WhatsApp and other messaging apps to help users spot potential spam calls over the internet, the company told Reuters on Monday. The feature, currently in beta phase, will be rolled out globally later in May, Truecaller Chief Executive Alan Mamedi said. Telemarketing and scamming calls have been on the rise in countries like India, where users gets about 17 spam calls per month on average, according to a 2021 report by Truecaller. For Truecaller, India is its biggest market with 250 million users. It has 350 million users globally and earns its revenue from advertising, subscription services, and verified listings from businesses.

☆ That simple 'hi' text from a stranger could be the start of a scam that ends up costing you millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The scammer networks operate fake trading platforms that look "exactly the way they should look," Friedman told CNBC. "When I was looking at who had messaged, I was like, 'I don't know if this person is real,'" Kaimi told CNBC. When pressed, Kaimi told Mike about his financial difficulties, stemming from past credit-card debt. "I thought I was someone who knew when they were being scammed, was able to discern things," Kaimi told CNBC. But when Kaimi told Mike he was planning to withdraw his funds, the penny dropped.

☆ I've been a fortune teller since I was 4 years old. I've had plenty of skeptics — but for me, it's not about predicting the future.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Melissa Petro | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Jezmina Von Thiel is a fortune teller from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Von Thiel began her training as a fortune teller at age 4, and started working professionally at 16. I started my fortune teller training when I was just 4 years oldRoma are a diasporic ethnic group originally from Northern India around the 10th century. Courtesy of Jezmina Von ThielMy grandmother taught me that fortune telling was something that I could always fall back on if needed. Fortune telling is an undeniable part of the history, culture, and achievements of our people.

☆ Rep. George Santos thanked a lawmaker for 'stopping by' for a chat. The lawmaker said this was a lie, and that he went to protest and ask for his resignation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. George Santos personally thanked a local NY lawmaker for "stopping by" his office for a chat. The lawmaker replied that he wasn't there for a chat, but to stage a protest outside. He said he was there calling for Santos' resignation and to hand-deliver a letter of complaints. The local lawmaker said that the lie did not come as a surprise, adding that he believed Santos is "very good" at distorting the truth. And a week before that, New York constituents flooded the hallway outside his office in Congress, also demanding that Santos be removed from office.

☆ George Santos's elaborate lies has seen the Congressman compared with a 19th-century huckster. History bears that out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Allegra Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

My obsession is summed up pretty well by a tweet from @blagojevism: "George Santos is essentially a 19th-century character. Media depicting these characters found inspiration from real life: in a time before digital records and facial recognition, opportunity was everywhere. George Santos's brand of full-throated scammery is particularly American, something that belongs to this country as much as Abraham Lincoln and apple pie. The phrase "and if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" comes from his legendary real-life method. But Santos, so far, has avoided jail time, giving him at least one leg up over the Yellow Kid.

☆ More people are questioning George Santos' claim that he rescued 2,400 animals and are accusing him of pocketing thousands of dollars meant for pets: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

More people are coming forward and accusing George Santos of pocketing funds meant for pets. "It was excuse after excuse after excuse," Dos Santos told The New York Times. Dos Santos said she worked with Santos to sell $50 tickets to a barbecue with live music and drinks. The proceeds from the event, Dos Santos said, were meant to go to building a new shelter for abused pets. "It was excuse after excuse after excuse," Dos Santos said.

☆ 'Phishing-as-a-service' kits are driving an uptick in theft: What you can learn from one business owner's story
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dawn Giel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

While Christmas shopping for his young daughter, he received a call from a person claiming to be from the Chase fraud department and asking to verify a suspicious transaction. Unfortunately, for victim of these schemes, the bank isn't always required to repay the stolen funds. CNBC has reviewed Mullenaux's cellular records, bank account information, as well as images of the text message and link he was sent. He immediately drove to his local Chase bank branch where he was told he had likely been the victim of fraud. Legally, banks do not have to reimburse stolen funds when a customer is tricked into sending money to a cybercriminal.

☆ Property documents for a London apartment suggest wanted 'crypto-queen' is alive after allegedly vanishing in 2017 with $4 billion from investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wanted fugitive Ruja Ignatova hasn't been seen since October 2017. A recent property listing hints that Ignatova is alive and still on the run, reports say. Bulgarian-born Ignatova, 42, is wanted by the FBI for allegedly scamming investors out of $4 billion between 2014 and 2016 in a Ponzi scheme using her now-defunct company OneCoin. In October 2017, she vanished until documents related to a penthouse apartment in London seemingly pointed to her whereabouts, the New York Post reported. "It suggests she is still alive, and there are documents out there somewhere which contain vital clues as to her recent whereabouts," Bartlett said.

