Tag Archives: Cybercrimes

Can SIM Swap empty bank accounts without warning?!

Can a SIM swap attack empty your bank accounts without warning?!

Take a look at the viral warning, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2023-03-03 : Added some additional details
Originally posted @ 2022-01-16

Claim : SIM Swap Attack Can Empty Bank Accounts Without Warning!

This message has gone viral on social media and WhatsApp, warning about a new high tech fraud called SIM Swap Fraud that can empty bank accounts without warning.

The message includes a link to a Straits Times report about a young couple who lost $120,000 in a fake text message scam targeting OCBC Bank customers.

Your BANK Account could be Emptied without an Alert!

Dear All, Please let’s be very careful.. There is a new HIGH TECH FRAUD in town called the SIM SWAP FRAUD, and hundreds of persons are already VICTIMS.

How does it work?
1 A new fraud called SIM SWAP has started. Your phone network will momentarily go blind / zero (No Signal / Zero Bars) and after a while a call will come through.

2 The Person on the other end of the call will tell you that he is calling from (your cell phone company) depending on your network and that there is a problem in your mobile network.

3 He will instruct you to Please press 1 on your phone to get the network back.

– Please at this stage don’t Press anything, Just cut or END the call.

If you press 1, the network will appear suddenly and almost immediately go blind again (Zero Bars) and by that action, your phone is #HACKED.

Within a second they will empty your bank account, and you won’t receive any alert.

What you will experience.
It will appear as though your line is without Network, meanwhile your SIM has been SWAPPED.
The danger here is that, you will not get any alert of any transactions, so please those of us doing USSD Banking and Mobile Banking BEWARE. Let’s be very careful.

Please, forward to your contacts, loved ones and friends. The fraud is increasing day by day.

Received from a #CybersecurityGroup

Don’t forget to share this post…… I repeat don’t forget to share this post. Many people’s Account as been emptied!

Please encourage more people to learn from this episode

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Truth : SIM Swap Attack Are Real, But Don’t Work Like That

The truth is – SIM swap attacks are real and very dangerous, but they do not work like the viral message claims.

Here is what you need to know about the viral message, and SIM swap attacks.

Fact #1 : SIM Swap Attacks Are Not New

SIM swap attacks are really not that new. Scammers have been using SIM swap attacks since 2015, if not earlier.

Fact #2 : Viral Message Is Mostly False

The viral message is correct about the risk of SIM swap attacks, but pretty much wrong about everything else.

In fact, the method by which the SIM swap attack works is completely made up. So the viral message is really FAKE NEWS.

Fact #3 : Straits Times Article Was Not About SIM Swap

The fake news creator added a link to a Straits Time article, to mislead you.

That’s because the article isn’t about a SIM swap attack, but a phishing attack, where the victim received an SMS with a link that took him to a fake website that “looked exactly like the OCBC login page“.

The victim then keyed in his bank login details, thus handing over control of his bank account to the scammers. He also ignored automated messages warning him that his “account was being setup on another phone“.

It had nothing to do with a SIM swap attack. It was an SMS-based phishing attack.

Fact #4 : SIM Swap Attack Generally Does Not Require Any Action

In most SIM swap attacks, scammers use your personal information, either purchased from other criminals or obtained through earlier phishing attacks or social engineering, to request for a SIM card replacement.

All that does not require any action on your part. In most cases, you only realise you’ve been hit when you lose access to your mobile number.

Fact #5 : SIM Swap Attack May Require Action In Some Cases

The Press 1 claim in the viral message is partially correct, but it only happens in a particular circumstance.

In India, scammers have tricked people by offering a free network upgrade, or to help improve signal quality on their phones :

The scammer will call the victim, claiming to be from their mobile service provider.
The scammer will try to get the victim to reveal his/her 20-digit SIM card number.
The scammer will use the 20-digit SIM number to initiate a SIM swap with the mobile service provider.
The mobile service provider will automatically send an SMS to confirm the swap.
Once the victim confirms the swap, his/her SIM card will stop working.
The scammer now has access to the victim’s mobile number.

Fact #6 : SIM Swap Attack Does Not Hack Your Phone

The SIM swap attack does not involve any hacking of your phone.

You only lose access to your mobile number. Your phone is not hacked.

Fact #7 : SIM Swap Attack Does Not Empty Bank Accounts

Once the scammers successfully gain control of your mobile number, they can use it to intercept one-time passwords (OTP) like TAC numbers.

This allows them to change passwords to your bank accounts, social media accounts, etc. which is why SIM swap attacks are so dangerous and damaging.

However, it does not mean your bank accounts are immediately emptied. For one thing – the scammers need to know your bank login.

That’s why SIM swap victims often have had their bank logins and passwords stolen earlier though phishing attacks. The scammers only need their mobile numbers to receive OTP / TAC numbers to authenticate the transfers.

Fact #8 : SIM Swap Attack Can Be Used To Cheat Friends Too!

Stealing money from your bank account requires extra work, so scammers who do not have your bank login details will resort to cheating your friends.

With access to your phone number, they can easily gain access to your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) as well as instant messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram).

Once they have control, they can send messages to your friends, pretending to be you. Naturally, they will concoct some story to ask your friends for money.

The idea is to use your (now) stolen accounts to convince your friends that you genuinely need their help. The money that they transfer goes directly to the scammers, or their mules (people who rent their bank accounts to scammers).

Now that you know the facts behind the SIM swap attack or scam, please SHARE this article with your family and friends!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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BitiCodes Scam Alert : Fake Celebrity Endorsements!

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You may have seen celebrities endorsements of BitiCodes or Biti Codes circulating on Facebook and Instagram, but they are all FAKE.

Find out why there are so many fake celebrity endorsements of Biticodes / Biti Codes, and how they are doing it!

BitiCodes / Biti Codes : Fake Celebrity Endorsements

BitiCodes or Biti Codes claims to be “the crypto industry’s most accurate AI auto-trading app“, which “works by automatically placing trades… using trading bots to strengthen your chances of making a profitable trade.”

If you never heard of it, you won’t be alone, because it’s mainly promoted via advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, etc. They are also promoting it through Google Ads like these examples, which will often appear in completely legitimate websites.

Clicking on those advertisements will lead to legitimate-looking articles from local or crypto publications, often with a celebrity endorsing Biticodes / Biti Codes.

Here in Malaysia, people will see Biticodes being endorsed by the likes of local politicians like Lim Guan Eng or Dr. Mahathir. But those in the cybersecurity industry will quickly realise that these articles are familiar because they are almost exact copies of scam articles used in the previous Bitcoin Revolution scam.

Looking for reviews of Biticodes or Biti Codes is pointless, because they appeared to have paid for advertorials in legitimate media outlets, which are (intentionally?) wrongly listed as “reviews”. Only at the very bottom do they include a disclaimer that it was a sponsored post.

Outlook India

Biticodes Reviews : Today we’ll be talking about one platform called Biticodes that you can use to make an extra source of income. It’s safe, and you do not need to worry about anything. It may help you earn good money in very less time.

Disclaimer : This is sponsored review content posted by us. All the information about the product is taken from the official website (and not fact-checked by us). Contact customer care phone number given on product’s official website for order cancellation, return, refund, payment, delivery etc. related issues. Must consult any financial specialist before investing in BitiCodes Auto-Trading Software.

Tribune India

Biticodes is real or scam review 2022 : With an astonishing success rate of 90%, BitiCodes has what it takes to be your go-to platform for cryptocurrency trading. It can execute multiple deals per second – a rate that even the most experienced cryptocurrency traders would be hard-pressed to match.

Disclaimer : The views and opinions expressed in the above article are independent professional judgment of the experts and The Tribune does not take any responsibility, in any manner whatsoever, for the accuracy of their views. Biticodes are solely liable for the correctness, reliability of the content and/or compliance of applicable laws. The above is non-editorial content and The Tribune does not vouch, endorse or guarantee any of the above content, nor is it responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated, and verified.

In other words, those are NOT legitimate reviews, and the media outlets did not even test Biticodes / Biti Codes. Their disclaimers show that their “reviews” were paid content, written by Biticodes / Biticodes.

Avast Explains How BitiCodes Scam Works

In an August 2022 article, the cybersecurity company explained how the BitiCodes (also known as TeslaCoin) scam works:

The scam encourages people to pay to create an account and invest into a fraudulent crypto investment platform. There are two ways the campaign reaches potential victims: Through Facebook ads and email. Ultimately, victims can end up losing at least $250.

At the bottom of the page is a webform requesting site visitors to enter their name, email address, and phone number in order to register for the platform. The victim receives an email from a bot sparking a conversation in the victim’s language.

After a brief example exchange, the bot sends a link to a payment gateway, and asks the victim to transfer $250 in order to activate their trading account. Another scenario involves the bot emailing potential victims with steps to login to a cryptocurrency broker page, and after a few more emails, the bot sends a link to a payment gateway, asking the victim for a $250 initial investment.

I also investigated the articles and the BitiCodes website, and noticed that they are all using highly-suspicious domains and links:

celesteal.xyz/biticodes for the BitiCodes website (registered 23 Nov. 2022)
thedailypressbriefing.com/my for the BTC-News website (registered 29 Jan. 2023)
saveontaxesthisyear.tax for the BTC-News website (registered 6 Feb. 2023)

As you can see, the domains are not only completely unrelated to the article / websites, they are almost brand new! And if you go to their domain root, nothing loads. That is not how legitimate websites function. If you do a WHOIS lookup, you will discover that the owners of these domains are hidden.

Regardless of whether BitiCodes / Biti Codes itself is legitimate, you should avoid any article that do not tally with the official website, or with irrelevant domains.

Don’t fall for the scam. Avoid these BitiCodes / Biti Codes advertisements and fake celebrity endorsements.

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!

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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Tenaga Nasional 33rd Anniversary Scam Alert!

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Please watch out for the Tenaga Nasional 33th Anniversary survey contest scam!

Find out why it is just a SCAM, and WARN your family and friends!

Tenaga Nasional 33th Anniversary Survey Scam Alert!

People are now sharing the Tenaga Nasional 33th Anniversary messages on WhatsApp :

Congratulations!

Tenaga Nasional 33rd Anniversary National Government Power Subsidy!

Through the questionnaire, you will have a chance to get 1000 Ringgit

🎉 Tenaga Nasional 33rd Anniversary National Government Power Subsidy 🎊

Electricity subsidy is being issued…

Recommended : Petronas 50th Anniversary Scam Alert!

Tenaga Nasional 33th Anniversary Survey : Why This Is A Scam!

Unfortunately, this is yet another survey scam, like the Petronas 50th Anniversary scam!

Tenaga Nasional confirmed that this survey is a scam in a scam alert on their website on 6 February 2023.

Win Cash Rewards from TNB – 6/2/2023

TNB customers are advised to ignore survey links that claim they can win cash rewards from TNB.

TNB does not organize any kind of cash prize giveaway on social media. Please be careful and avoid spreading this false information.

I know many of us are in dire straits during the COVID-19 pandemic, having lost jobs, income or even loved ones.

Unfortunately, scammers are counting on our desperation to prey on us, using the same survey scam they have been using for years :

Now, let me show you how to spot these scams next time!

If you spot any of these warning signs, DO NOT PROCEED and DO NOT SHARE!

Warning Sign #1 : Bad Grammar

Most of these scammers do not have a good command of the English language, so if you spot bad grammar, stay away.

Proper contests or events sponsored by major brands like Tenaga Nasional will have at least one PR or marketing person who will vet the text before allowing it to be posted.

Read more : Petronas 50th Anniversary Scam Alert!

Warning Sign #2 : Offering You Free Money Or Gifts

Please do NOT be naive. No one is going to give you money or free gifts just to participate in a survey!

Tenaga Nasional isn’t going to give you FREE money, just because it’s their anniversary.

They are a corporation whose business is to make money, not a charity to give you free money.

Warning Sign #3 : Not Using The Real Jaya Grocer Domain

A genuine Tenaga Nasional campaign would use their real domain – www.tnb.com.my.

Or they would run it off the official Tenaga Nasional page on Facebook – www.facebook.com/TNBCareline/.

If you see nonsensical domains like merefamily.top, 0yjjg61.cn, 1eaf1rnbeef.top, ldxqw.bar, etc. that’s a sign it’s a SCAM!

Warning Sign #4 : Asking You To Forward The Offer

No brand will insist that you must share the offer with 5 groups or 20 friends on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

Do not click to forward their offer to your family and friends. They will not appreciate being scammed with your help!

Warning Sign #5 : Asking You To Download + Register An App

If you click through and joined the fake survey scam, you will eventually be asked to download and register for an app.

This is VERY DANGEROUS. Never agree to download and register for any unknown app from a website.

Always download your apps from an official App Store like Google Play Store (for Android smartphones) and Apple App Store (for iPhones).

Please help us fight scams like this and SHARE this article out!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Watch Out For TNG eWallet SMS Phishing Scam!

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In this article, we will show you many types of TNG eWallet SMS phasing scam, so you can avoid them!

Watch Out For TNG eWallet SMS Phishing Scam!

People are getting these SMS messages that appear to be from TNG eWallet, but are really just phishing scams!

RMO TNG eWallet: Bantuan e-dompet kepada golongan B40&M40 RM1000 akan dikreditkan ke dalam TNG eWallet anda. Kemaskini maklumat dan semakan status di www.tngewalletbantuangov.com

RMO T’n GO Your account function has been closed. You need to confirm the device immediately. Follow my.tngwallc.com

RMO TNG Wallet: Permohonan GOpinjam anda telah diluluskan, RM3000 telah kredit ke TNG Wallet anda. Sila semak baki dan tuntutan anda di http://logtouchngo.cc

RMO GOV: Terima kasih atas sokongan anda dari kerajaan BN. Bantuan e-dompet kepada rakyat Malaysia berjumlah RM500 telah kredit ke TNG Wallet anda. Sila sahkan identiti dan semak baki anda di https://touchngoemy.top/

How TNG eWallet SMS Phishing Scam Works!

The many examples of the TNG eWallet phishing scam employ SMS spoofing technology to send you SMS messages that appear to be from the TNG eWallet team.

