https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/cra...es-malware

With many people using their smart phones for banking and credit card purchases this is a sneaky scam that seems to have been detected ...wonder how much money was already skimmed ?

Quote:
 
Bloomberg / Getty Images
Pedestrians walk past a roadside billboard advertising Tecno Mobile in Maiduguri, Nigeria, May 1, 2019.

When Mxolosi saw a Tecno W2 smartphone in a store in Johannesburg, South Africa, he was attracted to its looks and functionality. But what really drew him in was the price, roughly $30 — far less than comparable models from Samsung, Nokia, or Huawei, Africa’s other top brands.
“They’re very attractive and appealing to your eyes,” Mxolosi, who asked for his last name not to be used to protect his personal safety, told BuzzFeed News. “Honestly, I was a Samsung fan but I said, ‘Let me try this new product.’”
It was another sale for Transsion, the Chinese company that makes Tecno and other low-priced smartphones, as well as basic handsets, for the developing world. Since releasing its first smartphone in 2014, the upstart has grown to become Africa’s top handset seller, beating out longtime market leaders Samsung and Nokia.
But its success can come at a price. Mxolosi, an unemployed 41-year-old, became frustrated with his Tecno W2. Pop-up ads interrupted his calls and chats. He’d wake up to find his prepaid data mysteriously used up and messages about paid subscriptions to apps he’d never asked for.
“It was expensive for me, and at some point I ended up not buying data because I didn’t know what was eating it up,” he said.
He thought it might be his fault, but according to an investigation by Secure-D, a mobile security service, and BuzzFeed News, software embedded in his phone right out of the box was draining his data while trying to steal his money. Mxolosi’s Tecno W2 was infected with xHelper and Triada, malware that secretly downloaded apps and attempted to subscribe him to paid services without his knowledge.
Secure-D’s system, which mobile carriers use to protect their networks and customers against fraudulent transactions, blocked 844,000 transactions connected to preinstalled malware on Transsion phones between March and December 2019.
Secure-D Managing Director Geoffrey Cleaves told BuzzFeed News that Mxolosi’s data was used up by the malware as it attempted to subscribe him to paid services. “Imagine how quickly his data would disappear if the subscriptions were successful,” he said.
Along with South Africa, Tecno W2 phones in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, and Myanmar were infected.
"Transsion traffic accounts for 4% of the users we see in Africa. Yet it contributes over 18% of all the suspicious clicks,” Secure-D Managing Director Geoffrey Cleaves told BuzzFeed News.
It’s the latest example of how cheap Chinese smartphones take advantage of the world’s poorest people. Current security concerns about Chinese apps and hardware have largely focused on potential back doors in Huawei’s 5G equipment. More recently, people have focused on how user data collected by TikTok could be abused by the company and the Chinese government. But an overlooked and ongoing threat is the consistent presence of malware on cheap smartphones from Chinese manufacturers and how it exacts a digital tax on people with low incomes.
A Transsion spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that some of the company's Tecno W2 phones contained the hidden Triada and xHelper programs, blaming an unidentified “vendor in the supply chain process.”
“We have always attached great importance to consumers’ data security and product safety,” they said. “Every single software installed on each device runs through a series of rigorous security checks, such as our own security scan platform, Google Play Protect, GMS BTS, and VirusTotal test.”
The spokesperson said Transsion did not profit from the malware, and they declined to say how many handsets were infected.
Michael Kwet, a visiting fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School who received his doctorate in South Africa, called the idea of Chinese-made phones extracting data and money from people living in poverty “digital colonialism.”
“If you have no disposable income, you're basically left with people preying on your data,” he told BuzzFed News. “The problem we have here is that we don't have a rational business model for a digital society.”
 
Bloomberg / Getty Images
Branding for Tecno Mobile sits above vendor kiosks at Jagwal Electronics Market in Maiduguri, Nigeria, May 1, 2019.

