Tag Archives: Cybercriminal

Watch Out For Kenanga Free Books Scam!

Is the Kenanga Investment Bank giving away free books on stock investing, to celebrate its 50th anniversary?!

Find out what’s going on, and warn your family and friends!

Watch Out For Kenanga Free Books Scam!

Scammers are running Facebook advertisements that claim Kenanga Investment Bank is giving away free books on stock investing, to celebrate its 50th anniversary!

good news 🎉 good news 🎉 good news 🎉
Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad,
Now it is the largest independent investment bank in Malaysia Established in 1973, it is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary 🎉🎉🎉
Kenanga Group will give away 2,000 stock books for free If you are interested in the stock book, you can get it for free Please click on the messenger to get the book for free 📖📖📖
The number of books is limited, and the activity will stop after the gift is completed 👇👇👇

Hi everyone, this is Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad
Now it is the largest independent investment bank in Malaysia
Established in 1973, it is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary 🎉🎉🎉
During these 50 years, we have helped countless stock investors make profits in the stock market
In order to thank investors for their support all the way, 💝💝💝🎊🎊🎊
We will give out the first gift for stock market investors 🎁🎁🎁
Kenang Group has prepared 5000 stock books (1000 sets) 📚📖📖
Free gift to investors who support Kenang Group all the way
Please click on the session, add the assistant’s wapp, and register the mailing address
We will mail the book to your registered address for free
The number of stock books is limited, while supplies last 💝💝💝

Recommended : TNG RFID Bar Code Scanning Scam Debunked!

Kenanga Free Books Scam : What You Need To Know!

This Kenanga free book scam is being promoted heavily on Facebook in May 2023, so please alert your family and friend!

Fact #1 : Kenanga Reported These Pages / Ads As Fake

Kenanga is aware of these fake advertisements being run by scam Facebook pages, posting this scam alert on May 12, 2023:

Once again we would like to remind our clients and the public to be careful of scammers impersonating our brand to provide fraudulent product and services.

We are not offering any free books/e-books or make anyone join a WhatsApp group.

If you received any of this communication recently, stop responding and report the page/numbers immediately.

If you have been scammed, contact the National Scam Response Centre hotline 997.

Fact #2 : Kenanga Is A Business, Not A Charity

Please do NOT be naive. Kenanga is an investment bank – a business, not a charity. Just because it is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023, does not mean it’s giving anything away.

Even if it wanted to celebrate its anniversary by giving away books, it would be giving them to clients, not to the public!

Kenanga is a public-listed company, whose focus is not make money, not a charity to give you free books!

Fact #3 : Giveaways Were Not Posted In Official Website / FB Page

If Kenanga was really giving away free books, it would have posted the offer on:

its official website (Kenanga.com.my), or
its official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/KenangaGroup/)

These scams are being run off fake Facebook pages that are brand new, and have nothing to do with the real Kenanga:

Fact #4 : Kenanga Does Not Use WhatsApp To Communicate

Kenanga offers a multitude of contact options by online forms, email or telephone number. What it does not have is a WhatsApp account. So when scammers message you to collect your “free books” by messaging a WhatsApp number, be warned!

Please add my WhatsApp message, send me your mailing information, and I will mail you stock books for you for free! My WhatsApp: https://xxxx.xx/60113906928

Fact #5 : Kenanga Will Not Ask You To Join WhatsApp Groups

Just to be clear, Kenanga states that it will never ask anyone to join a WhatsApp group for any reason, whether it’s for investment advice, stock tips, or to buy and sell stocks, etc.

Recommended : How To Block Facebook Ads + Pay Scammers!

Fact #6 : Scammers Will Try To Scare You

Scammers will try to scare you into contacting them, by telling you that stock is running out. Just ignore them!

There are only 3 free places left, which have been reserved for you, please add and leave a message as soon as possible Whatsapp : https://xxxx.xx/60113906928

There are many friends who have claimed it, please tell us whether you have added it successfully! If you do not add or reply, it means that you will give up the quota by default and automatically transfer it to the next friend. Thank you for your understanding!

Please help us FIGHT SCAMMERS by sharing this fact check article out, and please 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)
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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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Can Restaurant Menu QR Code Hack Your Phone?!

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Did the FBI just warn people to avoid using the restaurant menu QR code, because it can hack your phone?!

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

Claim : FBI Says Restaurant QR Code Can Hack Your Phone!

People are sharing a Daily Mail article, or screenshots of it, which claims that the FBI just warned people not to use any restaurant menu QR code because it can allow hackers to steal your data!

Here is an excerpt from the Daily Mail article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Why you should ALWAYS ask for a physical menu: FBI warns hackers are planting fake QR CODES in restaurants that steal your data when you click the link

Scammers are making fake QR codes to place on top of real ones
This is letting them access smartphones and steal personal data

QR codes have become the new default for accessing restaurant menus across the US post-Covid — but scammers are seizing upon the new practice.

The FBI warns thieves are creating fake QR codes and planting them at eateries, retail shops and even parking meters.

Instead of taking you to an online menu or checkout, the links instantly download malware onto your device, stealing your location and personal information

The FBI has urged consumers to look out for typos or misplaced letters in URLs accessed through QR codes and ask restaurants for a physical menu.

Truth : FBI Did Not Say Restaurant QR Code Can Hack Your Phone!

This appears to be a “misunderstanding” of an actual FBI warning about QR codes. Here is what you need to know about the risks of scanning a QR code for a restaurant menu.

Fact #1 : FBI Issued QR Code Warning In January 2022

I could find no reference to a recent QR code warning by the FBI, and oddly enough, The Daily Mail did not provide a source or link to the FBI warning its article was referring to.

The FBI only released one public service announcement (PSA) about QR codes, and that was Alert Number 1-011822-PSA which was released on January 18, 2022.

If that was the source for the Daily Mail article, then it’s more than a year old, and not recent as the article appears to suggest.

Fact #2 : FBI Warned About General QR Code Risk

The FBI advisory was a general warning about the risks of tampered QR codes. Specifically, it warned about cybercriminals tampering with both digital and physical QR codes.

The FBI is issuing this announcement to raise awareness of malicious Quick Response (QR) codes. Cybercriminals are tampering with QR codes to redirect victims to malicious sites that steal login and financial information.

Cybercriminals tamper with both digital and physical QR codes to replace legitimate codes with malicious codes. A victim scans what they think to be a legitimate code but the tampered code directs victims to a malicious site…

Fact #3 : FBI Advisory Did Not Mention Restaurant / Menu

Interestingly, the entire FBI advisory did not once mention restaurants or menus, and that makes a lot of sense.

It is odd to focus on the risk of using QR codes for online menus in restaurants, when they are used in so many other ways today – from making mobile payments, as mobile tickets, login tokens, etc.

Any security risk involving restaurant menu QR codes would also apply to QR codes used for other purposes. So it really doesn’t make sense for the FBI to “pick on” restaurant menu QR codes.

Fact #4 : QR Code Is Not Malicious In Nature

QR code (which is short for Quick Response code) is not nefarious or malicious in nature. The FB advisory specifically pointed that out – “QR codes are not malicious in nature“.

The QR code is merely a type of two dimensional barcode that was invented in 1994 by the Japanese company, Denso Wave, to track automotive parts. It has since been adopted for other purposes because it is more efficient and can support more than just numbers. For example, Version 40 QR code can contain up to 7,089 numbers or 4,296 characters.

Ultimately, a QR code is nothing more than a series of numbers or characters – data which can be used for a variety of purposes, including providing a link to an online restaurant menu.

Fact #5 : QR Code Can Be Tampered With

It is true that QR codes can be tampered with. In fact, the FBI advisory was issued after Texas police departments discovered fraudulent QR code stickers on parking meters in San Antonio and Austin. Drivers who scanned those fake QR codes were taken to a scam website. instead of the real payment website.

Hence, the FBI issued that warning to remind people to check the URL link to make sure that it is the intended website, and not a phishing page with a similar link. For example, the fake website may use www.quikpay.com when the real website is www.quickpay.com.

To completely avoid this risk, avoid using QR code to access a payment website. Always go directly to the payment website on your smartphone’s web browser by keying in the link yourself. Genuine payment labels with a QR code will often include a direct URL link for you to use as a safer alternative.

Recommended : How To Block Facebook Ads + Pay Scammers!

Fact #6 : Restaurant Menu QR Code Is Low Risk

While scammers can place fraudulent QR codes over genuine ones at restaurants, bars, and other eateries, this is a very unlikely attack vector.