What most people don’t know is that – the TNG eWallet team will never send you any SMS messages to :

offer you money from government or other agencies
inform you that money has been credited to your eWallet
ask you to log into your eWallet account using a link
ask you to update your account information using a link

The TNG eWallet team warned users against clicking on any links sent by SMS, even if they appear to be genuine. Genuine TNG eWallet SMS messages will never have a link attached.

These links do not lead to the real TNG eWallet website (https://www.touchngo.com.my/), but use similar-looking fake domains, like:

tngewalletbantuangov.com
my.tngwallc.com
logtouchngo.cc
touchngoemy.top
ewallettouchng.top
touchngosign.com
touchngolog.top
logintouchngo.cc
touchngo.life
touchngologin.cc
my.touchngo.com
my.touchwalf.com
my.touchwalp.com
my.tngowalle.com
my.tngowallet.com
tngwallet.top

If you see such domains, you should be alert that you are being targeted by a phishing scam. NEVER CLICK ON A LINK in any TNG eWallet SMS.

If you click on any of these links, you will be taken to a page that looks like a genuine TNG eWallet login page, but is really a phishing scam page.

If you key in your login details, as well as your phone number and One-Time Password (OTP), the scammers will have full access to your eWallet, and can freely transfer out your eWallet balance.

As many of us link our credit cards to the TNG eWallet, the scammers can also reload your eWallet using those credit cards, and transfer the money out.

So make sure you IGNORE any SMS message that asks you to click on a link, even if it appears to be from TNG eWallet.

Please help to fight financial scams, by SHARING this article with your family and friends!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

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Both Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang just pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange!

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang – two close partners of Sam Bankman-Fried, plead guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. They are now helping investigators with their investigations, in exchange for reduced sentencing.

The charges, guilty pleas and their cooperation with investigators occurred earlier, but was kept quiet until Sam Bankman-Fried (better know as SBF) was safely on a flight to the US from the Bahamas after he agreed to voluntary extradition.

SBF landed in New York at 10 PM local time on December 21, and Southern District of New York attorney Damian Williams announced that Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty to charges “related to their roles in the fraud that contributed to FTX’s collapse”.

As I said last week, this investigation is ongoing and moving very quickly. I also said last week’s announcement would not be our last and let me be clear once again, neither is today’s.

I’m announcing that SDNY has filed charges against Caroline Ellison […] and Gary Wang […] in connection with their roles in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse. Both Ms. Ellison and Mr. Wang have plead guilty to those charges and both are cooperating with the SDNY.

Caroline Ellison was the head of Alameda Research – the trading firm started by SBF, which allegedly had “a virtually unlimited line of credit” funded by FTX customers. A former Google employee and MIT graduate, Gary Wang co-founded FTX with Sam Bankman-Fried.

Ellison plead guilty to seven charges, which could result in up to 110 years of jail time. Gary Wang plead guilty to four charges. However, more charges could follow if investigators find evidence of other crimes.

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Also Faces SEC Charges

These criminal charges were paired with civil charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused Ellison, Wang and Sam Bankman-Fried of securities violations related to FTX’s cryptocurrency, FTT.

The SEC also noted that both Ellison and Wang are cooperating with its ongoing investigations.

Washington D.C., Dec. 21, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), for their roles in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX, the crypto trading platform co-founded by Samuel Bankman-Fried and Wang. Investigations into other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct are ongoing.

According to the SEC’s complaint, between 2019 and 2022, Ellison, at the direction of Bankman-Fried, furthered the scheme by manipulating the price of FTT, an FTX-issued exchange crypto security token, by purchasing large quantities on the open market to prop up its price. FTT served as collateral for undisclosed loans by FTX of its customers’ assets to Alameda, a crypto hedge fund owned by Wang and Bankman-Fried and run by Ellison. The complaint alleges that, by manipulating the price of FTT, Bankman-Fried and Ellison caused the valuation of Alameda’s FTT holdings to be inflated, which in turn caused the value of collateral on Alameda’s balance sheet to be overstated, and misled investors about FTX’s risk exposure.

In addition, the complaint alleges that, from at least May 2019 until November 2022, Bankman-Fried raised billions of dollars from investors by falsely touting FTX as a safe crypto asset trading platform with sophisticated risk mitigation measures to protect customer assets and by telling investors that Alameda was just another customer with no special privileges; meanwhile, Bankman-Fried and Wang improperly diverted FTX customer assets to Alameda. The complaint alleges that Ellison and Wang knew or should have known that such statements were false and misleading.

The complaint also alleges that Ellison and Wang were active participants in the scheme to deceive FTX’s investors and engaged in conduct that was critical to its success. The complaint alleges that Wang created FTX’s software code that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds, and Ellison used misappropriated FTX customer funds for Alameda’s trading activity. The complaint further alleges that, even as it became clear that Alameda and FTX could not make customers whole, Bankman-Fried, with the knowledge of Ellison and Wang, directed hundreds of millions of dollars more in FTX customer funds to Alameda.

The SEC is calling for a civil penalty, and a ban for Ellison and Wang to ever serve as a company director or officer, as well as “disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains”, and an injunction against future securities violations and limiting them to only buy and sell securities for their own accounts.

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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, has just been charged with fraud by the SEC.

Take a look at the charges the SEC brought against SBF, and find out what they reveal about the fraud committed at FTX!

FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

On Monday, December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried who is popularly known as SBF in the cryptocurrency community.

SBF was arrested after the United States government formally notified the Bahamas government that it filed criminal charges and is likely to request his extradition.

The Attorney General of the Bahamas then ordered SBF’s arrest, to hold him in custody until a formal request for extradition comes forth. Then the Bahamas intends to process the extradition request “promptly”.

SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged SBF with “orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX)”.

The SEC also sought injunctions against future securities law violations, an injunction against SBF participating in securities (except for his personal account), the disgorgement of his “ill-gotten gains”, a civil penalty, and barring him from being an officer or director of any company.

“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws.”

FTX Customer Funds Funnelled To Alameda

The SEC accused SBF of funnelling FTX customer funds to Alameda Research, which were then used to fund speculative investments, and provide large loans to Bankman-Fried and top FTX executives.

Customer Funds Used For Real Estate Purchases

SBF allegedly used the commingled funds from Alameda to pay for massive real estate purchases, including office space and luxury condominiums in The Bahamas.

“FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy Mr. Bankman-Fried created by, among other things, touting its best-in-class controls, including a proprietary ‘risk engine,’ and FTX’s adherence to specific investor protection principles and detailed terms of service. But as we allege in our complaint, that veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

Customer Funds Used For Political Contributions

The SEC also alleged that SBF used commingled funds to fund political contributions. He was one of the top political donors in the 2022 election cycle.

SBF Was Both Borrower + Lender

According to the SEC, Sam Bankman-Fried was both the borrower and the lender in two instances. SBF also executed more than $1 billion from promissory notes for loans from Alameda Research.

SBF Accused Of Misleading Investors

The SEC also alleged that SBF misled investors into believing that FTX was a safe and responsible crypto asset trading platform, thus allowing FTX to raise more than $1.8 billion in funds from 90 US investors.

FTX Exposure To Alameda Not Disclosed

The SEC also alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried failed to disclose FTX’s deep exposure to Alameda, or how he was diverting FTX customer funds to Alameda for its own trading operations, or other purposes that SBF saw fit.

There was no meaningful distinction between FTX customer funds and Alameda’s own funds. Bankman-Fried thus gave Alameda carte blanche to use FTX customer assets for its own trading operations and for whatever other purposes Bankman-Fried saw fit.

The complaint alleges that, in reality, Bankman-Fried orchestrated a years-long fraud to conceal from FTX’s investors

(1) the undisclosed diversion of FTX customers’ funds to Alameda Research LLC, his privately-held crypto hedge fund;

(2) the undisclosed special treatment afforded to Alameda on the FTX platform, including providing Alameda with a virtually unlimited “line of credit” funded by the platform’s customers and exempting Alameda from certain key FTX risk mitigation measures; and

(3) undisclosed risk stemming from FTX’s exposure to Alameda’s significant holdings of overvalued, illiquid assets such as FTX-affiliated tokens.

The complaint further alleges that Bankman-Fried used commingled FTX customers’ funds at Alameda to make undisclosed venture investments, lavish real estate purchases, and large political donations.

In addition to the SEC charges, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also announced charges against Sam Bankman-Fried.

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, has just been arrested in the Bahamas, and is awaiting extradition by US authorities!

FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

On Monday, December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried who is popularly known as SBF in the cryptocurrency community.

SBF was arrested after the United States government formally notified the Bahamas government that it filed criminal charges and is likely to request his extradition.

Attorney Damian Williams for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) confirmed that the request was made by the US government based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.

USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022

When unsealed, charges that SBF potentially face include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. SBF could potentially face a life sentence in prison.

FTX Founder SBF Arrested : Official Statement

Here is the official statement issued by the Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs, of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Statement from the Attorney General of The Bahamas Sen. Ryan Pinder KC on the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried

On 12 December 2022, the Office of the Attorney General of The Bahamas is announcing the arrest by The Royal Bahamas Police Force of Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), former CEO of FTX.

BF’s arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against BF and is likely to request his extradition.

As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek BF’s arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act.

At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States.

Responding to BF’s arrest, Prime Minister Davis stated, “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law. While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against BF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.

December 12, 2022
Office of The Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs
Commonwealth of The Bahamas

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Terraform CEO Do Kwon Found Hiding In Serbia!

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South Korean authorities just confirmed that Terraform CEO Do Kwon has been hiding out in Serbia!

Here is what you need to know!

Terraform CEO Do Kwon Found Hiding In Serbia!

South Korean authorities just confirmed that Do Kwon is hiding out in Serbia, and will be working with Serbian authorities to detain him.

The 31 year-old Terraform CEO was charged with fraud and breaches of the South Korean capital markets law after his company’s TerraUSD stablecoin and Luna cryptocurrency crashed in May 2022.

He fled Singapore in September to an unknown country, and has been on the run since, even though he denied trying to run away.

I am not ‘on the run’ or anything similar – for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don’t have anything to hide.

According to a 11 December report by Chosun Media, South Korean authorities received a tip-off about Do Kwon’s location in Serbia, and were able to confirm it.

Recently, we obtained intelligence that CEO Kwon was in Serbia, and it was found to be true.

South Korea and Serbia do not have an extradition treaty with each other, but both countries have agreed to requests under the European Convention on Extradition.

Terraform CEO Do Kwon : A Quick Refresher!

Do Kwon (born Kwon Do-Hyung on 6 September 1991) is the South Korean co-founder and CEO of Singapore-based Terraform Labs, which created the stable coin TerraUSD and the Luna cryptocurrency.

Both TerraUSD and Luna collapsed in May 2022, wiping out almost $45 billion of its market capitalisation in just one week, while causing hundreds of billions of dollars to be wiped out in the crypto market.

With approximately 200,000 South Korean investors affected by the crash of TerraUSD and Luna, the South Korean government announced that it would pursue criminal charges against Do Kwon. However, Do Kwon moved to Singapore in April – just before the crash.

On September 14, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant against Do Kwon for allegedly committing fraud and violating South Korea’s capital market laws.

Unfortunately, Do Kwon left Singapore around that time, flying to Dubai on the way to an unknown country.

Interpol then issued a Red Notice for Do Kwon on September 26, and the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered him to surrender his passport on 6 October 2022, to which he responded:

Oh, I’m not using it anyway, so it doesn’t, I can’t see how that makes a difference to me.

In addition to Do Kwon, South Korean authorities also issued arrest warrants for five other people, who have not been named, over links to the TerraUSD stablecoin and the Luna cryptocurrency token.

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Is FIFA Giving Free 50GB Data For World Cup 2022?!

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Is FIFA offering 50 GB of free mobile data to stream World Cup 2022 matches with no interruptions?!

Take a look at the viral offers, and find out why they are just scams!

Claim : FIFA Is Giving Free 50GB Data For World Cup 2022!

People are sharing viral offers for 50 GB of free mobile data to stream World Cup 2022 matches without interruption. Here are some examples :

* FIFA is giving people around the world 50GB of data for free to watch the 2022 Cartel [Qatar] World Cup.*
* I Have Received Mine.*
* OPEN THIS*

* FIFA memberi orang di seluruh dunia 50GB data secara percuma untuk menonton Piala Dunia Kartel [Qatar] 2022.*
* Saya Telah Menerima Milik Saya.*
* BUKA INI*

FREE 50GB DATA PLAN FOR ALL NETWORKS

PERCUMA PELAN DATA 50GB UNTUK SEMUA RANGKAIAN

Truth : FIFA Is Not Giving 50GB Free Data For World Cup 2022!

This is yet another SCAM circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why you must avoid it!

Fact #1 : FIFA Is Not Offering Free Mobile Data

First, let me just say it out loud and clear – FIFA is not offering free mobile data anywhere in the world, just to watch World Cup 2022 matches.

FIFA makes its money through sale of television, marketing and licensing rights for World Cup 2022, so there is simply no reason for it to provide free mobile data to stream the matches.

Fact #2 : FIFA Would Never Give You Anything Free

Please do NOT be naive. No one is going to give you free data just to participate in a survey!

FIFA is a corporation whose business is to make money, not a charity to give you free data.

Fact #3 : They Do Not Use Official FIFA Domains

Genuine FIFA promotions would be announced on the official website at www.fifa.com, or their official social media accounts:

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/fifaworldcup/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/fifacom
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/fifaworldcup/

They would never run contests or promotions via dodgy domains like “subsidy.buzz”, “50g.kxoe1.xyz”, “50gb450.xyz”, or “zlqxt.top”.

Once you see those random domains, click delete. Or just ignore. DO NOT CLICK.

Fact #4 : They Are Advertisement Scams

After you click on the link, you will be redirected through a series of hidden advertisements before you arrive at the “offer page”.

The offer page will ask you a series of simple questions. Regardless of your answers, you will be congratulated and told you won the 50 GB free data plan for three months.

You will be asked to key in your mobile number to receive the free mobile data, but you will never receive anything. In one variant, you are even redirected to more advertisements, including a video advertisement.

