---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20190508153835.GA11716@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 8 May 2019 15:38:35 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: EDITORIAL: Scam-proofing advice for all ages If you count yourself among the crowd that struggles with matters related to the modern age of technology and information, then you are likely part of the group that the Niagara County Sheriff's Office and members of the Elder Crime Task Force are trying to reach as they ramp up efforts to educate older Niagara County residents about the very real dangers of senior scams. This past week, county law enforcement officials joined forces with representatives of AT&T, the Better Business Bureau and the Center for Elder Law and Justice to present a panel discussion at Niagara County Community College that focused on ways to prevent being victimized by modern-day scammers. Topics on the table included protecting the elderly, handling robocalls, common elder crimes and ways to recognize suspicious activity. https://www.niagara-gazette.com/opinion/editorial-scam--proofing-advice-for-all-ages/article_b9cc3e2f-6c46-505b-8310-8b46cf0ee19e.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <87y33ijd6d.fsf@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> Date: 7 May 2019 16:07:54 -0300 From: "Mike Spencer" <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> Subject: Re: Arizona joins majority of nation in enacting texting while driving ban HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> writes: > On Friday, May 3, 2019 at 3:56:46 PM UTC-4, Barry Margolin wrote: > >> A number of states also have laws that say you can only talk with >> hands-free phones. > > The idea of hands-free communication is being pushed hard as > the safer alternative in some states. > > In my opinion however, it is the _conversation_, not holding > the phone itself, that is the distraction and danger. Just so. > A cell phone conversation is not the same as talking to a passenger > in the car; a very different dynamic. I'm sure that's so. Refelecting on my subjective experience when talking on the phone, I'm sure that my visual cortex gets involved. This isn't a matter of hallucination or profoundly altered state of consciousness, rather one of some kind of visual attentiveness different from what occurs in casual conversation. But even conversation in the car can tend in this direction, depending, it seems, on the nature and subject of the conversation. Numerous times, I've rudely broken off conversation when driving and chatting with a passenger because it distracted from attention to ceveloping traffic conditions. I haven't seen any mention of research on how phone conversations invoke visual cortex activity unrelated to what's coming in on the optic nerves but 100 quatloos says any such study would find that cell phone conversation while driving neurologically coopts part of the visual system that should be devoted to attentive driving. > The problem is that virtually everyone talks on their cell phone > while driving, so I can't see people giving this up. GOoJF card for me: I don't have a cell phone. -- Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190508152720.GA11609@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 8 May 2019 15:27:20 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: 'Do not call them back!': FCC warns of late-night scam calls By Hamza Shaban In the middle of the night, the calls come in waves, going silent after a ring or two. It's no one you know, just someone who really wants you to call back. That's the scam. The Federal Communications Commission is warning consumers about robocallers who ring up targets, then abruptly hang up. Those who call back are connected to a number that charges by the minute. It's known as a "Wangiri" scam, Japanese for one-ring-and-cut. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/05/07/do-not-call-them-back-fcc-warns-late-night-scam-calls/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4b77481f8cc7 -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ***** Moderator's Note ***** For the moment, the Washington Post is doing without its paywall, but they are still enforcing a block on ad blockers. I'm putting this out there because it's pretty much the only accurate description I have seen of the scam, which is a surprise: this same trick was played a few years back, to convince victims to call pay-per-minute numbers in the Caribbean. Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190508155045.GA11847@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 8 May 2019 15:50:45 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: 911 Flaw In New Pinpoint System 911 Flaw In New Pinpoint System NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - If you call 911 from a cell phone, can first responders find you? Nashville is one of several cities that has added a new technology to pinpoint a caller's location. Our News 4 I-Team investigation found that our tests showed it doesn't work with Sprint. https://www.wsmv.com/news/news-finds-issues-with-two-more-cell-phone-carriers/article_b45e700a-7107-11e9-a2b0-3ff7bc3eb3ef.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Thu, 09 May 2019