Why do Accounts Become Dormant and How to Avoid it
BANK clients are reminded that accounts without any activity for a long time can become dormant. A bank account is considered dormant when there is no financial activity — deposit or withdrawal — for a period of two years for a savings account and one year for a checking account. Dormant accounts are subject to […].....»»
Observe ‘cyber hygiene,’ judicial personnel urged
The Supreme Court has directed all judiciary officials and personnel to strengthen the courts’ cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data and minimize the risk of cyber threats. Acting Chief Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen issued the directive as Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo is on official travel abroad, citing the recent data breach involving the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth. In Administrative Order 150-2023 on “Proper Cyber Hygiene in Judiciary,” the SC said, “One of the most common ways of ransomware attacks is done through phishing emails, which usually contain malicious links or attachments.” The SC warned, “Do not open these links or attachments unless they have been verified to be legitimate.” Court officials and employees were advised to examine carefully the sender’s email address to avoid being victimized. “Phishers often use email addresses that look similar to ones used by legitimate organizations but may have small misspellings or inconsistencies. Always take a close look at the sender’s display name when checking the legitimacy of an email,” the SC said. Court officials and personnel were also instructed to protect personal information and double-check email attachments by scanning the same for viruses. On password security, the SC suggested that “under no circumstances should judiciary personnel use personal information and dictionary words in creating passwords.” Judiciary officials and employees were also urged to use a longer password containing numbers, symbols, and both uppercase and lowercase letters; to avoid the same password for multiple accounts; to consider passphrases or a sequence of random words instead of passwords; to use a password manager; and to enable a multifactor authentication system in their accounts. They were advised never to share their passwords with others, even those who claim to be from trusted institutions, and to ensure that any written passwords are stored securely. In protecting important files and ensuring their recovery in case of data loss, the guidelines recommend that court officials and personnel follow the “3-2-1 backup rule” to ensure data redundancy and availability in case of hardware failure, data corruption, or other catastrophes. The rule requires users to keep three copies of their data on two different media types, with one copy stored offsite. The post Observe ‘cyber hygiene,’ judicial personnel urged appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
The importance of cyber security
Cyberattacks are on the rise! In the past, we associated this terrifying incident with online banks and payment platforms. However, even government websites, not known as financial institutions, from which money may be stolen, or unauthorized payments are also targets. Last Sunday, 15 October, the website of the House of Representatives was vandalized before noon by a group calling itself “3MUSKETEERZ.” A face with a mocking meme with the phrases “You’ve been hacked” and “Have a nice day” appeared on the website. Below the face was the message, “Happy April Fullz Kahit October palang (even if it’s still)! Fix your website.” A few minutes later, the website went down and became inaccessible. Shortly after, the House of Representatives issued a statement assuring the public that the House had already taken action and coordinated with the government agencies concerned to deal with the matter. “While we work to restore the website fully, we ask for patience and understanding. We are committed to ensure the security and integrity of our digital platforms, and we will implement additional measures to prevent such incidents in the future,” the statement said. Relatedly, also recall that on 22 September, a system of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation was similarly attacked, preventing access for a week. Reports stated the data breach affected employees’ workstations, application servers, and users’ data, including names, addresses, dates of birth, gender, phone numbers and PhilHealth identification numbers. On 31 August, the Department of Science and Technology’s OneExpert portal was also subjected to a cyberattack. In a statement on 13 October, the DoST assured the general public that the virtual assault compromised no personal data. In all the above instances, whether personal data or sensitive information were stolen, it causes alarm to us Filipinos. The call to government agencies and ordinary Filipinos to be vigilant and careful with our online information and accounts has become louder than ever. The same holds true for institutions and businesses, which, by the nature of their activities, are entrusted with and tasked to safeguard large amounts of personal information and are responsible for keeping this trust by whatever means appropriate. I now want to stress the importance of cyber security not just for individuals and juridical entities but for the entire nation holistically. Protection against cyber threats: In today’s digital age, cyber threats like hacking, data breaches, and identity