Fact #5 : Brands Won’t Ask You To Forward The Contest

To get that free 50 GB data for three months, you are asked to share the “contest” with 12 friends or groups on WhatsApp.

That’s a clear sign of a scam. No brand will insist that you must share their contest or free offer with WhatsApp friends of groups.

Please do not click to forward their offer to your family and friends. They will not appreciate being scammed with your help!

Fact #6 : They Can Potentially Be Dangerous

Similar scams in the past have more dangerous variants, where you are asked to :
a) install an app, which is really a malware to keep sending you advertisements
b) enter your banking or credit card details, ostensibly to prove your identity or some other excuse

Needless to say – proceeding with this step will open you up to great risk of monetary loss. DO NOT PROCEED!

If you install their malware, you will start receiving promotions, some of which will ask you to send an SMS to receive expensive free gifts like laptops and smartphones.

If you proceed to send the confirmation SMS messages, you will be subscribed and billed for international premium SMS services.

This is VERY DANGEROUS. Never agree to download and register for any unknown app from a website.

Always download your apps from an official App Store like Google Play Store (for Android smartphones) and Apple App Store (for iPhones).

Fact #7 : They Are Just Another Example Of Online Scams

These are just more examples of online scams offering freebies.

Now that you know the facts, please WARN your family and friends!

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Did US Military Find Evidence Of 2022 Election Fraud?!

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Did the US military find evidence of fraud in the 2022 midterm election?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the FACTS really are!

Claim : US Military Find Evidence Of 2022 Election Fraud!

On 9 November 2022, Real Raw News posted an article claiming that the US Army Cyber Command found evidence of fraud in the 2022 midterm election!

It is long and rambling, so please feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

As citizens and politicians anxiously scrutinized results, so too did the White Hat partition of the U.S. military. At U.S. Army Cyber Command headquarters in Fort Gordon, Georgia, cyber security analysts began noticing election irregularities early in the day. Approximately 35% of vote tabulators—electronic devices into which ballots are fed and counted—experienced what the Maricopa County Elections Department called a “technical hiccup,” which persisted for several hours. Unbeknownst to election officials, White Hats had undercover boots on the ground as the “glitch” forced voters to cast ballots elsewhere or forego voting altogether. At least one machine had active Wi-Fi and was connected to the internet, a Cyber Command source told RRN.

“Tabulators that mark ballots shouldn’t be Wi-Fi capable. It makes them susceptible to outside tampering and intrusion,” he said.

Cyber Command, he added, has “obtained” a compromised machine and is evaluating “suspicious” connection logs.

Cyber Command is also analyzing a video that purportedly shows a Maricopa County election worker doctoring a stack of ballots.

Arizona is a hotbed rife with election fraud. Elsewhere in Maricopa County, voters seeking to cast ballots at locales with working machines were told by poll workers that if they had come to vote (why else would they be there?) they could vote only for Democrats because no Republican officials were on the premises. They were either told to come back later or to vote elsewhere.

“We’ve heard 50 such reports,” our source said. “We’re working to verify them.”

Despite the fraud in Arizona, Republican Kari Lake is projected to win the gubernatorial race.

Arizona wasn’t the only state subject to election fraud. According to our source, White Hats now have a “mail bag full of uncounted ballots” that someone had deposited in a drainage ditch in Baker County, Georgia. Baker is a Republican stronghold.

“There’s a lot going on now that doesn’t meet the eye. We will be looking into all allegations of fraud as we await the results. I can tell you this, if we decide fraud altered the outcome of this election, action will be taken,” our source said.

Show less

Truth : US Military Did Not Find Evidence Of Fraud In 2022 Election!

The truth is – this is just another FAKE STORY created by Real Raw News, just to generate page views and money.

Everything that Real Raw News posts must be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Fact #1 : Real Raw News Is A Fake News Website

Real Raw News is a FAKE NEWS website that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money.

To protect himself from legal repercussions, the owner and writer, Michael Baxter (real name – Michael Tuffin), claims that his articles are “humour, parody, and satire“.

This disclaimer, which is not clearly mentioned in his articles, lets him keep creating fake news that will go viral, and generate him money.

His articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from his website. Here are some of his fake stories that I personally debunked earlier:

As Michael Tuffin himself admitted, he writes as Michael Baxter to “indemnify [himself] against potential legal ramification“.

Fact #2 : Real Raw News Never Offer Actual Evidence

Real Raw News reports always quotes anonymous sources, and offer no evidence to back up those claims. It’s no different in this new claim of electoral fraud in the 2022 midterm election.

Michael Baxter / Tuffin wrote such a long story, and quoted anonymous sources, but when you really look carefully – there is ZERO EVIDENCE for any of his claims.

That’s not really surprising though. How likely is it for this “former English teacher” to get the “inside scoop” from so many anonymous sources from his home in Texas? And why do all his scoops always end up false?

A March 2018 screenshot of Michael Tuffin, who goes by the pseudonym Michael Baxter

Fact #2 : 2022 US Election Was Protected By Three Agencies

It is important to understand that the 2022 midterm US election was not actually protected by the US Army Cyber Command, as Real Raw News claimed.

The 2022 midterm election in the United States was protected by three different agencies, from two different departments:

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Department of Homeland Security)
Cyber Command (Department of Defense)
National Security Agency (Department of Defense)

The US Army Cyber Command is merely one part of the US Cyber Command, which oversaw the protection of the 2022 election and is based in Fort Meade.

Fact #3 : All Three Agencies Detected No Fraud Or Threat

On November 8 and 9, 2022, officials from all three agencies said that they detected no evidence of fraud or threat to disrupt the election infrastructure.

Jen Easterly, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency said:

We have seen no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was any way compromised in any race in the country.

General Paul Nakasone who heads the US Cyber Command and NSA operation to protect the 2022 midterm election said:

We continue to refine what we learned from the 2018 and 2020 elections. We generate insight to enable defense of the homeland, and ultimately impose costs by degrading and exposing foreign adversary capabilities and operations.

Fact #4 : No Legitimate Report Of Fraud In 2022 Election

There was no remotely similar report from any legitimate news outlet, nor an official statement by any government agency.

In fact, not even Fox News, which is notorious for pushing fake claims, actually reported that there was evidence of fraud in the 2022 midterm election.

Everything that Real Raw News posts should be regarded as FAKE NEWS.

Now that you know the facts, please SHARE THIS FACT CHECK out!

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Chinese Spies Caught Interfering With HUAWEI Case!

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Two Chinese spies were caught interfering with US federal prosecution of Chinese telecommunications company, HUAWEI!

Chinese Spies Caught Interfering With HUAWEI Case!

On Monday, October 24, 2022, the US Justice Department announced charges against two Chinese citizens, who were accused of working to undermine federal prosecution of Chinese telecommunications company, HUAWEI.

The charging documents charged two People’s Republic of China (PRC) citizens of two counts of money laundering, and one count of obstructing an official proceeding, specifically interfering with the pending prosecution of HUAWEI by the Eastern District of New York (EDNY).

Gouchun He, who is also known as Dong He or Jacky He, and
Zheng Wang, who is also known as Zen Wang

The US Justice Department called them intelligence officers of the PRC conducting foreign intelligence operations targeting the United States, on behalf of the PRC government and for the benefit of Company-1 (HUAWEI).

How These Chinese Spies Were Caught Interfering With HUAWEI Case!

The US Justice Department’s charging documents tell a really compelling story of how the two Chinese spies were foiled by the very asset they recruited.

When US Department of Justice apparently began their investigation of HUAWEI in 2017, Gouchun He and Zheng Wang recruited a US law enforcement official around February 2017. Unbeknownst to them, the official they recruited as their asset became a “double agent” for FBI supervision.

He and Wang began asking the official for sensitive information about the US government’s criminal case against HUAWEI, and received payment in return:

approximately $14,000 in cash
jewellery worth approximately $600
approximately $61,000 in Bitcoin

The official also received payments unrelated to this case (suggesting He and Wang asked for information on other cases) :

$2,000 via Western Union
$3,000 in cash delivered in person by He and Wang
$9,000 in cash and jewellery

After charges were announced against HUAWEI around January 2019, Gouchun He and Zheng Wang repeatedly asked their agent for secret information regarding the investigation and prosecution of HUAWEI:

September 2021 : The official was asked to provide information on meetings with the prosecution team at the US Attorney’s Office for EDNY on strategising for the jury trial.

October 2021 : In response to a request for documents, the official passed Gouchun He a document marked SECRET that purportedly claimed to discuss a potential plan to charge and arrest two HUAWEI principals residing in China.

The official was paid $41,000 in Bitcoin for that single page, and later paid another $20,000 in Bitcoin the same month.

December 2021 : Gouchun He told the official that HUAWEI “demanded to communicate with him/her directly”, but he allegedly “refused it” because “it’s too dangerous”.

The US official repeatedly indicated that he/she knew and expected the materials he/she passed would be shared with HUAWEI, and Gouchun He and Zheng Wang never denied that they would be sharing the documents or information with HUAWEI.

In fact, when the US official handed them the SECRET document, Gouchun He explained, “HUAWEI didn’t give me specifically feedback now yet [about the document], but they are obviously interested in it, and my boos and they need further information”

Both Gouchun He and Zheng Wang then asked the US official for information on witnesses who were working with the US government to prosecute HUAWEI.

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Binance Smart Chain Halts After $100M Crypto Theft!

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Binance just shut down its blockchain, after getting hacked and losing over $100 million in crypto coins!

The shutdown prevented an even bigger loss of $566 million, but it defeated a key purpose of the blockchain – decentralisation.

Binance Smart Chain Halts After $100M Crypto Theft!

On Thursday, 6 October 2022, Binance Smart Chain was hit by a hacker who targeted 2 million Binance coins (BNB) worth $566 million.

The attack appeared to have started at around 2:30 PM EST, with the attacker’s wallet receiving two transactions of 1 million BNB coins.

Soon after that, the hacker tried to liquidate the BNB coins into other assets, by using a variety of liquidity pools.

Binance acknowledged the security incident several hours later, at 6:19 PM, and halted the BNB Smart Chain.

AT 7:51 PM EST, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao confirmed that an exploit was used in the BSC Token Hub to transfer the BNB coins to the attacker, and that they asked all validators to temporarily suspend the Binance Smart Chain. He also claimed that the funds are safe.

An exploit on a cross-chain bridge, BSC Token Hub, resulted in extra BNB. We have asked all validators to temporarily suspend BSC. The issue is contained now. Your funds are safe. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates accordingly.

Binance Smart Chain Almost Lost $566 Million!

The majority of the 2 million BNB coins worth $566 million remained on the BNB Smart Chain, and was made inaccessible to the hacker, after BSC was shut down.

This is rather ironic since blockchains like BSC are supposed to be decentralised, and not meant to be so easily turned off – a fact BNB Chain acknowledged.

Decentralized chains are not designed to be stopped, but by contacting community validators one by one, we were able to stop the incident from spreading. It was not that easy as BNB Smart Chain has 26 active validators at present and 44 in total in different time zones. This delayed closure, but we were able to minimize the loss.

Even so, a BNB Chain spokesperson later confirmed that about $100 to $110 million in funds were taken off the Binance Smart Chain, and CZ said that the impact was about a quarter of the last BNB burn.

Of the funds taken off-chain, BNB Chain was able to freeze about $7 million with help from their partners in the cryptocurrency community.

So far, about $2 billion has been lost in crypto hacks in 2022, with cross-chain bridges used to transfer tokens across blockchains a popular target.

BNB Chain said that it would introduce a new on-chain governance mechanism to fight and defend against future possible attacks.

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Kim Kardashian Fined $1.26 Mil For Promoting Crypto!

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Kim Kardashian just agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine for promoting cryptocurrency on Instagram! Here is what you need to know…

Kim Kardashian Fined $1.26 Million For Promoting Crypto!

On Monday, October 3, 2022, Kim Kardashian agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine for promoting the cryptocurrency, EthereumMax (not to be confused with Ethereum) on Instagram.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged that the reality TV star received $250,000 to advertise EthereumMax without disclosing she was paid to promote it.

She also agreed not to promote any crypto assets / securities for three years.

This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors.

We encourage investors to consider an investment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals.

– SEC Chair Gary Gensler

The settlement comprised of a $1 million fine, seizure of the $250,000 payment she received, plus interest, coming up to a total of $1.26 million.

Despite the large sum, the fine will not bother Kim Kardashian too much. With a net worth estimated at $1.8 billion, the $1.26 million fine is roughly equivalent to an $85 fine for a typical US family with a net worth of $122,000.

Her lawyers hinted as much in the statement they released :

Ms. Kardashian is pleased to have resolved this matter with the SEC.

Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter.

She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute. The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits.

As you can tell – the fine was more like dust in her eyes than a lesson to learn from. I doubt it even feels like a slap on the wrist to her.

How Kim Kardashian Got Into Trouble Promoting Crypto…

On June 13, 2021, Kim Kardashian promoted a new cryptocurrency called EthereumMax (not to be confused with the famous and more established Ethereum) on Instagram.

Are you guys into crypto???? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends told me about the Ethereum Max token!

A few minutes ago Ethereum Max burned 400 trillion tokens – literally 50% of their admin wallet giving back to the entire E-Max community.

#EMax #DisruptHistory #EthereumMax #WTFEMax #GIOPEmax @EthereumMax #Ad

Swipe up to join the E-Max Community

She had 225 million followers on Instagram at that time, and EthereumMax paid her $250,000 for that post.

Despite the misleadingly similar name, EthereumMax has no legal, business or technical connection to the Ethereum cryptocurrency. One could be forgiven for thinking that they were trying to mislead people into thinking that they are the same – they are not!

In January 2022, Kim Kardashian, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr, basketball player Paul Pierce and the creators of EthereumMax were sued by investors who alleged that the celebrities collaborated to “misleadingly promote and sell” the cryptocurrency in a “pump and dump” scheme.

In plain terms, EthereumMax’s entire business model relies on using constant marketing and promotional activities, often from ‘trusted’ celebrities, to dupe potential investors into trusting the financial opportunities.