That’s because restaurants often use QR codes to redirect you to an online system to order food and drinks for your table. Imagine if you scan a fraudulent QR code and are asked to key in your credit card details. That would be absurd, and you would surely complain to the waiter since you haven’t even ordered your food!

In most cases, you are not expected to pay at the table using QR code. You either pay using cash / credit card / mobile payment using QR code at the payment counter. Even if that QR code is compromised, the cashier would notice it immediately as any payment made using that QR code would not reflect in the restaurant’s point-of-sale (POS) system.

And payment only occurs after dining – a fraudulent QR code that leads you to a fake website won’t allow you to actually order anything, since it’s not connected to the real restaurant and its ordering system. That’s why this attack vector is highly improbable.

In any case, many restaurants now generate temporary QR codes on disposable paper stubs to avoid this risk. The QR code is only valid for your dining session. The next person to dine at the same table will receive a different QR code.

Fact #7 : QR Code Can Potentially Inject Malware

It is possible for QR code to inject malware into the smartphone that you are using to scan. In fact, there are apps like QRGen that allow scammers / hackers to easily generate malicious QR codes. However, it isn’t quite as simple as the article makes it out to be.

For one thing – malware and exploits are limited to specific operating systems or phone models. For example, an Android exploit / malware won’t work on iPhones. Or an exploit / malware that makes use of an Android 11 vulnerability won’t work on newer / updated Android smartphones since they would have patched the exploit.

Second – any malware will require considerable amounts of code to load. The scammer / hacker will have to use an enormous QR code like the version 40 example below, or it will need to convince you to download and install the malware package itself.

Genuine restaurant menu QR codes are simple – like the version 1 / version 10 examples above, because they only serve a link to their online menu / ordering system. If you see a large and complex QR code like the version 40 example, avoid scanning it, and ask the restaurant staff to verify its authenticity.

Restaurant menu QR codes would also never ask you to download or install anything. They only serve to load a link to an online menu / ordering system, so if you are asked to download or install anything, do NOT proceed, and notify the restaurant.

These tips also apply to other businesses that use QR codes to show you a menu, discounts, offers, information, etc.

Please Support My Work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
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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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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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Did US meat inspectors find human meat in several McDonald's factories across the US?! 😱😱

Here is my FACT CHECK : https://t.co/wlnVyzitQm #TechARP #McDonalds #Food #FoodSafety #Meat #Human #Crime #FBI #Children #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Fake #FakeNews #Viral #TikTok pic.twitter.com/dMxq6RQCYk

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) May 4, 2023

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 #3 : 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. This particular Huzlers article was written by Pablo Reyes Jr, and published on April 7, 2014 – more than 9 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 #4 : 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 #5 : 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 #6 : 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 #7 : 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.

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Malaysian Telcos Ban SMS Links To Prevent Scams!

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Malaysian telcos have started banning SMS links, as part of the MCMC’s initiative to prevent scams! Here is what you need to know!

Malaysian Telcos Ban SMS Links To Prevent Scams!

On Tuesday, 2 May 2023, four Malaysian telcos – Maxis, Celcom, Digital and U Mobile started banning SMS links, as part of the MCMC’s initiative to prevent scams.

From this day onwards, users will be blocked from sending or receiving SMS with a link. MCMC had earlier issued the directive to all telcos on February 14, 2023, but the ban on SMS links is only now being implemented.

The ban on SMS links is currently not mandatory for all telcos, and is being implemented in phases. Currently, the ban is limited to SMS between individuals.

Businesses using short codes like 6XXXX, 2XXXX and 1XXXX will eventually be banned from including a URL link in their SMS messages. They will be given time to switch to other methods to send promotional messages with links to their customers.

The MCMC has issued a directive to all telcos to block sending and receiving of SMS with URL link. The objective is to prevent users from becoming victims of online scams

MCMC issued the directive to all service providers on Feb 14 and is currently assessing the progress. For now, the block is still not mandatory.

The blocking of person-to-person SMS with URL links will take effect from 2 May 2023. For SMS sent by business via short codes such as 6XXXX, 2XXXX and 1XXXX, this will be done later and specific notification to business users will be sent.

Malaysia Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching said in February 2023 that blocking such SMS links will ensure that people won’t click on them and possibly end up as a scam victim.

Only SMS Links Banned, Links Via Other Platforms Still A Risk

While this measure is really helpful in helping to prevent scams, the ban is limited to SMS links. Scammers can still send links through instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, etc.

That does not mean that links are inherently bad. Links in messages, even SMS messages, are mostly safe.

Perfectly Fine

Clicking on a link to read an article / terms and conditions of a promotion
Clicking on a link to enrol in a promotion which does not require you to log into any website
Clicking on a link to check in for a flight, or get a travel update

However, they can be used to send you to a phishing website which is designed to look like a genuine bank / payment website. Hence, it is critical that you should NEVER log into any website through a link.

NEVER DO THIS

Clicking on a link to log into a bank website
Clicking on a link to make a purchase or payment
Clicking on a link to log into any account / email

Phishing attacks work by tricking you into going into a fake website that looks like the real website. But you still have to log into the fake website to give the scammers your login details.

If you click on a link, and you are asked to login – this is likely a phishing attack. But don’t worry – as long as you refuse to log into any website after clicking on a link, the phishing attack fails.

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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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Can hackers use Good Morning greetings to hack you?!

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Can hackers use Good Morning videos, pictures and messages to hack your devices, and steal your data?!

Find out what is happening, and what the FACTS really are!

Updated @ 2023-04-21 : Updated with a new 2023 version of the hoax
Originally posted @ 2022-11-01

Claim : Hackers Are Using Good Morning Messages To Hack You!

This post about Chinese hackers using Good Morning videos, pictures and messages to hack your devices, keeps going viral on social media and WhatsApp.

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

Dear friends, please delete all welcome photos and videos in Good Morning format and the like. Read below the article to the end, which will be clear why I ask about it. From now on I will only send personally prepared greetings.

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 pictures! Good day! Good evening! Do not send these “good” messages.

Today, Shanghai China International News sent SOS to all subscribers (this is the third reminder) that experts recommend: please do not send good morning, good night, pictures and videos,.

Reports show that hackers in China designed the images, the video is so beautiful to hide the phishing codes inside them, when everyone sends these messages, the hackers use your devices to steal personal information, such as bank card information and data to crack the phone.

It has been reported that more than 500,000 victims of fraud have already been deceived.

If you want to greet others, write your own message to protect yourself and your family and friends.

Important! Delete all greeting messages and pictures that you have on your phone for your own safety. If someone sent you such a picture, immediately remove it from the device. Malicious code takes time to deploy, so if you act immediately, no harm will be done.

Tell all your friends about this to prevent hacking.

Greet others by writing your own words, and send only images you create. The material you create yourself is completely safe.‼️‼️ ️‼️

Please understand me correctly! All have credit cards attached to their phone. Everyone has a lot of contacts in their phones. You will create a threat not only to yourself, but to all the contacts that you have on your phones, your friends and acquaintances. ‼️ ️‼️ ️‼️

Take this very carefully! This is a harsh reality‼️ ️‼️ ️‼️

ATTENTION !!!
Urgent information !!!

Some people have already restricted..!

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Truth : Good Morning Greetings Not Being Used To Hack You!

Many of us get spammed with Good Morning or Good Night messages every day from family and friends.

While they often clog up Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp groups, they really do NOT allow hackers to hack your devices.

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 : Good Morning Greetings Not Created By Hackers

Hackers (from China or anywhere else) have better things to do than to create these Good Morning pictures 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 Good Morning Messages

There has been no known fraud involving Good Morning or even 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…

Recommended : How To Block Facebook Ads + Pay Scammers!

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.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please 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.

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MSI Users At Risk Of Rogue BIOS / Firmware Updates!

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MSI users are at risk of rogue BIOS / firmware updates, after hackers got hold of its source codes, private keys and BIOS firmware!

MSI Hit By Ransomware Attack + Data Theft!

On 7 April 2023, MSI (Micro-Star International) was hit by a ransomware attack, in which the hackers allegedly exfiltrated 1.5 terabytes of source codes, BIOS firmware, private keys and other data from its servers.

In its terse regulatory filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), MSI admitted that it was hacked, but did not detail the circumstances or nature of the attack.

