Latest news with #inReview
Perth Now
22-06-2025
- Perth Now
West Aussies warned over rise in rental scams
West Australians looking for rentals are being warned to be extra careful due to a rising number of scammers impersonating government agencies demanding payments for fake bonds. According to Consumer Protection, the WA ScamNet team have received 35 reports of rental scams so far this year with 12 victims losing a total of $27,875. The figures are not far off the numbers from the entirety of 2024 where 45 reports were made and 16 victims lost a combined $39,935. The scam works by someone claiming to be a landlord or real estate agent and offering to lease a non-existent rental property. An email claiming to be from Consumer Protection is then sent demanding payment to secure the lease. One man who fell victim to the scam was Samier Rouze, 45. Mr Rouze lost $2400 on a fraudulent bond for a northern suburbs rental property. While he did meet with the so-called landlord in person and became friends with them on social media, the scammer did not allow him into the home by falsely saying it was currently tenanted so he could not go inside. Mr Rouze said he was frustrated by the events. 'I was furious actually, I don't know why some people do that, taking advantage of the rental prices,' he said. 'I guess she just earned our trust very much because she was very engaging with what we asked. 'Our only mistake was to not knock on the door.' Mr Rouze warned others to be careful and always see the property first-hand. 'Please check the place, if you can do it twice, thrice or just go to a Real Estate agent properly,' he said. 'I know it's a bit tough this stage due to housing issues but I think we should not let our guards down by means of checking the property itself so it doesn't happen to anyone else again.' News. Press Conference. Commerce Minister Sue Ellery releases Consumer Protection's WA ScamNet Year in Review report which details the impact scammers are having on Western Australians outside Dumas House in West Perth. Pictured is Trish Blake, Commissioner for Consumer Protection. Credit: Jackson Flindell / The West Australian Consumer Protection commissioner Trish Blake said perspective renters should be extra careful to avoid being scammed. 'Online marketplaces and social media platforms are the primary hunting grounds for rental scammers, who use fake property listings and respond to 'rental wanted' ads to find victims,' she said. 'To outsmart rental scammers, always insist on an inside inspection before parting with any money and be wary of 'too good to be true' rent prices as that's a common tactic to lure more victims.' Among the tips to avoid becoming a victim of a rental scam include being suspicious of properties that are listed well below the expected price, reverse image search photos given to you, do an online search of the address to check it is not being listed with another company and never make a payment without physically inspecting the property. Ms Blake said you could also see if the bond payment request was legitimate by checking the email address. 'While scammers can replicate many things, they can't make their email addresses originate from the State Government,' she said. 'Hover over the sender's email address. If it doesn't end with then that's a very clear sign any correspondence claiming to be from Consumer Protection's Bonds Administration team is fake.' Consumers with concerns about whether their bond has been lodged can call the Bonds Administration team directly on 1300 853 829 or email bondsadmin@
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Pope from Chicago • Caitlin Tracey cause of death • Affordable suburb
CHICAGO - Pope Leo XIV was named the new leader of the Catholic Church, the first American pontiff and the pride of Chicago; a southwest suburbs was named one of the most affordable U.S. cities; and the Cook County Medical Examiner gave an update on a woman who died in a Chicago South Loop high-rise last year. These are the top stories in Fox 32's Week in Review. In a historic decision, the Catholic Church elected Cardinal Robert Prevost—born in Chicago—as its next pope on Thursday. He will be known as Pope Leo XIV, becoming the first American-born pontiff and one of the few modern popes with deep pastoral experience in both North and South America. FULL STORY Portillo's is paying tribute to the historic election of Pope Leo XIV — the first American pope and a Chicago native — with a limited-time sandwich. Dubbed "The Leo," the sandwich features Portillo's signature Italian beef, dipped in gravy and topped with a choice of sweet peppers, hot giardiniera, or both — a nod to what the company calls "the holy trinity of peppers." FULL STORY A Chicago suburb landed on a new list of the most affordable places to live in the U.S. for 2025, according to a report by The Motley Fool. Joliet was recognized for its below-average cost of living and a median household income that exceeds the national median. FULL STORY The Cook County Medical Examiner has ruled Caitlin Tracey died from a fall, but said the manner of death remains "undetermined." Tracey died from "multiple injuries, fall from height," the medical examiner said. FULL STORY A traffic stop in Ohio took an unusual turn on Monday when police say they found a pet raccoon named 'Chewy' sitting in the driver's seat with a meth pipe in its mouth during a traffic stop. FULL