The class action lawsuit filing pointed out that such promotion caused EthereumMax to increase more than 1,300% in value (the pump) before plummeting to “an all-time low” just over a month after Kim Kardashian promoted it.

It alleged that this enabled the defendants to sell EthereumMax tokens for “substantial profits” (the dump) before the inevitable crash in value.

It is unknown how many investors were hurt, but after the initial celebrity-fuelled surge, EthereumMax quickly tanked and never recovered.

This is another lesson in why you should not take investment advice from celebrities, especially when they are only famous for … being infamous?

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Maybank To Fully Migrate SMS OTP To Secure2u!

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Maybank just officially announced that it will fully migrate from SMS OTP to Secure2u, as part of efforts to crack down on scams!

Here is what you need to know…

Maybank To Fully Migrate SMS OTP To Secure2u!

On 28 September 2022, Maybank officially announced that it will fully migrate from SMS OTP to Secure2u, as part of efforts to crack down on scams!

By June 2023, all online activities or transactions involving account opening, fund transfers and payments, as well as changes to personal information or account settings, will require Secure2u authentication.

This announcement came after Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) ordered banks to migrate from the SMS OTP (One Time Password) to more secure authentication methods.

We remain highly committed in helping our customers to avoid being scammed by fraudsters. This is done through existing security measures that are already in place and as we progressively rollout more measures that can help deter or minimise the likelihood of customers falling prey to financial scams.

We are also supportive of Bank Negara Malaysia’s announcement on 26 September 2022 in relation to the five measures to be adopted by banks in Malaysia to ensure higher standards of security, especially for Internet and mobile banking services.

The banking industry is committed to working together to combat financial scams which are increasingly prevalent in today’s digitalised environment.

– Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli, Group President & CEO of Maybank

Details Of How Maybank Secure2u Will Replace SMS OTP

Secure2u isn’t new. It was introduced in April 2017 as a more secure way for Maybank customers to authorise Maybank2u and MAE transactions using Secure Verification (one-tap approval) and Secure Transaction activation codes (a 6-digit TAC number generated in the app), as an alternate to SMS OTP.

Maybank also revealed some details of how Secure2u will be enhanced as it replaces SMS OTP :

Only one Secure2u device will be allowed per account holder (customer) to minimise the possibility of compromise by a third party
Maybank will alert the customer by SMS, a push notification, and an email when Secure2u is registered on a new device.
In Q4 2022, Maybank will introduce a cooling-off period whenever customers enable Secure2u on a different device. This cooling-off period will give customers the opportunity to verify and report to the bank in case of any unauthorised Secure2u registration on a new device.

In addition to Secure2u, Maybank is heeding BNM’s call for tightened fraud detection rules and triggers, and has in place a call-back verification process to alert customers of suspicious transactions.

Maybank Advice On Fighting Scam

Maybank has a dedicated 24/7 hotline for customers to report financial scams at +603-5891-4744. Customers are advised to call the hotline immediately, as soon as they suspect that their banking details have been compromised, or whenever they notice suspicious transactions, so their bank accounts can be suspended swiftly.

Alternatively, customers can also contact the general Maybank Customer Care Hotline at 1-300-88-6688 to report scams / fraud, or to seek assistance in suspending their bank accounts.

Finally, here are some tips from Maybank on how to protect yourself while using online platforms:

Avoid installing/downloading apps/Android Package Kit (APK) files or clicking on suspicious links sent via chat messages such as SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger or other similar services.
Do not provide permission for any app to send or view your SMSes.
Do not ignore any warnings from your devices, especially when downloading or installing a new file.
Do not enter your banking details, especially username or password, in any suspicious apps or websites.
Always keep your antivirus software updated for constant protection.
Only download apps from the genuine app stores such as Apple App Store, Google Play Store or Huawei AppGallery and not from a link.
Be alert if you are being prompted to download a file that is not compatible with your device i.e.: iPhone/iPad device being asked to use an Android device to download a file.
Always look out for your online banking security image and phrase (i.e.: Maybank2u security image and phrase), to ensure the website and app are legitimate.
Do not root or jailbreak your device.
Update your mobile device’s operating system (OS) and apps regularly.

Finally, we must all remember to NEVER share with anyone (not even bank employees) details of our bank accounts.

Please SHARE this article and these tips with your family and friends!

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BNM : Banks To Stop Using SMS OTP To Fight Scams!

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Bank Negara Malaysia has ordered banks to stop using SMS OTP, as a way to fight financial scams!

Here is what you need to know…

BNM : Banks To Stop Using SMS OTP To Fight Scams!

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has ordered banks in Malaysia to stop using SMS OTP (One Time Passwords), and migrate to a more secure form of authentication for online transactions.

This move comes after many Malaysians were hit by scams that bypassed the security offered by SMS OTP, leading to great loss of their hard-earned money.

BNM governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said major banks in Malaysia have already started migrating from SMS OTP to more secure forms of authentication.

BNM : More Measures Beyond SMS OTP To Fight Scams!

In addition to “banning” SMS OTP, BNM has ordered the further tightening of detection rules and triggers to block potential scams.

This includes adding a cooling-off period for first-time enrolments of online banking services, as well as devices being registered for authentication purposes.

Banks will also be required to set up dedicated scam hotlines, and provide convenient ways for customers to suspend their bank accounts if they suspect that those accounts have been compromised.

Banks also have to ensure that customers are able to reactivate their accounts after a reasonable period, after ensuring that their accounts have been secured.

Together with the financial industry, BNM will continue to ensure that banking and payment channels remain secure and equipped with the latest security controls. The effort to combat financial crimes also requires the support of all parties. As consumers, each of us are responsible for protecting ourselves from the threat of scams.

The reality, however, is that methods used by criminals will continue to evolve. BNM therefore continuously intensifies efforts and take steps to combat scams by introducing additional controls and safeguards from time to time.

– BNM governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus

Despite these efforts, it is critical that we must all learn to safeguard our personal information and avoid downloading files or installing applications from unverified sources on our computer or smartphones.

We should also check our bank and credit card statements, and notify the banks once we notice anything suspicious.

Those who believe that they are victims of a scam should contact the Commercial Crime Investigation Department Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559/1599 or BNMTelelink at 1-300-88-5465; and lodge a police report to facilitate investigations.

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Are Robbers Pretending To Be Home Affairs Officers?!

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Is there a gang of robbers pretending to be Home Affairs officers from the government?!

Find out what’s going on, and what the FACTS really are!

Claim : Robbers Are Pretending To Be Home Affairs Officers!

People are sharing messages warning of a gang of robbers pretending to be Home Affairs officers, together with a picture purportedly of one of these robbers.

Here are two versions of the viral warnings being shared on WhatsApp and Facebook :

High Security Alert:

Beware, one group is going from house to house pretending to be a Home Affairs Officer. They have the documents and the letterhead of the department of the home ministry and claim they have to confirm that everyone has a valid identity card for the upcoming census.

They are looting houses. Note that there is no such initiative from the government. Send this to your neighborhood group chat. They are everywhere, and they look presentable. Please alert your family and friends.

A person comes to your home and says I want to take your photo / thumbprint under some schemes. They have a laptop, a biometric machine and a list of all the names. They are showing a list and asking for all this information. It has been pointed out that all this is bogus. Don’t give them any information.

Everyone should be alert and BE AWARE‼️

Security Alert from Police: Be warned, there is a group going to homes and pretending to be officials from home affairs.

They have documents with the letterhead Department of Home Affairs and claim to be confirming that everyone has a valid ID for the upcoming elections.

They are robbing homes. Take note there is no initiative like that from the government.

Send this on your neighbourhood group chat. They are everywhere and they look presentable.

Makluman Keselamatan dari pihak Polis:

Berhati-hatilah, ada sekumpulan penyangak pergi ke rumah dan berpura-pura menjadi pegawai dari urusan rumah.

Mereka mempunyai dokumen dengan surat dari kementerian dalam negeri dan mengaku mengesahkan bahawa setiap orang mempunyai kad pengenalan yang sah untuk pilihan raya akan datang.

Mereka sebenarnya ingin merompak rumah. Perhatikan bahawa tidak ada inisiatif seperti itu dari pemerintah.

Hantar ini pada group whatsapp kejiranan anda. Mereka berada di mana-mana dan kelihatan kemas rapi seperti seorang pegawai.

安全警告：警察局警告說，有一群人逐家逐戶拍門，假裝是「Department of Home Affairs] [內政部]官員。他們持有[內政部】信箋的文件，並聲稱要確認每個人都有一個有效的身份證件，為即將舉行的選舉預備。他們其實是入屋打劫。注意，政府沒有没有這個行動。請轉發到您的鄰居，朋友群聊。這班人無處不在，看起來好大方得體。請小心。

Show less

Truth : Robbers Are NOT Pretending To Be Home Affairs Officers!

This is just FAKE NEWS created from real news, and here are the reasons why….

Fact #1 : Warning Originated In South Africa

The original warning about fake Home Affairs officers originated in South Africa, many years ago.

The South African Department of Home Affairs issued this media statement in October 2017 and April 2019 :

MEDIA STATEMENT ON ELECTIONS SCAM

Home Affairs wishes to warn members of the community of a group of individuals visiting homes and pretending to be officials from the Department.

They carry with them documents with letterheads purportedly from Home Affairs and claim to be confirming the validity of IDs for the upcoming elections. These individuals are criminals who rob households once they gain entry. There is no such initiative from the Department.

Home affairs officials are clearly identifiable by name tags. We will announce household visits through official
government channels

This warning was only issued in South Africa. No government agency from other countries issued similar warnings.

Fact #2 : Warning Transformed Into Fake News

The genuine warning by the South African Department of Home Affairs spread globally, and became fake news in other countries.

Many countries do not have a Department of Home Affairs. Neither do they have government officials going around verifying citizens’ identification cards ahead of any elections.

Even worse – some people took the initiative to modify the warning, and even added pictures of genuine government officials to make the warning look genuine.

Government agencies in many countries – United States, United Kingdom, India, Singapore, Malaysia – have labelled this warning as fake news.

Fact #3 : Malaysian Immigration Officer Was Victimised

In July 2021, a Malaysian immigration officer bore the brunt of netizen outrage when he was falsely identified as a fake Home Affairs officer – his picture was shared on social media and WhatsApp together with the warning.

The Malaysia Immigration Department and the Royal Malaysia Police announced on 13 July 2021, that the man in the photo was a genuine Immigration officer.

According to Ampang District Police Chief, ACP Mohamad Farouk Ishak, the Immigration officer was conducting an official investigation into an individual staying at a house in Pandan Indah, Ampang.

The Immigration officer introduced himself and inform the residents of the purpose of his visit. The 60 year-old Malaysian homeowner who hosted the Immigration officer during his inspection also lodged a police report over the matter.

From the picture, you can clearly see that the officer was wearing a t-shirt with the Immigration Department HQ logo, and carried an Immigration Malaysia badge as well.

Fact #4 : Fake Story Circulating Again With New Photo

In September 2022, the same fake warning went viral again on WhatsApp, this time with a new photo of two Malaysian officers who appeared to have served some kind of official paper to a homeowner.

While I cannot yet trace the provenance of this photo, or the context behind it, these officers are definitely not attempting to gain entry to the person’s home by falsely identifying themselves as Home Affairs officers.

Again, the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has repeatedly announced that this story of robbers posing as Home Affairs officers is fake news.

Fact #5 : No Actual Robbery Cases Were Reported

Even though the South African Department of Home Affairs issued the warning twice, it is unknown if there are really robbers pretending to be their officers to gain entry into homes.

Ironically, acting Director-General Thulani Mavuso claimed that the South African Department of Home Affairs never actually received any complaint about such crimes :

Home Affairs has not received any complaint of this nature from members of the public. People who are aware of such an activity, depending on it veracity, are advised to report it to the police.

We reiterate our message that Home Affairs officials do not and will not come to your homes to validate IDs.

It sounds like the South African Department of Home Affairs were proactively warning people about the possibility, not reporting on actual cases.

Fact #6 : Safer For Robbers To Rob Empty Houses

Robbers generally prefer NOT to rob homes while their occupants are still inside. Not only could the occupants fight back, they would become witnesses to the crime and help the police identify them!

It would be much safer to gain entry into a house after its occupants have left.

Fact #7 : There Are Other Ways To Gain Entry

Robbers who prefer to gain entry through this method do not need to pretend to be Home Affairs officers.

They can pretend to be other government officials, like a police officer or an immigration officer. They can also pretend to be utility workers, the mailman or a deliveryman.

There is no particular advantage in pretending to be a Home Affairs officer.

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How To Turn On Two-Step Verification In Telegram!

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Find out WHY you should turn on two-step verification in Telegram, and HOW to do that!

Why You Should Turn On Two-Step Verification In Telegram?

Two-Step Verification is a feature that protects your Telegram account from being hijacked by hackers and scammers.

It blocks illegal takeover of Telegram accounts, by requiring a secret password that only you know. And it lets you recover your account via email.

This prevents hackers or scammers from taking over your Telegram account, even if you accidentally share with them the login code.

How To Turn On Two-Step Verification In Telegram!

In this guide, I will share with you how to turn on two-step verification in Telegram.

Step 1 : Open Telegram.

Step 2 : Go to Options > Settings > Privacy and Security.

Step 3 : Tap on the Two-Step Verification option.

Step 4 : In the Two-Step Verification screen, tap on the Set Password option.

Step 5 : Key in your preferred password, which can be any combination of capital or small letters and numbers.

Step 6 : You will need to key the same password again, to confirm it.

Step 7 : Next, you can create a hint to remind you of your password. This is optional, and you can skip it if you prefer.

But if you key one in, the hint will be displayed whenever you are asked to key in the password in the future.

Step 8 : After that, you will have the option of adding a Recovery Email address, just in case your account is hijacked.

This is optional as well, but I highly recommend you add a recovery email, which is simply the email address you use.

Step 9 : If you entered a Recovery Email address, Telegram will now send you an email with a 6-digit code to verify that email address.

Step 10 : Look for the Telegram verification code email, and key in the 6-digit verification code.

That’s it! You’re done! From now on, you will be required to key in the password whenever you log into a new device.

