Beware! Scammers are everywhere, even on Google Maps

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Beware! Scammers are everywhere, even on Google Maps
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Google Maps has matured into an extremely useful app that does much more than just help you navigate quickly, but safely, from point “A” to point “B.” And once you get to point “B,” Google Maps will tell you where to dine, where to shop, where to find entertainment, and where to get a good night’s sleep. The app will also give you the phone number to call when you want to get in touch with a business-like an airline.

Scammers submit fake business numbers to Google Maps to scam users

According to a tweet from UX designer Shmuli Evers (via AndroidPolice), it appears as though scammers are replacing the legitimate hotline numbers on Google Maps with their own phone numbers. As Evers relates, his flight on Delta Airlines was canceled. When it became obvious that Delta’s customer service number was swamped, he looked up a hotline number on Google Maps. When the party answered on the other side, Evers started to explain that his flight was canceled and he needed a new flight.
A fake phone number in Google Maps almost made a scam victim out of Schmuli Evers - Beware! Scammers are everywhere, even on Google Maps

A fake phone number in Google Maps almost made a scam victim out of Schmuli Evers

The call got disconnected and then Evers’ phone rang; he was called from a French phone number and Caller ID showed the name of a person unrelated to Delta Airlines. The person then identified themselves as an airline representative. Shmuli gave his name and the confirmation number of his new flight. He was then directed by the “airline representative” to send the confirmation number of the new flight to another number via SMS. He also was asked to pay for the new flight reservations up front.

Worried that he was the entree in a scam meal, Evers hung up the call only to get bombarded by text asking him to pay five times the price of his original ticket to re-book. It turns out that the phone number from Google Maps that Evers originally called was connected to Delta’s local help desk at John F. Kennedy Airport. He also did some gumshoe work and found wrong numbers for American Airlines in Google Maps. Both numbers have since been corrected. A lot of information found in Google Maps is crowdsourced such as the hours of operation for a business, and hotline numbers.
What might have happened to Evers is that the information he would have texted to the “airline representative,” including the confirmation number for his “paid” replacement flight, would have been used by the scammer or one of his/her operatives to pick up the ticket at the airport where it might have been cashed in, sold, or used. Fake businesses are also popping up on Google Maps including scam locksmiths. Scammers are also calling small businesses saying that they are from Google and will remove their Google Maps listing unless they pay up to cover an ‘unpaid bill.”

A fake call from Verizon

Google could stop crowdsourcing information and leave it to businesses to provide information for Maps, but since many businesses don’t want to deal with providing Google with this data, Maps would lose the ability to provide information about many businesses. So instead, Google continues to receive crowdsourced data.

You could get confronted at any time by a scammer. As I wrote this article, my phone rang and the voice on the other end of the line claimed to belong to a Verizon representative. “How are you doing tonight?” the caller said. Realizing that it was a taped scam call, I responded that my night was not going well and that a safe had fallen on my head from a window above me. “Glad to hear that,” said the voice in a cheerful manner. I hung up. 

Had I continued on the call, I probably would have been asked for some personal information designed to hijack my Verizon account which would have been used to order pricey new iPhone models.

As Shmili Evers discovered, scammers are everywhere. Trust your gut. If something seems odd and doesn’t make sense, you’re probably being scammed.


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Samsung at the top as smartphone sales dropped 8% in Q2 2023

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Samsung at the top as smartphone sales dropped 8% in Q2 2023
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Smartphone sales continue to tumble globally. According to research firm Counterpoint, smartphone shipments were down eight percent year-on-year (YoY) and five percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in Q2 2023. This was the eighth consecutive quarter to see a YoY decline. Samsung is still at the top but it suffered a bigger drop in sales than some of its rivals.

Counterpoint’s study revealed that Samsung captured 22 percent of the global smartphone market this past quarter. The figure is unchanged from the same period last year. The Korean firm benefitted from strong sales of its Galaxy A series mid-range devices globally, the research firm states. Samsung launched the Galaxy A54 5G and Galaxy A34 5G in late March.

Samsung may still be in danger

It’s not all sunshine and roses for the world’s largest smartphone vendor, though. Samsung’s smartphone shipments dropped 12 percent YoY in Q2 2023. That’s worse than the global average of eight percent. Worse yet, its closest rival Apple only saw a two percent YoY decline in iPhone shipments during the same period. This helped the company increase its share by a percentage point to 17 percent.

