The Register: Cyber offenses now account for around a third of all crime across Asia and South Pacific. “Interpol’s latest ASP Cyberthreat Assessment Report states that online scams and phishing attacks dominate cybercrime in the region. Data taken from 2024-2025 shows that phishing campaigns have matured beyond the spray-and-pray mass emails of yesteryear and now resemble the more […]

#Android verification is coming: #Google confirms timeline & supported app stores

Almost 20 years ago, Google pitched Android as the more open alternative to Apple's walled garden. Last year, Google announced it would begin erecting its own walls through #developer #verification. The company has issued an update on its plans, affirming that the verification system will begin rolling out in select countries later this year. We're also learning which app stores are participating in verification & the timeline for key features like the recently revealed "advanced flow" for bypassing verification.

Google has claimed that developer verification is a necessary change to #smartphone software distribution, pointing to the increased prevalence of #scams that trick Android users into installing #malware apps. Google's solution requires verifying the identities of developers outside the Play Store just like it does for devs publishing on its platform.
#privacy #security

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/google-shares-updated-timeline-for-rolling-out-android-developer-verification/

Politico: Meta faces calls for Congress to probe scam ads targeting seniors. “In a letter sent Thursday to House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the groups alleged Meta has been slow to take down fraudulent ads, leaving seniors vulnerable to financial loss. The letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, was signed by the […]

Pump.Fun’s Bounties Platform Is a Black Hole of Circular Grifting

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.wired.com/story/pumpfuns-bounties-platform-is-a-black-hole-of-circular-grifting/

A.I., not a fan

Image by  IMP Dariush

I guess people don’t understand and that’s okay…

But someone asked me if I use A.I. when I write.

No, I do not.

I’m not a fan of A.I. for anything.

I’m a journalist because I wanted a career that is also creative.

A.I. is nothing but.

Sorry A.I. supporters, but it’s really not.

Photo by Mariia Shalabaieva on Unsplash

Several months ago I met a women who specializes in A.I. for business, who asked the question how could A.I. help your business?

I said, “If A.I. could automatically get rid of anything phishing so I don’t have that bullshit in my in-box, that would help my peace of mind.”

A.I. sucks because it can’t do that.

A little backstory — and a WARNING — here. Some may (or may not) remember earlier this year I temporarily left WordPress.

Someone who follows my blog did one of those hyper-like thingies where they “liked” at least 15 of my blogs all in a row.

Honestly, I can’t even stand when someone likes TWO of my blogs in a row, let alone 15 in a row. No one reads that fast and it’s just an obnoxious way to try to get someone’s attention.

What attention seeking fool is doing this, I asked myself?

I clicked on their blog and BOOM!!! A huge pop-up came on to my computer saying I had contracted a virus and I had to send money to this person.

The punchline — I DID NOT HAVE A VIRUS, IT WAS A SCAM!

I reached out to WordPress to let them know. They were clueless and helpless. Especially the last customer service woman who ended her emails with “Ciao” — trying in an obnoxious way to say the conversation was over. (No, it’s over when I say it’s over, so I was just as obnoxious back writing “CHOW.” When people are assholes, I always have to get the last word.)

The result, I temporarily left WordPress for Medium.

During that month my blogs and articles on Medium were unseen, yet I’d get hundreds of “claps” for my clever responses to someone else’s blogs. This wasn’t doing me any good.

Meanwhile, I was still getting hundreds of views on WordPress. Every day people look at this blog, digging up my old stuff. On the right hand side of this page, I can see what my top posts are. It’s interesting that people are finding stuff from so long ago, stuff that I didn’t see in a long time. It’s cool to see that, like reading an old diary.

I deleted Medium and came back to WordPress. I’ve been here since 2012 and I’m not going anywhere anymore.

That said, I will beware before clicking on any WordPress page unless I have been conversing with that person.

Likes are cute, but the real depth of having a blog is conversation. If I’m saying something that resonates with someone else and they let me know, who wouldn’t love that? No matter how busy I am, if I receive a kind comment from someone, I’ll more than likely check out their blog and make a comment myself.

This kind of interaction, you can’t get with A.I.

We are real people behind these computers (or, urgh phones!) we type on. We have depth. We have feelings. We have personality.

A.I. is just weird, as is Alexa.

God made the brains of human beings in a beautiful way — with thoughts, imagination, creativity. And the same with our bodies. Our legs and fingers can do everyday things, like change a channel or choose music. “Alexa, let’s hear a Queen song” never sat with me. I don’t think Freddie Mercury would like it either. I’m sure he’d want you to pick your favorite song, not A.I.

A.I. and Alexa may be trying to take over, but there are many holdouts who won’t buy into it.

The very first portion of this blog, I wrote on Facebook last night. Just to say I don’t use A.I. as a journalist.

I was so happy that quite a few people agreed with me, hating on A.I.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not above any sort of technology — if it helps!

And right now, the biggest and best thing technology could be used for is to nail criminals, but I don’t see that.

A criminal was on WordPress and got away with it being a criminal. They deleted their account before anything could be done. And I was the “problem” who got a mere “Ciao” instead of true compassion. Maybe the WordPress “customer service rep” was A.I? Who the hell knows..

Criminals phish my emails every day, pretending to be famous authors who are interested in my work. I’m hitting the “Phish” button faster than a greased rat’s ass because I type about 82 wpm. (It used to be 100, but like everyone else, I am aging).

A.I. or Alexa, if you can fix phishing and scamming, I will change my mind about you.

For now, my opinion is, we are just nanoseconds from living this haunting song from the sixties.

Listen to the words, we are living the future. We are done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb7poHQuMWg

What's with the uptick in overly friendly Mastodon accounts that quickly want to pivot to Telegram? They all seem to follow the same script looking for Johns to sell services to.

Needless to say, I politely decline.

If they were legitimate they'd be on OnlyFans or one of its competitors not pinging random accounts here.

This is good fodder for my cyber security and scam awareness presentations, but economically I don't see how we are worth the effort. Has the Fediverse grown that much?

I'd like to understand how these groups are organized and operate from the inside, to get a fuller picture of what's happening here. Are there any YouTube interviews or podcasts that cover this?

#askfedi #scams #cybersecurity #scam