This will prevent hackers / scammers from taking over your account, even if you accidentally give them the Login code you receive by SMS.

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Beware Of Telegram Screenshot Hack + Scam!

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Watch out for the Telegram screenshot hack and scam! Find out how the Telegram screenshot hack and scam works, and what you can do!

Telegram Screenshot Hack : New Twist To Old Trick

My friend just got hit by the Telegram screenshot hack, and the hacker is now trying to scam everyone on his contact list!

The Telegram screenshot hack is a new twist to an old trick, and here is how they do it…

Step 1 : Identify A Suitable Target

After obtaining a legitimate Telegram account through phishing or other means, the hacker reads through the messages to identify a suitable target – usually a close friend whom you often chat with, and trust.

For the purpose of our example, the hacker stole your friend’s Telegram account and has identified you as a suitable target.

Step 2 : Attempt To Login From Another Device

The hacker installs Telegram in another device and attempts to log into your account. He only needs the your phone number to do that.

The login attempt triggers Telegram to send a Login code to the your registered devices to authenticate the login. Usually, that’s the Telegram app in your smartphone.

Step 3 : Ask For A Screenshot Of Telegram

Traditionally, this is when the hacker will use your friend’s Telegram account to message you and ask for that Login code. However, asking for the Login code may trigger suspicion, so hackers have now come up with a new twist.

Instead of asking you for the Login code, the hacker will use your friend’s Telegram account to ask you to take a screenshot of your Telegram app and send it to him.

What harm is there? After all, many of us take screenshots and share them with family, friends and even on social media!

The problem is – the screenshot will accidentally reveal your Telegram Login code! Take a look at the actual screenshot my friend sent – it clearly shows the Telegram Login code!

Step 4 : Terminate All Other Sessions

The hacker will immediately use the Login code to log into your Telegram account on his device.

Then he will terminate all other sessions from that Telegram account, which means you get logged out from your Telegram app on your own smartphone!

Step 5 : Change Password

To prevent you from logging back in, and terminating his Telegram session, he will change the password.

Step 6 : Scam Your Friends

Now that the hacker gained control of your Telegram account and locked you out of it, he is free to scam your friends.

In this case, my friend’s contacts all started getting pleas to borrow money for some kind of emergency. The hacker will, of course, promise to pay you back quickly.

Your unsuspecting friends may not realise that this is not you that they are talking to, and may end up sending the hacker money.

In this case though, my friend managed to quickly alert us via WhatsApp that his Telegram account was hacked, so we didn’t tall for the scam.

One of his friends toyed with the scammer, and obtained the bank details. That is obviously not my friend’s name or account number!

Telegram Screenshot Hack : How To Prevent It?

Now that you know how the Telegram screenshot hack works, you can pretty much figure out how to prevent it.

Here is my quick summary for those who didn’t go through the whole process above :

Do NOT send anyone your Telegram Login code. Not even anyone claiming to be working for Telegram.
Do NOT send anyone a screenshot of your Telegram app. Even if it’s not a scam, it reveals portions of your chats!
Turn on Two-Step Verification in Telegram. This lets you recover your account, even if you accidentally let someone take over your account.

Telegram Screenshot Hack : How To Recover Your Account?

If you failed to turn on two-step verification, there is still a way to recover your Telegram account after it is stolen by a hacker.

For these steps to work though, you need to have access to your phone number. You must also do this quickly, as the hacker will be alerted to your attempt.

Step 1 : Open Telegram.

Step 2 : Log into your Telegram account using your phone number.

Step 3 : You will be asked if you have the correct number. Click Yes.

Step 4 : Telegram will send a 5-digit code to all your devices with Telegram installed. You won’t receive it since the hacker has already terminated all other sessions.

Step 5 : Click on the option just above the keypad – “Send the code as an SMS“.

Step 6 : You will now receive an SMS with the 5-digit code. Key it in, and you will now have access to your Telegram account.

Step 7 : Go to Options > Settings > Privacy and Security.

Step 8 : Scroll down and tap on Devices.

Step 9 : Tap on the option – Terminate All Other Session – to boot out the hacker.

Bonus Step : Turn on Two-Step Verification to prevent this from happening again!

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Can Greeting Photos + Videos Hack Your Phone?!

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Can hackers use greeting photos and videos to hack your phone, and steal your data?

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the FACTS really are!

Claim : Greeting Photos + Videos Can Hack Your Phone!

People keep sharing this warning about greeting photos and videos, which claims that they can hack your phone and steal your data.

It’s a long message, so just skip to the next section for the facts!

Hello Family and friends,

Starting tomorrow, Please do not send network pictures. Look at the following article to understand. I’m going to stop too.

Please delete all photos and videos of Good morning, Evening and other greetings and religious messages as soon as possible. Read the following article carefully and you will understand why.

Read all! Please send this message urgently to as many friends as possible to prevent illegal intrusion.

Warning from Olga Nikolaevnas lawyer:

Attention! For those who like to send Good morning! It’s a beautiful day! Good evening!
picture. Please do not send these good messages.

Today, Shanghai China International News sent out SOS to all subscribers and experts – advise: Do not send pictures and videos of good morning, good night, etc.

The report shows that hackers who designed these images, and these images and videos are beautiful, But there is a hidden phishing code, and when everyone sends these messages, hackers use your device to steal personal information, such as bank card information and data, and break into your phone.

It is reported that more than 500,000 victims have been defrauded.

If you want to say hello to others, please write your own greetings and send your own pictures and videos so that you can protect yourself and your family and friends.

Important ! To be safe, please be sure to delete all greetings and pictures on your phone. If someone has sent you such images, remove them from your device immediately. Malicious code takes some time to deploy, so if you take action immediately, there will be no harm done.

Tell all your friends to prevent being hacked.

Say hello in your own words and only send your own created images and videos to greet, which is completely safe for yourself, your family and friends. Please understand what I mean! Everyone has a bank card attached to their mobile phone, and everyones mobile phone has many contacts. This hack creates a threat not only to yourself, but to your phone, friends and acquaintances as well! This is brutal.

This is a new technique used by terrorists to visit your mobile phone SIM card, so that you become their accomplice!!!

* * * Send this message to as many of your relatives and friends as possible to stop any unauthorised intrusions!!!

Wow !!! Dear family and friends beware!!

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Truth : Greeting Photos + Videos Cannot Be Hack Your Phone!

Many of us get spammed with Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening photos and videos every day from family and friends.

While they often clog up Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp groups, they really cannot hack your phone. Here are the reasons why Good Morning messages are very irritating, but harmless…

Fact #1 : Shanghai China International News Does Not Exist

The news organisation that was claimed to be the source of this warning – Shanghai China International News – does not exist!

Fact #2 : Greeting Photos + Videos Not Created By Hackers

Hackers (from China or anywhere else) have better things to do than to create these greeting photos and videos.

They are mostly created by websites and social media influencers for people to share and attract new followers.

Fact #3 : No Fraud Involving Greeting Photos / Videos

There has been no known fraud involving Good Morning or Good Night messages, videos or pictures.

Certainly, half a million victims of such a scam would have made front page news. Yet there is not a single report on even one case…. because it never happened.

Fact #4 : Image-Based Malware Is Possible, But…

Digital steganography is a method by which secret messages and other data can be hidden in digital files, like a photo or a video, or even a music file.

It is also possible to embed malicious code within a Good Morning photo, but it won’t be a full-fledged malware that can execute by itself.

At most, it can be used to hide the malware payload from antivirus scanners, which is pretty clever to be honest…

Fact #5 : Image-Based Malware Requires User Action

In January 2019, cybercriminals created an online advertisement with a script that appears innocuous and would pass any malware check.

However, the image itself has an “almost white” rectangle that is recognised by the script, triggering it to redirect the user to the cybercriminals’ website.

Once there, the victim is tricked into installing a Trojan disguised as an Adobe Flash Player update.

Such a clever way to bypass malware checks, but even so, this image-based malware requires user action.

You cannot get infected by the Trojan if you practice good “Internet hygiene” by not downloading or installing anything from unknown websites.

Fact #6 : Malicious Code Executes Immediately

If you accidentally download and trigger malware, it will execute immediately. It won’t wait, as the hoax message claims.

Deleting Good Morning or Good Night photos or videos will free up storage space in your phone, but it won’t prevent any malware from executing.

There is really no reason for malware to wait before it infects your devices. Waiting will only increase the risk of detection.

Whether the malware serves to take over your device, steal your information or encrypt it for ransom, it pays to do it at the first opportunity.

Now that you know the facts, please SHARE this article with your family and friends!

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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XPeng Engineer Guilty Of Stealing Apple Car Secrets!

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An XPeng engineer just pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets from the Apple Project Titan self-driving car program!

Here is what we know so far…

XPeng Engineer Guilty Of Stealing Apple Car Secrets!

A former Apple engineer who joined Xpeng – the Chinese electric vehicle maker, just pleaded guilty to the criminal charge of stealing trade secrets from the Apple self-driving car program!

Zhang Xiaolang initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but he reached a plea deal with prosecutors and changed his plea to guilty, according to court documents released on Monday, August 22, 2022.

The plea deal is sealed, so the details are unknown. Zhang’s attorney, Daniel Olmos, confirmed the plea agreement but declined to comment on the details. Sentencing however is set for November 2022.

Zhang faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. With this plea deal, he should serve a much shorter sentence.

In addition to Zhang, US federal prosecutors also charged Chen Jizhong with stealing secrets from the Apple self-driving car program. Chen, however, continues to plead not guilty, and will have his day in court on August 29, 2022.

Chen is also represented by the same lawyer as Zhang – Daniel Olmos.

How XPeng Engineer Stole Apple Car Secrets!

Zhang Xiaolang worked on the Apple Project Titan autonomous vehicle program as a hardware engineer between 2015 and 2018, during which he designed and tested circuit boards.

He travelled to China during his paternity leave in 2018, and on returning in April 2018, he told his boss at Apple that he was leaving to work for XPeng (Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology) in China.

XPeng, also known as XMotors in the United States, is a Chinese electric car startup backed by Alibaba, Foxconn and IDG Capital. It has developed electric cars like the XPeng G3 and XPeng P5.

His boss felt that Zhang was “being evasive” during the meeting. There was also increased network activity and visits to his office, before he resigned. All that led to an internal Apple investigation of his two company-issued phones and laptop.

That’s when they discovered that Zhang had been downloading confidential files from the Apple lab during his time away. He was also caught on CCTV removing circuit boards and a Linux server from their lab.

Zhang’s network activity was found to consist of “both bulk searches and targeted downloading copious pages of information from the various confidential database applications“.

Zhang was arrested at the San Jose airport in July 7, 2018, before he could board a last-minute, one-way flight to China aboard Hainan Airlines.

In an interview with Apple’s security team, Zhang admitted that he downloaded the data online, and removed hardware from its labs. He also admitted to the FBI that he stored the files he downloaded on his wife’s laptop.

The FBI described the data he stoled as “largely technical in nature, including engineering schematics, technical reference manuals, and technical reports“.

The files – about 24 GB worth – include a 25-page document containing engineering schematics of a circuit board, as well as technical manuals and PDFs related to the Apple self-driving car prototype.

The other Apple engineer to be charged with stealing secrets of its autonomous car project – Chen Jizhong – was accused of stealing stolen thousands of sensitive documents, as well as 100 photos taken inside its self-driving facility – all discovered in a hard disk drive he owned.

Chen was also arrested when he attempted to board a flight to China, ostensibly to visit his ill father.

XPeng Denies Involvement In Theft Of Apple Car Secrets!

XPeng said in a Weibo post that it was aware of the plea agreement from media reports, but it was “not clear about the details, nor involved in further investigation conducted by US law enforcement“.

It has been more than four years into the case, and we are not aware of the specifics of the case and have not been involved in the follow-up investigation of the case by the US judiciary.

We also have no relevant dispute with Apple and have no connection with the case. We strictly abide by relevant laws and attaches great importance to intellectual property protection.

Zhang joined XMotors in May 2018, but the company quickly distanced itself from its employee, stating on July 11, 2021 :

There is no indication that he has ever communicated any sensitive information from Apple to XMotors.

XMotors always has strictly abided by the laws of China and the United States and takes protection of intellectual property rights seriously.

Company spokesperson Isabel Jiang also stated that once they were notified in late June 2018 that US authorities were investigating Zhang, they secured his computer and office equipment and denied him access to his work. They subsequently fired him.

XPeng also said that Zhang signed an intellectual property compliance document on the day he joined, and that there was “no record that he reported any sensitive and illegal situations” to the company.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Malaysia Police Denies Running Political Troll Farm!

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The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) denies running a troll farm to corrupt or manipulate public discourse!

Here is what you need to know!

Meta Accuses Malaysia Police Of Running Political Troll Farm!

On 4 August 2022, Meta directly named the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) as being responsible for a troll farm designed to “corrupt or manipulate public discourse“.

Here were the key findings that the Meta team revealed about the individuals behind the PDRM troll farm :

They were active on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and Instagram.
They posted memes in Malay, in support of the current government coalition
They posted claims of corruption amongst the current government coalition’s critics
They created Facebook Pages that posed as independent news entities, and promoted police while criticising the opposition.
Their posting activity were greatest during weekdays, taking breaks for lunch.
Their fake accounts were under-developed, and some of them used stolen profile photos.

The troll farm was initially suspected to have originated in China by researchers at Clemson University in South Caroline. But when the Meta team investigated it, they found links to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).

The Meta team also revealed that the PDRM troll farm spent about $6,000 (~RM26,750) in Facebook and Instagram ads, paid for primarily in Malaysian Ringgit.

They also shared how successful the PDRM troll farm was in garnering followers on Facebook and Instagram :

Facebook Pages : About 427,000 accounts
Facebook Groups : About 4,000 accounts
Instagram Accounts : About 15,000 accounts

As a result of their investigation, Meta removed 595 Facebook accounts, 180 Pages, 11 Groups and 72 Instagram accounts that were linked to this PDRM troll farm, for violating their police against “coordinated inauthentic behavior“.

What Is Inauthentic Behavior?