Though it’s largely unknown outside of Africa and in developing countries, Transsion is the fourth-biggest handset maker in the world, behind Apple, Samsung, and Huawei, but it’s the only manufacturer in that group to exclusively focus on low-income markets.
The need to keep costs low opens the door to malware and other vulnerabilities, according to Cleaves. “A fraudster is able to take advantage of that desire for a low price by offering their [hardware or software] services, even at loss, knowing that they can recover the costs through this ad fraud,” he said.
Secure-D previously discovered preinstalled malware on Alcatel phones made by TCL Communication, a Chinese handset maker, in Brazil, Malaysia, and Nigeria. It also exposed how Chinese technology preinstalled on cheap smartphones in Brazil and Myanmar robbed users with fraudulent transactions.
“In many cases it’s [a consumer's] first smartphone and the first time these people have access to the internet,” Guy Krief, a board member of Upstream Systems, the UK company that operates Secure-D, told BuzzFeed News. “The data eaten up by the malware — that’s a very important part of their income.”
Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh, the executive director of the Africa Cybersecurity and Digital Rights Organization, said Chinese phones with preinstalled malware have become a major threat on the continent.
“You have all these wonderful features for cheap, but there is a hidden cost,” he told BuzzFeed News. “There are a lot of Chinese phones that have malware installed on it.”
“At some point I ended up not buying data because I didn’t know what was eating it up,” said Mxolosi, who had to shut down a café he was running due to the coronavirus. South Africa has the fifth-highest number of cases of COVID-19 in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Learning that his smartphone had been stealing his money felt like yet another hardship. “Poor people are getting even more poor. People are going hungry,” he said.
People in the United States are also being exploited. Earlier this year, Malwarebytes, a security service, found preinstalled malware of Chinese origin in two phones offered to citizens with low incomes as part of the US government’s Lifeline program, which provides subsidized phones and mobile data. Both phones were made by Chinese companies.
Nathan Collier, a senior mobile malware analyst at Malwarebytes, said cheap Chinese smartphones are a security risk to people with low incomes around the world.
“It seems like we’re seeing the same story over and over again where there’s a cheap phone made from China with Chinese malware on it that gets in the hands of people who can’t afford a pricier phone,” he told BuzzFeed News. “Having preinstalled malware right there in your phone when you turn it on out of the box is gross and nasty.”
Collier researched Triada and xHelper and said they were “the first malware [he’s] even seen where a factory reset doesn’t take care of it. That’s a game changer.”
Typically, malware like Triada and xHelper requires someone to be tricked into installing it on their phones, rather than it coming straight from the factory. It’s often used to deliver invasive ads that send money back to whoever controls the malware. But it can also be used to install apps that subscribe the victim to paid services via monthly billing or prepaid data — siphoning cash directly from the phone’s owner.

Transsion said it created a fix for Triada in March 2018 after reports identified its presence on W2 smartphones. Transsion said it also shipped a fix for xHelper in late 2019. In both cases, phone owners needed to download the fixes and update their phones.
Cleaves said Secure-D has continued to block transactions related to Triada and xHelper on Transsion phones into April this year, though at a lower volume than before.
“Although xHelper appears to have entered a dormant stage, we have no reason to believe it's gone away,” he said. “There’s no reason to believe that the perpetrators behind that malware are just going to give up. They’ve got this extremely virulent malware sleeping on millions of devices, and it’s just a matter of time before they strike again.”
Mxolosi said he had no idea which company made his phone. He was surprised and disappointed to hear it was a Chinese company.
“Oh god. That means the Chinese are just ripping us off left, right, and center,” he said, comparing his malware-riddled smartphone to designer knockoffs made in China that flood South Africa. “We are getting [counterfeit versions] of clothing that are made in the US. They come in and make them with bad quality.”
Mxolosi said he was planning to buy another Tecno phone until BuzzFeed News informed him of what was wrong with his W2. Now he is looking for other options.
“Now I would never,” he said. “That device would make me spend more on that phone. So why should I go for that while we’ve having problems with money?” ●

Hello @"Jinmi" and a warm welcome to our little corner of the interwebz.

Since you're here, you probably already know what we're all about?
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There's beer in the fridge, coffee on the stove and snacks on the tables.
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G

I read some bad reviews on this, so I avoided it for awhile. 

Just finished watching it and it turned out to be pretty good and had a hell of an ending(really didn't see it coming until 3/4 in, when it was hinted). 

It's about a small town in wisconsin that grabs the attention of a big DC campaign manager.

After seeing a viral video of a man arguing at a town hall meeting for the right to access social programs without having to show ID or proof of citizenship. The democratic campaign manager thinks it's an opportunity to have the man in the video run on the democratic ticket and start to make inroads into "small town red america".

Please though, don't let the politics turn you off(like it did for me). It's actually pretty much down the line poking fun at both sides, the process and just about everything having to do with politics/the media and elections. 

Also, the ending was superb. Steve Carell and Rose Byrne(playing steves opposite, the reb campaign manager that gets lured in) act it well and the comedy is suttle, effective and not over the top. I had some reservations seeing this was wrtten and directed by Jon Steward, but like I said, this hit down the middle nicely and really wasn't about one side or the other.

