Coming as a surprise ultraportable laptop, the Acer Swift Go 14 (starts at $799.99; $1,099.99

Twitch king seems upset with IShowSpeed ahead of Sidemen Charity Match 2023

A major bank has recorded a 74% surge in the number of reports of vehicle scams in the first half of this year, with victims losing nearly £1,000 on average. The Ford Fiesta is the most commonly-reported model to feature in vehicle-related scams so far this year, according to Lloyds Bank. Bogus offers of BMWs and Audis also feature heavily among the fake ads, with motorbikes and classic cars also cropping up regularly, it added. There is also a thriving trade in fake ads for parts and accessories, such as alloy wheels, the bank said. According to the testimony of scam victims, vans are also often popular because people are seeking cheap models to be converted in campervans, Lloyds said. The findings were based on analysis of scams reported by Lloyds Banking Group customers during between January and June 2023. This was then compared with the same period in 2022 – and a 74% increase was found. Lloyds said victims are losing an average of £998, with people aged between 25 and 34 being the most likely age group to report being duped. Scams work by fraudsters creating fake posts on social media or online marketplaces to advertise vehicles that do not exist. They will include pictures of genuine cars or vans to convince the unsuspecting buyer that they are genuine. When a potential buyer responds, they will often be asked to make a deposit to “secure” the car, or even sometimes to pay the full amount, alongside excuses as to why the car cannot be physically viewed ahead of the payment being made. The fraudster will often apply pressure-selling tactics, telling the buyer the car is very popular, that they have several other offers, or that the payment must be made by a certain deadline, Lloyds said. Victims may be tricked into sending money via bank transfer. As soon as the payment is made, the buyer will be blocked and the seller’s profile will disappear. Occasionally, a fake address will be provided at which to collect the car, leaving buyers with a wasted trip alongside the financial loss. Ford Fiestas have been highly popular in the genuine sales market. Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in August indicated that the Ford Fiesta was the UK’s best-selling used car between April and June. The manufacturer recently ended production of the car at its factory in Cologne, Germany. If you do want to buy something you've found through social media, only transfer funds once the car is in your possession Liz Ziegler, Lloyds Bank Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director at Lloyds Bank said: “Buying directly from approved dealers is the best way to guarantee you’re paying for a genuine vehicle, and always use your debit or credit card for maximum safety. “If you do want to buy something you’ve found through social media, only transfer funds once the car is in your possession.” Here are some tips from Lloyds Bank to avoid vehicle scams: 1. Fraudsters use social media to advertise vehicles that do not exist. Always do your own research and do not part with any money until you have viewed, and tested, the vehicle in person. 2. Check documents. Always ask to see the seller’s logbook, to verify that the seller is the legitimate owner. 3. The safest way to buy a new or used car is often from well-known, approved dealers. Organisations such as the AA offer specific guidance for buying cars unseen. 4. Low prices and pressure selling tactics are often used to target victims. Question if a deal looks “too good to be true” and compare prices from trusted sources. 5. Always use your debit or credit card when you shop online. This helps to protect your money should something go wrong. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Standard Life confirms plans for pensions dashboard BBC reviews Russell Brand’s time at corporation as YouTube demonetises content BBC removes some Russell Brand content as monetisation suspended on YouTube

Nvidia’s AI chip exports to China are under threat, General Motors reaches deal with striking Canadian auto workers, and other news to start your day.

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canadian news industry groups on Tuesday asked the country's antitrust regulator to investigate Meta Platforms' decision to block

Police in the UK have blamed an Android smartphone update on a record increase in accidental 999 calls. The National Police Chiefs Council said the Emergency SOS function was resulting in emergency switchboards being overwhelmed by “silent” calls. The emergency feature is activated when a side button on a device is repeatedly pressed, which triggers a countdown that allows the action to be cancelled by dragging a slider across the screen. However, many users appear to inadvertently initiate emergency calls when their device is in a bag or pocket. “Nationally, all emergency services are currently experiencing record high 999 call volumes,” the National Police Chiefs Council said. “There’s a few reasons for this, but one we think is having a significant impact is an update to Android smartphones.” Met Police chief superintendent Dan Ivey said people should disable the emergency feature, claiming that an “unprecedented” number of calls to emergency lines in June were a result of people accidentally activating it. The majority of smartphone owners in the UK use Android, with Samsung, Huawei and Google Pixel phones all using the mobile operating system. Google, which first began rolling out the Emergency SOS update with the release of Android 12 in 2021, said that it was working with these smartphone manufacturers in order to resolve the issue. “To help these manufacturers prevent unintentional emergency calls on their devices, Android is providing them with additional guidance and resources,” a spokesperson for Google said. “We anticipate device manufacturers will roll out updates to their users that address this issue shortly. Users that continue to experience this issue should switch Emergency SOS off for the next couple of days.” The feature can be deactivated within the ‘Safety and Emergency’ section of Android’s settings. Android researcher Mishaal Rahman noted on Twitter that the issue also appeared to impact other law enforcement agencies around the world, including police in Canada and Europe. Read More Facebook and Instagram to block news in Canada Police warn about dangerous emergency setting on Android phones Meta rejects accusation of censorship of language around female body Facebook and Instagram to block news in Canada

