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Port Huron police phone number spoofed during financial scam attempt

Port Huron police phone number spoofed during financial scam attempt

CBS News16-07-2025
Someone attempted to enact a financial scam by spoofing the phone number to the Port Huron (Michigan) Police Department – resulting in officers issuing an alert to area residents about the circumstances.
The report was issued Tuesday after someone told police that a suspicious caller attempted to scam his elderly mother out of a large sum of money.
"To make matters worse, the scammer "spoofed" our department's main phone number — making it appear as though the call was legitimately from us. Thankfully, the family quickly realized something wasn't right and no money was sent," Port Huron police said in their report.
"Let us be very clear: The Port Huron Police Department will NEVER call you and demand money or gift cards over the phone. These types of calls are scams — no matter how official they sound or what number shows up on your caller ID."
Area residents are asked to be aware that these calls have been attempted, and let family and friends know to avoid being taken in by such a scam. Those who get a phone call falsely claiming to be from Port Huron police should hang up and call the police department directly at 810-984-8415 to report it.
The Michigan Attorney General's office also shares information about common signs of financial scams and what to do in response.
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Muslim leaders increase security after vandalism reports at Texas and California mosques
Muslim leaders increase security after vandalism reports at Texas and California mosques

Associated Press

time4 minutes ago

  • Associated Press

Muslim leaders increase security after vandalism reports at Texas and California mosques

After a spate of vandalism reports involving graffiti at a few mosques in Texas and California, Muslim leaders there have stepped up existing efforts to keep their sacred spaces and community members safe. The incidents and subsequent hypervigilance add to what many American Muslims say has already been a charged climate amid the fallout in the U.S. from the Israel-Hamas war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza. The war started in October 2023 with a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel. 'The past two years have been extremely difficult for American Muslims,' said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. A constant stream of images showing the death, destruction and ongoing starvation in Gaza has taken a toll, said Mitchell, as has a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry in the U.S. He pointed to one of the most egregious examples of that bigotry: After the war started, an Illinois man killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American Muslim boy and wounded his mother in a hate-crime attack. Worry and frustration The recent vandalism reports have left some worried and frustrated — but not entirely surprised. 'Since October 2023, we've definitely seen rise in Islamophobia,' said Rawand Abdelghani, who is on the board of directors of Nueces Mosque, one of the affected mosques in Austin, Texas. 'Anti-Palestinian, anti-immigrant, all of that rhetoric that's being said … it has contributed to things like this happening.' Nueces security footage showed someone, their face partially covered, spray-painting what appears to be Star of David symbols at the property. CAIR Austin said similar incidents were reported at two other Austin mosques. They all seemingly happened on the same night in May, in what the group described as part of 'a disturbing pattern of hate-motivated incidents.' It called for increased security patrols and protective measures. Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR Austin operations manager, called them an intimidation attempt. Less than two weeks earlier, someone had spray-painted graffiti at the Islamic Center of Southern California, including the Star of David on an outer wall there, center spokesperson Omar Ricci said. 'In light of what's going on within Palestine and the genocide in Gaza, it felt like an attack,' said Ricci, who's also a reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer. Some specifics remained unresolved. The LAPD said it opened a vandalism/hate crime investigation and added extra patrols, but added it has neither a suspect nor a motive and noted that nonreligious spaces were also targeted. The Austin Police Department did not respond to Associated Press inquiries. Nueces had already increased its security camera use following three incidents last year, including someone throwing rocks at the mosque, Abdelghani said. After the May vandalism, it also added overnight security, she added. Nueces serves many university students and is considered a 'home away from home,' Abdelghani said. It's where they learn about their faith, meet other Muslims and find refuge, including during tense times, like when some students got arrested amid campus protests last year, she added. CAIR says that in 2024, its offices nationwide received 8,658 complaints, the highest number it has recorded since its first civil rights report in 1996. It listed employment discrimination as the most common in 2024. The group says last year, U.S. Muslims, along with others of different backgrounds, 'were targeted due to their anti-genocide … viewpoints.' Referencing former President Joe Biden, the CAIR report said that for 'the second year in a row, the Biden-backed Gaza genocide drove a wave of Islamophobia in the United States.' Israel has strongly rejected allegations it's committing genocide in Gaza, where its war with Hamas has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. The initial Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed some 1,200 people, while about 250 were abducted. Tensions in multiple spaces The war has fueled tensions in myriad U.S. settings. After it started, Muslim and Jewish civil rights groups reported a surge of harassment, bias and physical assaults reports against their community members. Pew Research Center in February 2024 found that 70% of U.S. Muslims and nearly 90% of U.S. Jews surveyed say they felt an increase in discrimination against their respective communities since the war began. More recently, leaders of U.S. Jewish institutions have called for more help with security after a firebomb attack in Colorado on demonstrators showing support for Israeli hostages in Gaza that left one person killed and others injured, as well as a fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Politically, the conflict loomed over last year's presidential election, leaving many pro-Palestinian U.S. voters feeling ignored by their own government's support for Israel. It has roiled campuses and sparked debates over free speech and where political rhetoric crosses into harassment and discrimination. There've been bitter disagreements, including among some Jewish Americans, about exactly what the definition of antisemitism should cover, and whether certain criticism of Israeli policies and Zionism should be included. That debate further intensified as President Donald Trump's administration sought to deport some foreign-born pro-Palestinian campus activists. The Islamic Center of Southern California has been targeted before, including vandalism in 2023 and separate threats that authorities said in 2016 were made by a man who was found with multiple weapons in his home. Incidents like the latest one cause concern, Ricci said. 'People see that it's not going to take very much to spark something in the city,' he said. 'There's a lot of emotion. There's a lot of passion' on both the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli sides. Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said 'if people think they can get away with graffiti, then the next step is to firebomb a mosque or even go attack worshippers.' Opening doors and receiving support Al-Marayati and others praised how many have shown support for the affected Muslim communities. 'The best preparation is what we did in Los Angeles and that's to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies and be there for one another,' he said. In Texas, a gathering at Nueces brought together neighbors and others, including Christians and Jews, to paint over the vandalism, clean up the property and garden, Zayan said. 'It was beautiful,' she said. 'It's really important to open your doors and open your heart and invite people and to rebuild this trust and connection,' she said. 'For non-Muslims, it was a great opportunity for them to show their love and support. They really wanted to do something.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

