NoneThere has been a surge in WhatsApp account hacks in Sri Lanka during the past couple of months, with scammers using verification code manipulation to gain access to accounts and defraud contacts. This alarming trend has led to numerous occasions of financial fraud and identity theft and journalists have become the latest victims of this cybercrime. The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) has warned the public of financial fraud being carried out targeting social media platform, WhatsApp. As the latest development of this alarming trend, WhatsApp accounts of nearly 10 Sri Lankan journalists were compromised during the past few days, particularly of those who work in the English media using sophisticated methods to gain unauthorised access to their user accounts. In all recent incidents, the users have reported receiving unexpected WhatsApp verification codes and scammers contacting users, posing as friends or acquaintances, to request the code, which, once shared, grants hackers control over the account. This enables them to read and send messages, access contacts, and even make calls. According to forensic cybercrime experts, hackers use a two-step approach: “First, they compromise the user’s WhatsApp account through the verification code, and then target the user’s contacts with requests for financial assistance. Victims have reported sending money – Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 100,000, believing they were aiding a friend in a dire need.” Be cautious always Cybercrime experts ask users to “always be cautious” when a WhatsApp message requests a verification code. They said any OTP or a code received should never be shared. Victims are advised to alert their contacts via social media if their accounts are hacked, helping prevent further scams. With the increasing prevalence of this scam, the SLCERT and relevant authorities are encouraging users to enable two-step verification on their accounts and to remain vigilant when receiving any messages involving verification codes. When such an untoward incident of compromising a WhatsApp account occurs, the WhatsApp account user has to face a great deal of inconvenience expending much time to retrieve the account. When a user is subjected to such WhatsApp account hack, the only option available for him is to lodge a complaint with the Computer Crime Investigation Division (CCID) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or complain to the SLCERT seeking technical advice on how to overcome such issues and regain the control of the WhatsApp account. Several journalists who became victims of hacking their WhatsApp accounts over the past couple of weeks said that the Police response to their complaints was often lethargic and that there should be a mechanism in place to immediately trace the culprits who resort to such cybercrimes. Otherwise, the hackers do the maximum possible damage to the victims and continue their financial scams after they take control over a WhatsApp account. Those who are not familiar with such financial scams might transfer money to those bank accounts. The police can conduct investigations to ascertain those bank account details shared by the hackers. According to the accepted procedure, the banks and finance companies cannot disclose the details of their account holders to a third party. Even if the police want to investigate such accounts, they will have to get a court order. Pretext of financial distress A senior journalist of a leading weekend English newspaper, who became a victim to a scam a couple of days ago, said that he had received a WhatsApp call from a known contact, asking him to join a zoom meeting mentioning a code number. When the journalist had declined to join the zoom meeting, the hacker had asked him to repeat the code number displaced in his WhatsApp call, following which the journalist’s WhatsApp account was immediately hacked. Once the WhatsApp account is compromised, scammers use it to send messages to the user’s contacts, requesting money under the pretext of financial distress. Some of those contacts, who are not familiar with such cybercrime frauds, immediately call or respond to such fake WhatsApp messages hoping that it’s a genuine case. A former News Editor of a leading weekly English newspaper who had also faced a similar issue a recently told the Sunday Observer that he had lodged a complaint with the CCID, but he hasn’t received any feedback so far. The senior journalist said the hackers had also shared WhatsApp messages among some of his schoolmates in foreign countries too. “Then as advised by my friends, I immediately changed my mobile number for a brief period. Several other journalists who also became victims had also followed the same guidelines, and said they are also waiting for feedback from the CCID. When looking at the real-life examples of WhatsApp hacks in Sri Lanka, a retired officer had fallen victim to a similar scam, where the hackers had used his account to defraud his friends and family. A Colombo based businessman had also lost significant sums of money after his account was compromised, with scammers sending messages to his contacts requesting financial assistance. A money swindling scheme had also taken place recently after SJB Colombo District Parliamentarian Mujibur Rahuman posted on Facebook to warn his contacts against the hackers impersonating him on WhatsApp. Hackers who accessed the MP’s WhatsApp account had sent messages to his contacts requesting money. After that, many people had responded to the messages with fund transfers to the account details mentioned. Police Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said when a complaint is made on the hacking of Facebook or WhatsApp, the CCID will take action regarding that. However, he said there is no significant increase in cybercrimes in Sri Lanka over the past couple weeks. The incidents pertaining to hacking Facebook and WhatsApp are not a recent development that took place in Sri Lanka. These incidents had taken place for a long time and we have also educated the social media users about these hackings and other cybercrime related incidents. Recent developments When social media develops, hacking and other scams using social media and the internet is also developed. Therefore, the hacking of WhatsApp and Facebook is reported not only in Sri Lanka but also worldwide. However, most of those who use social media have an understanding of how these recent developments take place. CCID Deputy Director SSP Darshika Ranasinghe said anybody who became a victim of such cybercrimes can either present a written complaint or send an email to the CCID. The CCID will take action regarding complaints made on any such hacking incidents. SLCERT Senior Information Security Engineer Charuka Damunupola told the Sunday Observer that during the past three months, they had received nearly 74 complaints on hacking of WhatsApp accounts. In most of these cases the user should try to re-register his number with WhatsApp. However, if