Latest news with #ChineseNationals
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sheriff's office warns of ‘ghost tap' scam targeting East Tennessee
KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — A nationwide crime trend has hit East Tennessee, as Knox County Sheriff's Office detectives have apprehended more than 10 individuals taking part in a 'ghost tap' scam. The sheriff's office issued a release on the scam Saturday morning. Scammers load stolen credit card information onto a digital wallet and then use that to purchase gift cards, which are resold online to launder the stolen money. Gun shops across the state lose revenue as TBI troubleshoots firearm background check system outage So far, detectives have apprehended more than 10 people, who they said are primarily Chinese nationals, suspected of taking part in the scam. KCSO explained that on a larger scale, the scam is resulting in financial institutions losing millions of dollars every week. The sheriff's office also shared why they think scammers may be targeting the region. 'These criminal groups are traveling from California, New York, and Texas, exploiting jurisdictions they believe won't recognize their scheme,' the sheriff's office wrote. The best way to protect yourself from the scam is by protecting your information. KCSO said if you have gotten text messages about unpaid tolls, misdelivered packages, or account issues, it's important not to click any links in the messages or enter your information. The tactic is part of a real-time smishing (SMS phishing) scam that is used to steal personal and financial information. Richard L. Bean to retire after mayor calls out problems at juvenile detention center The sheriff's office also shared some other tips to protect yourself: Never share personal or financial info via text or email with unknown senders. Law enforcement or government agencies will never ask you to pay debts with gift cards or request private info over the phone. Report suspicious messages immediately. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
SBS Australia
a day ago
- General
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Filipino, Saturday 31 May 2025
A group of eight Chinese nationals have reportedly been found in the Northern Territory. Researchers say medications like paracetamol and antidepressants are contributing to an alarming number of children visiting hospital emergency wards. Australia has formally turned over a culturally significant pottery collection to the Philippines. SBS Filipino 31/05/2025 05:52 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Suspected boat arrivals discovered in Arnhem Land
Samantha Donovan: Up to eight people have been detained by Border Protection Authorities after reaching a remote part of the Northern Territory coast by boat. They were found walking near the town of Maningrida, east of Darwin. The ABC understands they're Chinese nationals. Their arrival has set off another stoush between the government and opposition over border security. Andrew Green is the ABC's Defence Correspondent. Andrew, what can you tell us about these people who've arrived in Australia? Andrew Greene: These details have started emerging in perhaps the past 24 hours or so, but what we have established is that earlier this week on Tuesday, authorities in a remote part of the Northern Territory in Arnhem Land, around 500 kilometres east of Darwin, were alerted to the presence of a group of men believed to be from China who had made their way onto the Australian mainland in a very remote part of the northern coast of Australia. But they were detected and then apprehended by authorities. And then a day later, another two men, also believed to have come to Australia from China originally, were spotted by some local rangers and they too, we understand, are now in the custody of the Australian Border Force, but their precise location is not known. Samantha Donovan: Have the authorities had much to say about their arrival, Andrew? Andrew Greene: Following their usual course of action, they've said very little. In fact, in a statement, the Australian Border Force tells the ABC that it does not either confirm or deny operations or comment on them. But what we have established is that authorities are yet to locate a boat that may have taken these people to Australia. Now that points to a few things. It suggests that perhaps they were dropped off close to the mainland by perhaps even an Indonesian fishing vessel or by another party that's brought them to Australia. Apart from that though, very little known. We know that it's up to eight individuals who are, we believe most of them are from China, but that is of course not confirmed by the authorities. Samantha Donovan: And what's been the reaction from politicians? Andrew Greene: Well, the newly appointed Shadow Home Affairs Minister, Andrew Hastie, has said that this is another example of the underinvestment by the Albanese government in border protection. The fact that a boat carrying unauthorised arrivals had made it to the Australian mainland. And in response to that, the Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, took aim at his new opposition counterpart. And he said that two days into the job, Andrew Hastie had already helped the cause of people smugglers by making those comments. So while not officially commenting on whether the arrivals had happened at all, Tony Burke did take a swing at his opponent. Samantha Donovan: Andrew Greene is the ABC's Defence Correspondent.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Chinese nationals who infiltrated US universities
