Latest news with #spoofing
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Science
- Bloomberg
Ship-Signal Spoofing Spreads to Russia's Pacific Kozmino Port
Exports of crude from the Kozmino oil terminal on Russia's Pacific coast have become harder to track in recent days, after ships' automated position signals began to suffer electronic interference. The process, known as spoofing, sees signals sent between ships and the satellites used for global positioning systems swamped by false transmissions, which lead to vessels reporting themselves to be in impossible positions or moving at infeasible speeds.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
FTC Issues New Warning for All Cell Phone Users
The advent of technology brought with it plenty of positive influences on every day life, like allowing for instantaneous connectivity with friends and family. Unfortunately, it brought plenty of negatives along with it, like phishing scams. What Is a Phishing Scam? "Phishing schemes often use spoofing techniques to lure you in and get you to take the bait. These scams are designed to trick you into giving information to criminals that they shouldn't have access to," the FBI says. The FBI revealed how to identify a phishing scam, saying users "might receive an email that appears to be from a legitimate business" and asks said user to update or verify their personal information by replying to the email or visiting a website. "But once you click on that link, you're sent to a spoofed website that might look nearly identical to the real thing—like your bank or credit card site—and asked to enter sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, banking PINs, etc. These fake websites are used solely to steal your information," the FBI warned. A New Phishing Scam Uses Amazon to Fool Cell Phone Users Late last month the Federal Trade Commission issued a new warning to cell phone users revealing scammers are pretending to be Amazon by sending text messages claiming there's a problem with an item they bought with a refund link attached. "You get an unexpected text that looks like it's from Amazon. It claims the company did a 'routine quality inspection' and an item you recently bought doesn't meet Amazon's standards or has been recalled," the FTC said, explaining the new phishing attack. "The text offers you a full refund and says you don't need to return the item — as long as you click a link to request your money back. But there is no refund. Instead, it's a phishing scam to steal your money or personal information." How to Avoid the Scam The FTC offered a number of different ways to help avoid the scam or what to do if you've received such a text. Don't click links in unexpected texts — and don't respond to them. If you think the message could be legit, contact the company using a phone number, email, or website you know is real — not the info from the text. Check your Amazon account. If you're worried, log in through the Amazon website or app — don't use the link in the text — to see if there's a problem with or recall on anything you've ordered. Send unwanted texts to 7726 (SPAM) or use your phone's 'report junk' option. Once you've reported it, delete the Issues New Warning for All Cell Phone Users first appeared on Men's Journal on Aug 7, 2025 Solve the daily Crossword
Japan Times
31-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan considers tighter oversight to avoid bond market ‘spoofing'
The financial industry is looking to tighten oversight of trading in government bond futures, after Nomura Holdings joined a list of brokerages fined for manipulating the instruments. The Japan Securities Dealers Association and Japan Exchange Group are discussing ways to prevent a banned trade known as spoofing, their officials said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. They are considering revising a guideline for reviewing trading in Japanese government bond futures and other derivatives, as well as offering more thorough training for financial firms, the officials added. Japan is stepping up efforts to stamp out impropriety in its financial markets after concluding last year that Nomura broke the law in 2021. Spoofing involves placing fake orders to give market participants a false impression about supply and demand to make profitable trades. The practice isn't unique to Japan, and regulators in other markets have also been trying to curb it. JSDA is an industry group that self-regulates brokerages in coordination with the Financial Services Agency. Japanese government bond futures are listed on a derivatives exchange in Osaka, and JPX has a regulatory arm called Japan Exchange Regulation that seeks to ensure securities transactions are fair. Traders could also benefit from clearer guidance. The line between spoofing and regular transactions can be contentious — a former Nomura trader who is accused of having committed the act four years ago has insisted he is innocent. Some Japanese government bond traders have noted the rules were opaque enough that almost anyone could be tripped up and lose their job. The guideline was created in 2020 by JPX for companies to review their own derivatives trades, after the FSA penalized Citigroup Inc. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in the preceding two years for spoofing JGB futures, the officials said. Any revision would be the first since it was formed, they added. JPX shares the guideline only with member firms, keeping it from the general public. JSDA and JPX are examining whether the guideline needs revising for more effective screening of transactions, the officials said. They are also considering educating brokerages about best practices, rather than prescribing quantifiable benchmarks, such as a limit on a trader's market share, the officials added. The discussion are at an early stage and there is no specific deadline, according to the officials. Once ideas are finalized, they will probably discuss them with brokerages, they said. JSDA is considering with other relevant parties how to deal with the matter, a spokesman said in a written response. A representative for JPX declined to comment. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, the FSA's investigative arm, asked JSDA to come up with preventive measures after Nomura paid a fine of ¥21.8 million ($147,000) in October, commission officials said, asking not to be identified due to their policy. JSDA undertook a survey in February and March as a preparatory step, the officials said. It polled roughly 80 member firms that trade Japanese government bond futures, including brokerages and commercial banks. The queries focused on how the companies' management and compliance officers as well as independent auditors oversee such transactions, JSDA officials said. JPX is also looking into the need to toughen oversight on other financial products that are susceptible to spoofing, such as stocks, its officials said.
Bloomberg
30-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Japan Considers Tighter Oversight to Avoid Bond Market ‘Spoofing'
Japan's financial industry is looking to tighten oversight of trading in government bond futures, after Nomura Holdings Inc. joined a list of brokerages fined for manipulating the instruments. The Japan Securities Dealers Association and Japan Exchange Group Inc. are discussing ways to prevent a banned trade known as spoofing, their officials said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. They are considering revising a guideline for reviewing trading in Japanese government bond futures and other derivatives, as well as offering more thorough training for financial firms, the officials added.