☆ The CEO of the company behind AI chatbot ChatGPT says the worst-case scenario for artificial intelligence is 'lights out for all of us'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, which made ChatGPT, thinks the best-case scenario for artificial intelligence is "unbelievably good" but fears the worst case is "lights out for all of us." In a recent interview, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, which is the company behind ChatGPT, offered his take on the possible pros and cons of artificial intelligence. I think the good case is just so unbelievably good that you sound like a really crazy person to start talking about it." His thoughts on the worst case scenario, though, were pretty bleak. In the StrictlyVC interview, Altman pushed back on the concern of plagiarism, saying, "We adapted to calculators and changed what we tested for in math class, I imagine.

☆ In the era of online scams, here's how to not get tricked when starting a digital business
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An entrepreneurship professor shares her advice on avoiding potential online scams. Business coaches — a community that's also growing on social media — provide guidance and mentorship. Meanwhile, "business opportunities," which often focus on instant financial success, "have a more significant potential for abuse," Franklin said. "Business opportunities are focused on a financial outcome in a relatively short period," Franklin said. It becomes especially important to verify all claims and customer reviews for potential coaches.

☆ Beware the ‘pig butchering’ crypto scam sweeping across America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Josh Campbell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —The FBI says America has a “pig butchering” problem. “We’re talking about a cryptocurrency investment scam that is sweeping the country.”The term pig butchering refers to an unsuspecting victim — the “pig” — being tricked by scammers into forking over money for a promised high rate of return. Once criminals “fatten up” their victims’ digital wallets, they steal the money, Rosen says. “Online criminals’ scams are only limited by their imagination, and they have an impeccable sense of timing,” says Fisher. “They will not make you pay in advance to collect your money.”There were approximately 60 fake sweepstakes victims in New Mexico alone last year whose collective losses totaled $1 million, he says.

☆ I styled Anna Sorokin while she was on house arrest. She was way funnier than her 'Inventing Anna' character, and her taste in fashion and art is incredible.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Eboni Boykin-Patterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He styled Anna Sorokin for an interview from her home, where she is on house arrest. Anna Sorokin, or Anna Delvey, as she was known as in her scamming days, is different from the character on "Inventing Anna." At the time, I had watched only the first half of "Inventing Anna" — just bits and pieces here and there. When we got there, there was a whole glam team of makeup artists and hairstylists who got to work on Anna and Kenneth. Pop culture has the ability to make anyone into an entire brand, and Anna has pop culture's attention.

☆ Send Sam Bankman-Fried to prison, Elon Musk suggests, while Binance's boss calls him a 'master manipulator'. 8 top figures weigh in on the disgraced FTX founder.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is racking up critics after the implosion of his crypto exchange. Here's what top voices like Elon Musk, Bill Ackman and Binance boss CZ have said, in 8 top quotes. Now the crypto CEO is under fire from all sides, from Elon Musk and Bill Ackman to "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban. Given that, the crypto exchange boss said he feels like the mainstream media has given Bankman-Fried softball interviews. The crypto bull believes Bankman-Fried will probably end up in jail, but doesn't think he was acting alone.

☆ Anna Sorokin says Sam Bankman-Fried's media apology tour is a scam: 'He's just trying to save himself'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sam Bankman-Fried has been on a media apology tour following the collapse of his crypto firm. Convicted scammer Anna Sorokin (AKA Anna Delvey) thinks "he's just trying to save himself." 'He's just looking for pity'Through his media interviews, Bankman-Fried is trying to cultivate a more innocent image in the public eye, Sorokin speculated. Sorokin acknowledged that Bankman-Fried's narrative that he was blindsided, rather than willfully preying on FTX's customers, may be legitimate. "I don't know which one is worse — that he actually was not in control, or if he's trying to cover it up now.

☆ Now that Americans elected Democrats to keep the Senate, here are their 3 major plans to fix the economy and fight inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In addition to abortion rights and fair elections, Democrats appealed to voters on their plans for the economy. Those may be the big takeaways, but Democrats locking down the Senate — and likely only conceding a slim majority to Republicans in the House — also indicate that voters favor Democrats' plan to rein in a tumultuous economy. That's something few economists saw as likely, however, and it looks like Democrats' plan for the economy in coming years gave them at least a slight edge necessary to pull off upset wins. Marginal victories in Nevada and Washington, for instance, were accomplished by candidates in sync with Biden's plan to lower costs for Americans. In addition to Medicare, Democrats like Fetterman have also called for allowing lower-priced drugs to be imported to the US, in addition to limiting drug price costs overall.

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