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UAE Moments
an hour ago
- UAE Moments
Telegram's Pavel Durov to Divide Wealth Among His 100+ Kids
In true plot-twist fashion, Pavel Durov—founder of encrypted messaging giant Telegram —is planning to share his multi-billion-dollar fortune with over 100 children across the globe. Yes, 100+, and no, this isn't a sci-fi storyline. Speaking to French magazine Le Point, the 40-year-old tech mogul confirmed he has fathered six official children, along with dozens more through sperm donations in at least 12 countries. "I don't want them to tear each other apart after my death," he told the publication. His goal? Equal rights and zero posthumous drama. But don't expect these heirs to be cashing in anytime soon. Durov revealed that none of the kids—official or donor-conceived—will have access to their inheritance for another 30 years. 'I want them to live like normal people... to build themselves up alone... not to be dependent on a bank account,' he said, explaining that character matters more than cash. Based in Dubai, Durov recently made his will, citing the risks that come with his mission to defend freedom and privacy in an increasingly monitored world. 'Defending freedoms earns you many enemies, including within powerful states,' he noted. Telegram, launched in 2013, has become one of the world's most-used messaging platforms, clocking over a billion users monthly. But its unfiltered nature hasn't gone unnoticed by law enforcement. French authorities arrested Durov last year for allegedly failing to combat criminal activity on Telegram—accusations he firmly rejects. 'Just because criminals use our messaging service among many others doesn't make those who run it criminals,' he said. From creating an app used by millions to now creating… a massive inheritance plan for over 100 kids, Durov is definitely in a league of his own.
Crypto Insight
14 hours ago
- Crypto Insight
The anatomy of a crypto scam: How to stop and prevent common threats
In the vast world of crypto, the line between opportunity and deception is razor-thin. The traits that make digital assets attractive — anonymity, independence and rapid transferability — also create fertile ground for fraudsters. Scams are woven into the fabric of the crypto ecosystem, exploiting trust, greed and fear. Unlike traditional financial systems with regulators, the decentralized crypto space allows opportunistic actors to thrive. Understanding the structure of these scams is crucial. Just as forensic investigators dissect crime scenes, analyzing the architecture of crypto scams reveals the calculated maneuvers used to siphon funds. Each scam follows a familiar blueprint — preying on human psychology and the lack of regulation in decentralized finance (DeFi). Breaking down these frameworks provides valuable insights, helping investors and institutions recognize warning signs and fortify defenses in this high-risk environment. The hook — perfect bait for every target The first stage of any scam begins with the hook: a carefully crafted message or offer designed to capture the victim's attention and trigger an emotional response. Before setting the hook, scammers often invest significant time gathering information about their targets. They sift through leaked emails, phone numbers and other personal information to build a profile, crafting a personalized scam to increase the likelihood of success. By incorporating specific details — such as the target's language or personal information — the fraudsters add a layer of credibility that creates trust. Once armed with their target's details, scammers move to the hook, preying on curiosity, trust and the promise of easy profits. Whether it's a phishing email, a fake account alert or an investment opportunity promising 'guaranteed returns,' the goal is to present something too enticing to ignore. A common example is the fake exchange account scam, in which victims believe they have been given accidental access to a large sum of unclaimed money. The scam begins with an unexpected message stating, 'Your account has been created,' accompanied by login credentials for an account/wallet on a cryptocurrency exchange. The victim logs in and finds a balance of $10,000 waiting for them. Delight is replaced by greed as they attempt to withdraw the funds. But there's a catch: the system requires a small deposit — perhaps $1,000 — to unlock the full amount. Once the fee is paid, the scam becomes clear: the exchange was fake, and the deposit is now in the hands of scammers. This scam works because it preys on greed and the allure of a 'lucky break.' Victims become so focused on the reward that they ignore the warning signs, such as bad grammar in the message or lack of domain security on the website. The setup — establishing trust and gaining access After successfully hooking a victim's attention, scammers focus on building trust. This phase involves cultivating a sense of legitimacy and familiarity with scammersgoing to great lengths to establish a personal connection. Scammers may even employ tactics like investment scams, where they spend weeks or months grooming their victims, engaging them in friendly conversations and feigned relationships to create a strong bond. Only once this trust is deeply established do they introduce the fraudulent investment or fake platform, luring victims to transfer funds that they will never see again. The SIM swap attack is another devastating example whereby scammers exploit technological trust. By gathering personal information that is available publicly on social media, such as birthdays, pet names or even favorite sports teams, the fraudster can impersonate the victim. They then contact the target's mobile service provider, armed with these personal details, and request a phone number transfer to a SIM card in their possession. With control over the victim's phone number, they can bypass two-factor authentication and gain access