I'd give it a 7 out of 10.

Quote:"Testing stations will be set up inside the Harano Tunnel, in both directions of traffic, to maximize the number of individuals who can be tested,” reports HNN. The news network goes on to explain a bizarre requirement that people who have been tested are not allowed to exit the H-3 freeway until they reach the very end. “Once individuals have been tested, they’ll be required to continue on to either end of the H-3 before using alternate Koolau routes, if necessary, to continue in transit,” reports HNN.

Quote:“Testing on the H-3 is a historic, first ever endeavor that will make a significant difference in getting more people tested,” said Mayor Caldwell. “This will be made possible by all of our Federal, State, and County teams working together to make sure traffic in and out of these sites can flow smoothly.”

Howdy all you green thumbs!
  I would like to try a Fall crop of potatoes this year. I think I will have a much better chance during our super mild winter than battling the intense heat and insects we deal with (Tx)
   So.. I've never done these and would love any advice you guys might have.  Is it too late for me to get a bag of organic potatoes and let them sit until mid or end of September and then plant?  I just don't know how long they need to 'rest' or do I even need to do that? Can I go ahead and plant them straightaway once we get under 100°+? 
 I've heard russets don't do very well here but yukons and reds seem to be a pretty good bet so I'm gonna try those I guess. 
Any advice/comments appreciated!

This is what happens when people from other cultures come to America. It might be legal to rape women in their country, but it's not okay in ours!    

Quote:A Bronx man was arrested Sunday for allegedly trying to rape a woman on an Upper East Side subway platform in a disturbing daytime attack that was filmed and ultimately thwarted by fellow New Yorkers, police said.

Jose Reyes, 31, is accused of pouncing on the 25-year-old woman around 11 a.m. Saturday inside the Lexington Avenue and East 63 Street F train station.

“This heinous and horrendous act was interrupted by a good Samaritan who observed Mr. Reyes’ behavior and got him to cease . . . while subsequently videotaping the incident,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison told reporters.

The woman was riding the F train home from work when she encountered Reyes, who was “smoking some type of hookah and started making weird noises and laughing to himself,” Harrison said.

She and the deranged man got off at the station, where he began gesturing “in a masturbation motion toward her” as she tried to move away, according to the top detective.

“Mr Reyes follows her, which resulted in him assaulting her, punching her, pushing her to the ground, climbing on top of her and attempting to spread her legs,” Harrison said.

Video taken by the witness showed a man — identified by cops as Reyes — thrusting his body on top of the woman as horrified bystanders looked on.

“Hey get off her!” people yelled, according to cops.

The creep then took off after grabbing his sunglasses off the ground and mouthing inaudible words at the crowd, video shows.
Filming the attack and screaming at the sicko “was helpful in scaring him away,” Harrison said.

The woman had been on her way home from work when she boarded a train that Reyes was in. He was smoking a type of hookah and began to make “weird noises” and laugh to himself, Harrison said.

The woman suffered minor injuries, but refused medical attention, police said.
Police on Sunday released the video in an attempt to identify the would-be rapist.

Quote:The NYPD’s facial recognition team allegedly matched the clip to a mugshot of Reyes from a criminal mischief arrest earlier this year.

Three tips to the Crimestoppers hotline led patrol officers with the 23rd Precinct to Lexington Avenue and 105th Street in East Harlem, where Reyes was nabbed around 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

He had narcotics in his possession, Harrison alleged, saying that drugs may have contributed to the attack.
Police said Reyes didn’t know his victim and that he confessed to the attempted rape.

The chief applauded the tipsters as being “very instrumental in apprehending our individual.”

“If there’s any messages going to be taken, it is we need the community’s help, we need the people’s help,” Harrison said.
“In order for us to be successful, in order for us to stop the violence, we have to work together.”

Reyes has at least 14 previous arrests on his record, including three that took place on the subway system, though none were sexual in nature, cops said.

He was charged with attempted rape at his arraignment early Monday, where he was ordered held on $75,000 cash bail.