After detecting some information systems being attacked by hackers,MSI’s IT department has initiated information security defense mechanism and recovery procedures. The Company also has been reported the anomaly to the relevant government authorities.

MSI claimed that the attack had “[no] significant impact our business in terms of financial and operational currently“, but said that it was “enhancing the information security control measures of its network and infrastructure to ensure data security.”

In a public statement, MSI also urged users to only obtain firmware / BIOS updates from its official website, and refrain from using other sources.

Stolen Data Exposes MSI Users To Rogue BIOS / Firmware Updates!

The MSI ransomware attack and data theft appear to be committed by the Money Message ransomware gang, which has threatened to release the 1.5 terabytes of critical data that it exfiltrated from MSI servers.

While MSI has apparently restored files encrypted by the ransomware, exposure of the private keys and source codes, will likely allow Money Message or other threat actors to develop rogue BIOS or firmware updates.

Installing rogue BIOS / firmware updates will give the malware the access level of a super-low-level rootkit, giving it full control over your computer, with the ability to spy on almost everything you do. Such malware will also be extremely difficult to detect and remove. After all, it boots up before the operating system!

These days, rogue BIOS or firmware updates are much less of a problem because they are usually digitally-signed by the vendor, MSI in this case. Even if threat actors distribute Trojanised downloads for MSI users, they cannot create the right digital signatures for those files.

However, now that MSI’s private keys have been stolen, they can be used to create rogue BIOS or firmware updates with authentic digital signatures! MSI users downloading and installing those updates will never know the difference.

The biggest risk right now is with PC hardware enthusiasts who enjoy installing unofficial firmware updates to gain access to special settings. That is precisely why MSI is urging its users to only download files from its official website.

Of course, this assumes that the MSI download servers are secure, and have not been compromised. If the threat actors have access to the MSI download servers, they can insert Trojanised downloads with proper signatures, and MSI system administrators may be none the wiser!

Let’s hope that this incident forces MSI to take a much closer look at its cybersecurity measures, and run penetration tests to ensure that its download servers are secure. Otherwise, some threat actors will likely hit pay dirt with MSI users!

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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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MSI Hit By $4 Million Ransomware Attack + Data Theft!

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MSI just got hit by a massive ransomware attack, but even worse – it lost a ton of critical data to the hackers!

MSI Hit By Ransomware Attack + Data Theft!

In its terse regulatory filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), MSI admitted that it was hacked, but did not detail the circumstances or nature of the attack.

In a public statement, MSI also urged users to only obtain firmware / BIOS updates from its official website, and refrain from using other sources.

Hackers Demand $4 Million From MSI To Not Release Stolen Data

The MSI ransomware attack and data theft appear to be committed by the Money Message ransomware gang.

While MSI has apparently restored files encrypted by Money Message’s ransomware, the gang now has access to about 1.5 terabytes of critical MSI data.

According to BleepingComputer, chats between Money Message and an MSI representative show the gang demanding a ransom payment of $4 million. Otherwise, Money Message will release the stolen files.

To show that they did indeed steal those MSI files, Money Message posted screenshots of what they describe was MSI’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) databases and files containing software source code, private keys, and BIOS firmware.

If Money Message releases MSI confidential data, it may not just be embarrassing for the Taiwanese company, it could allow other threat actors to use the source code and private keys to create malware targeting their customers.

In light of that, MSI users should only download and install software or BIOS firmware from the official MSI website.

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Can Approve New Participant block WhatsApp hackers?!

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Can the new Approve New Participant feature in WhatsApp block hackers?!

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

Claim : Turn On WhatsApp Approve New Participant To Block Hackers!

WhatsApp started introducing a new feature called Approve New Participant, on 11 March 2023.

This new feature was only available to WhatsApp Group administrators, and went pretty much unnoticed by most WhatsApp users, until this claim went viral on WhatsApp and social media platforms:

CYBER SECURITY ALERT
Announcement

Let’s look sharp all admins*
WhatsApp has added a new security feature to prevent hackers from joining Groups.
I Hope Admins will take advantage of this feature.

*Admins* should go to group settings and
‘TURN ON’ Approve New Participant.

This will prevent unauthorized access for hackers.

WHATSAPP ADMINS ALERT!!!

That WhatsApp cybersecurity alert was unsigned, so we have no idea who created it. But once it went viral, WhatsApp users started asking their group administrator to turn it on to block hackers.

But does the new Approve New Participant feature really block hackers from attacking WhatsApp groups?

Truth : WhatsApp Approve New Participant Does Not Block Hackers!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Approve New Participant Is Not A Cybersecurity Feature

First, let me just point out that Approve New Participant is not a cybersecurity feature. WhatsApp introduced the this feature to help group administrators “grow, moderate, and protect their groups“.

The Approve New Participants setting empowers admins to help grow, moderate, and protect their groups. Turning on the setting in Group Settings requires the admin to review every request to join the group before a participant is allowed to join. This feature enhances privacy and security for all participants in the group.

This feature is designed to protect private groups by preventing people from simply joining them using an invite link.

This is a major security concern for private groups, as it exposes the group chats to people who may not be authorised to view them. However, this is not a concern for open groups, as they are open to one and all.

Fact #2 : Approve New Participant Cannot Block Hackers

When a group turns on Approve New Participant, admin approval is required to join a group. People who attempt to join the group will see a Request to join button, with the message “An admin must approve your request”.

After clicking on Request to join, those who wish to join the group are allowed to share their Reason for the request, or Cancel Request.

Once the group administrators get the request, they can either approve or reject the request. Group administrators can also start a chat with the person to request more information.

All that is great for vetting people who want to join an exclusive WhatsApp group, but this new feature does not block hackers, as the group administrator will not know who is, or is not a hacker. It’s not like those WhatsApp accounts have a “hacker” or “not a hacker” label!

Hackers can use social engineering techniques to trick the group administrators into approving their requests, or they can simply use phishing attacks to take over the WhatsApp accounts of existing group participants!

Fact #3 : Approve New Participant Is Disabled By Default

Cybersecurity features that are designed to block hackers will always be enabled by default – why would they be optional?

Yet, the new Approve New Participant feature is OPTIONAL in WhatsApp, and is DISABLED by default. That is because this is not a cybersecurity feature designed to block hackers.

Many WhatsApp groups are open for anyone to join, and turning on Approve New Participant would be pointless as group administrators would not know the identity of the people joining their groups.

This is why it is up to the WhatsApp group administrators to determine if it is suitable for them to use the new Approve New Participant feature, or not.

Private groups will want to turn this on, to vet people who request to join. But open groups will want this feature disabled, or their administrators will be overwhelmed with joining requests.

Fact #4 : Group Participants Can Always Be Removed

Here’s another reason why blocking new participants joining automatically does not block hackers – group participants can always be removed.

Let’s say a hacker, or an unauthorised person, gains access to your WhatsApp group. It doesn’t mean he/she can stay in your group forever. Any group administrator can remove that person.

This new feature only helps group administrators pre-vet people who want to join their group, instead of kicking them out after they have already joined.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please 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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Scam Alert : Watch Out For Telegram Phishing Attack!

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Watch out for the phishing attack that will allow scammers to take over your Telegram account!

Scam Alert : Watch Out For Telegram Phishing Attack!

Scammers are now targeting Telegram users with a phishing attack that is designed to trick them into giving up their accounts! The Telegram phishing attack works like this:

Step 1 : The scammer gains control of your friend’s Telegram account, and sends this message to you:

Dear Telegram users. The system detects that this account is abnormal and has potential security risks.

To ensure that you can log in to your account normally, you need to invite friends for auxiliary verification

The risk control account has not been verified. The system will cancel the account after 24 hours!

Personal Information Authentication：[link removed]

Step 2 : The scammer, masquerading as your friend, asks you to help him/her verify his/her Telegram account by clicking on the link.

There are security risks in my account, and I need friends to help me verify it. Please click on the official link to help me verify it and follow the prompts. thank you

Step 3 : If you click on the [removed] link to help your friend, you will be taken to a website that looks like an official Telegram website. DO NOT DO THIS.

Step 4 : You will be asked to log into your Telegram account on the fake website. DO NOT DO THIS.

Step 5 : The fake Telegram website will ask you to key in your Login code, or take and upload a screenshot of your Telegram. DO NOT DO THIS.

Step 6 : If you continue, the scammer will be able to take over your Telegram account, and use it to scam your friends by asking them for money, etc.