to crypto wallets, bank accounts and emails. The setup phase succeeds because scammers exploit both technological trust and personal familiarity. Humans are, by nature, social creatures, and scammers exploit this characteristic by building relationships that appear genuine. In the SIM swap, scammers manipulate trust in technology, using the victim's digital security habits against them. The execution — draining funds through hidden mechanisms Once access is gained, scammers move to the execution phase, where they drain funds using hidden mechanisms. This is the most devastating stage, as the carefully designed setup ends in significant financial losses for the victim before they've even realized something is wrong. For example, in 2018, a victim boarded a short flight, unaware that scammers had executed a SIM swap while he was offline. By the time the plane landed, funds had been siphoned from his crypto wallet. With control over his phone number, the scammers were able to bypass two-factor authentication (2FA) and gain access to everything. Another good example is the poison wallet tactic which targets large over-the-counter (OTC) platforms. Scammers trick targets into sending small amounts of funds to fraudulent addresses. They do this by creating wallet addresses that look very similar to the initial and final characters of the victim's legitimate address. They then send a small transaction to the victim, hoping the fake address will show up in the user's transaction history. When the victim next makes a transaction, they may unwittingly select the fake address from their history. In this tactic, scammers take advantage of automation and human error. Bots monitor wallet balances, triggering automatic withdrawals when a balance crosses a certain threshold. Meanwhile, the use of familiar-looking addresses plays on the victim's carelessness and trust in their own records. The stolen amounts might be small per transaction, but cumulatively, they siphon off thousands daily, all going virtually unnoticed.
Tahawul Tech
a day ago
- Tahawul Tech
Cybercriminals gain access as 16 billion credentials exposed in historic data breach
The threat landscape continues to evolve, and the message from cybersecurity experts is clear: digital vigilance and routine cyber hygiene are now non-negotiable. The global cybersecurity community is sounding the alarm following what Cybernews has dubbed the largest data breach in history, revealing a staggering 16 billion login credentials scattered across 30 different databases. While some records are believed to overlap, researchers emphasise that much of the data stems from recent infostealer malware attacks, not just recycled incidents from the past. This latest revelation significantly raises the stakes in the ongoing battle against credential theft. Commenting on the report, Alexandra Fedosimova, Digital Footprint Analyst at Kaspersky, explains: '16 billion records is a figure nearly double the Earth's population, and it's hard to believe such a vast amount of information could be exposed. This 'leak' refers to a compilation of 30 user data breaches from various sources. These data sets ('logs') are primarily obtained by cybercriminals through infostealers — malicious applications that steal information — and such incidents occur daily. Cybernews researchers collected this data over six months from the start of the year. Their dataset likely contains duplicates due to the persistent issue of password reuse among users. Therefore, although it was noted that none of the databases they found had been previously reported, this doesn't mean these credentials hadn't previously leaked from other services or been collected by other infostealers.' Kaspersky telemetry further supports the scale of the threat, reporting a 21% global increase in password stealer detections from 2023 to 2024. Infostealer malware has emerged as one of the most pervasive cyber threats, compromising millions of devices and extracting credentials, cookies, and sensitive data — all of which are then aggregated and circulated on the dark web. Dmitry Galov, Head of Kaspersky's Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) for Russia and CIS, added: 'Cybernews research speaks of an aggregation of several data leaks over a long period – since the start of the year. This is a reflection of a thriving cybercrime economy that has industrialised credential theft. 'Credentials are harvested, enriched, and resold — often multiple times — via combo lists that are constantly updated and even made available on public platforms.' 'What's notable here is that the datasets were reportedly temporarily exposed via unsecured channels, making them accessible to anyone who stumbled upon them.' Anna Larkina, Web Content Analysis Expert at Kaspersky, advises users to take urgent action and said, 'This news is a good reminder to focus on digital hygiene. Regularly update your passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and use a reliable password manager, such as Kaspersky Password Manager, to store your credentials securely. If you suspect your accounts may have been compromised, contact support services immediately to regain access and limit further damage. Users should also stay alert to social engineering scams that exploit leaked data.' Adding to the expert views, Peter Mackenzie, Director of Incident Response and Readiness at Sophos, said, 'While you'd be right to be startled at the huge volume of data exposed in this leak, it's important to note there is no new threat here — this data will most likely already have been in circulation. These datasets are amalgamated from multiple breaches. What this tells us is the sheer depth of information now available to cybercriminals. It's a powerful reminder to everyone to take proactive steps — update passwords, use a password manager, and implement multifactor authentication. If concerned, check your email at to see if your data has been compromised.'
