WhatsApp Turning Into Telegram? Why Username Feature Will Only Increase Scam And Safety Risks

India Targets Encrypted Messengers by Feature: MeitY Sends Notices to Telegram and Signal

India's MeitY sent notices to Telegram and Signal asking them to justify their username features amid fraud concerns. The action, a day after WhatsApp was told to pause its own username rollout, marks India's shift from app bans to feature-by-feature scrutiny of messaging platforms.

How Can Usernames Be Misrepresented? Here's Why the Govt Is Concerned

The Centre's concerns over username-based messaging features stem from the possibility of fraudsters impersonating individuals, businesses and government agencies. Unlike phone numbers, usernames are chosen by users. This means someone can create a username that closely resembles the name of a

'This could be a disaster': Ankur Warikoo flags scam risk in WhatsApp's new username feature

According to WhatsApp, reserving a username takes only a few seconds.

iPhone Users: Be Aware of This New ‘Apple High Alert’ Scam

The scam is designed to make you act quickly—and turn over sensitive information to bad actors. Don’t fall for it.

WhatsApp’s username launch raises questions about impersonation and cyber fraud

While the username key controls who can contact a person first, it cannot stop someone pretending to be that person

Meta Officials Hold Discussions With Centre Over Username Feature: Sources

The government fears that the username feature will be misused by cyberthugs for impersonations, identity spoofing, phishing, and other online scams.

Russian mayor’s Telegram channel briefly hacked, revealing messages like 'Moscow will burn'

The personal Telegram channel of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin was briefly compromised on June 21, with hackers posting a series of unexpected and politically charged messages before the account was restored, AzerNEWS reports.

India issues notice to Telegram, Signal on concerns over usernames, source says

India has issued notices to messaging platforms Telegram and Signal ​over concerns that their username features ‌could facilitate impersonation and other forms of misuse, a government source said on ​Friday

AI is changing modern dating, but experts warn it's making people 'relationally stupid'

Relationship experts warn that using ChatGPT for dating profiles and texting is making people relationally stupid and unable to show up authentically.

WhatsApp messenger to begin offering usernames

Instead, people will be able to pick unique usernames to share with others, in a move designed to protect the privacy of your phone number, WhatsApp said in a statement. The post WhatsApp messenger to begin offering usernames appeared first on Vanguard News.

How a deepfake of Marco Rubio exposed the alarming ease of AI voice scams

With just 15 seconds of audio, hackers can now launch convincing deepfake scams—targeting CEOs, employees, and even world leaders.

Scam victim reveals devastating moment entire life savings disappear in 10-minute phone call with scammer

A scam victim has revealed the devastating moment they lost their entire life savings in a 10-minute call to a scammer using sophisticated technology to impersonate a bank.

After WhatsApp, Centre sends to notice to Telegram, Signal amid row over 'username' feature

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) on Thursday issued notices to messaging platforms Telegram and Signal over their existing 'username' feature, reported news agency PTI citing sources. The development comes a day after a similar notice was sent to Meta-owned instant messaging mobile application WhatsApp.

Forget Work. Passive Income Is the New American Dream.

Driven by a growing feeling that 9-to-5 jobs are a dead end, people are turning to social media to test out eccentric moneymaking schemes.

Fraud Cartels Monopolize Big Tech. New Legislation May Stop That.

Americans lost billions of dollars to online scams originating on social media last year—more than on any other platform, according to new data from the Federal Trade Commission. Many of these schemes begin with advertisements purchased by fraudsters, including international fraud cartels, who use social media platforms to lure victims into fake investment opportunities, romance scams, and...

Usernames Are Coming to WhatsApp Soon. Here's How to Reserve Yours

Even if you only use WhatsApp sometimes, you might want to snag your username now to stop giving out your phone number.

The scam in your boss's WhatsApp explained

The scam in your boss's WhatsApp explained

You soon won't need to give someone your phone number to chat on WhatsApp

WhatsApp is rolling out usernames that can be used to contact people on the app.

TikTok finalizing settlement of addiction lawsuit to avoid trial

TikTok is finalizing a settlement related to a lawsuit claiming that the world’s largest social media platforms are addictive to minors, according to people familiar with the matter, avoiding a jury trial scheduled for July in Los Angeles. The ...

Google, Meta, TikTok named under 'fake news' law

Google, Meta, TikTok named under 'fake news' law

WhatsApp Is Finally Getting Usernames: Here’s How It Works

WhatsApp is rolling out a pretty big privacy change that’s going to let people connect with each other without ever having to hand over their actual phone number. Starting this week, you can lock in a username for yourself ahead of the official rollout later this year, and given that WhatsApp has something like 3 [] The post WhatsApp Is Finally Getting Usernames: Here’s How It Works first appeared on iPhone in Canada.