The scammer will also have access to your Telegram chats, and all associated media including photos and videos, which could potentially be leaked or used to extort you or other people.

How To Protect Against Telegram Phishing Attack

A phishing (pronounced as fishing) attack is a social engineering attack, that uses your trust for an institution (like a bank), authority (Telegram), or someone you know, to give up your login details.

Here are some ways you can protect yourself against any phishing attack on Telegram, or other platforms.

Verify Identity Before Trusting

Many people fall for phishing attacks because it is human nature to trust your friends and to help them. However, on instant messaging apps, you don’t actually know if it’s really your friend on the other end!

So if a friend messages you on Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc to ask for help, ALWAYS verify their identity before proceeding.

If possible, call or message your friend on the phone, or via a different platform (use WhatsApp if the request came on Telegram, for example).

But if you are unable to call your friend, try asking the other person something that only your real friend would know:

Do NOT ask questions like “Are you really Sarah??“
Do NOT ask questions that can be answered by reading previous chat messages.
Ask something that only you and your friend would know, like “Hey Sarah, what was that restaurant we went to last week?“
Ask a fake question that your friend would readily know is not true, like “Hey Sarah, are you coming over tonight?“

If the other person cannot answer or gives you the wrong answer, he/she is not your friend, and that account has likely been taken over by a scammer.

Recommended : How To Block Facebook Ads + Pay Scammers!

Look At The Link

Whenever you see a link being shared, always check if it leads to a legitimate website, or attempts to masquerade as a real website, by substituting characters in the link.

This Telegram phishing attack, for example, uses a link to telegram.0rg.ee. The real Telegram domain name is telegram.org. This is called domain spoofing.

If you see an attempt to impersonate a legitimate website by using a similar-looking domain name, do NOT click on it.

Never Login Via A Link

It is common for people to share links on Telegram, and in Telegram groups. Heck, we share links to our article in the Tech ARP Telegram group!

Clicking on links in Telegram, WhatsApp, emails, etc. is not dangerous, because most lead to legitimate websites that do NOT require you to log in.

What is dangerous is logging into any website through a link. I cannot hammer this enough – NEVER LOG INTO ANY WEBSITE through a link!

Phishing attacks work by tricking you into going into a fake website that looks like the real website. But you still have to log into the fake website to give the scammers your login details.

Turn On Two-Step Verification

All banking platforms, and many mobile apps now offer two-step verification to prevent scammers from taking over user accounts. However, this is often an optional feature that you must manually enable.

Telegram has a two-step verification feature, which prevents scammers and hackers from hijacking your account by requiring a secret password that only you will know.

Please follow our guide on how to turn on Two-Step Verification in Telegram.

Just make sure you do NOT give that password out to anyone, or key it into any website!

Warn Your Family + Friends!

It is important to publicise phishing attacks, whenever they happen. If people are alerted, they are less likely to fall for such attacks.

However, scammers and hackers can quickly change the way their phishing attack works, so it is important that people understand how phishing attacks work in general.

You can help prevent phishing attacks by sharing this articles, and other cybersecurity warnings, with your family and friends.

Please help us FIGHT SCAMMERS by sharing this cybersecurity article out, and please 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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Pinduoduo App Contains Persistent Spy Malware!

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One of China’s most popular apps – Pinduoduo apparently contains a malware that monitors user activities and is difficult to remove!

Take a look at what CNN and multiple cybersecurity researchers have discovered about Pinduoduo!

Pinduoduo : What Is It?

Pinduoduo is actually a Chinese online retailer. Think of it as China’s Amazon. While Amazon started as an online bookstore, Pinduoduo started as an online agricultural retailer.

Since then, Pinduoduo has become one of China’s most popular online shopping platform, with its app offering its 750 million users access to cheap products in China, by offering steep discounts on group buying orders.

Despite its meteoric rise, Pinduoduo has not been without its controversies. In 2018, the company was criticised for hosting inferior and imitation products, to which it responded by taking down more than 4 million listing and shutting down 1,128 stores.

In 2019, Pinduoduo was hit by hackers who stole discount coupons worth tens of millions of Yuan. And just last month, Google suspended the Pinduoduo app after discovering that versions offered outside its Play Store contained malware.

The Off-Play versions of the e-commerce app that have been found to contain malware have been enforced on via Google Play Protect.

Pinduoduo App Contains Persistent Spy Malware!

Western interest may have been initiated by Google suspending the Pinduoduo app, but cybersecurity experts had already started looking into the app, and what they discovered was very troubling.

Alert First Raised By Chinese Cybersecurity Company

I think we should start by noting that it was a Chinese cybersecurity company called Dark Navy that first raised concerns about malware in the Pinduoduo app in February 2023.

Although Dark Navy did not name Pinduoduo in its report, cybersecurity researchers knew who it was referring to and soon followed up with their own investigations and reports, confirming Dark Navy’s report.

Sophisticated Malware

Half a dozen cybersecurity teams from Asia, Europe and the United States identified sophisticated malware in the Pinduoduo app that were designed to exploit vulnerabilities in the Android operating system used by many smartphones.

The malware allows the Pinduoduo app to bypass Android security features to monitor activities in other apps, check notifications, read private messages, and even change settings. It is also difficult to remove once installed.

Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer at WithSecure, a Finnish cybersecurity firm, said that:

We haven’t seen a mainstream app like this trying to escalate their privileges to gain access to things that they’re not supposed to gain access to. This is highly unusual, and it is pretty damning for Pinduoduo.

Dedicated Hacking Team To Look For Vulnerabilities

Even more damning, CNN reported that a current employee revealed that Pinduoduo set up a team of about 100 engineers and product managers to look for vulnerabilities in Android smartphones, and find ways to exploit them for profit.

To avoid exposure, the source said that the company targeted users in rural areas and smaller towns, and avoided users in megacities like Beijing and Shanghai.

By collecting expansive data on those users, Pinduoduo was able to create a comprehensive portrait of their habits, interests, and preferences; while improving its machine learning models to personalise push notifications and ads.

Pinduoduo App Gained More Access Than Allowed

Three cybersecurity companies – WithSecure, Check Point Research, and Oversecured conducted independent analysis of version 6.49.0 of the Pinduoduo app that was released in late February 2023, and found code designed to achieve “privilege escalation” – a type of cyberattack that exploits vulnerabilities in the operating system to gain a higher level of access to data that it’s supposed to have.

Our team has reverse engineered that code and we can confirm that it tries to escalate rights, tries to gain access to things normal apps wouldn’t be able to do on Android phones.

The Pinduoduo app was able to continue running in the background, and prevent itself from being uninstalled. This was apparently done to boost the platform’s statistic for monthly active users.

Pinduoduo App Has Access To User Data Without Consent

Delware-based app security start-up, Oversecured, found that the Pinduoduo app had access to user data like locations, contacts, calendars, notifications, and photo albums, without their consent.

The app was also able to change system settings, and access user social media accounts and chats.

Pinduoduo App Also Snooped On Other Apps

The Pinduoduo app also had the ability to snoop on competing shopping apps, by tracking activity on other shopping apps, and gathering information from them.

Pinduoduo App Able To Secretly Receive Updates

Check Point Research found that Pinduoduo was able to push updates to the app, without first going through an app store review process to detect malicious code.

Pinduoduo App Programmers Attempted To Obscure Malicious Code

Check Point Research also found that some plug-ins used by the Pinduoduo app tried to obscure potentially malicious code by hiding them under legitimate file names, such as Google’s.

Such a technique is widely used by malware developers that inject malicious code into applications that have legitimate functionality.

Pinduoduo Targeted Android Devices

According to Sergey Toshin, founder of Oversecured, Pinduoduo’s malware specifically targeted Android operating systems used by Samsung, HUAWEI, Xiaomi and OPPO.

He also described the app as “the most dangerous malware” ever found in mainstream apps, exploiting about 50 Android system vulnerabilities. Most of these exploits targeted customised OEM code used by smartphone brands to customise their smartphone software.

I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s like, super expansive.

Pinduoduo Removed Exploit + Canned Hacking Team

After cybersecurity researchers started reporting about the app, Pinduoduo released version 6.50.0 on March 5, which removed the exploits they found. Two days later, Pinduoduo disbanded its Android hacking team, according to the same employee.

The hacking team members found themselves locked out of Pinduoduo’s workspace communication app, called Knock, and lost access to files on the company’s internal network, with their privileges revoked.