Duterte has been a wishy washy leader for defense of the Philippines since his take over as president. He has threatened to kick all US forces out of the PI on several occasions as he tried to buddy up to China. Evidently someone has gotten to him and explained how the cow eats the cabbage and the PI be the cabbage with China unless he wises up.

i use the  Dollar General about a mile down the road as sorta super convince store. i go there when we need something and i don't want to go to a grocery store or department store.

most times i wind up spending 20 bucks or more. when i do i always use my debit card. i carry cash and always try to have at least 60 dollars in my wallet. but i don't spend it on purchases over 20 bucks, i use the debit card.

well about 2 months ago when the coin shortage started making the news, i noticed that this one had put up signs saying sorry we have no pennies. didn't seem to odd to me until today.

i stopped there to buy a soda for a short road trip i was making, cause all the other convince stores along the way were across the main  4 lane road drag and traffic on this rd on sunday can get pretty bad because it's a cut through that saves about 15 miles between two cities and counties.

as i was standing in line i got to thinking about the what the cost would be with tax and i didn't have any change. then i got to thinking about all the other convince stores on this road which there are about 8 chain stores, a small full line Piggly Wiggly grocery store about the size of dollar general, BP, Shell, Tom Thumb, Texaco and a couple of Mom and Pop stores that always have change even when there was a shortage alert.

so i was standing there checked my pockets no change, so i decided to tell them that i didn't have any pennies, got to the register to check out and the 20oz coca cola came to 2.03, i told them i didn't have any pennies either. the cashier asked if i had any other change or another dollar, i told her i had no change and i wasn't going to give her another dollar so she could give me 95 cents back and take a nickle for a 3 cent balance. she freaked, started running back and forth from each cashier and then finally called the manger which is a woman i grew up with.

she said that i would have to give them a nickle or a dollar and get .95 cents back. i told her that i wasn't going to do that and if she didn't let me have it then my shadow would never darken their door again. she knew i came in quite often so she went ahead and let me have the soda for 2 bucks. when i got out to the truck looked in the ashtray and had some change so i took the 3 pennies in to her and went on my way.

on the way home as i passed the Dollar General i got to wondering if all the Dollar Generals were doing this. so i went past my turn for our rd and went to the other Dollar General about five miles away. went in and sure enough they had a sign up saying the same thing.

now i don't know if it's nation wide for all their stores or just this district stores, but if it's nation wide just imagine the money their conning people out of every day,week and month. i know just a few pennies for a person doesn't sound like much. but for the thousand of people they maybe taking it from, it could add up. they could get up to .04 cents a person with just pennies. then what if they say sorry we have no pennies, nickels, then add dimes and quarters. see what i'm saying.

Full Title: Would you like to see a return to the use of castrated Eunuch's to act as our political officials?

Explanation: Eunuch (court official) [wiki]

Quote:A eunuch ( /ˈjuːnək/; Greek: Ευνούχος) is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences. (Less commonly, in translations of ancient texts, "eunuch" may refer to a man who is not castrated but who is impotent or celibate.)

Castration was typically carried out on the soon-to-be eunuch without his consent in order that he might perform a specific social function; this was common in many societies. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 21st century BC.[1][2] Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, treble singers, religious specialists, government officials, military commanders, and guardians of women or harem servants.

Quote:Etymology and originsThe English word eunuch is from the Greek eune ("bed") and ekhein ("to keep"), effectively "bed keeper".

Eunuchs would probably be servants or slaves who, because of their function, had been castrated, usually in order to make them reliable servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could in theory give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" and impart de facto power on the formally humble but trusted servant. Similar instances are reflected in the humble origins and etymology of many high offices (e.g., chancellor originally denoted a servant guarding the entrance to an official's study). Eunuchs supposedly did not generally have loyalties to the military, the aristocracy, nor to a family of their own (having neither offspring nor in-laws, at the very least), and were thus seen as more trustworthy and less interested in establishing a private 'dynasty'. Because their condition usually lowered their social status, they could also be easily replaced or killed without repercussion. In cultures that had both harems and eunuchs, eunuchs were sometimes used as harem servants (compare the female odalisque) or seraglio guards.[citation needed]

In Latin, the words eunuchus, spado, and castratus were used to denote eunuchs.

Actually I'll keep the name for the time being.  My point is that the better life I've been searching for for the past 10 years is just around the corner now.

In the past 10 years I've had three hearings with Social Security per my disabilities.  Each case involved waiting. Waiting for the court date, waiting months and months afterwards for the verdict.  Denied each time of course.  My final wait was for the results of my appeal to the last hearing.  

Finally the results are in.  I have been approved for full disability benefits according to my lawyer.  This means that this will contribute towards that better life I have been waiting on, especially since my wife passed away and Social stopped my SSI payments at that time.

So for now I wait once again.  I await the Rewards Letter explaining how much I will receive and when it will get here.  I also wait for notice of the back pay that I will receive.  I know that the latter may take many months to be sent to me but at least I have a rough idea how much each will be.