the user is getting an error message saying that you should try in eight or 24 hours because of the scam mechanism placed in WhatsApp, the user should uninstall the WhatsApp app and try to install it again using the same procedure. That is one option that they could try in such a case. We have had a few cases where users got their access back by reinstalling the app. There is another option similar to some sort of hacking using a WhatsApp business account. The user can download the WhatsApp business account and try to register the number into a WhatsApp business account and then he will get a SMS and enter it and register it to the WhatsApp business account and then the ordinary WhatsApp account will lose its access. Normally, those are the two simple things the user can do if their WhatsApp accounts got compromised. He said during the past few weeks, they witnessed a surge in this particular WhatsApp account hack. The most important thing is if someone’s WhatsApp account is hacked, that account holder’s contacts can also get these messages and the hackers will go through their contacts and see what groups they are in by creating communities. That is why it’s like going in circles among journalists, politicians and Government officials. The hacker will only need to compromise one account. If you take one mobile phone, you will have hundreds of contacts. There is a possibility that anyone can be fooled through such scams and they will disclose their verification code or they will send money without thinking twice. This scam is widely spreading within these few weeks. WhatsApp accounts of several journalists from both print and electronic media had been compromised during the past couple of days. Some fake WhatsApp calls are circulated by the hackers on the pretext that they are from a Government office asking the users to join a Zoom meeting. Most of the journalists could think that it is an important discussion and click the link to join it. A few people had complained to SLCERT that they had noticed that on certain occasions the call originated from their own contact. Damunupola said sometimes, it can come from an unknown number and it can be an overseas number as well. The hackers may give missed calls or they will call and ask you to enter some numbers. We haven’t seen those cases very much. Normally, what happens in that scenario is they will forward your call to their numbers. Through that they will re-register the number by a WhatsApp phone call verification and anyway it will verify on their phone because all the calls are going to that number. They scam a huge number of people and they don’t send these WhatsApp messages singly. They just want at least one person to click the message and fooled and that is enough for them. They send WhatsApp messages on a smart scale. At the initial stage, it was mainly targeted at the Muslim community as they do some online prayers. Then hackers sent them fake WhatsApp messages or calls asking them to join a religious or prayer discussion. If you look at the messages, the greetings mainly say As-Salaam-Alaikum and also added some Muslim words in the text. After that they delete that message, and now they are sending the message in flawless English. He said either way, the WhatsApp call comes from an unknown number or your own contact, and it is impossible to trace the WhatsApp anyway. The only possible evidence is that the Police can investigate the accounts that the hackers ask to deposit money. They send some account holders name and account number to deposit that money. The bank and finance companies have the details of these account holders. But they don’t disclose it to a third party. Even if we make a request, they will ask for a court order and that is the normal procedure for any bank. Floating accounts We have also identified several such bank account details belong to two or three banks sent by the hackers to the WhatsApp users. However, the Police have to get a court order to investigate these accounts but most of these accounts are actually floating accounts. This is the untold story of these accounts because the scammers don’t directly go to a bank to prove their identity so that they have these floating accounts or hijacked accounts to do such scams. He said these account holders have no idea what is happening to their accounts. Sometimes, most of these floating accounts belong to the people who had passed away. If the police try to find the account holder, there is no such person or that he had passed away. However, there are a few ways to withdraw the money deposited in those floating accounts. Even though the Police have the name of the account holder, they can’t do much as there is no such person. The only thing that the Police can do is to default the account. At a certain point, scammers have to get that money into their hands. They use a proxy such as a drug addict or beggar to withdraw the money from a nearby ATM machine and just give them some money for it. Therefore, the scammer won’t be in the picture when the withdrawal takes place. These are some of the techniques used by the scammers. However, some of these accounts can be the real person’s accounts. At times, these scammers recruit university students saying that they have to do an online job. They tell the students that they will get money into their accounts and then they will have to buy online gift cards and send them to an email address. This is the untraceable part of this scam and the person who has got involved in it has no idea whatsoever about as he thinks that he is doing an online job. He is in fact, also a part of a crime. The scammers have set up well organised scams all over the world and they haven’t even visited Sri Lanka. Through fake passports and identity documents anyone can get SIM cards and that is the dangerous part of this scamming. Mechanism to trace the account According to Damunupola, the only possible way to contact WhatsApp is only through it. If someone has already hacked your WhatsApp account, there is no way to communicate with the support team. They don’t have a direct support email or support team here. Obviously, they see these kinds of things happening within a short period of time. At least, they need to take precautions. If someone’s account is accessed by a different IP, there should be a mechanism to trace it. He said when looking at hacking of social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook and emails, it has mainly affected Facebook as the majority are facebook users. Because of that most of the cases we receive are Facebook hackings and there are several incidents of Instagram hackings as well. During this year, we received nearly 7,000 complaints relating to social media related scams but all these are not relevant to hackings of WhatsApp or Facebook. This includes hacking, creating fake accounts, unauthorised use of photographs and videos by someone else. Those cases are now mainly handled by the CCID because they have a Meta connection mainly for Facebook.
