December 1, 2023

University of Kentucky: UK researcher developing anti-tracking and robocall-free architecture

University of Kentucky: UK researcher developing anti-tracking and robocall-free architecture. “The project, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), is led by Yang Xiao, Ph.D., assistant professor in Department of Computer Science in the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering. Its goal is to develop an anti-tracking and robocall-free mobile access architecture to provide maximum privacy protection for mobile users.”

Research & Opinion 0
November 20, 2023

WIRED: Secretive White House Surveillance Program Gives Cops Access to Trillions of US Phone Records

WIRED: Secretive White House Surveillance Program Gives Cops Access to Trillions of US Phone Records. “A little-known surveillance program tracks more than a trillion domestic phone records within the United States each year, according to a letter WIRED obtained that was sent by US senator Ron Wyden to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sunday, challenging the program’s legality.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
September 26, 2023

Ars Technica: FCC plays whack-a-mole with telcos accused of profiting from robocalls

Ars Technica: FCC plays whack-a-mole with telcos accused of profiting from robocalls. “A suspicious phone company is on the verge of having all its calls blocked by US-based telcos after being accused of ignoring orders to investigate and block robocalls. One Owl Telecom is a US-based gateway provider that routes phone calls from outside the US to consumer phone companies such as Verizon.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
August 30, 2023

NDTV: Noida Call Centre Duping US Citizens Busted, 84 Arrested

NDTV: Noida Call Centre Duping US Citizens Busted, 84 Arrested. “The Noida police on Thursday said they have arrested 84 people, including 36 women, after a raid at a call centre on charges of duping US citizens of crores of rupees by pretending to be American government officials. The accused had a database of around five lakh US citizens that included their names, contact numbers and some financial details which were used to target them and take them into confidence, they said.” Five lakh is 500,000. A crore is 10 million. a crore of rupees is about $120,000 USD.

Security & Legal Issues 0
August 27, 2023

ABC News (Australia): Privacy watchdog ‘monitoring’ telemarketer after financial information posted to dark web in data breach

ABC News (Australia): Privacy watchdog ‘monitoring’ telemarketer after financial information posted to dark web in data breach. “Two charities have said that banking details of their supporters were stolen and leaked on the dark web in a major cyber hack affecting more than 50,000 Australians. The privacy watchdog is not yet investigating the hack involving over a dozen charities, despite multiple organisations alleging the company breached privacy laws by retaining historical data.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
August 8, 2023

North Carolina State University: A New Weapon in the War on Robocall Scams

North Carolina State University: A New Weapon in the War on Robocall Scams. “The new tool, SnorCall, essentially records all robocalls received on the monitored phone lines. It bundles together robocalls that use the same audio, reducing the number of robocalls whose content needs to be analyzed by around an order of magnitude. These recorded robocalls are then transcribed and analyzed by a machine learning framework called Snorkel that can be used to characterize each call.”

Research & Opinion 0
July 29, 2023

Los Angeles Times: California’s free prison calls are repairing estranged relationships and aiding rehabilitation

Los Angeles Times: California’s free prison calls are repairing estranged relationships and aiding rehabilitation. “At a time when most consumers enjoy free or low-cost calling, prison phone calls at their peak in California cost more than $6 per 15 minutes via a private telecommunications provider. That allowed only hurried, superficial conversations between the siblings — with one eye always on the clock. This year California became the second state in the nation, and the largest to date, to mandate free calls in state prisons.”

Other Things I Think Are Cool 0
July 2, 2023

Techradar: ChatGPT is now a brilliant tool for winding up telemarketers and scammers

Techradar: ChatGPT is now a brilliant tool for winding up telemarketers and scammers. ” A recent Wall Street Journal report details one of these engagements where a telemarketer claiming to be from Bank of America called a potential mark only to be answered by Whitey Whitebeard, one of the AIs. Whitey, as a character, has a habit of speaking in circles. The AI was so effective at its job the scammer eventually hung up out of sheer exhaustion about six minutes into the call.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
March 24, 2023

Governor of Hawaii: Attorney General Warns Of Fake FBI Bitcoin Phone Scam Involving “Spoofed” Department Of The Attorney General Phone Number

Governor of Hawaii: Attorney General Warns Of Fake FBI Bitcoin Phone Scam Involving “Spoofed” Department Of The Attorney General Phone Number. “Scammers are calling Hawaiʻi residents pretending to be Federal Bureau of Investigations (‘FBI’) agents. The callers are lying and telling potential victims that they owe unpaid fines and are going to be arrested unless they immediately make a payment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency, or using other methods.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
September 6, 2022

PR Newswire: Americans Feel Some Relief From Robotexts As Summer Comes To An End, According To RoboKiller Insights (PRESS RELEASE)

PR Newswire: Americans Feel Some Relief From Robotexts As Summer Comes To An End, According To RoboKiller Insights (PRESS RELEASE). “Robotexts have far outpaced robocalls since the beginning of 2022. However, for the first time since April 2022, they declined month-over-month. While it appears scammers pumped the brakes in August, Americans can expect robotexts to ramp back up in the coming months as scammers get back to work on delivery and bank-related scams.”

Research & Opinion 0
August 24, 2022

CNN: A monumental case looks to crack open the world of auto-warranty robocalls

CNN: A monumental case looks to crack open the world of auto-warranty robocalls. “…according to state and federal officials, just two men may be responsible for an overwhelming share of the billions of auto-warranty spam calls that have hit US phones. Now, a new lawsuit in Ohio is trying to cut them off at their source, following a years-long effort across the public and private sectors to turn the tide on the scourge of robocalls once and for all.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
August 10, 2022

WIRED: How to Block Spam Calls and Text Messages

WIRED: How to Block Spam Calls and Text Messages. “LIFE IS BUSY enough without wasting time on spammers, scammers, and telemarketers. Whether you are suffering insistent injury lawyers, fraudulent car warranty representatives, or a drunk-dialing ex, there is a way to stop the endless calls and messages. The major carriers and phone manufacturers have upped their game against unwanted calls and messages in recent years, so let’s look at how you can effectively block them.”

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