Countless cases of mobile text-messaging scams have been rolling in recently. Apart from stealing personal data, fraudsters are using social media networking apps to steal money and spread computer viruses. Police urge people to cancel automatic payments for small amounts and say to get rid of links on social networking sites available to the public in order to minimize the scope of possible damages.
Police in Hsinchu City said that last week one victim received a text message for an express delivery package that included an unfamiliar Web address. After clicking the link, it went to the Web page for the express delivery company. Then a Web page for an app popped up, asking the victim to download a system app. He suspected that it was a scam and decided not to click on the link for the app, immediately returning to the previous page. Over the next five hours, a number of strangers called him asking questions, which was when he finally realized that fraudsters had used his cellphone number to send out numerous text messages. On the telephone, however, the people calling assumed that he worked for the express delivery company and that he had a lot of express packages to deliver.
According to the police investigation, the victim’s Facebook account was hacked into first. His Facebook settings did not keep his phone number private and the name he used on Facebook was his actual name, which is why he received the text messages. After the police investigated the matter, they came up with three conclusions. The first is that the Web address for the link to the Web page was a virus, which subsequently spread to other unspecified people, and the fee for all of the text messages sent to these people had to be paid for by the victim. The second conclusion is that the app designed for this particular Web address was the fastest shortcut to force the victim to pay the small amount of NT$3,000, even though the victim did not download the app. The last conclusion the police made was that since the victim’s Facebook account was hacked for an extended period of time without being handled properly, the victim’s personal mobile number was also available to the public on the site, which caused multiple damages to the victim.
Photo: Lin Liang-che, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者林良哲
The police urge people to scan for viruses immediately, reinstall Facebook and update your privacy and other related settings to avoid sharing your personal data with the public. The next step is to contact the telephone company to cancel automatic payments for small transactions, the police say, adding that you should also get rid of any links to social networking sites or chatting software, such as allowing Facebook to directly connect with Line, QQ or WhatsApp to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. The last thing they say is for those who have been shopping on the Internet for a while and usually make wire transfers directly on the Web to be sure to keep the sites from remembering your bank account number and password.
Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
近來手機詐騙簡訊層出不窮,除盜取個資外,還結合社群軟體伺機詐財、散播病毒,警方呼籲民眾取消小額付費,取消社群網站公開連結,便可將傷害減到最低。
新竹市警方表示,有被害人上週收到快遞的簡訊,內有不明網址,點進去之後,是快遞公司的網址,並跳出一個網頁程式,內容是要被害人下載一個系統的app軟體,被害人認為有詐,沒有點進去,馬上按返回。但五個小時內,有許多不明人士打過去問,被害人才知道被詐騙集團以他手機號碼的名義,傳了多封簡訊。而電話中的內容,竟是以為被害人是快遞員工,而且手上有許多快遞貨品。
Photo: Yu Po-lin, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者俞泊霖
警方調查,被害人先被盜用臉書,因為臉書上的電話沒有設隱私,而臉書上所使用的名字,是被害人的本名,所以才會收到這個簡訊。警方調查後獲得三個結論,首先,網址所聯結的網頁,本身就是病毒,而且會直接擴散,傳給不特定人士,而發送簡訊的費用,還要由被害人承擔。其次,網址所設計的app,雖然被害人沒有直接下載,但它就是強迫被害人小額付款新台幣三千元的最快捷徑。最後,被害人的臉書長期被盜用,卻未處理,且把個人手機號碼附在臉書上,未設隱私,導致多重受害。
警方呼籲民眾,立即掃毒,並重灌臉書,更新隱私及相關設定,不要把個資曝光,再來是跟電信公司聯絡,取消小額付費,並且取消所有社群網站、聊天軟體的連結,例如從臉書可以直接連到Line,連到QQ,WhatsApp等,避免把所有雞蛋放在同一個籃子裡。最後,有長期使用網路購物,並且於網路直接匯款習慣的民眾,務必取消記憶帳號及密碼的功能。
(自由時報記者蔡彰盛)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
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