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Column: How I nearly fell for a frightening ‘virtual kidnapping’ scam

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

I was impacted by a scam phone call this week that didn’t cost me money or expose my data, but took an enormous emotional toll, including 20 minutes of terror.Writing this column a day later, I’m still anxious and, frankly, a little embarrassed that I believed the scammer when he said he had kidnapped my wife.As a longtime tech journalist and founder and CEO of ConnectSafely, an online safety organization, I know a lot about phone and online scams and have written and spoken extensively on the subject. But this call felt real to me and threatened to separate me not from money but from someone, who, along with my children, means more to me than anything in the world. Being an “expert” didn’t make me immune to the social engineering that led me to believe the threat was real.Fear and deceptionAfter the incident I spoke with security and law enforcement experts who, in a sense, reassured me that my response was appropriate given the circumstances. The person on the phone was very good ...

Quebec flooding: Body of one of two missing volunteer firefighters found

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

BAIE-SAINT-PAUL, Que. — Quebec provincial police say they have found a body in the community northeast Quebec City where two volunteer firefighters were swept away by floodwaters during a rescue mission on Monday.Police spotted the body from a helicopter in the St-Urbain, Que., area just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sgt. Béatrice Dorsainville told reporters, adding that they would wait for a coroner to confirm the person’s identity. The force issued a news release saying it appears the body is one of the two missing men.Multiple media have reported that the two missing firefighters were Christopher Lavoie, 23, and Régis Lavoie, 55, who were reportedly not related.“The search is currently continuing in the area to try and find the second person who remains missing,” Dorsainville said, adding that search and rescue teams include police divers and officers in a helicopter, on boats and patrolling on land.More than 90 millimetres of rain has fallen on St-Urbain since Satu...

Lawyers charged by regulatory body after investigation into surveilling judge

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

WINNIPEG — Two lawyers are facing charges under the Law Society of Manitoba after the regulatory body investigated complaints they hired a private investigator to surveil a judge who was hearing a case involving COVID-19 public health orders. John Carpay, president of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Randal Jay Cameron face charges from the independent regulator, which include undermining the public respect for the administration of justice and breach of integrity.A hearing date has not been set.The lawyers are also facing criminal charges for attempting to obstruct justice and intimidation of a justice system participant in relation to the surveillance. They have separate court dates later this month. Both men represented several churches that tried in 2021 to overturn Manitoba public health orders that prevented in-person religious services during the height of the pandemic.Carpay temporarily stepped down as president of the Justice Centre after ad...

FTC: Facebook misled parents, failed to guard kids’ privacy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

U.S. regulators say Facebook misled parents and failed to protect the privacy of children using its Messenger Kids app, including misrepresenting the access it provided to app developers to private user data. As a result, The Federal Trade Commision on Wednesday proposed sweeping changes to a 2020 privacy order with Facebook — now called Meta — that would prohibit it from profiting from data it collects on users under 18. This would include data collected through its virtual-reality products. The FTC said the company has failed to fully comply with the 2020 order. Meta would also be subject to other limitations, including with its use of face-recognition technology and be required to provide additional privacy protections for its users.“Facebook has repeatedly violated its privacy promises,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The company’s recklessness has put young users at risk, and Facebook needs to answer for its failures.”Meta called the a...

Scientists warn of AI dangers but don’t agree on solutions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Computer scientists who helped build the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence technology are warning of its dangers, but that doesn’t mean they agree on what those dangers are or how to prevent them. After retiring from Google so he could speak more freely, so-called Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton plans to outline his concerns Wednesday at a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He’s already voiced regrets about his work and doubt about humanity’s survival if machines get smarter than people.Fellow AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, co-winner with Hinton of the top computer science prize, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he’s “pretty much aligned” with Hinton’s concerns brought on by chatbots such as ChatGPT and related technology, but worries that to simply say “We’re doomed” is not going to help.“The main difference, I would say, is he’s kind of a pessimistic person, and I’m more on the optimisti...

Pompeii chariot stars in Rome exhibit probing ancient roots

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

ROME (AP) — A meticulously reconstructed Pompeii bridal chariot that eluded the ancient city’s modern-day looters is a star of an ambitious new exhibition in Rome, which invites viewers to reflect on today’s connections with classical Roman and Greek civilizations.Shown for the first time to the public since it was discovered in 2021 under four meters (13 feet) of volcanic ash, the four-wheeled chariot features silver and bronze decorations, including of erotic scenes. The chariot was found under the ruins of a villa just outside Pompeii, an excavation prompted by the discovery that artifact thieves were tunneling through the area in hopes of finding saleable ancient loot. Wooden parts of the chariot, like the sideboards, didn’t survive the A.D. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius that ended Pompeii’s run as a thriving, enterprising Roman city. But to reconstruct what didn’t survive of the chariot, experts used same the pioneering technique that have been employed ...

Ottawa announces new framework for 5G spectrum licensing to improve connectivity

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

Ottawa says a new licensing policy will make it easier for small internet service providers and rural, remote and Indigenous communities to access 5G spectrum.Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says the non-competitive local licensing framework will provide a broad range of users, including businesses and industries, with the opportunity to acquire spectrum licences in localized areas across the country.This will mean users benefit from improved connectivity in areas as small as a single farm, factory, university campus or shopping centre.Ottawa says a farm could use this spectrum for a private network to bolster automated operations such as crop tracking or product traceability.Last June, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada launched a licensing framework consultation with the goal of promoting competition and innovation in the lead-up to a spectrum auction planned for 2024.ISED says it is working to implement the new framework for users by next year.This ...

Patrick Mahomes’ brother Jackson charged with sexual battery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Jackson Mahomes, the brother of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was booked into jail Wednesday on aggravated sexual battery charges over an alleged altercation at a Kansas restaurant in late February.Jackson Mahomes, 22, was charged Tuesday with three counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of battery, online court records show. He was being held on $100,000 bond and was due to make an initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon. Under his bond conditions, he won’t be allowed to discuss his case publicly once he’s released.The probable cause affidavit in the case was not immediately available. But The Kansas City Star reported that police previously confirmed they were investigating a Feb. 25 incident involving Jackson Mahomes at a restaurant in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.Jackson Mahomes’ attorney, Brandan Joseph Davies, said in a statement that the court prohibited him and his client from comment...

Ukraine denies Russian claim Kyiv sent drones to hit Kremlin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claimed it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act. The Ukrainian president denied it, saying: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.”Putin wasn’t in the Kremlin at the time and was at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.There was no independent verification of the purported attack, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence to support it. Questions also arose as to why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident and why videos of it also surfaced later in the day.A video posted overnight on a local Moscow news Telegram channel, shot from across the river from the Kremlin, appeared to show smoke rising over the buildings. It wasn’t possible to ascertain its veracity. A...

Teamsters oust suburban board after more than $1M in questionable expenses

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:31 GMT

BURR RIDGE, Ill. — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has removed leaders of Local 731 based in suburban Burr Ridge after an audit turned up questionable and excessive spending on everything from steak to booze and bonuses. It totaled well over $1 million.A letter sent by Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien to local members said an audit found Local 731’s board gave itself nearly $304,000 in bonuses over five years without the required approval of membership.  More Coverage: WGN Investigates Auditors also questioned nearly $66,000 in spending they said was excessive or unrelated to union business. It includes two visits to Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse that racked up a total tab of $37,000, including nearly $16,000 in alcohol. The audit also questioned $924,000 in donations and contributions the union made in recent years without membership approval.“The violations and wrongdoing identified above are not a complete list,” O’Brien wrote in the letter to members. “It is cl...