Snippings

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The Cyberspace Administration of China, alongside the country’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), released draft regulations to issue unified digital IDs for internet users on Friday last week. Concern about the idea has increased over the past few days.

The IDs, which would be jointly administered by the CAC and police, are initially envisaged as voluntary and would be used in place of real names and phone numbers to register on internet platforms.

From: China’s data watchdog plans tighter control of internet users.

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Scam losses originating on social media were up 17 per cent in 2023.

Scam reports were up 31 per cent.

And the social media companies are dragging their heels.

From: Address to National Press Club, Canberra | Treasury Ministers.

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The writer is deputy governor of the Bank of England for financial stability

 

 

 

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In countries such as India, Brazil and Sweden, people can pay retailers directly from their bank accounts without using cards, and can pay using a mobile phone number or a QR code — allowing even the tiniest businesses to accept payments cheaply.

More fundamentally, we should consider applying new tokenisation technology to conventional money, rather than in the cryptoasset markets where they were first employed.

From: The UK must continue to innovate in digital payments.

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Australian bank Westpac is now offering debit cards to children as young as eight in a move it says will help them hone their financial skills.

The bank has brought down the age at which kids can get a card from 14, although it comes with a host of parental controls and safety features, including daily and weekly spending limits, push notifications to parents, and a block on online payment.

From: Westpac starts offering debit cards to eight-year-olds.

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Roblox, the virtual world gaming platform, reported a record 79.5 million average daily active users (DAUs), representing a 21% increase from the previous year, the company said in its second-quarter earnings report released Thursday (Aug. 1).

From: Roblox Retools User Engagement, Sees 21% Jump in Active Users.

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Our data shows that over 90 per cent of APP fraud starts online or over the phone, through social media, fake messages and calls. Despite this, the technology and telecommunications sectors bear no responsibility for reimbursing victims.

From: PSR stands firm over reimbursement model for APP fraud.

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In this variant, the victim would first receive an unsolicited call from a scammer impersonating a bank officer, typically from one of the local banks. The scammer would then ask the victim to verify banking transactions that the victim had allegedly conducted via their bank accounts.

When the victim denies knowledge of such transactions, the scammer would transfer the call to a second accomplice who would pose as a government official (usually from the Singapore Police Force or the central bank). The second scammer would accuse the victim of being involved in criminal activities such as money laundering and ask the victim to transfer monies to specified bank accounts under the pretext of assisting in investigations.

From: Singapore warns of uptick in impersonation scams.

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Ultimately, you’re talking about creating exit liquidity for a small subset of the population

From: Donald Trump’s Plan to Hoard Billions in Bitcoin Has Economists Stumped | WIRED.

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I wonder how El Salvador’s Bitcoin stockpile is getting on?

 

 

 

 

“Polls show that the adoption of Bitcoin is far and away the government’s least popular measure, with around 67 percent expressing disapproval”

 

 

The Bukele Model and the Future of El Salvador

 

 

Maybe Bitcoin stockpiles aren’t such a vote winner after all.

 

 

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Still, contrary to the boldest claims of the president’s crypto influenc ers, there is thus far little indication that El Salvador is currently on the road to broader economic development. Even despite reduced security costs as a result of decreased crime, GDP growth remains virtually unchanged since Bukele took office at around 2 percent; a figure that is catastrophic in a nation as poor as El Salvador and remains the lowest in Central America.

From: The Bukele Model and the Future of El Salvador – American Affairs Journal.

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