This was Apple’s highest-ever Q2 market share, which is notable because the second quarter is usually an unfavorable season for the iPhone maker. It also posted its highest-ever Q1 share earlier this year. Slowly but surely, Apple is threatening to topple Samsung as the global smartphone king. The Korean firm has topped this chart for the past several years, even though Apple often leapfrogs it in the final quarter of the year.

Xiaomi (12 percent market share), Oppo (10 percent), and Vivo (8 percent) are the next three biggest smartphone companies. The former saw a 12 percent YoY decline in shipments as it struggled in its two primary markets — China and India. Vivo also faced similar headwinds in its major markets, leading to a 17 percent YoY decline. It was the worst-hit company among the top five.

Oppo, on the other hand, is reaping the benefits of taking OnePlus in-house. This has helped the company grow in India and China, though it registered losses in European markets. Overall, its smartphone shipments were down only three percent YoY in the second quarter of the year. The fourth-placed Oppo has distanced itself a little from the fifth-placed Vivo and moved closer to the third-placed Xiaomi.

“The global smartphone market now seems to be well past its rapid growth phase, with consumer replacement cycles getting longer, convergence in device innovation, and the emergence of a more mature refurbished market for smartphones hitting particularly the higher-volume low-to-mid-tier price segment demand,” wrote Counterpoint Research analyst Ankit Malhotra.

Counterpoint Global smartphone market share Q2 2023


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Factory Production of Ulefone Armor 21 Revealed In New Video

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Factory Production of Ulefone Armor 21 Revealed In New Video
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The Armor 21 with an infinite halo design has gained much popularity for Ulefone. And the official social media of Ulefone, such as TikTok has received quite a few new followers. From processes from the official launch, pre-sales, official sales to production, Ulefone will update all those information for their users and fans. Therefore, Ulefone has released a video of the mass production of the Armor 21 for the public.

How Ulefone Armor 21 Is Made in the Factory

In their self-owned factory, Ulefone has complete production equipment, production process, and fully compliant with ISO-9001 standard. Their plant is claimed to cover an area of 10,000 square meters, which boasts the leading productivity in the industry.

In the first half of the video, it shows parts assembly of Armor 21. Before assembling, the IQC workers will conduct stringent quality control of the materials and distribute it to the assembly line workers as claimed. Then it comes to the back shell assembling, and the workers carefully assemble the motherboards, battery, card slots, cameras, power supplies and other components. All these steps, especially dispensing is done manual, which requires careful attention and high precision

Move on to the next half of the video, it tells the various testing of the smartphones. The workers are testing the keys sensitivity, contacts, accuracy, air-tight performance, touch screen, operating system, camera replacement, induction, earphones, calls, etc. on the phones once the mobile phone has been assembled.

Besides that, Ulefone has the last process of quality control. Ulefone reliable quality is ensured by the stringent durability tests done for the Armor 21. Including touch screen tests, USB plug-in stress tests, pressing tests, bend tests, micro drop tests, multi-angle drop tests, high/low-temperature tests, dust tests, tumble tests, and much more. Those series of durability tests confess the solidness and toughness of Armor 21.

Ulefone Armor 21 Specs

  • IP68/IP69K, MIL-STD-810H proof, 1.5m waterproof, 1.5m drop resistance, 1m concrete deep, can endure extreme weather and harsh environment;
  • Featured with Infinite Halo, RGB light effects for music, notification and much more;
  • 122dB Halo speaker, HiFi quality loudest speaker with 3.5W peak wattage and 122dB max loudness;
  • With uSmart Expansion Connector for more playability and professional extended devices;
  • IR Blaster feature can turn Armor 22 into a universal remote for air conditioner and other home appliances;
  • 6.58″ FHD+ 120Hz display, large screen with stunning colors and sweeping visuals, fluid multitasking and gaming is allowed;
  • 9600mAh battery, huge capacity without power anxiety to endure for several days;
  • MediaTek Helio G99, 6nm process, extremely fluid and smooth experience;
  • Up to 16GB RAM, enhancing working efficiency;
  • Android 13, users have more control for notification permission and media access, more private, secure and personalized operating system;
  • 64MP Main Camera, Sony IMX686 wide sensor, lighter and more clear and detailed images
  • 24MP Night Vision Camera, clearer images with better algorithm and lower interference;
  • Dock Charging Feature, Armor 21 supports dock charging for much more convenience in daily life;
  • Supports NFC + Google Pay, and offers a convenient and secure way for mobile payment, identification, and authentication such as ID cards or passports, bus ticketing, etc.