Inauthentic behaviour (IB) as an effort to mislead people or Facebook about about the popularity of content, the purpose of a community (i.e. Groups, Pages, Events) or the identity of the people behind it. It is primarily centered around amplifying and increasing the distribution of content, and is often (but not exclusively) financially motivated.

IB operators typically focus on quantity rather than the quality of engagement. For example, they may use large numbers of low-sophistication fake accounts to mass-post or like their content — be it commercial, social or political. They often use tactics similar to other large-scale online activities, like spam.

This behavior pattern distinguishes IB from Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB) where operators invest in mimicking human social activity as closely as possible.

PDRM Denies Meta Accusations Of Running Political Troll Farm!

On 6 August 2022, PDRM issued a short notice (with my English translation) stating that it takes Meta’s allegations seriously, denies them, and is currently gathering information about those allegations.

Penafian PDRM Atas Dakwaan Syarikat Meta Platforms Incorporated

Police Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) memandang serius laporan pihak syarikat Meta Platforms Incorporated yang mendakwa terdapat akaun-akaun palsu di media sosial yang “mempunyai hubungan dengan PDRM”.

PDRM menafikan dakwaan tersebut dan sedang mengampul maklumat lanjut mengenainya.

PDRM Denies Allegations By Meta Platforms Incorporated

The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) is taking seriously the report by Meta Platforms Incorporated which claimed that there are fake social media account “with ties to PDRM”.

PDRM denies these allegations and is gathering more information about it.

PDRM Troll Farm : Is That Even Legal?!

The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) enforces the laws of the country, including the Internet. In fact, they have a Cyber & Multimedia Criminal Investigation Unit under the Commercial Crime Investigation Department.

The PDRM works together with the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) to tackle cybersecurity threats, and these would include malicious influence campaigns.

All the more reason why it is both perplexing and troubling that Malaysia’s national police force has been linked to a troll farm designed to promote the current government coalition, while denigrating the opposition.

These are specifically the cybercrimes that NACSA should be looking out for, and the PDRM should be assisting them in arresting anyone in Malaysia who participated in such activities.

The PDRM will no doubt be under tremendous pressure to explain / refute Meta’s allegations.

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Meta Accuses PDRM Of Running Political Troll Farm!

Leave a reply

Meta accused the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) of running a troll farm to corrupt or manipulate public discourse!

Here is what you need to know!

Meta Accuses PDRM Of Running Political Troll Farm!

On 4 August 2022, Meta issued the Adversarial Threat Report for the Second Quarter of 2022. In that report, they directly named the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) as being responsible for a troll farm designed to “corrupt or manipulate public discourse“.

Here were the key findings that the Meta team revealed about the individuals behind the PDRM troll farm :

They were active on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and Instagram.
They posted memes in Malay, in support of the current government coalition
They posted claims of corruption amongst the current government coalition’s critics
They created Facebook Pages that posed as independent news entities, and promoted police while criticising the opposition.
Their posting activity were greatest during weekdays, taking breaks for lunch.
Their fake accounts were under-developed, and some of them used stolen profile photos.

The troll farm was initially suspected to have originated in China by researchers at Clemson University in South Caroline. But when the Meta team investigated it, they found links to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).

The Meta team also revealed that the PDRM troll farm spent about $6,000 (~RM26,750) in Facebook and Instagram ads, paid for primarily in Malaysian Ringgit.

They also shared how successful the PDRM troll farm was in garnering followers on Facebook and Instagram :

Facebook Pages : About 427,000 accounts
Facebook Groups : About 4,000 accounts
Instagram Accounts : About 15,000 accounts

What Is Inauthentic Behavior?

This behavior pattern distinguishes IB from Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB) where operators invest in mimicking human social activity as closely as possible.

PDRM Denies Meta Accusations Of Running Political Troll Farm!

Penafian PDRM Atas Dakwaan Syarikat Meta Platforms Incorporated

Police Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) memandang serius laporan pihak syarikat Meta Platforms Incorporated yang mendakwa terdapat akaun-akaun palsu di media sosial yang “mempunyai hubungan dengan PDRM”.

PDRM menafikan dakwaan tersebut dan sedang mengampul maklumat lanjut mengenainya.

PDRM Denies Allegations By Meta Platforms Incorporated

The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) is taking seriously the report by Meta Platforms Incorporated which claimed that there are fake social media account “with ties to PDRM”.

PDRM denies these allegations and is gathering more information about it.

PDRM Troll Farm : Is That Even Legal?!

The PDRM works together with the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) to tackle cybersecurity threats, and these would include malicious influence campaigns.

These are specifically the cybercrimes that NACSA should be looking out for, and the PDRM should be assisting them in arresting anyone in Malaysia who participated in such activities.

The PDRM will no doubt be under tremendous pressure to explain / refute Meta’s allegations.

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Go Back To > Cybersecurity | Business | Tech ARP

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Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Was Human Meat Found In McDonald’s Factories?!

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Did US meat inspectors find human meat in several McDonald’s factories across the United States?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Human Meat Found In McDonald’s Factories!

People are sharing a video which purportedly shows meat inspectors discovering human meat in McDonald’s factories across the United States.

Here is a transcript of the video :

Oklahoma City – first, horse meat, then the mysterious “pink slime”. Now, human meat?

A shocking discovery has been made in an Oklahoma City McDonald’s meat factory and other McDonald’s meat factories nationwide.

Meat inspectors reportedly found, what appeared to be, human meat stored in the meat factory freezers of an Oklahoma City meat factory, and human meat already in trucks right outside the factory ready to be shipped to McDonald’s restaurants.

Health inspectors immediately demanded inspection in various McDonald’s meat factories across the country, and horrifyingly found human meat in about 90% of the factories inspected thus far.

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has seized McDonald’s production and shipping, and will call for more meat factory inspections, and restaurant inspections.

The FBI is also investigating the factories. FBI agent Lloyd Harrison told Huzler reporters “The worst part is that it’s not only human meat, it’s child meat. The body parts that were found across the US factories were deemed too small to be adult body parts.”

The situation brings up many unanswered questions. How long have they been using human meat? Where did they get the children from? Were they already dead when brought into factories?

Investigators and inspectors are currently being deployed for intensive investigations all around the US. Here is another clip, when earlier McDonalds was caught!

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Truth : No Human Meat Was Ever Found In McDonald’s Factories!

This is another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on social media and WhatsApp groups, and here are the reasons why….

Fact #1 : No Human Meat Was Ever Found In McDonald’s Factories

Let me be very clear – no human meat was ever found in McDonald’s factories or restaurants.

If this actually happened, it would have been worldwide news, and McDonald’s would have been shut down for good. Many McDonald’s executives and their suppliers would also face criminal charges.

Yet, there has been ZERO mention of this on any legitimate news website. There is also no mention of such an incredible find in any USDA or FBI press releases.

Needless to say, McDonald’s factories and restaurants continue to operate normally. That’s because this never happened. No human meat was ever found in McDonald’s factories or restaurants.

Fact #2 : Human Meat Patty Picture Was From Resident Evil 6 Promo!

The pictures of “human meat” used in the fake video was misappropriated from a Resident Evil 6 promo in London.

Back in September 2012, Capcom created a pop-up butchery called Wesker & Son (Wholesale Meats) in Smithfield Meat Market.

Once at the butchery, members of the public will be invited to sample and purchase a dizzying array of edible human limbs including hands, feet and a human head, which will be available to buy directly from the shop. As well as these specially created products, gamers will be able to buy ‘Peppered Human & Lemon Sausages’ and ‘J’avo Caught Human Thigh Steaks’ along with some specially made pots of Red Herb and Green Herb.

All proceeds from the sale of the meat will be donated to the Limbless Association, which provides information and support to the limb-loss community.

Fact #2 : Story Was Created By A Fake News Website

This fake story created by a content aggregation (copy and paste) website called Huzlers, that also creates fake stories to go viral.

The Huzlers article was written by Pablo Reyes Jr, and published on April 7, 2014 – more than 8 years ago!

To give their fake story a “veneer of satire”, they added a tagline below the writer’s name – “Believe half of what you see and nothing you read online“.

The truth is – they intentionally created the fake story to trigger you into sharing their article, so they can go viral and make money from the increased page views.

Fact #3 : McDonald’s Sells Billions Of Burgers Every Year

Let me just point out that McDonald’s sells over a billion pounds of meat every year, just in the United States. That means their suppliers have to slaughter thousands of cows every day to keep up with the demand.

Children are much smaller than cows. Those suppliers would need to slaughter tens of thousands of children a day to replace the cows. Does that really make sense to you?

The American continent would run out of children to slaughter within a year! And how does killing children for burgers make economic sense, never mind common sense?

Fact #4 : Pink Slime No Longer Used In McDonald’s Food

The fake story and video used a picture of pink slime, claiming that it was also used in McDonald’s foods.

That’s also false, because by the time the fake story was written (in 2014), McDonald’s stopped using “pink slime”, which is really Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB).

Q : Have you ever used so-called ‘pink slime’ in your burgers?

A : Yes, we used Lean Finely Textured Beef between 2004 and 2011. We do not use this today.

Despite its gross sounding name and look, LFTB is simply beef that has been separated from the fat in beef trimmings. LFTB technology recovers meat that would otherwise be wasted and thrown away.

Think of LFTB as low-fat beef paste. Regular ground beef consists of about 30% fat, while LFTB only has about 5% fat.

Fact #5 : Pink Slime Picture Not From McDonald’s Factory

The picture used in the fake story and video isn’t from a McDonald’s factory. However, it should be pointed out that LFTB looks like that – pink-coloured paste.

The pink colour comes from the ammonia hydroxide – an antimicrobial agent used to treat LFTB and prevent bacterial growth.

Fact #5 : Ammonia In LFTB Isn’t Toxic

Even though McDonald’s no longer uses “pink slime” in their burgers, I should point out that the amount of ammonia used in LFTB isn’t dangerous.

The amount of ammonia present in Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB) is actually comparable to ammonia levels present in existing foods :

Food	Ammonia Level
American Cheese	813 ppm
Unblended LFTB	400-500 ppm
Ketchup	411 ppm
Onions	342 ppm
Blended Beef Patty with 15% LFTB	200 ppm
Ground Beef	101 ppm

Everything published by Huzlers should be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us fight fake news websites like Huzlers – SHARE this fact check out, and SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Go Back To > Fact Check | Business | Tech ARP

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Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Was Bill Gates Just Arrested By German Military?!

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Was Bill Gates just arrested by the German military on INTERPOL orders?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Vancouver Times : Bill Gates Was Just Arrested By German Military!

Vancouver Times just scored another “scoop”, claiming that the German military just arrested Microsoft billionaire founder, Bill Gates, on INTERPOL orders!

It’s a long post, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Bill Gates Arrested By German Military, Faces Death Penalty

Bill Gates, billionaire and founder of Microsoft, has been arrested at one of his residences in Germany by the military on orders of Interpol. He is facing charges for crimes against humanity and genocide. Gates is facing a slew of additional charges due to what was found in his secret hideout.

Interpol has begun cracking down on the architects of the “plandemic,” a plan by shady globalists to orchestrate a fake pandemic, and use it as an excuse to impose communism, steal people’s liberties, then kill the disobedient ones.

Two underage girls were found in Gates’ lair, both bound in handcuffs, with bruises on their bodies. Due to their age, their identities will remain private. Gates is facing additional charges for human trafficking, forcible confinement, possession of marijuana and ecstasy, as well as possession of child pornography.

1,000s of images of underage girls and boys were found on Gates’ computers. He faces charges in both Germany and Holland.

Tedros, director of the WHO, was arrested earlier this week for similar crimes. He was taken to Holland to answer to his charges, but is currently out on bail.

He is expected to plead not guilty and has hired a team of experienced lawyers. Experts expect Tedros to be acquitted on all charges, despite reports there is extensive evidence of his guilt.

Klaus Schwab and Justin Trudeau are also wanted by Interpol for their involvement in the scheme. All parties face the death penalty, and possibly hanging, if convicted.

They are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The media has failed to report on their arrests, which is common with these types of cases.

The mainstream media and big tech want to hide the truth. Beat them at their own game by sharing this article!

Show less

Truth : Bill Gates Was NOT Arrested By German Military!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Vancouver Times to generate page views and money from gullible people.

Fact #1 : Vancouver Times Is A Fake News Website

Vancouver Times is a “content aggregator” (copy and paste) website that is known for creating fake news to generate more page views and money.

To look legitimate, they copy and paste news from legitimate news organisations. To drive traffic, they create fake news, sometimes masked as “satire”.

To give themselves a veneer of deniability, they label themselves as a “satire website” in their About Us section.

Vancouver Times is the most trusted source for satire on the West Coast. We write satirical stories about issues that affect conservatives.

Here are some of their fake news that we debunked :

Fact #2 : Bill Gates Was Not Arrested By German Military

It may seem obvious, but it has to be said – Bill Gates was not arrested, or charged with crimes against humanity, by INTERPOL.

In fact, he’s not in Germany, but in the United States. We know this for sure because he posted a picture with Warren Buffett.

Spending time with my best friend Warren never gets old. I’d flip Blizzards with you any day. pic.twitter.com/f2xjQJ0lJz

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) July 30, 2022

Fact #3 : German Military Would Not Be Arresting Civilians

The German military would not be the ones arresting civilians like Bill Gates, even if he was in Germany. It would have been the German Federal Police – the Bundespolizei.

The Bundeswehr is meant to defend Germany against external threats, not conduct police activities like arrest civilians.

Fact #4 : Interpol Did Not Issue Arrest Warrant For Bill Gates

Just in case you are wondering, INTERPOL did not even issue any arrest warrant for Bill Gates.

To convince you that it’s genuine, Vancouver Times linked “international arrest warrants” to the INTERPOL news page, but it was just subterfuge – there was no announcement about Bill Gates.

Fact #5 : INTERPOL Has No Jurisdiction In Any Country

INTERPOL is an international organisation that facilitates police cooperation between different countries.

It acts as a liaison between police organisations, and does NOT have any jurisdiction in any country.

INTERPOL does NOT the power to arrest or charge anyone of any crime in any country around the world.