Washington — President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general, to serve as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, he announced Wednesday. Kellogg served as chief of staff to the National Security Council and national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence during Trump's first term in office. He will assume the role as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia as it nears the three-year mark of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump announced Kellogg as the envoy in a post to social media, writing that he "has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration." "He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!" the president-elect wrote. Trump's return to the White House has raised questions about the future of U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine . The U.S. under President Biden had provided roughly $64.1 billion in military aid since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, and about $66.9 billion in military assistance since Russia initially invaded Ukraine in 2014, according to the State Department. The president-elect, however, has criticized Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy, calling him in June "the greatest salesman of all time" for pushing for continued U.S. support in Ukraine's efforts to push back against Russia's aggression. Trump has claimed he would have the war "settled" before taking office for his second term, and has said Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he were president. Trump and Zelenskyy spoke by phone after the president-elect defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the election earlier this month. Ukraine's leader said on social media the call was "excellent" and praised his "tremendous campaign" that made his victory possible. "We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace," Zelenskyy wrote. Trump, meanwhile, has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as "savvy" and suggested in February that he "would encourage" Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" with NATO member countries that failed to meet the alliance's defense spending targets. Ret. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who served as Trump's national security adviser in his first term, told "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sunday that the upcoming months are "really critical" in determining the "next phase" of the war in Ukraine. McMaster, a CBS News contributor, said that Russia and Ukraine are both incentivized to make "as many gains on the battlefield as they can before the new Trump administration comes in" as the two countries seek leverage in negotiations. Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
A Republican House candidate in Florida endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump warned two Muslim congresswomen that they should consider leaving the chamber if he is elected, writing "BombsAway" on social media. State Sen. Randy Fine, running to fill the seat expected to be vacated by Rep. Mike Waltz , whom Trump nominated as his national security adviser, directed the X posting at Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. "The 'Hebrew Hammer' is coming. @RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN might consider leaving before I get there. #BombsAway," Fine, who is Jewish, wrote. Omar and Tlaib, who is a Palestinian American, are the only two Muslim women in the House and have been critical of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Fine's comments were reposted on an endorsement from the Republican Jewish Coalition. Trump threw his support behind Fine on Sunday, writing on Truth Social "RUN, RANDY, RUN!" "A Harvard Educated, Successful Businessman, and Highly Respected State Legislator, Randy has been an incredible Voice for MAGA, and the Great People of Florida. In Congress, Randy will be an INCREDIBLE Fighter who will work tirelessly with me to Stop Inflation, Grow our Economy, Secure the Border, Champion our Military/Vets, Restore American Energy DOMINANCE, Protect our always under siege Second Amendment, and Restore PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH," Truth added in the posting. Fine has a long history of making inflammatory remarks about Muslims and supporters of Palestinians. After Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish-born American activist, was shot by Israeli soldiers while throwing rocks in the occupied West Bank in September, Fine wrote: "Throw rocks, get shot. One less #MuslimTerrorist. #FireAway."