FBI Confirms Phantom Hacker Warning For All Android And iPhone Users
FBI Confirms Phantom Hacker Warning For All Android And iPhone Users

Forbes

time5 minutes ago

  • Forbes

FBI Confirms Phantom Hacker Warning For All Android And iPhone Users

Beware the Phantom Hacker, FBI warns smartphone users. When the FBI issues a public service advisory, you'd be well advised to take note, in my never humble opinion. Whether the subject of that cybersecurity alert is an attack on routers, the latest ransomware threat warning, or involves a password-stealing, 2FA bypass. Of particular note, however, are the FBI warnings that relate specifically to smartphone users, given how ubiquitous the things are now. The latest has just been posted to the X, formerly known as Twitter, social media platform by the FBI Los Angeles, which warns that a series of phantom hacker attacks can see smartphone users losing their life savings. Here's what you need to know and do. The FBI Phantom Hacker Warning A July 15 posting to X, by the official FBI Los Angeles account, served to remind all smartphone users, be they of the Android or iPhone persuasion, to beware of so-called Phantom Hackers scams. These are the FBI warning outlined, 'where cyber criminals use a 3-prong attack against victims using tech support, financial institution, & government impersonation scams simultaneously.' The payout, if successful? Your life savings. That posting actually references a much older threat, one that was first flagged by the FBI public service announcement, alert number I-091223-PSA, way back in September 2023. Nothing, however, has changed since then, and the fact that the FBI has seen fit to bring the scam back into the public consciousness now should be all the warning that you need to take it very seriously indeed. So, what is a Phantom Hacker scam? Simply put, the FBI explained that the attack layers 'imposter tech support, financial institution, and government personas' in an effort to engender trust in the victim as well as to 'identify the most lucrative accounts to target.' Should you be on the end of such an attack, the FBI warned, victims face 'the loss of entire banking, savings, retirement, or investment accounts under the guise of protecting their assets.' The three-phase attacks comprise: The FBI has requested victims should report these activities to their local FBI field office and the FBI IC3 at

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