The Sun
29-07-2025
- The Sun
I got spoofed and was forced to change my mobile number – it could happen to you too
IF you've ever been targeted by a scammer, you'll know it can be a scary and worrying experience. But has a fraudster ever pretended to be YOU, in order to trick people out of their hard-earned cash? 1 That's exactly what happened to me, when I discovered that my phone number had been "spoofed" and crooks were using it to try and scam people. It's a horrible form of identity fraud and a cunning way for fraudsters to attempt to steal cash or money from unsuspecting victims, as the number appears to be from a trusted source. It all started six months ago, when I started getting mysterious phone calls from strangers claiming that they'd has missed calls from me. But when I checked my call log each time, I could see that I never made the call to that number. I would tell the caller that they made a mistake, and hang up the phone. I was suspicious that these were scammers trying to lure me into handing over money in some way, so I made sure to block the numbers after I put the phone down. But the calls kept coming and each time I kept blocking the number. That was until last week, when I received a WhatsApp out of the blue from a lady I didn't know. "Hello, did you call me?" the text read. I usually don't message back when I get these sorts of WhatsApp messages, as I'm wary of scammers. But I was confused when the lady sent a screenshot of her call log - and surprisingly, my phone number was at the top of the list. I decided to message back, explaining that I didn't call her. I thanked her for flagging the missed call, and said I would look into what happened. After contacting my phone company, ID Mobile, I was told that the most likely explanation for what had happened was that my phone number had been spoofed. They said there wasn't much the company could do about my spoofed number, although I had the option to change my phone number, which would cost £25. I was also told to report the issue to Action Fraud. The thought of a scammer using my number and pretending to be me to con money out of innocent people made me sick to my stomach. So I decided to bite the bullet, swallow the £25 charge, and put the experience behind me. Even better, I've not had a single scam call or text since I switched my number - before, I used to get at least one a week. However, there's nothing to stop my new number from being spoofed too. It's also been a massive inconvenience contacting all my friends, family, and organisations to let them know about my change of number. iD Mobile said: "We understand how frustrating it is for customers to receive calls from people claiming they've been contacted by them. "In this instance, it appears the number was spoofed — a common industry issue where fraudsters fake caller IDs without needing access to the number itself." I've been told that if I report it to Action Fraud, the £25 fee will be waived - which I'm planning on doing soon. Spoofing on the rise The main reason why scammers will spoof numbers is in order to target more victims without being caught up in something called the Do Not Originate (DNO) list. Ofcom and UK Finance launched the DNO list in 2019. Companies and organisations add to the list when a rogue number is reported, and this list is shared with telecoms providers to help them identify and block calls from these numbers. It's an effective tool in filtering through scam callers - but tech and cyber security expert David McClelland said scammers are exploiting a loophole. "Perhaps because of this DNO list - although it's difficult to say for sure - scammers are now also making calls that spoof individuals' mobile numbers," he said. Spoofing is becoming a big problem. The telcoms regulator, Ofcom, is so concerned about the growing threat of spoofing that it launched a consultation in July last year on how to address the issue. It said it was "concerned" that scam calls are coming from scammers who are spoofing UK mobile numbers. It said a call from a spoofed number could appear more trustworthy, and "victims are more likely to share personal information or to make a payment, which can lead to significant financial and emotional harm". It can therefore make it much easier for fraudsters to hunt down victims and steal their money. Some 5.7million Brits have been targeted by a mobile phone scammer more than 10 times, according to research from comparison site Uswitch. And an eye-watering £1.17billion was swiped by scammers in 2024 - roughly level to what was stolen in 2023. What can you do about spoofing? Worryingly, phone companies can't do a lot about spoofing, says Jake Moore from the cybersecurity firm ESET. "There's no solid bulletproof way to stop this sort of spoofing," he says. "However, it's a good idea to report it to Action Fraud and at extreme lengths, you can change your number. "This may be challenging for some people - but it will eradicate the problem if your phone number appears on a list that hackers delve into." My spoofing experience has been sobering, and has reminded me of the importance of remaining vigilant against scammers. Set your privacy settings to the highest level on your social media and messaging accounts. This is so people can't contact you or collect personal information about you - it's surprising how much we share on our accounts. Be wary of who you share your number with. "Try to reduce the amount of companies you give your phone number to," Jake said. "Most website forms will ask for it but not all of them will require it for the service or product to work. "By limiting where your number is divulged, it reduces the chance it will be breached." If you get a cold call, never rely on just using the caller ID as a way to verify who they say they are. It's worryingly easy for scammers to spoof a number. If someone says they are from your bank, then hang up and call the number on the back of your card, or through the mobile bank app. If someone says they are from an official organisation, like HMRC, hang up and look up the number to call back on the website. Being spoofed has made me realise the lengths that scammers will go to in order to trick you into handing over money. From now on, I'll be keeping a close eye on where I'm sharing my phone number. How to stop nuisance calls and texts FED up with scam texts and calls clogging up your phone? Take these steps to fight back. On iPhone, you can enable Silence Unknown Callers by going to Settings > Phone, scrolling down to Silence Unknown Callers, tapping the option, and turning on the feature. This will block phone numbers that are not in your contacts or that you have not contacted previously. On Android, open the Phone app, tap the three dots for more options, tap Settings then turn on Caller ID and spam protection. This uses a database of phone numbers to determine a caller's ID and filter out spam calls. Contact the Telephone Preference Service to add your landline or mobile number to the UK's official Do Not Call register and opt out of unsolicited communications. You can register your phone number on the TPS website or by phoning 0345 070 0707. Certain phone providers offer their own blocking services, some free and some paid for. Contact your provider to find out more.