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Galaxy Watch 6 specs leak, showing screen size, battery capacity

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Galaxy Watch 6 specs leak, showing screen size, battery capacity
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The specs of the Galaxy Watch 6 have leaked, showcasing a list of details about the upcoming smartwatch from Samsung. The leak, coming from SnoopyTech on Twitter, seems to confirm most of the watch’s key details. Including screen size, battery capacity, weight, colors and more.

Samsung is expected to officially unveil the Galaxy Watch 6 at its upcoming mid-year Unpacked event happening Seoul, South Korea. Alongside the watch, Samsung is also rumored to reveal its next set of flagship phones, as well as new tablets and some new earbuds. According to the leaked specs sheet, the Galaxy Watch 6 will be 28% lighter than the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. But it’ll be 40% lighter than the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.

It’s also rumored to have a 300mAh battery 40mm size and a 425mAh battery in the 44mm size. Both the Galaxy Watch 6 Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will run on Wear OS powered by Samsung. And it looks like both watches will use a Sapphire glass for the display.

Leaked Galaxy Watch 6 specs confirm chipset, RAM, and storage

Much and more has leaked about the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. To the point that there is almost going to be nothing left to the imagination once Samsung announces both watches. This now includes key specs like the RAM and storage, as well as the chipset Samsung is using to power the computing.

According to Snoopy Tech, both the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will run on Samsung’s own Exynos W930 chip. And each watch will come with 2GB of RAM as well as 16GB of internal storage. More than enough for anything you might need to do with a smartwatch. Whether that be install apps or download music for offline playback.

New this year it looks like Samsung is implementing some improved sleep features. Sleep tracking and improved sleep has been a focus of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup of late. And this year the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will “analyze and measure your sleep down to the smallest detail to give you tailored recommendations and tips on how to sleep better.” It’s not clear exactly how the new watch will accomplish this. But more will surely come to light after Samsung officially announces the device.

Additionally, the leak contains other information like colors of each watch. Which include Graphite Gray, Gold, and Silver for the Galaxy Watch 6, and Black and Silver for the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.


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Samsung’s wireless speakers are no longer boot looping

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Samsung’s wireless speakers are no longer boot looping
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Not too long ago, people using the WAM speakers from Samsung’s “R” series experienced an annoying issue. They were boot looping, and there wasn’t really a way to make it stop. However, Samsung fixed the boot looping issue with its speakers, according to SamMobile.

We’re not sure what the issue with the speakers was. However, devices like the R1, R Lite, R3, and R6 experienced this problem. While this issue was a mystery, there was a workaround. Users could still use the speakers if they disconnected them from the internet. While this gave them their speakers back, it was annoying having to disable a core feature.

However, Samsung fixed the boot looping issue with its speakers

This issue caught the attention of Samsung, and the company was able to patch it up. Samsung told its users that the speakers are now working again. The company encouraged its users to reconnect to the internet. While the company didn’t go into too much detail about what caused the problem, it said that it was “resolved by an update to our third-party content providers server.”

That’s good news for people who want to enjoy their music using their WAM speakers. If you experienced this issue, you should be good to reconnect it to the internet.

Other Samsung news: Here are leaked specs of the Galaxy Watch 6

If you’re waiting for the next Galaxy Watch, then we have some leaked specs for you. This smartwatch is set to get an unveiling this month. Rumor has it that the Galaxy Watch 6 will have a 300mAh battery in the 40mm size and a larger 425mAh battery in the 44mm size.

This watch could use the Exynos W930 SoC. That could be backed up by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. There’s a lot more information about this phone, so, if you’re interested in reading more, you can check out the story here.


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Threads’ first major update brings a lot of the missing features from the initial release

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Threads’ first major update brings a lot of the missing features from the initial release
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Threads had 100 million subscribers about a week ago, not counting EU customers who aren’t allowed to use the app due to privacy issues. That’s an impressive number even for a service launched by one of the world’s biggest companies, Meta.

Since it’s been developed in around five months, Threads is still missing a lot of important features to be able to compete with apps like Twitter that have been around for many years. But it’s important to have a solid foundation before starting to add more layers to the construction.