Most of the team was later transferred to work at Pinduoduo’s sister app, Temu. A core group of about 20 cybersecurity engineers however remain at Pinduoduo.

In addition, Sergey Toshin of Oversecured noted that while the exploits were removed in the new version of Pinduoduo, the underlying code remained and could be reactivated to carry out attacks.

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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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How To Block Facebook Ads + Pay Scammers!

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Many Facebook users are getting hit by the Facebook Ads and Facebook Pay scams! Here is how you can prevent it from happening to you!

Facebook Ads + Pay Scam Hits Many Bank Customers!

Many bank customers are complaining that they are being charged for fraudulent Facebook Ads advertisement campaigns!

They discovered that their debit cards were charged for Facebook advertisements that they never approved. Some have also stated that their credit or debit cards were used to purchase goods and services using Facebook Pay.

Stephanie Wong : I found out the money deducted from my bank acc through multiple continuous transactions yesterday, then I called Maybank customer service immediately. They helped me to cancel the card but then the thing happened again this morning.

@ruffleseed : I heard tens of millions of Ringgit were reported misappropriated through @facebook
on multiple bank over the past few weeks.

Delete your phone number from Facebook now and do not let @messenger handle your SMS. @MyMaybank has yet to answer us re: this intrusion.

@ItsNeoah : Banyak kali kena kat credit card ambank. Alhamdulilah call ambank dia mintak isi dispute form then tgok next cycle bil dah takde. Letih ngan scammer ni.

Translation : [My] Ambank credit card got hit many times. Alhamdulillah, after calling Ambank, they asked me to fill out a dispute form, then when I checked the next bill cycle [the charges] was removed. Tired of this scammer.

[/su_note]

How To Block Facebook Ads + Pay Scammers!

Here are some ways to prevent getting hit by the Facebook Ads scam, whether you are a bank customer in Malaysia or other countries.

Do NOT Use Debit Cards

First, you should NEVER use a debit card if you can help it. You should certainly not use a debit card online, or register it on any online or mobile payment platform, whether it’s for Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Facebook Pay.

It doesn’t matter if Bill Gates or Elon Musk or BTS endorses debit cards. DO NOT USE DEBIT CARDS!

You should certainly never use your debit card to fund Facebook advertisements. Always use a credit card, which offers you some protection against such fraudulent transactions.

Disable Your ATM Card’s Debit Card Function

Even if you have never requested for a debit card, you likely already own one – your ATM card likely doubles as a debit card! Banks have been forcing customers to take on debit cards, often by making ATM cards double as debit cards.

If possible, ask your bank to disable debit card function in your ATM card. But it is likely that they will refuse to do so – they make money from debit card transactions after all!

If your bank refuses to disable the debit card function in your ATM card, you can ask them to set the limit to ZERO. That will effectively block scammers from accessing your bank account!

Monitor Your Credit Card Transactions

Using a credit card to purchase products and services on online and mobile payment platforms offers you some protection against fraud, but you must always monitor the transactions and report any fraudulent transactions right away.

Depending on the country and card network, you usually have about 60 days to dispute credit card charges. So don’t wait. Report them as soon as you spot them! This will reduce the loss and reports you make, and speeds up the refund process.

Remove Your Credit Cards ASAP

If you register your credit cards for use with Facebook Ads or Facebook Pay, try to REMOVE them as soon as you are done.

Do NOT leave them registered to your Facebook Ads or Facebook Pay account, as a scammer or hacker who gains access to your Facebook account can make fraudulent purchases or run fraudulent advertisements using those credit cards without additional verification.

That appears to be the modus operandi of the Facebook Ads scam that has affected so many Maybank customers in recent weeks.

But if you have never registered your credit or debit cards with Facebook, or removed them after using, even if scammers hacked into your Facebook account or gained access through phishing attacks, they won’t be able to use your credit or debit cards!

Enable PIN For Facebook Pay

If you are using Facebook Pay, a scammer who gains access to your Facebook account could potentially use the debit or credit cards you registered earlier to make fraudulent transactions.

To prevent that, you should enable PIN confirmation for Facebook Pay:

Go to Settings in the Facebook website (not app).
Go to Account Settings, and select Orders and payments.
In the Orders and payments page, select Settings.
In the Security section, select Require PIN Confirmation.
You will be asked to enter a 4-digit number as your PIN.
Key in the 4-digit number again to confirm your PIN.

After that, you will be required to key in the 4-digit PIN whenever you make a payment, or change your bank account details, or connect your payment info with other Meta apps.

Turn On Two-Factor Authentication

To make it harder for scammers / hackers to gain access to your Facebook account, turn on two-factor authentication:

Go to your Security and Login Settings.
Scroll down to Use two-factor authentication and click Edit.
Choose the security method you want to add and follow the on-screen instructions.

When you set up two-factor authentication on Facebook, you’ll be asked to choose one of three security methods:

Tapping your security key on a compatible device.
Login codes from a third party authentication app.
Text message (SMS) codes from your mobile phone.

Once you’ve turned on two-factor authentication, you can get 10 recovery login codes to use when you’re unable to use your phone.

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

Name : Adrian Wong
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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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MILO Malaysia Ramadan Contest Scam Alert!

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Please watch out for the MILO Malaysia Ramadan contest scam!

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

MILO Malaysia Ramadan Contest Scam Alert!

People are now sharing the MILO Malaysia Ramadan contest on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger :

MILO Malaysia Ramadan gift

Through the questionnaire, you will have a chance to get 2000 Ringgit.

MILO Malaysia Ramadan gift

We have prepared a lot of cash gifts as Ramadan gift.

Recommended : Petronas 50th Anniversary Scam Alert!

MILO Malaysia Ramadan Contest : Why This Is A Scam!

Unfortunately, this is yet another survey scam, like the Tenaga Nasional 33rd Anniversary scam!!

Nestle confirmed that the viral MILO Malaysia contest a scam in a 30 March 2023 statement on their website:

Nestlé Malaysia Notification on Scams

We have been alerted of a MILO Ramadan Contest offering cash prizes to the public upon completion of a questionnaire. Please be informed that this is a scam which aims to mislead the public.

Nestlé views this matter seriously and has reported it to the relevant authorities.

If you have received a post or message on this, or know anyone who has:

DO NOT share the post
DO NOT provide any personal details (e.g. bank account numbers)
DO NOT make any payments

This is yet another example of a survey scam, that scammers 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 Nestle will have at least one PR or marketing person who will vet the text before allowing it to be posted.

Recommended : Petronas 50th Anniversary Scam Alert!

Warning Sign #2 : Offering You Free Money Or Gifts

Please do NOT be naive. No one – not even large companies like Nestle – is going to give you money or free gifts just to participate in a survey!

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

Warning Sign #3 : Not Using The Real MILO Domain

A genuine Nestle or MILO marketing campaign would use their real domains – www.milo.com.my or www.nestle.com.my.

Or they would run it off the official MILO Malaysia page on Facebook – www.facebook.com/MiloMalaysia/.

If you see nonsensical domains like findinggreedy.cn, consequentlybewilder.cn, 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!

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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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Facebook Ads Scam Hits Many Maybank Customers!

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Many Maybank (MBB) customers are getting hit by the Facebook Ads scam!

Find out what’s going on, and what you can do to avoid this Facebook Ads scam!

Facebook Ads Scam Hits Many Maybank Customers!

Many Maybank customers are complaining that they are being charged for fraudulent Facebook Ads advertisement campaigns!

They discovered that their debit cards were charged for Facebook advertisements that they never approved.

Stephanie Wong : I think i am a very cautious person as I did not link my card to any platform or make purchase through any unsafe website at ALL, but it still happens to me.

I found out the money deducted from my bank acc through multiple continuous transactions yesterday, then I called Maybank customer service immediately.

They helped me to cancel the card but then the thing happened again this morning.

@ruffleseed : I heard tens of millions of Ringgit were reported misappropriated through @facebook
on multiple bank over the past few weeks.

Delete your phone number from Facebook now and do not let @messenger handle your SMS.

@MyMaybank has yet to answer us re: this intrusion.

Fahim Fahmi : Begitu saja duit kena curi 😢

Translation : That’s how [my] money got stolen 😢

Danish Ihsan : Aku dah kena jugak, satu hari 2 transaction.. nasib sedaq awai, habis rm800.. kalau tak lagi banyak.. maybank dah tak selamat, tadi kat bank pun ada akak kena jugak transfer to others acc beribu2 jugak lah,. Solusi, jangan guna maybank buat masa sekarang..