theft are becoming more prevalent. Implementing robust cyber security measures helps protect us from these threats. Safeguarding sensitive information: Cyber security also helps protect sensitive information such as personal data, financial details and intellectual property. This is crucial for maintaining privacy and preventing unauthorized access or misuse of information. Maintaining trust, reputation, and credibility: Cyber security is essential for building trust with customers, clients, and partners. Organizations can maintain a positive reputation and avoid potential legal and financial consequences by committing to protecting their data and privacy. Compliance with regulations: Many industries have specific regulations and standards regarding data protection and privacy. Compliance with these regulations is not only important for avoiding penalties but also for ensuring ethical practices and responsible handling of data. Business continuity: Cyber attacks can disrupt operations, leading to financial losses, reputational damage, and even business closure. Implementing effective cyber security measures helps minimize these risks and ensures business continuity. Finally, I want to end by being deliberately redundant in stating that cyber security is crucial for protecting individuals, organizations, and society from the growing threat landscape in the digital world. Cyber attackers are on the prowl; we must be alert to the possibility of attack, ready even now to implement measures to effectively counter-act or prevent the same. The post The importance of cyber security appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Fools in suits
When a ranking Department of Agriculture official was asked in a recent Congress hearing what steps the agency had taken to break the rice cartel, he replied that he did not believe that a “mafia” existed. Coming from a high DA official, the statement revealed that nothing was being done to stop the syndicate that everyone in the industry knows about since, to the authorities, it does not exist. In the reenacted Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, and forming cartels for agricultural and fishery products are considered economic sabotage and are non-bailable offenses for which a long jail term could be meted out. The strengthened law, however, lacks strong teeth against government officials who are in cahoots or protect the syndicates. Contained in the proposed bill is a provision indicating that any government officer or employee found to be an accomplice in the commission of the crime will “suffer the additional penalties of perpetual disqualification from holding public office, exercising the right to vote, from participating in any public election, and forfeiture of employment monetary and financial benefits.” The bill is pending in both houses of Congress. With the slow grind of justice in the country, a public official looking for a fast buck will not hesitate to risk his job in exchange for a huge payback. The recent series of events showed the markets are being manipulated by the big players in the sugar, vegetable and rice businesses. These syndicates are known to be deeply entrenched due to their connections with government bigwigs who facilitate their domination of the markets either through edicts or the use of public resources. In the most ridiculous situation, the recent spike in onion prices was found to be artificial since farmers were even throwing away their harvests because of low farmgate prices, thus there was no reason for prices to surge. Later, it was exposed in a congressional hearing that a cartel had succeeded in manipulating the onion market to create a condition that would require its importation, from which its members would make a killing. The warehouse and storage facilities are controlled by the mafia which makes it easy to create artificial conditions to which the market reacts by raising retail prices. The ultimate goal is to coax the government to allow importation from suppliers in overseas markets that are also flooded with the commodity, The cartel rakes in profits from both the high markup and the kickbacks from the overseas suppliers desperate to sell their surplus. The woeful victims are the Filipino farmers whom the cartel boxes out of the market. In extreme cases, these farmers just throw away their harvest since they cannot afford to transport their products without the middlemen who are also in the pocket of the cartel. The same goes for the rice industry, where the market was manipulated for a different reason, which was to kill the rice tariffication law that kicked the National Food Authority out of the import business. Rice prices then surged to as high as P56 a kilo, which pushed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to impose price ceilings. The NFA used to have a monopoly on importation, but that resulted in acrimonious confrontations at the apex of government. The tariffication law, in turn, opened importation to all grain traders and relegated the NFA to buying rice from local farmers. Under the new anti-smuggling bill which has the endorsement of Mr. Marcos, an Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Council headed by the President or his designated permanent representative will be formed. The proposed body will have the power to investigate and file charges, as well as freeze violators’ funds, properties, bank deposits, placements, trust accounts, assets and records. The creation of the body looks good on paper but in the real world, it might just add another layer of bureaucracy and source of corruption unless the cartel, which DA officials claim does not exist, is dismantled. Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile has a simple solution for breaking the cartel, which is for the government to confiscate all the rice overstock and let the owners of the warehouses prove that their huge inventory is legitimate. Such a move would prompt the traders to release more rice into the market to avoid confiscation. The imposition of the price cap on rice indicated that the prices are artificial since the markets are now selling at lower than the manipulated prices despite conditions being constant. An expected bumper harvest is also prompting the prices to go back to normal, after the attempt of the cartel to create a price shock to support their effort to return to the old ways. To know the real situation, President Marcos goes out of his way to see what is on the ground. His underlings, particularly at the Department of Agriculture, should do better. The post Fools in suits appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Israeli PM Netanyahu urges Musk to fight anti-Semitism
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday urged Elon Musk to fight anti-Semitism on his X platform as he sat down with the tech tycoon to discuss artificial intelligence. The conversation, which was broadcast on Musk's X platform (formerly Twitter), came as the Tesla tycoon is mired in row with the Anti-Defamation League, a US-based Jewish organization. Musk has accused the ADL of making unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism that have scared away advertisers and hurt his company's revenue, and has threatened to sue for billions of dollars. The ADL has for years accused the social media site of amplifying anti-Semitic hate speech, and has charged that problematic and racist speech has risen sharply on X after Musk completed his $44 billion takeover in October. "I know your commitment to free speech," Netanyahu told Musk, who has branded himself a free speech absolutist and welcomed back tens of thousands of banned accounts to the platform when he took over. "I respect that because it's foundational to democracies, but I also know your opposition to anti-Semitism..." the prime minister said. "I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only anti-Semitism, or rolling it back as best you can, but any collective hatred of people that anti-Semitism represents," Netanyahu said. Musk said while his website couldn't stop all hate speech before it was posted, he was "generally against attacking any group, no matter who it is." "I'm in favor of that which furthers civilization and which ultimately leads us to become a space-faring civilization, and where we understand the nature of the universe," Musk said. "We can't do that if there's a lot of infighting and then hatred and negativity," he added. 'Blessing and curse' The main topic of the conversation was the potential fallout from AI. "I think in many ways, we stand today at a juncture for all humanity, where we have to choose between a blessing and a curse," Netanyahu told Musk. Musk, who founded his own AI company this year, said he was optimistic that international powers would see the wisdom of setting common rules for AI in order to avoid any catastrophic outcomes that would affect humanity. "Every sport has a referee of one kind or another so that's the rationale for AI safety," Musk argued, saying a repeat of a nuclear arms race on AI was unwise. Musk said he recently warned senior officials in China that if AI "is sufficiently powerful, and care is not taken, that digital super intelligence could be in charge of China, instead of the CCP (the Chinese Communist Party)." "The CCP prefers to be in charge" and took action on regulation, he added. The post Israeli PM Netanyahu urges Musk to fight anti-Semitism appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Globe advises customers to take precautions against scammers targeting G Music Fest
Globe warns customers against scammers targeting G Music Fest, one of the key events happening this weekend as part of the 917 G Day celebration. On social media, several suspicious accounts have been seen offering to sell passes to G Music Fest 2023, set on 16 September. The public should be wary of such offers, as these may be a ploy to access sensitive information. Globe reminds customers to get tickets on G Music Fest’s only official channel TixLive via www.tixlive.com.ph/gmusicfest. “We would like to advise our customers to please avoid engaging with individuals supposedly selling G Music Fest tickets online. These are fraudulent offers. You can only get tickets via Tixlive, our official channel,” said Jerome Patalud, head of Globe Rewards. Globe’s G Music Fest will be held on Saturday at the Ayala Circuit Makati Open Grounds, featuring an all-Filipino artist lineup. To learn more about the G Music Fest, visit glbe.co/GMusicFest23. The post Globe advises customers to take precautions against scammers targeting G Music Fest appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
How to Avoid Having Your Digital Bank Account Closed
In light of recent posts regarding sudden digital bank account closures doing rounds on the popular social news aggregation site Reddit, having awareness on how to keep your account (and your money) safe has now suddenly become a hot discussion, with multiple people asking how to avoid being the next one to have their accounts […].....»»