That said, if you’re using Threads on an iOS device, a new update is now available for download. You won’t find a list of changes on the App Store, but Meta’s Cameron Roth was kind enough to share the changelog with their followers on Threads. Without further ado, here is what the update adds to the app:
  • Translations (the same AI-powered translations that Instagram uses)
  • Follows tab on activity feed
  • Subscribe to unfollowed users
  • Activity feed scrolling + loading improvements
  • Following + on thread replies page
  • Tappable reposter labels
  • Open the IG followers list
  • A few small crash fixes. we’re now at 0.02%
  • More binary size cuts
  • A handful of other small bugs

According to Camroth, after installing the update, you might have to restart the app to be able to take advantage of all the new features and improvements in the update. If you still don’t see some of these changes, you’ll have to wait until the end of the day since Meta is using a system of server-delivered flags that can take a while to fully release.If you don’t live in the EU, you’re free to download Threads and use it without any issues. Just make sure not to share too much of your personal information with the app because we all know Meta can’t keep it safe.

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A huge leak just revealed a ton of OnePlus12 specs

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A huge leak just revealed a ton of OnePlus12 specs
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OnePlus just launched its Nord 3, and the next flagship is still half a year away. You’d expect the rumor mill surrounding the OnePlus 12 to be dry at this point. However, enter Smartprix (partnered with OnLeaks) with a bunch of leaked specs for the OnePlus 12. They point to a pretty powerful device.

There’s another OnePlus device that you should know about. It’s the OnePlus Nord N30. This is a beast of a mid-ranger, and Android Headlines had the privilege to review it. It’s a smooth-performing phone with a beautiful display, great speakers, and the latest version of OxygenOS. It got 5/5 stars in our review which you can read right here.

The OnePlus 12 just had its specs leaked

As with any leak (especially about a device that’s so far from launching), you’ll want to take it with a grain of salt. There’s a chance that something could change between now and its launch.

Starting off with the display, OnePlus puts impressive displays in its phones, and this one won’t be any different. It looks like the phone will have a 6.7-inch 2K AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It could also have LTPO technology that will knock the refresh rate down super low when looking at a static image.

Moving over to the internals, the OnePlus 12 will most likely use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. That will be the latest and most powerful processor from Qualcomm. We expect that to be backed up by 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. We’re not sure if there will be a 512GB variant, but, hopefully, there will be one.

As for the battery, OnePlus is going to fit a larger 5400mAh battery into this phone. That’s 8% larger than the standard 5000mAh batteries that we see in flagships and ambitious mid-rangers. As for charging, the OnePlus 12 could have blazing-fast 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.

Now, the camera. The leak points to the OnePlus 12 sporting a 64MP main camera accompanied by a 50MP ultrawide camera and a 3X optical zoom camera. This camera will also bear the Hasselblad branding. Up front, there could be a 32MP selfie camera.

It looks like the OnePlus 12 will launch with Android 14 out of the box. With it, the phone will get the latest version of OxygenOS. Other leaked features include an under-display fingerprint scanner and an alert slider.

So far, it looks like the OnePlus 12 will be one of the most powerful phones of 2024. We’ll need to keep an eye open for more information on this phone.


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Logitech acquires makers of the Loupedeck Live stream controller

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Logitech acquires makers of the Loupedeck Live stream controller
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Logitech has announced an acquisition of Loupedeck, the company that makes the Loupedeck Live stream controller. This puts Logitech squarely in competition with Elgato, now owned by Corsair and makers of the Stream Deck. A similar device with macro buttons for to help you more easily interact with your stream.

The two companies officially announced the acquisition on July 18, but did not announce how much Loupedeck was acquired for. The two companies say Loupedeck was acquired for an undisclosed, non-material amount. Logitech offers a wide variety of peripherals for gamers (such as gaming keyboards) and content creators, but didn’t have anything in its product portfolio that fits into this category. Now though, Logitech can expand its offerings to all kinds of content creators with the Loupedeck Live under its umbrella.

“Empowering streamers, creators and gamers is a joint passion of Loupedeck and Logitech. Together we are focused on removing all barriers so they can create, edit and stream without limits,” says Logitech G General Manager Ujesh Desai.

Logitech now owns Loupedeck, but Loupedeck will operate as normal

Loupedeck now be owned by Logitech, but the company will still operate as it always has for quite some time. The announcement says Loupedeck will continue to support its partners and customers and operate as usual “for the foreseeable future.”

So those using Loupedeck products shouldn’t expect much if any change. At least for now. But something customers can look forward to is the likelihood that Loupedeck will get some cool support or integrations with Logitech G products. The announcement doesn’t mention detailed specifics but it makes prefect sense and would be a completely reasonable move on the part of both companies.

