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Enticed by a fake ad, a Malaysian man lost 24,000 ringgit in a sperm ‘lending’ scam. Photo: Shutterstock

Enticed by a fake ad, a Malaysian man lost US$6,000 in a sperm ‘lending’ scam

The scam exploited the victim’s poor literacy and used a local law firm’s name to appear legitimate.

The scam exploited the victim’s poor literacy and used a local law firm’s name to appear legitimate

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Meta’s chatbot will speak in voices of celebrities like Awkwafina

Fake ‘Brad Pitt’ scams 2 women in Spain of more than US$360,000

Telegram messaging app CEO Pavel Durov arrested in France

Investigators allege the Russian-born billionaire’s platform has been used for money laundering and drug trafficking, among other offences.

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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov delivers a keynote speech during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in February 2016. Photo: Reuters

Pakistan’s internet slowdown decried by investors and activists

Activists and business leaders decry the move by Pakistan’s government, saying the crackdown risks the country’s economic recovery.

AI has made Hongkongers more vulnerable to fraud but is also used to fight back

Fraudsters are using AI to convincingly portray themselves as acquaintances and steal digital identities, driving demand for hi-tech cybersecurity solutions.

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Nearly 100 dead as renewed anti-government protests rock Bangladesh

Bangladesh tightened a nationwide curfew and ordered a shutdown of mobile internet services to quell deadly protests.

Men run past a shopping centre which was set on fire by protesters in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo: AP

Opinion | China’s tourism policy must now go beyond visa-free travel

China must make it easier for foreigners to experience the country and citizens to travel abroad if it wants to reconnect with the world.

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Ex-BBC anchor Huw Edwards pleads guilty to indecent child images charges

Edwards was the BBC’s highest paid journalist and top news anchor until he quit in April, following allegations he had paid a young person thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos

TikTok fails to reverse EU decision that labelled it a ‘gatekeeper’ platform

TikTok owner ByteDance has lost a legal challenge that sought to reverse a European Union decision that the firm should not favour its own service over rivals.

The TikTok logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen which displays the TikTok home screen, March 18, 2023. Photo: AP

EU warns Meta over paid ad-free option on Instagram, Facebook

The company could face fines worth 10 per cent of its annual global revenues for breaching the Digital Markets Act.

Meta Platforms breached the Digital Markets Act by forcing users to to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them, EU regulators say. Photo: AP Photo

Explainer | How to stay safe online with fraudsters targeting Hong Kong users of Instagram

Post examines the latest trends and ways to guard against online fraudsters.

‘This is dangerous’: Ulu Tiram attack spotlights Malaysia’s Isis sympathisers

Initial reports linked Friday’s ‘lone wolf’ attack on a police station in Johor Bahru to al-Qaeda affiliate Jemaah Islamiah, but extremism experts say young Southeast Asians prefer pro-Islamic State groups.

Hong Kong teacher ‘visited foot massage parlour not prostitutes on Wuhan trip’

Secondary school teacher was visiting massage parlour in his free time when police conducted a surprise operation there, according to Facebook post.

The teacher had been on a school trip to Wuhan in mainland China. Photo: Handout

Why new Meta AI chatbot could make Instagram, WhatsApp dangerous

Meta AI recently brought assistants powered by generative AI to Instagram and WhatsApp. But beyond helping personalise social media, the technology may threaten democracy, and even freedom of speech.

Meta AI recently brought generative AI-powered assistants to Instagram and WhatsApp, but rather than improving things, the technology may make social media a stronger tool for scammers, and constitute a threat to free speech. Photo: Shutterstock

Apple removes Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads services from China App Store

Chinese regulatory authorities had ordered the removal of those two apps over national security concerns, according to Apple.

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Fraudsters pose as HKMA to part Hongkongers from their money via WhatsApp

Scam operators seemingly thumb their noses at the regulator, which recently launched a campaign warning the public about financial frauds.

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Hongkonger in her 80s conned into buying iTunes gift cards in romance scam

Victim fell for the scam after she developed online romantic relationship with swindler posing as Canadian engineer, police say.

An elderly Hongkonger has fallen victim to an online romance scam. Photo: Shutterstock

Online sex abuse of 11-year-old Hong Kong girl sparks police warning to parents

11-year-old girl suffers online sex abuse after she met man on internet gaming site, police say.

English court jails first ‘cyberflasher’ under online safety laws

The first person convicted of cyberflashing in England and Wales was sentenced to 66 weeks in prison after he sent unsolicited explicit photos of his genitals over WhatsApp.

My Take | Why a walled internet may prove damaging for China’s future

Foreigners having trouble making mobile payments in China is just a trivial issue when it comes to the cost of its walled internet.

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QR codes for various digital payment services at a food store in Shenzhen, China. Photo: Bloomberg

Being scammed? Potential victims to get alerts from Hong Kong police Scameter app

Reported scam losses hit HK$5.49 billion last year with fraudsters changing methods to trick victims.

A fraud victim talks about her experience of being cheated by a fraudster. Photo: May Tse.

Apple boosts iMessage encryption to thwart quantum computing attacks

The company says its latest upgrade makes iMessage more secure than WhatsApp, Telegram, Skype, QQ, WeChat – or even Signal.

Meta to deploy in-house custom chips this year to power AI drive

Facebook owner Meta Platforms plans to deploy into its data centres this year a new version of a custom chip aimed at supporting its artificial intelligence push, according to an internal company document.

Editorial | Hong Kong hashtag fight against scams needs support

Vigilance of city public essential as the latest offensive against cybercrime and phishing gets under way.

Hong Kong is cracking down on phishing scams by using the prefix “#” to verify the identity of mobile service providers when they send text messages to customers. Photo: Shutterstock

Singapore jails ‘extremely predatory’ man who sent sexual messages to girl, 10

The victim, who told Benedict Tieng she was 14, turned out to be 10 at the time and was studying in a primary school.

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Gardens By the Bay’s Supertree grove in Singapore. The man and girl also talked about meeting up at Gardens by the Bay to “have fun” and discussed if they should record themselves having sex. Photo: Shutterstock

Google launches Gemini, upping the stakes in the global AI race

Google on Wednesday launched project Gemini, an artificial intelligence model trained to behave in humanlike ways, that is likely to intensify the debate about AI’s potential promise and perils.

Scammers steal real social media followers to make fake Hong Kong business page

Hijacked social media pages with real followers cloned to look like legitimate businesses by fraudsters, EGL Tours warns.

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last updated:
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