Safeguarding waters
As an archipelago consisting of over seven thousand islands, the Philippines is expected to hold high regard for the security and well-being of its citizens who traverse its waterways, may it be in the seas, rivers, or lakes. Laguna de Bay, the country’s largest freshwater inland lake, should be treated no differently. In the middle of the lake is Talim Island, which is part of Binangonan, Rizal. With over 40,000 inhabitants, the only method of getting to the island is via motorboat. Last 27 July, the worst tragedy struck one of the boats plying this route, claiming 27 innocent lives. Since then, a lot of finger-pointing has taken place between government offices and local officials. It is a question of who is ultimately liable — the Philippine Coast Guard or PCG, the Maritime Industry Authority or Marina, the local boat operators association Talim Island Passenger Motorboat and Patrons Association, or the boat owners and the boat captain. At the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services held last 8 August, it appeared that all of them were at fault. Chaired by Senator Grace Poe, the committee brought together all the stakeholders in this disaster, including the victim-survivors and the families of the deceased. In her opening statement, Senator Poe immediately pointed out the alleged violations, from the reported lack of a license of the boat captain to the absence of safety measures such as the completion of a passenger manifest and the mandatory wearing of life vests. Senator Poe was diplomatic in allowing the PCG and Marina to make their respective presentations, and for the Binangonan mayor and the passenger survivors to share their accounts. Senator Raffy Tulfo, who filed his own Senate resolution to investigate this matter, was sharp in questioning the PCG and Marina. Since the boat captain was already in the orange uniform of a detainee, Senator Tulfo asked why the liable officers of PCG and Marina were not in jail as well. The PCG was gracious enough to admit its shortcomings and negligence, and it was commended for that. The PCG’s performance in saving the lives of those involved in the Romblon boat sinking incident, which happened shortly after the one in Binangonan, was likewise recognized. As for Marina, the officers testified on the presence of laws and regulations that require boats and ships to maintain certain specifications to ensure their safety, but these were not being implemented. It became evident that boat measurements and materials were not being followed, and applicants for permits were allowed to cut corners by “bribing” officials with what is known as “pangiti.” The boat captain himself testified under oath that he gave the PCG officer bananas worth P100 and an additional P50 in cash to fast-track the issuance of his safety permits. All this boils down to a flawed system where we have the required laws and regulations to safely keep our waterways, but we lack the budget, manpower, and infrastructure to implement them. At the Binangonan port, for instance, there is no presence of authorities, such as the PCG, since there is no outpost in sight. I went to this port last weekend to inspect it and meet with the locals since my company was the insurer of the passengers’ personal accident policy of the subject boat. Despite the violations of the policy, our company, Milestone Guaranty and Assurance Corp., disbursed financial assistance to the victims of this tragedy, for humanitarian considerations. There is a need to strengthen the PCG and Marina to allow them to fulfill their mandates. We hope these would be highlighted in upcoming budget hearings to avoid more deaths on our shores. **** For comments, email him at darren.dejesus@gmail.com The post Safeguarding waters appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Off duties
There are as many ways to lose a job as to get one. Supermarket employee Santino Burrola encountered shoplifters at the King Soopers in Colorado, USA, on 18 June. When three thieves carted away $500 worth of detergents and ran to the parking lot for their getaway, Burrola went after the men and with his mobile phone recorded them loading their loot in the back of a car. Burrola captured the heist on his gadget, including the thieves driving off and the plate number of their car. He posted the video on TikTok and it went viral which helped the police quickly find and arrest one of the thieves. The management of King Soopers, however, suspended Burrola the following day and fired him a week later for violating the company’s policy of not chasing after thieves or intervening in theft to avoid risking employees’ lives and lawsuits from wrongful accusations, Fox Business reported. Canadian teacher Kristin MacDonald was fired on 16 June for refusing to deactivate her social media accounts under an alias. Her termination followed a student’s reporting of MacDonald’s TikTok videos showing her in a bikini, which the school deemed an egregious conduct. The teacher defended her TikTok, Instagram and OnlyFans accounts, saying they were not illegal and she needed to augment her income with content creation, to no avail. A British nurse was dismissed by a hospital in Wrexham, Wales, UK, in May after she admitted having a relationship with a kidney patient undergoing dialysis. The affair of Penelope Williams, 42, with the man ended earlier, in January 2022, when she met him for the last time in the hospital parking lot. The tryst inside his car went awry as the patient suffered a heart attack. A colleague she called for help at the time urged her to call medics but a distraught Williams did not immediately heed the advice. When emergency personnel eventually arrived, they found the patient partially naked and unresponsive, according to New York Post. The post Off duties appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China censors prominent financial journalist
A prominent Chinese financial journalist who has compared the country’s economic problems to the Great Depression has been banned from social media. The Weibo account of Wu Xiaobo, an influential business journalist and author with more than 4.7 million followers, “is currently in a banned state due to violation of relevant laws and regulations,” according to a banner displayed on his page on Tuesday. Content moderators on Weibo — a Twitter-like platform — said on Monday they had blocked three verified users for “spreading smears against the development of the securities market” and “hyping up the unemployment rate.” Weibo did not give the full usernames of the blocked accounts, but said one of them had a three-character name starting with “Wu” and ending with “Bo.” China’s post-Covid economic recovery has faltered, with lackluster data in recent weeks signaling that the rebound is running out of steam. Wu’s Weibo page appeared on Tuesday to have been scrubbed of all content posted since April 2022. Wu did not immediately respond to Agence France-Presse’s request for comment. His regular column on the website of the Chinese financial magazine Caixin has long detailed the country’s economic woes, including a declining birthrate and skyrocketing youth unemployment. “The huge army of the unemployed is likely to become a fuse that ignites the powder keg,” he wrote in a May column that compared the situation with the Great Depression of the 1930s. In another recent column, he asked whether monetary easing would be able to “solve current economic problems.” Those columns, however, had not been scrubbed from the internet as of Tuesday. China’s domestic media is state-controlled, and widespread censorship of social media is often used to suppress negative stories or critical coverage. Regulators have previously urged investors to avoid reading foreign news reports about China, while analysts and economists have been suspended from social media for airing pessimistic views. The post China censors prominent financial journalist appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Good audit, good barangay governance