Translation : I got with with 2 transactions in one day.. luckily, I realised early, but lost rm800.. if not it would have been more.. maybank is not safe, just now at the bank a lady transferred thousands [of ringgit] to other people’s account. Solution, don’t use Maybank for now..

Analysis : Facebook Ads Scam May Not Be Related To Maybank

Many of those customers are angry with Maybank over these fraudulent charges to their debit cards, which meant the money was directly withdrawn from their bank accounts.

However, on closer analysis, the scammers may not necessarily be taking advantage of leaked Maybank debit card information, or hacked Maybank itself…

Fact #1 : Other Bank Customers Are Affected Too

While most recent Facebook Ads scam cases appear to be affecting Maybank customers, other bank customers are reporting that they took were charged for those fraudulent advertisements.

@eeshepeeka : nohh laki cek pun kena last week tp kat CIMB. ada few transaction for 2 days nasib dia tolak sikit2. sekali deduct RM12+ sehari 3x ja. deduction description pun sama sebiji cam dlm gambaq tu. haiyaa

Translation : Well, my husband also got [scammed] last week but at CIMB. there were a few transactions for 2 days, but luckily [the scammer] deducted only small amounts. each time deducting RM12+ a day for 3 times. The deduction description is the same as the one in the picture. haiyaa

@ItsNeoah : Banyak kali kena kat credit card ambank. Alhamdulilah call ambank dia mintak isi dispute form then tgok next cycle bil dah takde. Letih ngan scammer ni.

Fact #2 : Most Of Them Ran Facebook Ads In The Past

In addition to analysing their stories, I also spoke to someone who knows several Maybank customers who got hit by the scam. From what I can ascertain, most of them ran Facebook Ads in the past.

Stephanie Wong : 3.) Did not run any ads recently, but few years ago

@wnn_tasha : I last pakai FB ad guna akaun ni tahun 2018. Silap tak remove payment method tu.

Translation : I last used FB ad using this account in 2018. My mistake for not removing the payment method.

They said that they paid for Facebook page a few years ago to boost their audience.

That said, at least two Maybank customers said that they have never registered any debit or credit card with Facebook:

Fahim Fahmi : Tak pernah ada link kad dengan FB atau social media yang lain

Translation : [I] never linked [any] card with FB or other social media

@ruffleseed : I have never set up payment methods on Facebook nor have I ever used Facebook ads.

Fact #3 : Scammer Likely Got Access To Those Facebook Accounts

What is interesting is that most of those who were affected by this Facebook Ads scam reported that their Facebook accounts were used to create and run those ads.

If their debit or credit cards were merely stolen, the scammers could have created a new Facebook account to use those stolen cards to run Facebook ads.

Fortunately, one of the victims “caught” the scammer logging into her account from the United States. This clearly shows that the Facebook Ads scam requires the scammer to gain access to their Facebook accounts.

It is likely that the scammers gained access to their victims’ Facebook accounts using phishing attacks, and simply used the debit or credit cards that those victims earlier registered with Facebook to run advertisements in the past.

Fact #4 : Facebook Auto-Fill Is Not The Problem

After these cases went viral, people blamed the Auto-Fill feature in Facebook, and shared videos and photos on how to disable it.

The truth is – this Facebook Ads scam very likely has nothing to do with Auto-Fill, which is a feature used in many other services and platforms.

Auto-Fill only makes it easier to fill in your debit or credit card details. It does not bypass any verification that is required to make a payment.

Fact #5 : You Can Recover Your Money!

Now, this is important – you need to move fast to cut your losses, and recover the money. You can also improve your Facebook account security to prevent it from happening again.

For more details, please read our guide – Maybank FB Ads Scam : How To Recover Money?!

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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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Must You Disable Facebook Auto-Fill To Block Scams?!

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Must you immediately disable Auto-Fill in Facebook to block scams?!

Here is what you need to know about Facebook Auto-Fill, and getting scammed on Facebook!

Claim : Facebook Auto-Fill Opens You To Scams!

People are sharing warnings about Facebook Auto-Fill, together with instructions on how to disable it to block Facebook Ads scams.

Guys check ur Facebook
And make sure these are OFF
this week a lot of MBB customers kena scam

1. Please check your bank account.
2. Please disable ‘auto-fill’ option in Facebook…

Truth : Facebook Auto-Fill Does Not Open You To Scams

There appears to be a spate of scams involving Facebook Ads and Maybank users, but it does not appear to be related to the Facebook Auto-Fill feature, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Facebook Introduced Auto-Fill In 2013

Facebook started introducing Auto-Fill sometime in September 2013, and gradually rolled it out globally over the years, so this is not a new feature.

Fact #2 : Many App Use Auto-Fill

Facebook isn’t the only app or platform to use Auto-Fill. Many services and platforms use Auto-Fill to make it easier to fill up forms and make payments.

The Auto-Fill feature is used in most, if not all, e-commerce / online shopping / online payment platforms, to expedite payments. The idea is that if they make it easier it is for you to pay, you will tend to buy more!

Many apps and services also use Auto-Fill to help you fill onerous forms with common details like your full name, email address, address and telephone number.

Fact #3 : Facebook Does Not Automatically Have Your Details

Facebook enables Auto-Fill by default for forms and payment, but that does not mean it has access to your debit or credit cards, or even your personal details. You need to manually key in your Contact Info and/or Payment Info for Facebook Auto-Fill to work.

If you have never given Facebook your credit card details, there is no way for its Auto-Fill to automatically fill in the credit card details for any transaction. Even if a scammer gains access to your Facebook account, he/she cannot use Auto-Fill because you never keyed in your debit or credit card details in the first place!

I did a quick check on two cases involving Maybank that came up recently (first example) (second example), and noticed that both parties who reported that they got fraudulently charged for Facebook Ads never registered their credit card with Facebook at all!

So whatever may be going on, it does not appear to be a Facebook Auto-Fill issue. But just in case you are worried, here are the latest steps on how to disable Auto-Fill on the Facebook mobile app.

Tap on your icon at the upper right corner of the Facebook app to access the Menu.
Scroll down the Menu until you see the Settings & privacy group.
Tap on Settings.
Scroll down the Settings & privacy page, and tap on Browser.
Scroll down the Browser settings page to the Auto-fill section.
You can tap on the Contact info and Payment info to check what information you shared with Facebook.
To disable Auto-fill for contact information, unselect Auto-fill contact forms.
To disable Auto-fill for payment, unselect Auto-fill payment forms.

Fact #4 : Auto-Fill Cannot Bypass TAC Verification

Even if you registered your credit card details with Facebook, and then use Auto-Fill to make a purchase, you will still need to authenticate that purchase.

Of course, it is possible to conduct a SIM swap attack, but that’s a different story altogether…

Fact #5 : Existing Facebook Ads Account Is A Risk

Those who have earlier registered a Facebook Ads account and ran advertisements may be at risk, because their credit cards would already be linked to their Facebook Ads account.

A scammer who gains access to their account (usually through phishing attacks) can easily create and run advertisements using their existing Facebook Ads account using the credit cards that have already been registered and approved earlier.

To minimise your risk, never ever use a debit card! Always use a CREDIT CARD, and always keep an eye on the transactions. Report to the bank once you see a fraudulent transaction.

But this has nothing to do with the Facebook Auto-Fill feature, and is not a concern if you never pre-approved your debit or credit cards with a Facebook Ads account.

Fact #5 : Existing Facebook Pay Account Is A Risk

Similarly, if you are using Facebook Pay, a scammer who gains access to your Facebook account could potentially use the debit or credit cards you registered earlier to make fraudulent transactions.

Again, you should NEVER use a debit card with Facebook Pay. Use a credit card, and always keep an eye on the transactions, and report to the bank once you see something fishy.

On top of that, you should enable PIN confirmation for Facebook Pay:

Go to Settings in the Facebook website (not app).
Go to Account Settings, and select Orders and payments.
In the Orders and payments page, select Settings.
In the Security section, select Require PIN Confirmation.
You will be asked to enter a 4-digit number as your PIN.
Key in the 4-digit number again to confirm your PIN.

After that, you will be required to key in the 4-digit PIN whenever you make a payment, or change your bank account details, or connect your payment info with other Meta apps.

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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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SBF Accused Of Bribing Chinese Officials With $40 Mil!

