Tag Archive for: sleeping

Woman who scanned QR code with malware lost $20k to bubble tea survey scam while she was sleeping


SINGAPORE – She visited a bubble tea shop and saw a sticker pasted on its glass door, encouraging customers to do an online survey to get a free cup of milk tea.

Enticed by what seemed like a good deal, the 60-year-old scanned the QR code on the sticker and downloaded a third-party app onto her Android phone to complete the “survey”.

That night, as she was sleeping, her mobile phone suddenly lit up.

Thanks to the app she had downloaded, scammers used it to take over her device and moved $20,000 from her bank account.

Worryingly, she is not the only victim of such malware scams.

In April, the police and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore warned the public about downloading apps from dubious sites that can lead to malware being installed onto victims’ mobile phones.

They said such malware has resulted in confidential and sensitive data, including banking credentials, being stolen.

That month, the police also alerted the public to the resurgence of phishing scams involving malware installed on victims’ Android phones. The police had said that since March, there have been at least 113 victims who lost at least $445,000.

The case of the bubble tea survey scam was related to The Sunday Times by Mr Beaver Chua, head of anti-fraud at OCBC Bank’s group financial crime compliance department, last week.

He said: “While malware scams are not particularly new, scammers are getting increasingly innovative.

“Besides website pop-up banners, which are most common, pasting bogus QR codes outside F&B establishments is another cunning way to hook victims as consumers may not be able to differentiate between legitimate and malicious QR codes.”

Source…

Sleeping in the living room is more comfortable than the bedroom in the heatwave, study finds


  • More than 4.6 million English homes overheated during the summer, study says
  • And it’s worse in bedrooms during the night than in living rooms during the day
  • Living room overheating is the most severe in flats than any other dwelling types 

If you’re struggling to sleep during the current heatwave, a new study suggests you’d be better off sleeping in the lounge. 

Academics at Loughborough University say they’ve performed the largest and most comprehensive study to date on overheating in English homes. 

They found overheating to be more prevalent in bedrooms at night than in living rooms during the day in all English dwellings except flats and bungalows.  

More than 4.6 million homes in England are experiencing overheating during the summer, they claim, but bedrooms are more affected by heat than living rooms. 

The researchers also found that living room overheating was 30 per cent greater in flats than any other dwelling types, including multi-storey homes. 

The study follows a heatwave health alert issued by Public Health England this week, as Brits struggle with stifling temperatures around the 86°F (30°C) mark.  

Overheating is even more prevalent in bedrooms at night than in living rooms during the day, according to the study by experts at Loughborough University

HOW TO SURVIVE THE HEAT 

– Stay indoors

– Close curtains on rooms that face the sun to keep indoor spaces cooler 

– Drink plenty of fluids and avoid excess alcohol

– Never leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle, especially children or animals

– Try to keep out of the sun between 11am to 3pm

– Walk in the shade, apply sunscreen and wear a wide brimmed hat, if you have to go out  

– Avoid exercising in the hottest parts of the day

– Make sure you take water with you if you are travelling 

– If anyone feels unwell with a high temperature during hot weather, it may be heat exhaustion or heatstroke 

Professor Kevin Lomas, from Loughborough’s School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, who is lead researcher on the study, has pointed to climate change.

Threats from climate change are of worldwide concern – and global temperatures are likely to be 2.7°F (1.5°C) above pre-industrial levels by 2052, he…

Source…

Internet of Things security is so bad, there’s a search engine for sleeping kids

Shodan, a search engine for the Internet of Things (IoT), recently launched a new section that lets users easily browse vulnerable webcams.

The feed includes images of marijuana plantations, back rooms of banks, children, kitchens, living rooms, garages, front gardens, back gardens, ski slopes, swimming pools, colleges and schools, laboratories, and cash register cameras in retail stores, according to Dan Tentler, a security researcher who has spent several years investigating webcam security.

“It’s all over the place,” he told Ars Technica UK. “Practically everything you can think of.”

Read 44 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Technology Lab – Ars Technica

Sleeping Easier Over Mobile Security – CSPnet.com


CSPnet.com

Sleeping Easier Over Mobile Security
CSPnet.com
A: Mobile security has several concerns in that the device itself is not as “hardened” as traditional PC or personal-computer operating systems. Secure memory is one concern when storing any sensitive data, whether it's credit-card data, passwords or …

“mobile security” – read more