A local government public administration practitioner and a college professor are one in saying that a good audit could lead to good barangay governance. They said the country needs developmental auditors who could promote the general welfare of the public, especially at the grassroots level. A good auditor conducts financial audits and not fraud audits in the agency where he or she is assigned as a resident auditor. A financial audit is constructive, developmental and progressive. A fraud audit is negative in perspective. The financial audit enables. The fraud audit disables. Last week, I came across an audit report on the accounts and financial operations of a barangay in a city of Metro Manila. The audit report was prepared and submitted by a financial auditor with excellent expertise in both communication and local state audits. The audit found, among other things, deficiencies such as a violation of procurement law for resorting to a personal canvass instead of a public bidding; failure to plan and manage effectively the financial resources, as shown by the unreconciled discrepancy in bank reconciliation statements; non-registration with PhilGEPS despite a substantial procurement of goods; non-coordination with the office auditor when there were deliveries of procured items; non-implementation of laws, rules, and regulations governing cash advances; and failure to revert to the unappropriated surplus long outstanding accounts payable that had long remained unclaimed. To overcome the above deficiencies, the Audit Team recommended the following courses of action: Instead of resorting to a personal canvass in procuring goods, the Barangay should utilize the procedure provided under Republic Act 9184 and its implementing rules and regulations; The Punong Barangay should stop the practice of processing claims that are not supported by complete documentation; To avoid a cash deficit, the Barangay should use cash flow analysis in monitoring its cash inflows as against outflows; To resolve the unreconciled discrepancy in the bank reconciliation statement, the office of the city accountant should analyze the discrepancy between the books and bank balances of Cash in Bank-Local Currency Current Account or CIB-LCCA, and make the necessary adjustments in the books of accounts for presentation of account balance, and submit a bank reconciliation statement or BRS indicating the breakdown and nature of the reconciling items, together with the supporting documents; The Barangay should register with PhilGEPS and begin its utilization in accordance with the 2009 RIRR of RA 9184; The Punong Barangay should send written notices of delivery to the City Auditor’s Office within 24 hours of acceptance of deliveries by the Barangay; The Punong Barangay should see to it that the Barangay Treasurer remits the taxes withheld to the BIR in full; To resolve the issue of unliquidated cash advances, the Barangay Treasurer should be required to liquidate immediately long outstanding cash advances granted and implement available remedies under COA Circular 2012-004; and The Barangay Treasurer should revert the long outstanding accounts payable to the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund pursuant to Section 98 of PD 1445. In accordance with the request of the Audit Team for comments, we are respectfully submitting the following: We appreciate the meticulous care that the Audit Team exerted in going over the way the Barangay handled and managed its funds and resources, how things and people were administered within the village, and how fiscal discipline was observed in accordance with the law and rules that we can recall and within the confines of Section 16 and Section 17 of the Local Government Code regarding general welfare and self-reliance. We tried our best, but our best was not enough. We had shortcomings but rest assured such shortcomings were simply procedural. Indeed, your findings in this exercise will prove very useful in our sincere effort to correspond with equivalent zeal to fully comply with the requirements of the Office of the City Auditor. The recommendations are clear, precise, and simple. We shall observe them as required by the law, the rules, and regulations of the Commission on Audit. The post Good audit, good barangay governance appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Twitter blocks troll hunters
For years, a band of science-loving “troll hunters” hounded climate change deniers off Twitter — but Elon Musk’s takeover has upended their efforts, with many ousted accounts back, pushing fresh disinformation. Despite the threat climate change poses to the planet, disinformation about it has gone largely unsanctioned on Twitter. But a secretive global community of about 25 scientists and activists, calling themselves Team Ninja Trollhunters, found a roundabout way to tackle it. Since its founding in 2019, TNT claims to have secured the suspension of some 600 accounts of climate change denialists by reporting them for other infringements, including hate speech, that are officially recognized by the platform as valid grounds for termination. “If they’re saying something racist or offensive or misogynist, we can get them kicked off,” one Germany-based TNT member, a 45-year-old scientist who asked to be identified as Tom, told AFP in a Zoom interview. Like other TNT members interviewed by AFP, he requested that his real identity be withheld to avoid online harassment. TNT members showed AFP archives documenting their campaigns, including a spreadsheet logging thousands of Twitter accounts they reported on grounds ranging from spam and harassment to hate speech and threats. They also shared screenshots confirming numerous suspensions. “We make sure that we’re as under the radar as possible... to get (climate) deniers and ‘sceptics’ and just generally nasty people reported on Twitter,”” a Canada-based member named Peter told AFP. “We’re more effective if we’re very quiet about it. These deniers are quite often very violent in their responses to climate misinformation being corrected. Intimidation and abuse are very common.” The post Twitter blocks troll hunters appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Moving on with COVID: Discussion needed on PH policy as WHO lifts international emergency status
THE WORLD HEALTH Organization (WHO) announced on May 5 that COVID-19 would no longer be classified as a global public health emergency (PHEIC). But it also provided abundant reminders about how to protect oneself and avoid infections, clearly warning of existing threats to health.News accounts cited WHO's explanation for this decision: the downward trend in infection, hospitalization and deaths for over a year......»»
Fighting cybercrime
In an interconnected world driven by technology, the Internet has become an integral part of our daily lives. It has revolutionized the way we communicate, work, and conduct business. However, with its numerous benefits, the online realm also poses significant risks, one of which is the proliferation of online scams. Online scams are deceptive schemes aimed at defrauding individuals, exploiting their vulnerabilities, and compromising their financial security. This essay explores the evolving landscape of online scams, and their various forms, and highlights the importance of taking proactive measures to protect ourselves in a digital world. Online scams come in various forms, constantly adapting and evolving to exploit the latest technological trends. Phishing scams, for instance, involve fraudulent attempts to acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details, by posing as trustworthy entities through emails, websites, or text messages. These scams rely on social engineering techniques to deceive unsuspecting victims into divulging their personal information. Another common form of online scam is advance-fee fraud, also known as the Nigerian Prince scam. This scam involves an email or message from someone claiming to be a wealthy individual or a government official who promises a large sum of money in exchange for a small upfront payment. Victims who fall for this scam end up losing their money without ever receiving the promised fortune. Other prevalent online scams include identity theft, investment fraud, online shopping scams, and romance scams. These scams exploit people’s desires for financial gain, love, or exclusive deals, preying on their trust and gullibility. In the face of these evolving online scams, individuals must take proactive measures to protect themselves and safeguard their online activities. Here are some essential steps to minimize the risk of falling victim to online scams: Educate yourself. Stay informed about the latest scams and tactics employed by fraudsters. Regularly update yourself on common scams and learn how to identify warning signs and red flags. Knowledge is a powerful defense against online scams. Exercise caution. Be cautious when sharing personal information online. Avoid clicking on suspicious links, downloading attachments from unknown sources, or responding to unsolicited messages. Verify the authenticity of websites before entering sensitive information and use secure, reputable platforms for online transactions. Strengthen security measures. Utilize strong, unique passwords for all your online accounts. Enable two-factor authentication whenever possible to add an extra layer of security. Keep your operating system, antivirus software, and other applications up to date to protect against known vulnerabilities. Be skeptical. Develop a healthy skepticism towards unsolicited offers, lucrative deals, or requests for financial assistance. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your instincts and question any requests for personal or financial information. Protect personal information. Be mindful of the information you share online, particularly on social media platforms. Fraudsters can gather valuable details from your profile to tailor their scams. Restrict your privacy settings and be cautious about sharing sensitive information publicly. Maintain regular backups. Regularly back up your important files and data to an external source. In case of a ransomware attack or data loss, having backups ensures you can restore your information without giving in to scammers’ demands. As the digital world continues to evolve, the threat of online scams persists. It is crucial for individuals to be aware of the various forms these scams can take and to remain vigilant in protecting themselves. By educating ourselves, exercising caution, and implementing strong security measures, we can minimize the risk of falling victim to online scams. Remember, staying safe online requires an ongoing commitment to digital hygiene and a healthy dose of skepticism. The post Fighting cybercrime appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Musk says inactive Twitter accounts being purged
Elon Musk on Monday announced that Twitter is canceling accounts that haven't been used for a long time. The move comes as Musk tries to ramp up engagement, and opportunities to make money, at the online platform he bought for $44 billion last year. "We're purging accounts that have had no activity at all for several years, so you will probably see follower count drop," Musk said in a tweet. Musk-mandated changes at Twitter from slashing staff to doing away with free verification check marks seen as stamps of authenticity have alienated users and advertisers. Twitter's blue ticks were reinstated on some media, celebrity, and other high-profile accounts late in April -- a move protested by many of the recipients. Musk tweeted at the time that he was "paying for a few (subscriptions) personally." Many official media accounts regained a tick, including AFP, which has not subscribed to Twitter Blue. The reinstated ticks did not lure back US public radio NPR, which in mid-April suspended activity on its accounts. The broadcaster was among those to protest the "state-affiliated" and "government-funded" labels Twitter attached to them, which were previously reserved for non-independent media funded by autocratic governments. Since Musk bought Twitter, the company has relaxed the moderation of content on the network, letting back many users banned because of messages inciting hatred or spreading misinformation. Market trackers say Twitter revenues have fallen as advertisers avoid the platform. The post Musk says inactive Twitter accounts being purged appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Traffic misery gets to Anne Curtis, too