What it does say is that “Logitech and Loupedeck will be in the position to provide a more seamless experience for creators.” The company says this includes onboarding. In addition to “tighter coupling” between Loupedeck devices and Streamlabs software. Basically it sounds like setup between devices should be simpler moving forward. Though it’s unclear when these improvements will happen.


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Calm brings some of its content to Spotify for free

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Calm brings some of its content to Spotify for free
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Popular meditation and wellness app Calm is offering some of its content for free to Spotify users. A small collection of Calm’s sleep stories, meditations, and podcasts is available through the music streaming app at no additional cost. You need a paid Calm subscription for full access.

According to a Techradar report, around 30 pieces of Calm content are available for free on Spotify. These range from 60-second meditations to 40-minute sleep stories. The company has categorized its content under four playlists: Calm for Beginners, Calm for Stress & Anxiety, Calm for Meditation, and Calm for Sleep.

There’s also a dedicated section for kids. It offers meditation lessons as well as sleep stories for kids, some of which are narrated by celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Wanda Sykes. Calm also has content read by Cillian Murphy, Dame Mary Berry, and many other celebrities in addition to meditation specialists.

Of course, the free content is just a fraction of what the platform offers. But if you want to access everything, you will have to purchase a paid Calm subscription, which costs $14.99 a month or $69.99 annually. New users get a 30-day free trial via Spotify. Once you have subscribed, you can link your Calm account with Spotify and enjoy the content of both platforms in one place.

Note that Calm already offers a separate mobile app of its own. You can also use that app to enjoy its content. But, with the Spotify integration, you have one fewer app on your phone. This will help enable a distraction-free morning yoga session with your favorite music playing along. This also means you can use Calm on every device where you use Spotify. It could be your phone, smart speaker, smartwatch, or desktop.

Spotify and Calm partner up to mix music and wellness

This partnership between Spotify and Calm is a result of the former’s Spotify Open Access program launched in 2021. It allows companies to offer their content on the music streaming service. This enables them to reach more potential subscribers as millions of people use Spotify around the world.

Calm is likely looking to benefit from Spotify’s popularity as well. It is one of the most widely used wellness and meditation platforms globally. The company has surpassed 100 million downloads and had more than four million paying members as of October 2022. This integration with Spotify may enable it to grow further amid growing competition in the wellness sector.


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Millions of US military emails were being sent to Mali for over a decade

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Millions of US military emails were being sent to Mali for over a decade
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In this day and age of digital communication, encryption plays a key role in protecting military emails from falling into the hands of hackers or foreign adversaries. However, in a remarkable display of oversight, millions of emails intended for Pentagon employees over the last ten years were being routed to email accounts in Mali, all due to a simple typo where users mistakenly entered “.ML,” Mali’s country identifier, instead of the correct “.MIL” domain associated with the US military.

According to a report from the Financial Times, Dutch entrepreneur Johannes “Joost” Zuurbier, whose company manages the “.ML” domain, first discovered and reported the issue about ten years ago. However, when the US Government ignored his reports, he set up a system to capture these misdirected emails.

The US Military sent emails to Mali

While the system to catch the emails worked for a while, Zuurbier says that the sheer number of the emails was staggering as he intercepted over 117,000 emails in January alone. Additionally, these emails contained sensitive information related to the US military, including medical records, identity documents, lists of military personnel, photos of military bases, naval inspection reports, ship crew lists, and tax records. Moreover, the report also highlights an instance of an email that contained General James McConville’s travel itinerary, including his hotel room number, during his visit to Indonesia.

Furthermore, as Zuurbier’s contract with Mali nears its end, the intercepted emails will soon be accessible to Malian authorities and the military. This development raises significant concerns, especially in light of Russia’s recent presence in Mali through the Wagner Group, a state-backed paramilitary organization.

US government’s response

While the Department of Defence has blocked its email accounts from communicating with “.ML” email addresses, the fact that military personnel have been sending emails to the wrong addresses for over a decade raises some serious concerns.

In response to the report, Tim Gorman, a spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defence, stated, “The Department of Defense (DoD) is aware of this issue and takes all unauthorized disclosures of Controlled National Security Information or Controlled Unclassified Information seriously.

Despite the measures, Gorman acknowledged that this approach does not prevent other government agencies or individuals working with the US government from mistakenly sending emails to Malian addresses.


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