The Trump administration has intensified its scrutiny of Chinese nationals studying at U.S. universities after several instances in recent years of students from the communist country engaging in alleged surreptitious activity while in the United States. The incidents, which have involved allegations of espionage, conspiracy and accusations of misleading federal officials, occurred as a result of Chinese nationals or others with Chinese ties participating in joint education programs between the United States and China. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security plan to "aggressively revoke" student visas of Chinese nationals, "including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party." A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson blasted the new policy in a statement Thursday on X, saying the move was "fully unjustified" and damaging to the United States' reputation. "Citing ideology and national security as a pretext, the move seriously hurts the lawful rights and interests of international students from China and disrupts people-to-people exchanges between the two countries," spokesperson Lin Jian said. Nearly 300,000 Chinese nationals have student visas in the United States. It is unclear if the State Department plans to target all of them or only some. Fox News Digital reached out to the department for clarity. Below is a look at some recent incidents involving Chinese nationals at universities. The DOJ brought charges against five University of Michigan students last year after a sergeant major encountered them at Camp Grayling in 2023. The students had cameras with them and were discovered as the U.S. National Guard was conducting a massive training operation at the site with Taiwanese military members, according to a complaint. They were all Chinese nationals attending the University of Michigan as part of the school's joint program with a Shanghai-based university, an FBI official wrote in the complaint, noting some of them had taken photos of Camp Grayling's military installations and operations. The FBI asked the court to issue arrest warrants for the students for making false statements and destroying records. Two Chinese nationals who were graduate students at the University of Michigan pleaded guilty in 2020 after they were caught illegally entering and photographing defense infrastructure at a naval air station in Key West, Florida. Fengyun Shi, a Chinese national studying at the University of Minnesota, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia last year of unlawfully using a drone to take photos of naval bases in Norfolk, Virginia. Shi was sentenced to six months in prison and a year of supervised release, and the Biden administration revoked his visa in response to the charges. ICE announced in May that it deported him to China. While not a Chinese national, Charles Lieber, former chair of Harvard's chemistry department, was convicted in 2021 of making false statements to authorities and failing to report income from his work with China's Wuhan University of Technology and a contract he had with China's Thousand Talents Program. Ji Chaoqun, a Chinese national and one-time student at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he was convicted by a jury in 2022 of attempting to commit espionage and theft of trade secrets. Ji was found to have gathered information on defense contractors, engineers and others as part of a broader effort by high-level Chinese intelligence officials to obtain inside access to U.S. technology advancements. Rubio's announcement also comes after Harvard filed a lawsuit alleging the Trump administration improperly banned all foreign nationals from the Ivy League school by revoking its student visa certification. A judge temporarily blocked the administration from carrying out the ban as the case plays out in the courts. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons told Harvard in a letter made public through court filings that the revocation was a result of the alleged prevalence of antisemitism on campus but also a result of the administration's "serious concerns" that the university has "coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party." Lyons cited several examples, including Harvard accepting $151 million from foreign donors since 2020, working with "China-based academics" on projects funded by an "Iranian government agent," partnering with Chinese universities and using public funds to do so and collaborating with people "linked to China's defense-industrial base." "This coordination is a valid and substantive reason for withdrawing Harvard University's [Student Exchange Visitor Program] certification to enroll foreign students," Lyons wrote. Harvard attorneys argued during a court hearing Thursday that the Trump administration did not give the university a chance to rebut the claims about antisemitism and CCP ties before the foreign student ban was enacted. The administration agreed to give Harvard one month to respond to those claims while the ban remains on hold.
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Suspected boat arrivals from China discovered in Arnhem Land
Up to eight people, believed to be from China, have been detained by border protection authorities after reaching a remote part of the Northern Territory coast by boat earlier this week. The ABC has been told the first six members of the group were discovered by local workers on Tuesday while walking near the remote Indigenous township of Maningrida, approximately 500 kilometres east of Darwin in Arnhem Land. Another two men were picked up the following day by Indigenous rangers before eventually being taken into custody by the Australian Border Force, which has so far not commented on the operation. It's unclear where the group has now been taken, but a source familiar with the interception says the men were believed to be Chinese and had reached the Australian mainland by sea before being detected. So far authorities have not discovered any boat used by the suspected Chinese nationals, raising the possibility they were dropped off the Northern Territory coast by an Indonesian fishing vessel. Last year the ABC reported on several suspected people smuggling operations involving Chinese nationals, including a venture which was disrupted by Indonesian authorities 12 months ago. The Australian Border Force and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke have both declined to answer questions about the arrivals, saying the government does not comment on "operational matters". Newly appointed Shadow Home Affairs Minster Andrew Hastie says if confirmed, the arrival of Chinese nationals was a demonstration of the Albanese government's "underinvestment in our border security and defence capabilities". "We should have unblinking surveillance on our northern approaches, but instead we have illegal boats penetrating our borders and people making it ashore. This signals weakness to the people smugglers that business is back on under Labor," he said.