They say education, or even death, is the great equalizer. But heavy traffic just might take the prize these days. Even TV and movie star Anne Curtis could not escape the scourge suffered by Metro Manilans on the daily basis. On Thursday, traffic seemed particularly bad that she took to Instagram to tell her 19 million followers that she was stuck in a gridlock somewhere in the metro. Along with a picture of bumper-to-bumper traffic, Curtis wrote “TRAFFIC IS SOOOOOO BACK MGA VAKLAAAA!” She added: “Finished early but looks like I’m not getting home till later” with matching crying emoji. Some celebrities, including Curtis herself, have taken the MRT before to avoid the traffic in Edsa. More than 400,000 vehicles ply the main thoroughfare every day before the pandemic struck, according to the Metro Manila Development Authority. No reports yet from MMDA, but by all accounts, it looks like we’re close to those numbers already. The post Traffic misery gets to Anne Curtis, too appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US Supreme Court weighs online harassment against free speech
The Supreme Court took on a sticky social media issue not envisioned by the drafters of the US Constitution Wednesday: are an online stalker's messages that the recipient considers menacing protected by fundamental free speech rights? In a two-hour discussion that dropped references to intimidating lyrics by Eminem and burning crosses to threaten Black people, the justices were asked to decide whether Billy Counterman was correctly jailed in Colorado for the thousands of unwelcome Facebook messages he sent to country singer Coles Whalen over 2014-2016. To Whalen, Counterman's messaging, which persisted even when she blocked him and started new online accounts, left her in a constant state of fear. He wrote her messages such as "die, don't need you", and "staying in cyber life is going to kill you," and indicated that he had physically followed her. The cumulative impact left her frozen and unable to perform after doing hundreds of shows a year and releasing six albums, she said. "I was terrified that I was being followed and could be hurt at any moment; I had no choice but to step back from my dream, a music career that I had worked very hard to build," she said ahead of the hearing. In 2016 she filed a complaint in Colorado courts after learning that Counterman had previously been jailed for threatening to injure several other women. The next year he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Limits to free speech That conviction has sparked a case that has libertarians, activists on the right and left, and the media siding with Counterman in his suit against Colorado. Free speech advocates worry upholding his conviction could chill free speech by opening the door to the prosecution of anyone whose speech is perceived as threatening by another person, without proof of intent. Colorado state laws don't require an assessment of the speaker's mental state, so Counterman was convicted without a determination of his intent. That, his attorneys said in their petition to the Supreme Court, violates his free speech rights. They said he did not intend to threaten Whalen, that he suffers from "mental illness," and that Whalen perceived threats that were not real. "Criminalizing misunderstanding is especially dangerous in an age when so much communication occurs on social media," Counterman's attorney John Elwood told the high court Wednesday. The standard for a conviction, he said, is that the person speaking, or messaging, "knew that the words would cause fear." Enabling stalkers? Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser told the court that such a standard would enable abuse of free speech rights. "Requiring specific intent in cases of threatening stalkers would immunize stalkers who are untethered from reality. It would also allow devious stalkers to escape accountability by insisting they meant nothing by their harmful statements," he said. "Ninety percent of actual or attempted domestic violence murder cases begin with stalking," he noted. Even if some of Counterman's messages seemed benign, he said, the threat came in the context and cumulative effect -- making them different from joking threats between friends or family members. But justices queried whether the perception of a threat by the person on the receiving end was enough to deny someone's free speech rights. "We live in a world in which people are sensitive, and maybe increasingly sensitive," said Justice Neil Gorsuch, making reference to trigger warnings announced before university lectures to avoid disturbing some students. Weiser said that the standard for what constitutes a real threat is not determined by "eggshell defendants" who are so fragile as to perceive threats everywhere. Several justices still showed concern that endorsing Colorado's conviction of Counterman would amount to set new limits on free speech. The court should decide the case by the end of June. The post US Supreme Court weighs online harassment against free speech appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Why do Accounts Become Dormant and How to Avoid it
BANK clients are reminded that accounts without any activity for a long time can become dormant. A bank account is considered dormant when there is no financial activity — deposit or withdrawal — for a period of two years for a savings account and one year for a checking account. Dormant accounts are subject to […].....»»