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SBF has just been accused of bribing Chinese officials with “at least $40 million” to unlock frozen trading accounts in China! Here is what you need to know…

SBF Accused Of Bribing Chinese Officials With $40 Million!

Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has just been hit with fresh charges by US officials, who accuse the crypto-preneur of authorising a bribe of “at least $40 million” (about £32.5 million) to unlock frozen trading accounts in China!

In the updated indictment (PDF download), SBF was said to have approved the $40 million bribe after Chinese authorities froze Alameda Research trading accounts that were holding roughly $1 billion or £811 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

… in or about 2021, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a “SBF”, the defendant, authorised and directed a bribe of at least $40 million to one or more Chinese government officials.

The purpose of the bribe was to influence and induce one or more Chinese government officials to unfreeze certain Alameda trading accounts containing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency, which had been frozen by Chinese authorities.

SBF now faces a total of 13 criminal charges, including this new additional charge. He could potentially be jailed for more than 100 years if convicted.

How SBF Allegedly Bribed Chinese Officials With $40 Million!

In early 2021, Chinese authorities froze some Alameda Research accounts on two of China’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, freezing approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency stored in those accounts.

At that time, SBF believed that the accounts were frozen as part of an ongoing investigation into another company that was trading with Alameda Research.

At least, SBF and others working for him tried “numerous methods” to unfreeze those accounts, including:

retaining lawyers in China to lobby for the Alameda accounts to be unlocked,
communicating with the Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges, and
opening new accounts on those Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges using several individuals unaffiliated with FTX (the “Fraudulent Accounts”) and then attempting to transfer cryptocurrency from the frozen accounts to those Fraudulent Accounts.

After months of failed attempts to unlock those frozen accounts, SBF and unnamed partners discussed and “ultimately agreed” to a multi million dollar bribe to unfreeze those accounts.

The indictment specifically called out SBF for authorising and directing the “illicit transfer of cryptocurrency” to “induce and influence one or more Chinese government officials to unfreeze the Accounts”.

Following SBF’s authorisation and instructions, Alameda Research employees transferred cryptocurrency worth about $40 million from the Alameda main trading account to a private cryptocurrency wallet in November 2021, after which the Accounts were unfrozen.

After confirming that the accounts were unfrozen, SBF then authorised the transfer of “additional tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to complete the bribe“.

Thanks to the unfreezing of its accounts, Alameda was able to continue funding its trades, and continue what the government says was a fraud upon its customers and investors for another year.

FTX and Alameda would later implode in November 2022, with SBF arrested in December and charged with defrauding FTX customers, investors and lenders, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission.

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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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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!

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Name : Adrian Wong
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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 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!

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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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SBF Allegedly Hid $8 Billion In Korean Friend Account!

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The CFTC just alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried (better known as SBF) hid $8 billion of Alameda liabilities in a “Korean friend” account on the FTX crypto exchange!

SBF Allegedly Hid $8B Liabilities In Korean Friend Account!

In the spring of 2022, Alameda Research experienced a large number of margin and loan recalls following a major downturn in the crypto markets. To meet its external debt obligations, the trading firm “greatly increased” its usage of customer funds.

By the middle of 2022, Alameda’s total fiat liability with FTX was around $8 billion. That was when, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged, Sam Bankman-Fried (better known as SBF) directed his executives to move approximately $8 billion of Alameda liabilities into an unknown customer account, which he would later refer to as “our Korean friend’s account” and/or “the weird Korean account”.

The CFTC added that even though this was a sub-account under Alameda, it was labelled as “FTX fiat old” and did not have the usual @alameda-research.com email account identifier. Instead, it was stored in an internal account in the FTX database as “fiat@ftx.com”

This allowed the liabilities in that account to be hidden on FTX ledgers. Yet, the “Korean friend” account had the same privileges as Alameda’s other accounts, including exemption from liquidation characteristics.

FTX Korean Friend Account Had Special Privileges!

The “Korean friend” account had privileges to execute a transaction on FTX, even if it did not have the funds to do so. It was accomplished through a piece of code labeled as “allow negative flag”.

Separately, Bloomberg reported on December 14, that a GitHub account under the name Nishad Singh (FTX’s former engineering director), created or annotated code linked to that “Korean friend” account.

Looking back at what SBF said about Alameda, the signs were there that Alameda Research was likely losing money hand over fist.

Back in September 2022, SBF said that they should have shut down Alameda Research a year ago – before it was hit by the crypto winter.

I only started thinking about this today, and so haven’t vetted it much yet. But I think it might be time for Alameda Research to shut down. Honestly, it was probably time to do that a year ago.

By the time he made that comment, SBF probably knew that it would be a matter of time before his house of cards came falling down…

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SBF Flew Business As Judge Recuses From FTX Case!

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The FTX drama continues as SBF was seen flying business class, while Judge Ronnie Abrams recused herself from the case!

Judge Ronnie Abrams Recuses From SBF FTX Case!

The FTX drama continues with the shocking announcement by US District Judge Ronnie Abrams over a potential conflict of interest.

On Friday afternoon, December 23, Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York recused herself from the FTX case.

The judge’s husband, Greg D. Andres, is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021. Though Andres himself did not personally advise FTX, Abrams chose to recuse herself from the case “to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one.”

The order also stated that Davis Polk & Wardwell previously represented parties “that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried,” though Andres allegedly did not represent those clients either.

RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge:

It has come to the Court’s attention that the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, at which my husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021, as well as represented parties that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried in other proceedings (or potential proceedings). My husband has had no involvement in any of these representations. These matters are confidential and their substance is unknown to the Court. Nonetheless, to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one, the Court hereby recuses itself from this action. See 28

U.S.C. § 455.

This decision came just one day after Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was released from custody pending trial on eight criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violations of federal campaign finance laws.

It is unknown why Judge Ronnie Abrams chose to wait until now to recuse herself from the FTX case. But it should be pointed that it was a different judge – Gabrial Gorenstein, who approved the record-setting $250 million bond that did not require SBF to pay a single cent up front.

A new judge from the Southern District of New York will now have to be selected to oversee Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial.

SBF Free + Flying Business On “No Cash Up Front” FTX Case Bail!

In the meantime, the disgraced FTX co-founder was spotted “chilling” in the American Airlines Greenwich Business Class lounge located at Terminal 8 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City.

Sam Bankman-Fried was accompanied by his parents, FBI agents and lawyers. He had full access to what looks like an Acer Predator gaming laptop, and a smartphone. When he was asked for a photo, SBF replied, “Haha maybe not today“.

You may recall that, on December 9, SBF claimed that he did not have access to (much of) his professional or personal data, despite having obvious access to a laptop and a mobile phone.

1) I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like. But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th.

SBF was later spotted in the Business class section of an American Airlines flight, “disguised with a beanie”. He appeared to be engaged in conversation with a suited executive.

The suited executive could be his lawyer, Mark Cohen, who may have been accompanying the disgraced FTX co-founder to his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, where he has to serve his house arrest while awaiting trial.

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SBF Released On “No Cash” $250 Million Bail Bond!

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Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has been released on a “no cash up front” $250 million bail bond!

SBF Released On “No Cash Up Front” $250 Million Bail Bond!

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has been released on a $250 million bond, but guess what – it does not actually require him to come up with the cash.

Instead, the release agreement showed that SBF was being released on a $250 million personal recognisance bond that was secured by his parents’ five-bedroom home in Palo Alto.

If SBF fails to appear in court, or violate other conditions of his bail, then the property would be seized. That property is estimated to be worth only $4 million.

In addition to his two parents, the bond must be signed by two other people (one of whom cannot be a relative) by January 5, 2023; and they would all be on hook for the $250 million bail.

This “no cash up front” bail deal was worked out between SBF’s legal team and US prosecutors, which included his agreement to be extradited to the United States.

New York federal court Judge Gabriel Gorenstein released him, subject to detention at his parents’ home while wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, with mandatory mental health counselling and substance abuse treatment.

SBF had to surrender his passport under the bail agreement, and was stricter to travel to the Northern District of California, or the Southern and Eastern districts of New York for court appearances.

This was a fraud of epic proportions. If that was the only test, detention would likely be appropriate. But he voluntarily consented to extradition. That should be given weight.

If he had resisted, we would have opposed release. But his assets have diminished. This is a financial crime and he no longer works for FTX or Alameda. So the risk to the community is a marginal consideration. We propose a restrictive bail package.

– Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos

Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted on all eight counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, money laundering, and violating campaign finance laws in his cryptocurrency exchange company, FTX.

