New Zealand Herald: Annabel Langbein is considering legal action against Facebook and Google to stop scam ads. “Celebrity chef Annabel Langbein is considering legal action against Facebook and Google for allowing scammers to use her image to lure in victims.”
fraud
Mumbai Crime: Man Dials ‘BMC Helpline’ Listed On Google To File Complaint, Loses Rs 25,000 (Mid-Day)
Mid-Day: Mumbai Crime: Man Dials ‘BMC Helpline’ Listed On Google To File Complaint, Loses Rs 25,000. “In yet another case of online fraud related to animal services listed on Google’s search engine, a 26-year-old Sakinaka resident, who wished to complain about stray dogs, ended up losing Rs 25,000 after he called on what was supposedly the civic body’s helpline.” 25,000 Indian rupees is almost $350 USD. And unfortunately this is happening way too often in India.
‘Death by Twitter’: Understanding false death announcements on social media and the performance of platform cultural capital (First Monday)
First Monday: ‘Death by Twitter’: Understanding false death announcements on social media and the performance of platform cultural capital . “In this paper, we analyse false death announcements of public figures on social media and public responses to them. The analysis draws from a range of public sources to collect and categorise the volume of false death announcements on Twitter and undertakes a case study analysis of representative examples.”
9to5 Google: Latest Google Messages beta rolling out ‘Verified SMS’ to cut down on SMS spam
9to5 Google: Latest Google Messages beta rolling out ‘Verified SMS’ to cut down on SMS spam. “The latest Google Messages beta is now rolling out ‘Verified SMS’ which is aimed at protecting you from unwanted spam text messages or potential phishing attempts.”
New York Times: When Is a Star Not Always a Star? When It’s an Online Review
New York Times: When Is a Star Not Always a Star? When It’s an Online Review. “An increase of just one star in a rating on Amazon correlates with a 26 percent increase in sales, according to a recent analysis by the e-commerce consulting firm Pattern. But while online reviews have become powerful sales tools, the ecosystem is relatively crude. Reviews can be easy to manipulate, and the operators of sites with the most reviews are not always motivated to crack down on fake ones planted to promote products. That leaves many consumers wondering what to believe.”
Ars Technica: Scammers try a new way to steal online shoppers’ payment-card data
Ars Technica: Scammers try a new way to steal online shoppers’ payment-card data. “Thieves have devised a new way to steal payment-card data from online shoppers—or at least it’s new to the researcher who found it. Rather than infecting a merchant’s checkout page with malware that skims the information, the thieves trick users into thinking they’ve been redirected to an authorized third-party payment processor.”
Ars Technica: Researchers see spike in “out of season” IRS-impersonating phishing attacks
Ars Technica: Researchers see spike in “out of season” IRS-impersonating phishing attacks. “Tax return scammers usually strike early in the year, when they can turn the personal information of victims into fraudulent tax refund claims. But members of Akamai’s threat research team found a recent surge in “off-season” phishing attacks masquerading as notices from the Internal Revenue Service, targeting over 100,000 individuals.”