Investigation, arrest and prosecution of any crime is conducted by the individual country’s police force, not INTERPOL.

Fact #6 : There Is No Death Penalty In Germany / Netherlands

Even if Bill Gates was arrested and charged with crimes against humanity and genocide in Germany, or The Hague in the Netherlands, he would not face capital punishment.

The death penalty was abolished in West Germany in 1949, and East Germany in 1987.

The Netherlands abolished the death penalty completely in 1983, with all references removed from Dutch law in 1991.

Regardless of whatever charge he may face in Germany or The Hague, there is no risk of death upon conviction. That was just bullshit made up by Vancouver Times.

Fact #7 : Bill Gates Was Only Arrested In 1977

Interestingly, Bill Gates was once arrested in 1977, for driving his Porsche far above the speed limit in New Mexico.

His mugshot went viral at that time, even though there was no social media back then. Quite a feat!

Fact #8 : Bill Gates Had No Role In Creating COVID-19 Vaccines

Bill Gates has NO ROLE in the creation of COVID-19 vaccines, which were created by different scientific teams all over the world – from the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States to Russia, China and India.

Fact #9 : COVID-19 Vaccines Proven Safe + Effective

COVID-19 vaccines underwent massive clinical trials, and were only approved after they were proven to be safe and effective.

In addition, they were constantly monitored after they received their approvals, which picked up rare side effects after they were administered to billions of people.

Anti-vaccination activists have often claimed that those who received the vaccine would die. Yet, the opposite was true – the vaccines are not only safe, they are effective in protecting people from getting hospitalised or dying from COVID-19.

Even prominent antivaxxer Steve Kirsch is healthy and well, despite being fully-vaccinated against COVID-19!

Fact #10 : There Is No Plandemic

To bait anti-vaccination activists into sharing their fake story, Vancouver Times used their favourite term – plandemic.

There is no such thing as a plandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic was not part of some nefarious scheme to bankrupt the world to bring the West under communism.

More than 2.5 years after the COVID-19 pandemic started, the world isn’t bankrupt, and the West is no closer to becoming communist.

Fact #11 : There Is No Such Thing As A Publication Ban

Vancouver Times likes to use the “media blackout” claim, to explain why you can’t find any reputable media outlet reporting on INTERPOL issuing arrest warrants against Bill Gates, Justin Trudeau or Klaus Schwab.

That’s utter and complete bullshit. No one – not a judge, not even the American, Canadian, Swiss and Dutch governments – can control the worldwide media, or prevent anyone from writing about their arrest warrants.

You can also be sure that even if the mainstream media refused to run the story, it would have been reported by many other websites and bloggers.

Yet, not a single blogger or online website published their account of this incredible story? That’s because IT NEVER HAPPENED…

Fact #12 : Mainstream Media + Big Tech Would Have Loved The Hype

Vancouver Times is gaslighting you about how mainstream media and Big Tech want to hide the “truth” about INTERPOL’s arrest warrants against Bill Gates, Justin Trudeau and Klaus Schwab.

They would all loved such shocking news, because it would have driven tons of traffic and engagement to their websites / platforms.

In fact, that was precisely why Vancouver Times created the fake story – to drive traffic, for the ad money.

Everything that Vancouver Times publishes should be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us fight fake news websites like Vancouver Times – SHARE this fact check out, and SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Is Interpol Investigating Bill Gates For Murder?!

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Is Interpol investigating Bill Gates for crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit murder?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Interpol Is Investigating Bill Gates For Murder!

Vancouver Times followed up with their Dr. Tedros arrest story, with a story claiming that Interpol is now investigating Bill Gates for crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit murder!

It’s a long post, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Bill Gates, billionaire founder of Microsoft, is under investigation for conspiracy to commit murder and crimes against humanity, according to several sources at Interpol. Gates may be sentenced to hanging if he is charged and convicted.

Gates is being investigated by Interpol by conspiring with Klaus Schwab to murder a large part of the world’s population with deadly, untested vaccines. He is also accused of manufacturing a pandemic to bankrupt the world, and bring Western countries closer to communism.

Gates has previously come under fire for his public statements on population control. He was known to spend a lot of time with Jeffrey Epstein and has been credibly accused of being a pedophile.

Interpol has confirmed with the Vancouver Times it investigating Justin Trudeau and Klaus Schwab for similar crimes. Klaus Schwab is accused of instructing Trudeau to murder Canadians with dangerous, untested vaccines. Trudeau is accused of being provided with kickbacks, fancy vacations, and access to underage Ukrainian girls in exchange for his co-operation.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is currently in prison in Holland, awaiting his trial for crimes against humanity and genocide. He faces the death penalty if convicted. Tedros is in the process of hiring a team of lawyers to defend his case. The mainstream media has been quiet on the matter, likely due to Gates and Schwab controlling most of it.

All parties are considered innocent until proven guilty.

The mainstream media and big tech want to hide the truth. Beat them at their own game by sharing this article!

Show less

Truth : Interpol Is Not Investigating Bill Gates For Murder!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Vancouver Times to generate page views and money from gullible people.

Fact #1 : Vancouver Times Is A Fake News Website

Vancouver Times is a “content aggregator” (copy and paste) website that is known for creating fake news to generate more page views and money.

To look legitimate, they copy and paste news from legitimate news organisations. To drive traffic, they create fake news, sometimes masked as “satire”.

To give themselves a veneer of deniability, they label themselves as a “satire website” in their About Us section.

Vancouver Times is the most trusted source for satire on the West Coast. We write satirical stories about issues that affect conservatives.

Here are some of their fake news that we debunked :

Fact #2 : Interpol Is Not Investigating Bill Gates

Just in case you are wondering, INTERPOL is not investigating Klaus Schwab. And no, Vancouver Times did not score an exclusive interview with INTERPOL agents.

INTERPOL would never discuss an active case with the media, and certainly not a copy + paste website like Vancouver Times.

It’s Vancouver Times’ signature disinformation move – claiming to have exclusive sources. It’s nothing but bullshit.

Fact #3 : INTERPOL Has No Jurisdiction In Any Country

INTERPOL is an international organisation that facilitates police cooperation between different countries.

It acts as a liaison between police organisations, and does NOT have any jurisdiction in any country.

INTERPOL does NOT the power to arrest or charge anyone of any crime in any country around the world.

Investigation, arrest and prosecution of any crime is conducted by the individual country’s police force, not INTERPOL.

Fact #4 : Bill Gates + Klaus Schwab Were “Arrested” Before

To bait conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccination activists into sharing their fake news, Vancouver Times falsely claimed that both Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab are under investigation, and could soon be arrested.

They were both falsely claimed to have been arrested last year, by the infamous Conservative Beaver – a fake news website like Vancouver Times.

There are so many similarities between Conservative Beaver and Vancouver Times that it is possible that they were created by the same people.

Fact #5 : Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus Was Not Arrested For Genocide

Vancouver Times made up the fake story that INTERPOL arrested Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus for crimes against humanity.

That never happened. They only created that story to drive traffic to their website, which must not be doing well despite their prolific copying and pasting of other people’s articles.

Fact #6 : COVID-19 Vaccines Proven Safe + Effective

COVID-19 vaccines underwent massive clinical trials, and were only approved after they were proven to be safe and effective.

In addition, they were constantly monitored after they received their approvals, which picked up rare side effects after they were administered to billions of people.

Even prominent antivaxxer Steve Kirsch is healthy and well, despite being fully-vaccinated against COVID-19!

Fact #7 : There Is No Plandemic

To bait anti-vaccination activists into sharing their fake story, Vancouver Times used their favourite term – plandemic.

There is no such thing as a plandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic was not part of some nefarious scheme to bankrupt the world to bring the West under communism.

More than 2.5 years after the COVID-19 pandemic started, the world isn’t bankrupt, and the West is no closer to becoming communist.

Fact #8 : There Is No Such Thing As A Publication Ban

Vancouver Times likes to use the “media blackout” claim, to explain why you can’t find any reputable media outlet reporting on INTERPOL’s investigation of Bill Gates.

That’s utter and complete bullshit. No one – not a judge, not even the American government – can control the worldwide media, or prevent anyone from writing about his arrest.

You can also be sure that even if the mainstream media refused to run the story, it would have been reported by many other websites and bloggers.

Yet, not a single blogger or online website published their account of this incredible story? That’s because IT NEVER HAPPENED…

Fact #8 : Mainstream Media + Big Tech Would Have Loved The Hype

Vancouver Times is gaslighting you about how mainstream media and Big Tech want to hide the “truth” about INTERPOL’s (non-existent) investigation of Bill Gates.

They would all loved such shocking news, because it would have driven tons of traffic and engagement to their websites / platforms.

In fact, that was precisely why Vancouver Times created the fake story – to drive traffic, for the ad money.

Everything that Vancouver Times publishes should be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us fight fake news websites like Vancouver Times – SHARE this fact check out, and SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Is Interpol Investigating Klaus Schwab For Genocide?!

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Is Interpol investigating World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab for crimes against humanity, and genocide?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Interpol Is Investigating Klaus Schwab For Genocide!

Vancouver Times followed up with their Dr. Tedros arrest story, with a story claiming that Interpol is now investigating World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab for crimes against humanity and genocide!

It’s a long post, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Klaus Schwab, head of the WEF, is under investigation for mass murder (genocide) and crimes against humanity, according to several sources at Interpol. Schwab faces the death penalty if he is charged and convicted.

Schwab was picked up by Interpol’s radar after he became clear he was using a combination of kickbacks and extortion to pull strings in countries around the world. Schwab is accused of giving the order to Trudeau to murder the Canadian population with deadly, untested vaccines.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the WHO recently arrived in Holland, after being charged with crimes against humanity and genocide. He was caught trying to travel to Africa with a bag full of cash and expensive jewelry. He is expected to plead not guilty, and is in the process of hiring a lawyer.

Agents at Intepol confirmed with Vancouver Times that there is a parallel investigation into Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau as well as Microsoft founder / fake doctor Bill Gates. Both are suspected of engaging in mass murder and crimes against humanity.

The mainstream media and big tech want to hide the truth. Beat them at their own game by sharing this article!

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Truth : Interpol Is Not Investigating Klaus Schwab For Genocide!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Vancouver Times to generate page views and money from gullible people.

Fact #1 : Vancouver Times Is A Fake News Website

Vancouver Times is a “content aggregator” (copy and paste) website that is known for creating fake news to generate more page views and money.

To look legitimate, they copy and paste news from legitimate news organisations. To drive traffic, they create fake news, sometimes masked as “satire”.

To give themselves a veneer of deniability, they label themselves as a “satire website” in their About Us section.

Vancouver Times is the most trusted source for satire on the West Coast. We write satirical stories about issues that affect conservatives.

Here are some of their fake news that we debunked :

Fact #2 : Interpol Is Not Investigating Klaus Schwab

Just in case you are wondering, INTERPOL is not investigating Klaus Schwab. And no, Vancouver Times did not score an exclusive interview with INTERPOL agents.

INTERPOL would never discuss an active case with the media, and certainly not a copy + paste website like Vancouver Times.

It’s Vancouver Times’ signature disinformation move – claiming to have exclusive sources. It’s nothing but bullshit.

Fact #3 : INTERPOL Has No Jurisdiction In Any Country

INTERPOL is an international organisation that facilitates police cooperation between different countries.

It acts as a liaison between police organisations, and does NOT have any jurisdiction in any country.

INTERPOL does NOT the power to arrest or charge anyone of any crime in any country around the world.

Investigation, arrest and prosecution of any crime is conducted by the individual country’s police force, not INTERPOL.

Fact #4 : There Is No Death Penalty In Switzerland

Switzerland abolished the death penalty for most capital offences in 1942, and the remaining capital offences in 1992.

So Klaus Schwab most definitely does NOT face the death penalty, regardless of whatever crime he is accused of.

Fact #5 : Bill Gates + Klaus Schwab Were “Arrested” Before

They were both falsely claimed to have been arrested last year, by the infamous Conservative Beaver – a fake news website like Vancouver Times.

There are so many similarities between Conservative Beaver and Vancouver Times that it is possible that they were created by the same people.

Fact #6 : Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus Was Not Arrested For Genocide

Vancouver Times made up the fake story that INTERPOL arrested Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus for crimes against humanity.

That never happened. They only created that story to drive traffic to their website, which must not be doing well despite their prolific copying and pasting of other people’s articles.

Fact #7 : WEF Has No Powers / Jurisdiction In Canada

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an independent NGO and lobbying organisation based in Switzerland.

It has no powers or jurisdiction over healthcare policies in Canada, which incidentally does not have a vaccine mandate, despite what anti-vaccination activists claim.

Vancouver Times made up the false claim that Klaus Schwab ordered Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to force the COVID-19 vaccines on Canadians, to bait anti-vaccination activists into sharing their fake story.

Fact #8 : There Is No Such Thing As A Publication Ban

Vancouver Times likes to use the “media blackout” claim, to explain why you can’t find any reputable media outlet reporting on INTERPOL’s investigation of Klaus Schwab.

That’s utter and complete bullshit. No one – not a judge, not even the Swiss government – can control the worldwide media, or prevent anyone from writing about his arrest.

You can also be sure that even if the mainstream media refused to run the story, it would have been reported by many other websites and bloggers.

Yet, not a single blogger or online website published their account of this incredible story? That’s because IT NEVER HAPPENED…

Fact #9 : Mainstream Media + Big Tech Would Have Loved The Hype

Vancouver Times is gaslighting you about how mainstream media and Big Tech want to hide the “truth” about INTERPOL’s (non-existent) investigation of Klaus Schwab.

They would all loved such shocking news, because it would have driven tons of traffic and engagement to their websites / platforms.

In fact, that was precisely why Vancouver Times created the fake story – to drive traffic, for the ad money.

Everything that Vancouver Times publishes should be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us fight fake news websites like Vancouver Times – SHARE this fact check out, and SUPPORT our work!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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China Fines Didi Global $1.2 Billion For Violating Laws!

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China just fined Didi Global a whopping $1.2 billion for violating its cybersecurity, data security and privacy laws!

China Fines Didi Global $1.2 Billion For Violating Laws!