Millions more face English virus restrictions as cases spiral
Millions more people in northern England face stricter coronavirus rules next week, officials said Friday, as reports suggested the government is considering a nationwide lockdown. A digital display shows NHS health advice on the coronavirus in Leeds on October 30, 2020. – West Yorkshire is to be placed under tier three Covid restrictions from November 2, 2020, the strictest level of rules. (Photo by Lindsey Parnaby / AFP) From Monday, nearly 2.4 million residents in five districts of West Yorkshire, including in the city of Leeds, will be barred from socialising with other households indoors. Pubs and bars not serving “substantial meals” must close, alongside casinos and betting shops, while people have also been told to avoid unnecessary travel. The Department of Health said the measures were needed as infection rates in West Yorkshire were among the highest in the country and rising rapidly. The Times reported Friday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was considering a return to a national lockdown to battle the surge. Johnson was expected to hold a press conference on Monday to announce new restrictions, which would close everything except “essential shops”, schools and universities, the paper said, quoting a government source. In its weekly study of Covid-19 prevalence, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of people with the virus had increased to around one in 100 nationwide. “There has been growth in all age groups over the past two weeks; older teenagers and young adults continue to have the highest current rates while rates appear to be steeply increasing among secondary school children,” it said. The country’s official science advisory panel warned in a report published Friday that the virus was spreading “significantly” faster and that hospitalisations were rising at a higher rate through England than its predicted “worst-case” scenario drawn up in July. The report said that in mid-October, shortly before new local rules were introduced, around four times as many people were catching Covid than anticipated in the July report. That study warned that 85,000 more people could die during the winter wave. West Yorkshire’s imminent restrictions are the latest step in the UK government’s localised response to the surging transmission, which has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks. More than 11 million people — about a fifth of England’s population — will be under the tightest measures from next week. Most of the areas in the “very high” category of the government’s three-tier Covid alert system are in northern and central parts of the country. Nottingham became the latest city to enter the highest tier Friday. On Thursday night, young people took to the streets in fancy dress and drank in large groups before a ban on alcohol sales in shops came into force at 2100 GMT. – ‘Targeted’ – The pandemic has hit Britain harder than any other country in Europe, with more than 45,000 people having died within 28 days of testing positive. Case rates are spiralling again after a lull, tracking the situation elsewhere on the continent. England is seeing nearly 52,000 new cases daily, a 47 percent weekly rise, according to the ONS, which conducts its analysis of households with the help of several universities and health bodies, and excludes people in hospitals and care homes. Britain’s European neighbours and the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have reimposed partial lockdowns to try to cut infection rates. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Friday the government would continue its “targeted and focused” strategy of local restrictions in virus hotspots. “The arbitrariness of a blanket approach would be far worse than the effects of trying to be as targeted as possible,” he said. Meanwhile, a new study reported Friday that a Covid-19 variant originating in Spanish farm workers has spread rapidly throughout Europe in recent months and now accounts for most cases in Britain. The variant — called 20A.EU1 — is thought to have been spread from northeastern Spain by people returning from holidays there, according to the study, which is awaiting peer review in a medical journal. There is currently no evidence that the strain spreads faster or impacts illness severity and immunity......»»
Beat the Heat: Tips for Staying Cool at Work
Summer is just around the corner, and you know how hot the days get, especially with a looming El Niño — days would get hotter and hotter. Sometimes we can’t avoid going outside, especially during work. Whether you are going to meet a client somewhere around the city or just commuting to work, the heat […].....»»
Marcos: PH avoiding conflict amid China’s rising threats
President Marcos said on Wednesday that the Philippines will strive to avoid provoking China while addressing its increasing threat in the South China Sea. However, Manila intends to assert its sovereign rights more assertively in the disputed waters. Marcos emphasized the importance of maintaining a delicate balance between defending maritime rights and preventing conflict in.....»»