His next hearing is set for January 3, 2022, and his defence is expected to be complicated by the fact that two of his chief lieutenants – Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty and are now cooperating with investigations.

But until that he is convicted, SBF will be free to enjoy life at home, catching up on Netflix or the computer games he loves to play. Living with his parents may not be what every 30+ young man likes, but it sure beats jail in the Bahamas!

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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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Did Leaked Data Show Pfizer Vaccine Would Kill?!

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Did leaked data show that Pfizer knew that its COVID-19 vaccine would kill people who took it?!

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

Claim : Leaked Data Show Pfizer Knew Vaccine Would Kill!

People have been sharing a photo of The Irish Light newspaper, which claims that leaked data showed that Pfizer knew that its COVID-19 vaccine would kill people who took it!

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

Pfizer knew their vaccine would kill

Leaked data shows shocking number of fatalities and side effects now officially associated with covid shots

THE documents were leaked due to a cyber attack on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) website. More than 40 megabytes of classified information from the agency’s revlew were published on the dark web. and several Journalists including the BMJ were sent coples of the leak by anonvmous senders.

The documents have proved to be shocking due to the sheer amount of side ellects that are now ollicially associaled with the ‘vaccine*. Most alarmingly, there were at least 1,223 deaths reported in the first 28 days following the shot.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had previously agreed to withhold the documents and their shocking revelations from the public for 75 years.

The HSE, moda and the government continually state that the vaccines are ‘safe and effective’ and those that had renorted vaccine-related injuries were oflen accused of making false correlations or imagining their symptoms.

However, the Pfizer documents paint a very different picture. They list thousands of side effeets that occurred at an alarming rate which were as a direct result of taking the experimental genetac injection.

These side effects included noat-fatal conditions such as eccema, blisters, asthma. low sperm counts and fertility problems.

Other more serious side ellects included, but were not limited to: auto-immine disorders; blindness: diabetes: berpes: heart problems such as myocardite; divroid disorders: neurological condations such as multiple sclerosis; sexures; epilepsy; narcolepsy and Guillain-Bame Syndrome. Also, inllammatory bowel disease, relapsing diseases, dcalness and even tongue biting.

While it has been approved for use in pregnant women, it is also known to cause pregnancy complications, including many spontaneous abortions.

One of the many issues it causes is anaphylactoid syndrome of pregnancy or ASP for short. ASP is a fatal discase for mothers and is among the leading causes of maternal mortality.

Symploms include anciety, confusion. shortness of breath, severe bleeding and death. Therefore, there is a high risk for pregnant women taking the covid “vaccine’.

The Pfizer document also list various blood disorders, Crohn’s disease, and liver failure as side effects. Blood clotting was another issue reported from the ‘vaccine’ trials.

One of the most telling side effects of this covid-19 injection is… covid-19. Proponents often argue that despite the possible side effects associated with some of the covid shots, they at least prevent people from dying from covid-19.

The problem is that the ‘vaccine’ actually causes people to develop the disease. In other words, it is contributing to the mumber of cases. It also lists covid-19 associated pneumonia as a side effect.

Some may argue that all of these side ellects are only associated with the Pfizer shot.

However, death and serious injuries have been present and publicly acknowledged with all of die manubcturers’ shots.

Research developed by Edinburgh University showed that almost 350 Brits have been struck down with a separate rare clotting disorder afler getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.

These blood clots cause minor bruising around the body and can leave some with a purple-dotted rash.

The Moderna vaccine has been assoctaled with heart problems such as mvocarditis and pericarditis. The list of adverse reactions also includes inflammation, fainting and breathing difficulties.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) listed on page 2 has also revealed that both covid-19 deaths and cases were worse in vaccinated people, particularly those over the age of 18

The data in the table is clear: the chances of developing covid-19 increases significantly following subsequent ‘booster jabs.

This is broadly in line with the information contained in the Mizer document, which stated that vaccine side effects cause covid-19 and respiratory illnesses.

Coupled with the fact that ONS data recently revealed that covid deaths were much lwer than previously thought, the risks of taking the vaccine seem to greatly outweigh the risks of not doing so.

Show less

Truth : Leaked Data Did Not Show Pfizer Vaccine Is Dangerous!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why!

Fact #1 : The Irish Light Is An Anti-Vaccination Newspaper

While many anti-vaccination activists are promoting the article as coming from an Irish newspaper, The Irish Light is a self-printed newspaper that was launched in August 2021 by two former journalists turned COVID conspiracy theorists – Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters.

Gemma O’Doherty previously worked for the Irish Independent newspaper, while John Waters used to work for The Irish Times.

Unlike regular newspapers which delivers news content, The Irish Light focuses on questioning the effectiveness of vaccines, the COVID pandemic, and other far-right ideas.

Fact #2 : EMA Cyberattack Occurred In January 2021

The Irish Light published their article called “Pfizer knew their vaccine would kill” in April 2022, as part of their 10th issue.

However, the cyber attack on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) it referred to occurred more than a year ago – in January 2021.

Fact #3 : EMA-Pfizer Data Was Leaked To Journalists + Dark Web

More than 40 MB of data was stolen in the EMA cyberattack and released on the dark web, and leaked to several journalists, including from The BMJ and academics worldwide.

The leaked data consisted of confidential documents on the Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine candidate (later known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COMIRNATY COVID-19 vaccine), which included “internal / confidential email correspondence from November, relating to evaluation processes for COVID-19 vaccines“.

Fact #4 : Leaked Documents Was About Quality Of Early Vaccine Batches

The BMJ reviewed the leaked documents, and found that they showed that regulators at the EMA had concerns about the quality of some early commercial batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

An email dated 23 November 2020 showed that a high-ranking EMA official complained that Pfizer was not producing its COVID-19 vaccines to the expected specifications.

Specifically, the level of intact mRNA dropped from about 78% in the clinical batches to 55% in the proposed commercial batches. Nothing in the leaked documents referred to safety issues, or side effects.

Fact #5 : Leaked EMA-Pfizer Data Was Tampered Before Release

On 15 January 2021, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that their investigation showed that some of the leaked data was tampered by the hackers before being released.

Some of the correspondence has been manipulated by the perpetrators prior to publication in a way which could undermine trust in vaccines.

The BMJ was criticised for reviewing the leaked documents without first verifying their authenticity and accuracy.

EMA states that the information was partially doctored, and that the perpetrators selected and aggregated data from different users and added additional headings.

It is unclear to us why a respected journal chose to present unverifiable information, in the process damaging an institution that has worked for 25 years in a transparent and successful manner.

Fact #6 : Leaked Documents Showed EMA Regulation At Work

While anti-vaccination activists framed the leak as evidence of collusion between EMA and Pfizer, they actually show that EMA regulators were doing their jobs.

EMA did not cover up the quality issue, but filed two “major objections” with Pfizer, together with a host of other questions it wanted Pfizer to address.

On 25 November 2020, one of the leaked emails showed that Pfizer had already brought up the level of mRNA in their COVID-19 vaccine lots.

The latest lots indicate that % intact RNA are back at around 70-75%, which leaves us cautiously optimistic that additional data could address the issue.

Ultimately, the EMA authorised the vaccine on 21 December 2020, nothing that “the quality of this medicinal product, submitted in the emergency context of the current (covid-19) pandemic, is considered to be sufficiently consistent and acceptable.”

Fact #7 : FDA Never Agreed To Withhold Pfizer Documents For 75 Years

The claim that the US FDA earlier agreed to withhold documents on the Pfizer vaccine for 75 years was debunked months earlier – in December 2021.

The US FDA never asked or agreed to withhold Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine documents for 75 years. That was merely the “interpretation” of Aaron Siri – the lawyer for PHMPT (Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency) – the group requesting the data that the FDA used to licence the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Fact #8 : Pfizer Documents Did Not Reveal Thousands Of Side Effects

The claim that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine documents revealed that it had thousands of side effects was debunked in March 2022.

The Pfizer document was publicly released on 17 November 2021, but it took antivaxxers more than 3 months to “discover” the list of 1,291 adverse events of special interest (AESI).

However, the AESI list was not a list of vaccine side effects. It was a list of “adverse events” that must be reported for further investigation.

It was also a generic list, which includes irrelevant adverse events like manufacturing and lab test issues, and even product availability and supply issues, as well as other diseases like MERS and chickenpox.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!

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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.

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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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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 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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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 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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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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