Keep Going K9s brings service dogs to veteransWASHINGTON — As she checked into a recent flight to Mexico for vacation, Teja Smith chuckled at the idea of joining another Women’s March on Washington . As a Black woman, she just couldn’t see herself helping to replicate the largest act of resistance against then-President Donald Trump’s first term in January 2017. Even in an election this year where Trump questioned his opponent’s race , held rallies featuring racist insults and falsely claimed Black migrants in Ohio were eating residents’ pets , he didn't just win a second term. He became the first Republican in two decades to clinch the popular vote, although by a small margin. “It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.” After Trump was declared the winner over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris , many politically engaged Black women said they were so dismayed by the outcome that they were reassessing — but not completely abandoning — their enthusiasm for electoral politics and movement organizing. Black women often carry much of the work of getting out the vote in their communities. They had vigorously supported the historic candidacy of Harris, who would have been the first woman of Black and South Asian descent to win the presidency. Harris' loss spurred a wave of Black women across social media resolving to prioritize themselves, before giving so much to a country that over and over has shown its indifference to their concerns. AP VoteCast , a survey of more than 120,000 voters, found that 6 in 10 Black women said the future of democracy in the United States was the single most important factor for their vote this year, a higher share than for other demographic groups. But now, with Trump set to return to office in two months, some Black women are renewing calls to emphasize rest, focus on mental health and become more selective about what fight they lend their organizing power to. “America is going to have to save herself,” said LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of the national voting rights group Black Voters Matter. She compared Black women’s presence in social justice movements as “core strategists and core organizers” to the North Star, known as the most consistent and dependable star in the galaxy because of its seemingly fixed position in the sky. People can rely on Black women to lead change, Brown said, but the next four years will look different. “That’s not a herculean task that’s for us. We don’t want that title. ... I have no goals to be a martyr for a nation that cares nothing about me,” she said. AP VoteCast paints a clear picture of Black women's concerns. Black female voters were most likely to say that democracy was the single most important factor for their vote, compared to other motivators such as high prices or abortion. More than 7 in 10 Black female voters said they were “very concerned” that electing Trump would lead the nation toward authoritarianism, while only about 2 in 10 said this about Harris. About 9 in 10 Black female voters supported Harris in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, similar to the share that backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Trump received support from more than half of white voters, who made up the vast majority of his coalition in both years. Like voters overall, Black women were most likely to say the economy and jobs were the most important issues facing the country, with about one-third saying that. But they were more likely than many other groups to say that abortion and racism were the top issues, and much less likely than other groups to say immigration was the top issue. Despite those concerns, which were well-voiced by Black women throughout the campaign, increased support from young men of color and white women helped expand Trump’s lead and secured his victory. Politically engaged Black women said they don’t plan to continue positioning themselves in the vertebrae of the “backbone” of America’s democracy. The growing movement prompting Black women to withdraw is a shift from history, where they are often present and at the forefront of political and social change. One of the earliest examples is the women’s suffrage movement that led to ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution , which gave women the right to vote. Black women, however, were prevented from voting for decades afterward because of Jim Crow-era literacy tests, poll taxes and laws that blocked the grandchildren of slaves from voting. Most Black women couldn’t vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Black women were among the organizers and counted among the marchers brutalized on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, during the historic march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery that preceded federal legislation. Decades later, Black women were prominent organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and vigilantes. In his 2024 campaign, Trump called for leveraging federal money to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government programs and discussions of race, gender or sexual orientation in schools. His rhetoric on immigration, including false claims that Black Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs, drove support for his plan to deport millions of people . Tenita Taylor, a Black resident of Atlanta who supported Trump this year, said she was initially excited about Harris’ candidacy. But after thinking about how high her grocery bills have been, she feels that voting for Trump in hopes of finally getting lower prices was a form of self-prioritization. “People say, ‘Well, that’s selfish, it was gonna be better for the greater good,''' she said. “I’m a mother of five kids. ... The things that (Democrats) do either affect the rich or the poor.” Some of Trump’s plans affect people in Olivia Gordon’s immediate community, which is why she struggled to get behind the “Black women rest” wave. Gordon, a New York-based lawyer who supported the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s presidential nominee, Claudia de la Cruz, worries about who may be left behind if the 92% of Black women voters who backed Harris simply stopped advocating. “We’re talking millions of Black women here. If millions of Black women take a step back, it absolutely leaves holes, but for other Black women,” she said. “I think we sometimes are in the bubble of if it’s not in your immediate circle, maybe it doesn’t apply to you. And I truly implore people to understand that it does.” Nicole Lewis, an Alabama-based therapist who specializes in treating Black women’s stress, said she’s aware that Black women withdrawing from social impact movements could have a fallout. But she also hopes that it forces a reckoning for the nation to understand the consequences of not standing in solidarity with Black women. “It could impact things negatively because there isn’t that voice from the most empathetic group,” she said. “I also think it’s going to give other groups an opportunity to step up. ... My hope is that they do show up for themselves and everyone else.” Brown said a reckoning might be exactly what the country needs, but it’s a reckoning for everyone else. Black women, she said, did their job when they supported Harris in droves in hopes they could thwart the massive changes expected under Trump. “This ain’t our reckoning,” she said. “I don’t feel no guilt.” ____ AP polling editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux and Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.
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