a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Blockchain CEO faces 120 years in prison for $4M cryptocurrency scam

Nov29
by on November 29, 2018 at 11:43 am
Posted In: Around the Web, blockchain, cryptocurrency, Hard Fork


The CEO of blockchain startup AriseBank, Jared Rice, is facing up to 120 years in prison for duping numerous investors out of $4 million in a cryptocurrency scheme. Rice promised his cryptocurrency would offer Visa-like functionality, but instead he spent investors’ Bitcoin on hotels and clothes. Rice allegedly misled would-be investors that AriseBank – which aimed to be the “first decentralized banking platform” – could offer FDIC-insured accounts and banking services, including Visa-brand credit cards and other cryptocurrency services, according to Northern District of Texas US Attorney, Erin Nealy Cox. In reality though, Texas-based AriseBank had not been been authorized…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Starbucks caves to prude pressure, bans porn on its free Wi-Fi

Nov29
by on November 29, 2018 at 11:00 am
Posted In: Around the Web


Starbucks thinks it has finally found a way to prevent customers from using its free Wi-Fi to watch porn. The coffee giant said that it will roll out a porn-blocking tool across numerous stores starting from next year. A Starbucks spokesperson told Business Insider that the the company tested multiple tools before arriving at the current solution, hoping to avoid methods that accidentally blocked unoffensive sites. Starbucks came up with the tool after years of pressure from the anti-porn internet safety group Enough is Enough. The group has been circulating a petition signed by more than 26,000 people, calling for…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

It’s the season for some family time, identity theft and bank fraud

Nov29
by on November 29, 2018 at 10:32 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Contributors


Since November and December are prime time for last minute gift shopping and booking travel tickets home, consumers are more vulnerable to hacks. The numbers are alarming. A recent study by ACI Worldwide projects a 14 percent increase in fraud attempts during the 2018 holiday season. As more shoppers turn to online shopping for the promises of amazing discounts, hackers are ready with spam emails, phishing software, and even fake applications. A cybersecurity intelligence company has searched mobile app stores from all over the world, looking for those containing Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the search terms. More than…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Amazon officially joins the blockchain party

Nov29
by on November 29, 2018 at 9:49 am
Posted In: Around the Web, blockchain, cryptocurrency, Hard Fork


Despite previous small forays into the blockchain space, Amazon is now officially part of the blockchain party after launching two new blockchain oriented services. The services called Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB) and Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB) were announced yesterday at Amazon’s re:Invent conference, reports TechCrunch. According to the AMB website, the platform will deliver a “fully managed service” that allows users to easily develop and managed “scalable blockchain networks.” It might sound like everything blockchain has been lacking, but time will tell whether or not this ends up being the case. The AMB service will use the open source Hyperledger…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: Amazon

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Indian police and Microsoft combine forces to shut down fake call centers

Nov29
by on November 29, 2018 at 9:27 am
Posted In: Around the Web, India, Insider


For years, India has been a major hub for tech support call centers that service companies around the world. Unfortunately, not all of them are legit. Earlier this week, police in the capital city of New Delhi raided 16 fraudulent call centers and arrested nearly three dozen people for running scams while pretending to offer customer care. The city’s police force worked with Microsoft’s digital crime unit to nail the scammers, who were involved with call centers that charged customers from anything between $100 to $500 for “tech support.” With the company’s help, authorities shut down 10 call centers across…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: Microsoft

└ Tags: