feed on feeds - 2019/08/18 - items 0 to 15

In just 16 days XKCD author Randall Munroe releases a new book titled How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems. He's just released an excerpt from the chapter "How to Catch a Drone," in which he actually enlisted the assistance of tennis star Serena Williams. An anonymous reader writes: Serena and her husband Alexis just happened to have a DJI Mavic Pro 2 with a broken camera -- and Munroe asked her to try to smash it with tennis balls. "My tentative guess was that a champion player would have an accuracy ratio around 50 when serving, and take 5-7 tries to hit a drone from 40 feet. (Would a tennis ball even knock down a drone? Maybe it would just ricochet off and cause the drone to wobble! I had so many questions.) "Alexis flew the drone over the net and hovered there, while Serena served from the baseline..." His blog has the rest of the story, and Munroe has even illustrated the experiment, promising that the book also contains additional anti-drone strategies, an analysis of other sports projectiles, and "a discussion with a robot ethicist about whether hitting a drone with a tennis ball is wrong."

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It's an unexpected surprise that's been popping up "all over the country," according to the Better Business Bureau. People are receiving boxes of unordered merchandise from Amazon. The companies, usually foreign, third-party sellers that are sending the items are simply using your address and your Amazon information. Their intention is to make it appear as though you wrote a glowing online review of their merchandise, and that you are a verified buyer of that merchandise. They then post a fake, positive review to improve their products' ratings, which means more sales for them. The payoff is highly profitable from their perspective... The fake online review angle is only one way they benefit...they also are increasing their sales numbers. After all, they aren't really purchasing the items since the payment goes right back to them.... Then there is the "porch pirate" angle. There have been instances where thieves used other people's mailing addresses and accounts, then watched for the delivery of the package so they can steal it from your door before you get it... The fact that someone was able to have the items sent to you as if you purchased them indicates that they probably have some of your Amazon account information. Certainly, they have your name and address and possibly, your phone number and a password. The company either hacked your account themselves or purchased the information from a hacker. The BBB notes that although it's strange to receive boxes of unordered merchandise, "You are allowed to keep it. The Federal Trade Commission says you have a legal right to keep unordered merchandise." "The bigger issue is: What do you do about your information having been obtained by crooks?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The UN and NGOs put out a humanitarian appeal for $770m at the start of the year and have received less than $180m.

"Don't ask your smart device to look up a phone number, because it may accidentally point you to a scam," warn the consumer watchdogs at the Better Business Bureau: You need the phone number for a company, so you ask your home's smart device -- such as Google Home, Siri, or Alexa -- to find and dial it for you. But when the company's "representative" answers, the conversation takes a strange turn. This representative has some odd advice! They may insist on your paying by wire transfer or prepaid debit card. In other cases, they may demand remote access to your computer or point you to an unfamiliar website. Turns out, that this "representative" isn't from the company at all. Scammers create fake customer service numbers and bump them to the top of search results, often by paying for ads. When Siri, Alexa, or another device does a voice search, the algorithm may accidentally pick a scam number. One recent victim told BBB.org/ScamTracker that she used voice search to find and call customer service for a major airline. She wanted to change her seat on an upcoming flight, but the scammer tried to trick her into paying $400 in pre-paid gift cards by insisting the airline was running a special promotion. In another report, a consumer used Siri to call what he thought was the support number for his printer. Instead, he found himself in a tech support scam. People put their faith in voice assistants, even when they're just parroting the results from search engines, the BBB warns. The end result? "Using voice search to find a number can make it harder to tell a phony listing from the real one."