Apple has opened pre-orders for the new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro. The new handsets were revealed at a livestreamed event this week, and will go on sale next Friday, 22 September. Pre-orders opened at 5am local pacific time, or 1pm in the UK. That is a little later than it used to be: Apple would open sales at midnight local time, which meant that customers on the east coast of the US had to wake up in the middle of the night if they wanted to ensure they were first in line. In the hours before those pre-orders opened, Apple took its store offline. Those attempting to buy anything saw a message reading “we can’t wait either”, and telling customers to come back later on. Apple was also once famous – and sometimes criticised – for the long lines that would appear outside of its stores ahead of the release of the iPhone, and the loud reception that customers received when they came to buy one. These days, however, it encourages people to buy the phone online if they can, and those queues have largely become a thing of the past. Nowadays, the company offers a range of ways to pre-order, many of which are intended to avoid queueing either online or at stores. Customers could line up their pre-order in advance, for instance – through a system called ‘Get Ready’ that lets them choose which iPhone and financing options they want, so that they are waiting when pre-orders actually open. Apple also lets people order their new products online and pick them up at a store, or to go to a store and have any out-of-stock products sent to them from there, in another measure that helps avoids lines or waiting. As well as buying the new iPhone directly from Apple, various networks are offering their own deals. Carriers largely run on the same schedule, opening pre-orders on 15 September and then making the phones available a week later. The iPhone 15 starts at £799, and the Pro version starts at £999. There had been considerable rumours in advance of the event that Apple was planning significant price rises – but prices actually fell slightly in the UK, while staying largely the same in the US. The normal iPhone 15 largely brings last year’s iPhone 14 Pro upgrades to the less expensive phones, including the Dynamic Island and its processor, as well as new colours. The iPhone 15 Pro gets a faster chip, improved cameras, and a new titanium material. The rest of the products unveiled during Apple’s ‘Wanderlust’ event – the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and new AirPods Pro – are already available to order. Read More iPhone 12 is not emitting dangerous radiation, Apple says, amid fears of Europe ban France’s iPhone 12 ban could spread across Europe, regulators say Everything Apple killed off at iPhone 15 event

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2023--

A London judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Shell Plc’s board members of failing to manage climate change risks.

No, spies aren't all focused on national security. Yes, the CIA did deploy a mission called Operation Acoustic Kitty.

Sam Altman, the head of ChatGPT creators OpenAI, has mocked Elon Musk’s entry into the artificial intelligence market. This week, Mr Musk’s xAI company unveiled Grok, another chat-based AI system along the lines of ChatGPT. He claimed that the app was written to be irreverent and funny, and to avoid what he suggested was censorship on other platforms such as ChatGPT. But the creator of that rival hit back at Grok in a tweet that suggested grok “tell[s] jokes like your dad’s dad” and that it traded in “cringey boomer humour”. The system works in a “sort of awkward shock-to-get-laughs sort of way”, he said. Mr Altman’s post showed him programming a system of his own, using a new OpenAI feature, and showed a screen grab of the instructions he had given to the system. He joked that “GPTs can save a lot of effort” in reference to a new feature, named GPTs, which allows people to creat their own versions of his chatbot that include specific and custom characteristics. Mr Musk responded with what appeared to be a quote from his own Grok AI. That response joked that “humour is clearly banned at OpenAI”. The marketing of Mr Musk’s Grok has revolved primarily around the fact that it will answer questions that other systems will refuse, and its tone is more irreverent than rival systems such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. When it was launched, for instance, he shared an example of how it will answer “almost anything”, sharing a screenshot of it being asked how to make cocaine. “Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak,” a blog post announcing its launch noted. “Please don’t use it if you hate humour!” Grok is also different from those systems in that it has real-time access to posts and data from Twitter. Other AI firms were using that site to train their models, but Mr Musk has looked to cut them off, arguing that it is causing too much demand on the site. Read More ChatGPT goes offline ChatGPT update allows anyone to make their own personalised AI assistant How Elon Musk’s ‘spicy’ Grok compares to ‘woke’ ChatGPT

SAVE $17: As of Sept. 12, get a refurbished Amazon Echo Glow smart lamp on