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Internet Scams to Good to Be True -Thailand
Ghana and Nigeria are becoming synonymous with Internet fraud as a Google search reveals. Last month, in a town hall meeting in New York with the Vice President His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, I raised the serious problem of Internet fraud in Ghana. While his response showed that the government was trying to solve the problem, but also showed that most Ghanaians were not aware of how sophisticated this crime had become.
Yet the idea persists that most foreigners being ripped off on internet fraud scams – also called 419 or Sakawa – greedy people are eager to quick riches. This is no longer the case. Criminals no longer send emails that cheap that someone has died in a plane crash has left millions of dollars or the child of a deceased African dictator with millions hidden is willing to transfer the money in the bank account of a foreigner one party. Con artists know that foreigners are no longer for this type of financial scams. Therefore, more sophisticated varieties.
An Indian company that makes bags of cocoa and has a website receives an “offer” of the Cocoa Marketing Company (Gh) Ltd (CMC) on the official letterhead of the supply of 200,000 bags of Ghana’s cocoa. Its marketing manager calls the number on the letterhead and received by someone impersonating an officer of the CMC. Then comes another looking for fraudulent documents, but official until the Indian company is convinced that the transaction is genuine. This is followed by demands for various positions at various agencies in Ghana, all backed by official looking but fake receipts. Thieves inviting the company to send a representative to Ghana to sign the formal contract. The representative of Ghana arrives only to be picked up by the thieves to his hotel and, finally, fleeced of more money. I know because communication by e-mail I received from one of those victims.
A retiree in the U.S. alone who just lost his wife goes to a dating site on the Internet as match.com and befriends one Thai nurse who is spending time in children in Ghana to help in an orphanage. The image of the retiree saw was actually a picture of a person cut out of the Internet and is used in the scam. Mrs. hopes to visit in the U.S. and starts demanding money for a plane ticket and to secure a U.S. visa. On the day of departure Ghana Immigration would not let him board the plane because I had to take some money into it. Any questions are answered with an official letter from the Ghana Immigration Service. Anyone who doubts this should go to the website of the Ghana Immigration Service and see a flag to warn people of this crime. The woman said the retiree who was bringing a little gold with her to the U.S. and was arrested for not paying taxes on that amount. Mr. Retirees would send their money to pay police and pay the tax so that she can return when you sell gold in the U.S.? This scam is again supported by forged documents, a false passport, a U.S. visa fraud, a fake letter from the Ghana Immigration Service, a fake letter from the Internal Revenue Service and the Ghana Police. Some of these criminals who steal from their colleagues and have their passports and identification documents of people from other countries like the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, etc. for use in these individuals impersonating the Sakawa 419 or fraud. I know because I’ve seen some of these documents.
The range of official documents, but fraudulent used in these programs ran the gamut and supposedly comes from the ministries, courts, parliament, police and customs.
As part of its quest to become a middle income country in the near future, Ghana has opened its doors to international trade and investment, which is working directly weakened by the number of fraudulent documents to leave the country. There is also the tragic aspect of these scams on the Internet lead to many victims of despair, debt and bankruptcy and others to take their own lives.
Last year, a Briton, Philip Hunt, who suffered from depression and had had two failed marriages, took his own life in front of a moving train after being cheated out of £ 82,000 for a romantic con man named “Rose” Nigeria. Also last year, a father of Al Circelli, of Yonkers, New York was shot in the head after he stole $ 50,000 by a romance scammer Internet Ghana who called Aisha.
These scams do nothing for the image of Ghana as a desirable tourist destination. I think only a minority of these frauds are perpetrated by Ghanaians. Letterhead reading “Federal Republic of Ghana,” the signatories and Chinedu Eke, gives a good idea that these scammers origin. These foreigners have settled in Ghana because most victims do not respond to e-mail scam from their countries of origin. Unless Ghana do something soon, we risk being rejected by the international community.
Combating Internet Crime in Ghana should not be difficult if the government concentrates on the main facilitators – most of them is Western Union and its lax system of money transfer. And to think that in this day and age of international money laundering and terrorist financing, nobody, not even a fake name and identity can enter a Western Union office or its affiliates and collect several thousand dollars with minimal logging is negligent, to say the least. Government should demand that henceforth no one collecting more than $ 1,000 in money transfer Western Union shall provide a driver’s license or passport and in cases of very large sums should be digitally photographed and save the image of the company and put available at the request of the law.
Some of the victims of cyber crime have lost money through wire transfers. It seems that some banks in Ghana are negligent in opening accounts or some of its officials have colluded with these criminals to deceive foreigners. The government should enforce tougher standards for banks and which shows that Bank staff have assisted in Internet fraud facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts, they should be prosecuted.
Government should vigorously pursue the existing SIM card registration exercise and eliminate all the numbers registered fraudulently. These scammers use cell phones that are registered or fraudulently registered or registered to others. Once the SIM card exercise is done correctly and all cellular calls can be traced to particular individuals, cyber-criminals can be quickly located and arrested by police.
Institutionally, the Ghana Police Service and must have an Internet unit of effective crime and well trained to carry out covert operations and to pursue and apprehend these criminals. The website of Ghana Police Service should have a banner in bold on the home page with an Internet address and a phone number to anyone who you think you are being ripped off on contact. The cyber crime unit will work with the victim to establish cyber criminals in an undercover operation in Ghana and arrest them. Many victims have told me in touch with the Ghana Police, but received no response or cooperation.
Most cyber criminals use Internet cafes. The government should seriously consider Internet cafes license – if you do not already – and requires them to ensure their computers are not used for 419 scam or Sakawa. There are stories repeated cyber criminals engaged in equipment rental internet cafes for days with the owners aware of, but turns a blind eye to their activities.
Last year when I was at home in Ghana, with my family, I went to an internet cafe with my wife for example. Upon entering, just in front of me and a team facing the Internet cafe owner was a man who had cut the image of an Asian woman over the internet and was using software to pose in front of a photograph of the Plaza de Independence of Ghana. Immediately, intentionally told my wife and sight of the man who was changing the image for use in an Internet scam. At this point, the man became very nervous and in a short time left in the cafeteria.
It is expected that the government acts on these recommendations and, finally, derives the title of this insidious crime is rapidly eroding the image of Ghana.
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Trudeau’s Gun Grab Could Cost Taxpayers a Whopping $7 Billion
A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.
The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.
This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.
The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.
In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.
Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened
“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.
Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.
Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.
In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.
An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.
Enforcement efforts Questioned
By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.
“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).
The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.
The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.
“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.
Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem
Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.
“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.
Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.
Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.
“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.
“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.
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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue
Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.
According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.
Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.
Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.
Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.
To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.
Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.
On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.
Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.
TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.
When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.
And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.
Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.
A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.
Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.
But today, it feels more like reality.
Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.
SOURCE | CNN
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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.
(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.
The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.
Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.
This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.
In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.
The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.
This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.
The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.
In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.
According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.
Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.
The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.
For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.
Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.
As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.
As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.
The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.
SOURCE: AP
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