STORY Phil Perez, a union mechanic and local commissioner from Posen, announced his 2026 gubernatorial bid Thursday on Facebook. He called for a "fresh start" in Illinois, citing concerns over taxes, crime, and public services. FULL STORY Reality TV personality Dylan Smith, known from "Love After Lockup," was convicted of felony burglary in a Chicago mail theft case. Authorities say Smith used a USPS key to steal mail from a condominium mailbox in May 2024. FULL STORY An 18-year-old Homewood-Flossmoor High School senior, Tom Mya Lyons, died after a single-vehicle crash early last Sunday in Calumet City. The crash occurred around 4:30 a.m. on the Sibley Boulevard ramp to northbound I-94; the cause has not been released. FULL STORY Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., is calling on sheriffs in her state to defy Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state's sanctuary laws and instead uphold federal immigration law. Miller said the state's sanctuary policies have transformed the Land of Lincoln into a "cesspool of crime and drugs." FULL STORY A woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing three men in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood. Police say Asia Boyd, 29, was arrested shortly after the attack and identified as the offender. FULL STORY
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Week in Review: Apple won't raise prices — yet
Welcome back to Week in Review! We've got lots of news for you today: Amazon earnings, Apple earnings, ChatGPT sycophancy, Alibaba's AI models, and much more. Let's get to it! Well? During Apple's earnings call yesterday, Tim Cook revealed that the company paid $900 million in tariffs last quarter. But despite this, the CEO didn't announce any price increases — yet. Big bucks: Defense tech startup Mach Industries, which was founded by 21-year-old Ethan Thornton, is about to close a fresh $100 million in financing, sources told TechCrunch. This new funding should bring the startup's total funding to about $185 million to date. More models: Alibaba announced this week that it's releasing a family of AI models, called Qwen3, that it claims can outperform OpenAI and Google. According to Alibaba, the Qwen3 models are 'hybrid' models, and they're not yet available for download. This is TechCrunch's Week in Review, where we recap the week's biggest news. Want this delivered as a newsletter to your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. Shoot for the stars: Amazon's effort to create a space-based internet network began in earnest this week: The company fired off its first 27 internet satellites on Tuesday. The first half of the network needs to be deployed by mid-2026 to meet the FCC deadline. AI in your pocket: Meta is rolling out a stand-alone AI app, which it unveiled at the company's first LlamaCon event on Tuesday. The app allows users to access Meta AI in an app, similar to the ChatGPT app and other AI assistant apps. Blocked: A judge in India blocked the encrypted email provider Proton Mail across the country. This was in response to a legal complaint filed by New Delhi-based M Moser Design Associates, which alleged that its employees had received emails containing obscene and vulgar content sent via Proton Mail. Cheaters never win: Cluely went viral recently for its bold claim of helping people cheat on everything. But some startups are claiming they can catch Cluely's users. Alexa+: Amazon's new digital assistant aims to let users talk with it in a more natural style and eventually have agentic abilities that allow it to use third-party apps on a user's behalf. During Amazon's earnings call this week, CEO Andy Jassy says that 100,000 users now have Alexa+. AI where it matters: Airbnb seems to be taking a more measured approach with AI. It started rolling out an AI-powered customer service bot in the U.S. last month. CEO Brian Chesky said in February that the company would use AI for customer service before it started implementing it for other uses like travel planning or booking tickets. Epic ruling: Epic Games has notched a win in an ongoing legal dispute with Apple. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said in a ruling that Apple was in "willful violation" of a 2021 injunction that prohibited the company from imposing anticompetitive pricing. As a result, Fortnite could be back on iPhones as soon as next week. LOL: Following the Epic Games ruling, Stripe shared documentation that shows iOS developers how to avoid the Apple commission. Check your settings: Meta emailed Ray-Ban Meta owners on Tuesday with a notice that AI features will now be enabled on the glasses by default. This means Meta's AI will analyze photos and videos taken with the glasses while certain AI features are switched on. Yikes! OpenAI said it was 'rolling back' the latest update to the default AI model powering ChatGPT, GPT-4o, after complaints about strange behavior, in particular it being overly agreeable and validating. According to OpenAI, the update, which was intended to make the model's default personality 'feel more intuitive and effective,' was informed too much by 'short-term feedback.' Now the company pledges to make changes that would prevent this from happening in the future. Oh the drama: We read through the 80-page Epic v. Apple decision to pull out the judge's juiciest, fieriest comments. Here's one to get you started: "Apple engaged in tactics to delay the proceedings. The Court later concluded that delay equaled profits." Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Yahoo