On Thursday, 21 July 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced that Didi Global breached the country’s cybersecurity law, data security law, and personal information protection law.

The Chinese cyberspace regulator fined Didi Global 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), as well as a personal fine of 1 million yuan ($148,000) each on Chairman and CEO Cheng Wei, as well as President Liu Qing (also known as Jean Liu).

The facts of violations of laws and regulations are clear, the evidence is conclusive, the circumstances are serious, and the nature is vile.

Didi Global responded to the regulator’s announcement with a contrite statement “sincerely” accepting the judgement and penalties :

We sincerely accept this decision, and resolutely obey it. We will strictly follow the penalty decision and the requirements of relevant laws and regulations, conduct comprehensive and in-depth self-examination, and actively cooperate with supervision and complete rectification carefully.

We will take this as a warning and further strengthen the construction of cyberspace security and data security, strengthen the protection of personal information, and earnestly fulfill our social responsibilities. We will serve every passenger, driver and partner well, and realize the safe, healthy and sustainable development of the enterprise.

What Did Didi Do To Incur China’s Wrath?

According to an FAQ by the CAC, its investigators started their investigation of Didi in July 2021.

After conducting an extensive investigation, they found that Didi conducted data processing activities that “seriously affected national security”, and refused to comply with “the explicit requirements of regulatory authorities” and conducted “malicious evasion” of regulatory supervision.

They also stated that Didi Global committed 16 violations of China’s laws, including :

Didi illegally collected 11.9639 million screenshots from its users’ mobile phone photo albums.
Didi excessively collected 8.323 billion pieces of its users’ clipboard information, and application list information.
Didi excessively collected 107 million pieces of passenger face recognition information, and 53.5092 million pieces of age group information, 16.3556 million pieces of occupational information, 1.3829 million pieces of family relationship information, and 153 million pieces of taxi address information.
Didi excessively collected passengers’ evaluation of the drivers, when the app is running in the background, and 167 million pieces of precise location (longitude and latitude).
Didi excessively collected 142,900 pieces of driver education information, and 53.976 billion pieces of “intent information”, 1.538 billion pieces of resident city information, and 304 million pieces of non-local business/travel information.
Its users are frequently asked to provide “telephone permissions” while using its services.
Inaccurate and clear description of user personal information processing, including device information.

The CAC noted that Didi started its bad practices in June 2015, and continued even after the Cybersecurity Law was implemented in June 2017, the Data Security Law started in January 2022, and the Personal Information Protection Law was implemented in November 2021.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Shanghai Police Data On 1 Billion Chinese Citizens Leaked!

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A hacker is selling data on a billion Chinese citizens, that he stole from the Shanghai national police database!

Find out what’s going on, and what this data breach entails!

Shanghai Police Data On 1 Billion Chinese Citizens Leaked!

A hacker who called himself “ChinaDan” posted in the Breach Forums that he hacked into the Shanghai National Police (SHGA) database and stole more than 23 terabytes of data.

He is offering to sell data on 1 billion Chinese citizens, including their name, address, birthplace, national ID number and mobile numbers, for 10 bitcoins – which is currently worth about US$204,285 / €200,227.

In 2022, the Shanghai National Police (SHGA) database was leaked. This database contains many TB of data and information on billions of Chinese citizen.

Databases contain information on 1 billion Chinese national residents and several billion case records, including: name, address, birthplace, national ID number, mobile number, all crime/case details.

He also posted a sample of 750,000 data entries from the three main indexes of the database, for potential buyers to evaluate.

Shanghai Police Database Left Unsecured For 14 Months!

ChinaDan claimed that the SHGA database was left unsecured on an Alibaba Cloud server. This was confirmed by several cybersecurity experts who had earlier stumbled upon the same database.

Even worse, the database was apparently left unsecured for at least 14 months! Vinny Troia – the founder of dark web intelligence first, Shadowbyte, said that he first discovered the SHGA database “around January” 2021.

Troia even downloaded one of the main indexes of the SHGA database, which contained information on nearly 970 million Chinese citizens (at that time).

And best of all – they made the data available to anybody who registers for an account!

The site that I found it on is public, anybody (could) access it, all you have to do is register for an account. Since it was opened in April 2021, any number of people could have downloaded the data.

Either they forgot about it, or they intentionally left it open because it’s easier for them to access. I don’t know why they would. It sounds very careless.

This Was Second Hack Of Shanghai National Police Database!

Bob Diachenko – a Ukrainian cybersecurity researcher – discovered the database independently in April, and noticed that the databased was attacked in mid-June by a hacker who copied the data, destroyed the copy on the server and left a ransom note demanding 10 bitcoins for its recovery.

By July 1, the ransom note disappeared, but only 7 gigabytes of data was available on the server, instead of the earlier 23 TB.

It is unknown if this data ransom “hack” was performed by ChinaDan, or a different hacker.

Diachenko said that the unsecured and exposed database continued to be used after that, until it was shut down over the weekend, after news of the data leak broke.

Maybe there was some junior developer who noticed it and tried to remove the notes before senior management noticed them.

This is shocking because it suggests that the database administrators were already aware of a prior breach, but did nothing to secure the database, or shore up cybersecurity measures.

Most Of China Affected By Shanghai Police Data Leak!

The Shanghai National Police data leak is currently the largest leak of public information ever.

It does not just cover people who live in, or have been in Shanghai. The database actually has information on over 70% of its 1.4 billion population in almost all counties in China.

The data contained information about almost all the counties in China, and I have even discovered data related to a remote county in Tibet, where there are only a few thousand residents.
– Yi Fu-Xian, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

This massive data leak acutely demonstrates the risk of government collection of data. China notably collects a tremendous amount of data on its citizens, including digital and biological data through facial recognition, iris scanners, social media tracking and phone trackers.

Once such data is leaked, it is forever exposed, putting people at risk of scams, identity theft, or even extortion.

China Censors Coverage Of Shanghai Police Data Leak

The Chinese government and the Shanghai Police have both refused to comment on the massive data leak.

Instead, they started blocking related words on Weibo, like “Shanghai data leak”, “data leak”, “Shanghai national security database breach”, “1 billion citizens’ record leak”.

Censors have also scrubbed news on this data breach from WeChat, with one popular WeChat user telling his 27,000 followers that he had been summoned to be questioned by the police.

China’s major English-language media like CGTN, Global Times, Xinhua, etc. have also not published any story on the Shanghai police data leak, despite public interest and its wide-ranging consequences for China.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Did Ghislaine Maxwell Just Commit Suicide In Prison?!

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Did socialite Ghislaine Maxwell just commit suicide in jail, a few hours after she was sentenced to 20 years in prison?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Ghislaine Maxwell Just Committed Suicide In Prison!

Within hours of news breaking that Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking, Vancouver Times posted a story claiming that she just committed suicide!

Ghislaine Maxwell was found hanging in her cell hours after she was sentenced to 20 years in jail, according to sources at the detention center she was staying at. Similar to Jeffrey Epstein, the guards have stated that cameras were not working at her time of death.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the child raping socialite who once consorted with elite figures, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for helping the financier Jeffrey Epstein abuse and torture underage girls.

Activists are cheering on Maxwell’s death, stating that they are happy that Maxwell is no longer on this planet, but dismayed she didn’t spend more time in jail.

Her partner in crime, Jeffrey Epstein, killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial. Epstein, along with Maxwell, sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 14. Prosecutors said Maxwell gave him the help he needed to make it happen.

When Maxwell was found hanging in her cell, prison medics were unable to revive her. She was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

The mainstream media and big tech want to hide the truth. Beat them at their own game by sharing this article!

Truth : Ghislaine Maxwell Did Not Commit Suicide In Prison!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Vancouver Times to generate page views and money from gullible people.

Fact #1 : Vancouver Times Is A Fake News Website

Vancouver Times is a “content aggregator” (copy and paste) website that is known for creating fake news to generate more page views and money.

To look legitimate, they copy and paste news from legitimate news organisations. To drive traffic, they create fake news, sometimes masked as “satire”.

To give themselves a veneer of deniability, they label themselves as a “satire website” in their About Us section.

Vancouver Times is the most trusted source for satire on the West Coast. We write satirical stories about issues that affect conservatives.

Here are some of their fake news that we debunked :

Fact #2 : Ghislaine Maxwell Did Not Commit Suicide

There is no evidence Ghislaine Maxwell committed suicide in prison.

For one thing – the US Bureau of Prisons would have to publicly announce her death, if not the circumstances of her death.

You may also note that no mainstream media, not even celebrity blogs, have reported on her death, never mind suicide by hanging.

It would have been worldwide news, and yet there has been zero coverage, because it never happened.

Fact #3 : Ghislaine Maxwell Was Not Suicidal

A psychologist evaluated Ghislaine Maxwell on Saturday morning, June 25, 2022, and determined that she is not suicidal.

The evaluation was ordered because her attorney claimed that she was unable to properly prepare for her sentencing.

Fact #4 : Ghislaine Maxwell Was On Suicide Watch

Ghislaine Maxwell was placed under suicide watch prior to her sentencing, even though she was deemed not to be suicidal.

She was removed from the general population at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, together with her normal clothing; and given a “suicide smock” to wear in supervised solitary confinement.

Fact #5 : Her 20-Year Sentence Was Expected

Prosecutors have asked for Ghislaine Maxwell to receive between 30 and 55 years in jail, after her conviction last year, while the probation department recommended 20 years.

Judge Alison Nathan herself calculated that the sentencing guidelines called for about 15½ to 19½ years in prison.

Her final sentence of 20 years was in the ballpark of what was expected. Even though it was slightly higher than what the judge calculated, it is much lower than what the prosecution asked for.

So there is really no reason for her to commit suicide. It was not like the judge issued a harsher than expected jail sentence.

Fact #6 : There Is No Such Thing As A Publication Ban

Vancouver Times likes to use the “media blackout” claim, to explain why you can’t find any reputable media outlet reporting on Ghislaine Maxwell’s suicide.

That’s utter and complete bullshit. No one – not a judge, not even the US government – can control the worldwide media, or prevent anyone from writing about her suicide.

You can also be sure that even if the mainstream media in the US refused to run the story, it would have been reported by the celebrity websites and bloggers.

Yet, not a single celebrity blogger or online website published their account of this incredible story? That’s because IT NEVER HAPPENED…

Fact #6 : Mainstream Media + Big Tech Would Have Loved The Hype

Vancouver Times is gaslighting you about how mainstream media and Big Tech want to hide the “truth” about Ghislaine Maxwell’s suicide.

They would all loved such shocking news, because it would have driven tons of traffic and engagement to their websites / platforms.

In fact, that was precisely why Vancouver Times created the fake story – to drive traffic, for the ad money.

Everything that Vancouver Times publishes should be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us fight fake news websites like Vancouver Times – SHARE this fact check out, and SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Watch Out For SVCReady Malware In MS Word Documents!

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Please watch out for a new malware called SVCReady that is being embedded in Microsoft Word attachments!

Here is what you need to know about the new SVCReady malware!

Watch Out For SVCReady Malware In MS Word Documents!

The HP Threat Research just uncovered a new malware called SVCReady, which they first picked up on 22 April 2022 through HP Wolf Security telemetry.

SVCReady is being distributed in phishing emails with Microsoft Word attachments. On opening the infected Word document, an embedded Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) AutoOpen macro is used to run shellcode stored in the properties of the document.

Splitting the macro from the shellcode is a way to evade security software that would normally detect the malicious code.

Document properties containing shellcode, namely a series of nop instructions as represented by 0x90 values. Credit : HP

The SVCReady malware begins by downloading and loading its payload from the web, and connecting to its Command and Control (C2) server.

It then starts gathering and sending information to the C2 server like :

username
computer name
time zone
whether the computer is joined to a domain
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE|DESCRIPTION\System registry key
running processes
installed software

The SVCReady malware also connects to its C2 server every 5 minutes to report its status, send information, receive new instructions, or validate the domain.

Currently, the malware appears to only gather and send information. However, that will change as the malware persists in the system, and is capable of receiving both updates and instructions from the C2 server.

In fact, the HP team observed the SVCReady retrieve and load a Readline stealer payload on an infected computer. It’s a sign of things to come.

The HP team believes that the SVCReady malware is still in early development, with an influx of updates adding features like encrypted C2 communications, and detection evasion.

They also found evidence linking SVCReady to past malware documents by the TA551 (Shatak) group from 2019 and 2020.

SVCReady will eventually be used for more nefarious purposes once it is good and ready. Until then, the malware will stay hidden, lurking and waiting for its master’s commands.

How To Avoid SVCReady Malware In MS Word Documents?

The HP team discovered that the malware creates a new registry key, which could serve as a signature for security software to detect it : HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{E6D34FFC-AD32-4d6a-934C-D387FA873A19}

But until security software are updated to detect SVCReady, the best way to avoid this malware is simple – do NOT open Word document attached to emails!

If you regularly receive Word documents in your emails, please VERIFY with the sender before opening them.

These phishing emails are designed to look legitimate. So be very careful about what you open!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Claim : SIM Swap Attack Can Empty Bank Accounts Without Warning!

Truth : SIM Swap Attack Are Real, But Don’t Work Like That

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BitiCodes / Biti Codes : Fake Celebrity Endorsements

Avast Explains How BitiCodes Scam Works

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Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Also Faces SEC Charges

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FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

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FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

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Terraform CEO Do Kwon Found Hiding In Serbia!

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Claim : FIFA Is Giving Free 50GB Data For World Cup 2022!

Truth : FIFA Is Not Giving 50GB Free Data For World Cup 2022!

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Claim : US Military Find Evidence Of 2022 Election Fraud!

Truth : US Military Did Not Find Evidence Of Fraud In 2022 Election!

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Chinese Spies Caught Interfering With HUAWEI Case!

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Binance Smart Chain Halts After $100M Crypto Theft!

Binance Smart Chain Almost Lost $566 Million!

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Kim Kardashian Fined $1.26 Million For Promoting Crypto!

How Kim Kardashian Got Into Trouble Promoting Crypto…

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Maybank To Fully Migrate SMS OTP To Secure2u!

Details Of How Maybank Secure2u Will Replace SMS OTP

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