SCMBANKER Malware Uses ClickFix Lures to Target Mexican Banking Users

A new banking fraudulent operation is targeting customers of Mexican banks, fintech, payment processors, and cryptocurrency exchanges using ClickFix lures. The activity cluster, tracked by Elastic Security Labs under the moniker REF6045, involves infecting victims through fake CAPTCHA verification pages that deceive them into running a malicious command that installs a PowerShell toolkit dubbed

भारतमा अन्त्य हुँदै पासवर्ड र ओटिपीको युग

काठमाडौं । भारतमा अनलाइन भुक्तानीमा देखिने ओटीपी (वन टाइम पासवर्ड) आधारित ठगी र साइबर अपराध घटाउने उद्देश्यले डिजिटल भुक्तानी कम्पनी भिसाले नयाँ ‘भिसा पेमेन्ट पासकी’ प्रणाली सुरु गरेको छ। यो नयाँ प्रणालीमार्फत अब कार्डबाट हुने अनलाइन भुक्तानीमा ओटीपी वा पासवर्डको सट्टा प्रयोगकर्ताले आफ्नो मोबाइलको बायोमेट्रिक सुरक्षा—जस्तै फिंगरप्रिन्ट वा फेस रेकग्निसन—प्रयोग गरेर भुक्तानी अनुमोदन गर्न सक्नेछन्। []

The Verification Trap: Why an Entitled Customer Completely Locked Themselves Out of Support After Accusing an Agent of Stealing Personal Info

That was certainly a frustrating phone call! The post The Verification Trap: Why an Entitled Customer Completely Locked Themselves Out of Support After Accusing an Agent of Stealing Personal Info appeared first on TwistedSifter.

WhatsApp pausing usernames for hundreds of millions of users over fraud fears

WhatsApp’s username feature has run into trouble in India, where officials are concerned about impersonation fraud and fake accounts.

IRS: Hmmm... how can we confuse taxpayers ever more? I know Let's start sending texts to people [Facepalm]

[link] [14 comments]

Employment lawyer reveals the four text messages you should never send to a coworker

When it comes down to it, they're there to make money. The post Employment lawyer reveals the four text messages you should never send to a coworker appeared first on Upworthy.

Hackers published private messages they attribute to journalist and media executive Ksenia Sobchak, pointing to supposed ‘agreements’ between her media empire and Russian officials

On July 8, journalist and media executive Ksenia Sobchak announced that hackers had broken into her email account and briefly gained access to her Telegram channels. Around the same time, screenshots showing fragments of her private correspondence appeared in the channels. Sobchak called them fakes and deleted them. The next day, however, the hacker group Black Mirror and the anonymous project VChK-OGPU published even more screenshots of Sobchak’s messages, along with some of her voice messages.

CBS news anchor nearly loses life savings in LA scam

A phone scam was so convincing that even veteran CBS News correspondent Matt Gutman admits he nearly walked into his bank and emptied his account before realizing something was terribly wrong. In a video shared Friday on his X account, Gutman recounted receiving a call from someone claiming to work in his bank’s “fraud protection” []

Banks accused of failing most vulnerable customers

Homeless people or those in financial hardship have been pushed to online applications and away from basic bank accounts.

Meta Adds WhatsApp Usernames: Here’s What You Need to Know

WhatsApp is rolling out usernames so people can chat without sharing phone numbers. Here’s how reservations, username keys, and rules work. The post Meta Adds WhatsApp Usernames: Here’s What You Need to Know appeared first on TechRepublic.

Commodore’s new flip phone bans all social media – and lets you play retro games

Those yearning for a simpler era of technology are in luck, as a new retro-style flip phone blocks social media apps while letting users play classic games.

Gardaí issue warning over sophisticated text message scam targeting bank accounts

One victim unknowingly handed over access to his online account after receiving a text message and phone call from scammers claiming to be bank officials, Gardaí have warned

TikTok terus berdepan saman baharu

SAN FRANCISCO: Platform TikTok berdepan satu lagi kes saman menyebabkan timbulnya persoalan sama ada syarikat media sosial perlu bertanggungjawab atas bahaya yang dicetuskan oleh produk mereka. Kes terbaharu itu menjadi penanda aras penting yang akan menentukan bagaimana ribuan saman berhubung ketagihan media sosial bakal diputuskan di Amerika Syarikat (AS). Syarikat itu baru sahaja menyelesaikan satu ... Read more The post TikTok terus berdepan saman baharu appeared first on Utusan Malaysia.

How AI Is Changing Telegram Promotion and Community Growth

Today, Telegram has become more than just a messaging app. It has become a site where business, authors, learning initiatives, client service and professional communities can occur. More and more channels and groups are getting added, making it difficult to see.This is why businesses are investing in smarter telegram growth solutions https://gramgpt.io/en/blogs/topics/telegram-promotion become more intelligent [] The post How AI Is Changing Telegram Promotion and Community Growth appeared first on QuintDaily.

Text-message login codes are going away, and the replacement is already on your phone

You already own your next big security boost.

Block reaches $45M settlement with 46 states over Cash App fraud probe

State attorneys general said they found that Block misled users by falsely advertising that Cash App provided bank-like protections, including advanced fraud detection.

TikTok Creator Shows How Public Clues in Videos Can Be Used To Identify Locations: “My 10-Year-Old Doesn’t Understand the Risk Behind Social Media”

A viral video is drawing attention after a TikTok creator demonstrated how publicly visible details in social media posts can potentially be used to identify a person’s location. A man on TikTok uses his platform to teach a serious lesson: just how easy it is for the wrong people to use the internet to find Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online. The post TikTok Creator Shows How Public Clues in Videos Can Be Used To Identify Locations: “My 10-Year-Old Doesn’t Understand the Risk Behind Social Media” appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Fact check: Scam texts link to fake Freedom Mobile websites

Scammers are attempting to steal your financial information through fake texts, phone calls and websites impersonating Freedom Mobile.