Track meet stabbing • Suburban burglary • Massive Joliet fire
CHICAGO - A 17-year-old accused of stabbing another teen at a Texas track meet is charged with murder; authorities say four Chicago-area men were arrested this week after a residential break-in in the northwest suburbs; and Nicky Katt, the actor known for roles in "Dazed and Confused" and "Boston Public" died at age 54. These are the top stories from Fox 32's Week in Review. For the first time since their son's arrest, the family of the 17-year-old accused in the stabbing death of another at a Frisco track meet on April 2, spoke to the public. Karmelo Anthony, 17, is charged with murder for the stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet earlier this month. FULL STORY Authorities say four Chicago-area men were arrested this week after a residential break-in in the northwest suburbs, part of what investigators believe is a broader burglary operation targeting homes in the Asian community. FULL STORY Nicky Katt, the actor known for roles in "Dazed and Confused," "Boston Public" and "Boiler Room," has died. He was 54 at the time of his death. FULL STORY A large fire broke out at a manufacturing facility Monday morning near Joliet, leaving one firefighter injured. The ceiling collapsed onto one firefighter who suffered burns to his wrist and forehead. FULL STORY A suburban school district is facing nine civil lawsuits filed by families who claim a former school nurse endangered children by mismanaging prescription medications at Westgate Elementary School. FULL STORY Four men from Cook County stole from multiple west suburban Home Depot stores over the last several weeks, prosecutors said. FULL STORY A 37-year-old woman who was reported missing in Chicago's north suburbs has been found dead, authorities said. Megan Bos, of Antioch, was reported missing last month and was last heard from in February, according to local officials. FULL STORY Indiana is taking a first step toward acquiring parts of Illinois, though a last step appears rather unlikely. Indiana's Legislature this week gave final approval to a bill that would create the Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission to recommend whether to change the border between the two states. FULL STORY Three 17-year-old boys were found with multiple loaded guns and drugs during a traffic stop in which they tried to flee from police in north suburban Lake County on Sunday night. FULL STORY Southwest Airlines is the original budget, low-cost carrier, but financial struggles have caused the airline to make major changes this year in hopes of turning a better profit. The most notable include eliminating the open seating and free checked bag policies, for which the airline was most famously known. FULL STORY
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Naperville Nike store theft • Chicago officer's death • Deadly I-94 crash charges
CHICAGO - Three women were accused of stealing more than $300 in merchandise from a Nike store in suburban Naperville; an off-duty Chicago police officer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a police station; and a woman was charged in connection with a deadly crash on Interstate 94. These are the top stories in Fox 32's Week in Review. Three women stole more than $300 in merchandise from a Nike store in Naperville before leading police on a chase that ended in Chicago, prosecutors said. FULL STORY An off-duty Chicago police officer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a Near North Side station Thursday morning, sources told FOX 32. The 34-year-old officer was found dead around 2:25 a.m. in a restroom on the first floor of the 18th District police station. FULL STORY An Illinois woman was charged with driving under the influence during a crash on I-94 that killed one of her passengers early Sunday morning. FULL STORY A woman hired to clean houses was accused of stealing more than $20,000 worth of jewelry from clients in west suburban DuPage County, local prosecutors said. FULL STORY A 36-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with the sexual assault of five women over nearly three years in Chicago. FULL STORY Actor Jay North, who was known for playing the title character Dennis Mitchell in the 1960s sitcom "Dennis the Menace," has died, according to reports. Forbes reported North has died at the age of 73, and that his passing was announced by his friend and former co-star Jeannie Russell. FULL STORY Changes to service standards for the U.S. Postal Service began this month, in an effort to provide "more reliable service" for Americans. Under the new approach, most will get their mail in the same service window, some will get it faster, and some a little slower. FULL STORY A 23-year-old waitress is recovering after she was beaten by two women inside a Pilsen restaurant last Friday night in an attack caught on surveillance video. FULL STORY A Chicago pilot was among six people killed when a helicopter carrying a family visiting from Spain crashed into the Hudson River in New York City on Thursday afternoon. FULL STORY A 24-year-old Chicago woman is facing an attempted murder charge after police say she shot a man early Saturday morning on the city's West Side before being arrested later that day in the north suburbs. FULL STORY
