All posts tagged: exploiting

The SEO parasites buying, exploiting and ultimately killing online newsbrands

The SEO parasites buying, exploiting and ultimately killing online newsbrands

Published by Sam Flores

Website of Charlie Gard Foundation now promotes gambling for SEO firm Parasitical SEO companies are buying respected online news outets in order to harvest their reputations before leaving behind a ruined shell.  One organisation linked to this sort of activity is Clickout Media, which bought a network of UK-based videogame sites replacing human writers with AI ‘journalists’ and packing them with links to offshore gambling websites. Hundreds of websites are believed to have received the same treatment from Clickout Media according to former employees who spoke on condition of anonymity to Press Gazette. Sites typically go from being viable outlets, still valuable enough to be bought for large sums, to being filled with AI-written articles and casino links, before simply being abandoned. Speaking anonymously, one former Clickout Media employee said: “I was moved from site to site. Writing guidelines and strategies changed every other week with very little explanation. At first, I didn’t write casino content, but then I wrote articles on bets and odds. Then AI articles started appearing.” The owners of one site …

Spanish police bust gambling money laundering ring exploiting Ukrainian war refugees

Spanish police bust gambling money laundering ring exploiting Ukrainian war refugees

Published by skeptic

Spanish police have arrested 12 people accused of running a criminal network that washed millions of euros through online gambling platforms while exploiting Ukrainian women who had fled the war. The arrests came after an international investigation coordinated by Europol. Authorities say the group built a complex financial setup that used gambling systems and bank accounts to disguise illegal profits. Thanks to Europol, Spain & Ukraine a network exploiting Ukrainian woman has been disrupted one has to continue to be vigilant and take the right measures to prevent and protect from #HumanTrafficking facilitated by war#EUvsHumanTrafficking https://t.co/ShtWZ7x1Pn — Diane Schmitt (@DianeSchmittEU) March 5, 2026 Coordinated action days in June 2025 led to eight arrests in Alicante and four more in Valencia. Investigators also carried out searches in Ukraine during the operation. In total, officers searched nine properties across Spain and another eight in Ukraine. During those raids, police seized electronic equipment, cash and other tools believed to have been used to manage the laundering scheme. Investigators say the organization centered its operation on online betting accounts …

Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs to target Windows and Office users

Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs to target Windows and Office users

Published by skeptic

Microsoft has rolled out fixes for security vulnerabilities in Windows and Office, which the company says are being actively abused by hackers to break into people’s computers. The exploits are one-click attacks, meaning that a hacker can plant malware or gain access to a victim’s computer with minimal user interaction. At least two flaws can be exploited by tricking someone into clicking a malicious link on their Windows computer. Another can result in a compromise on opening a malicious Office file. The vulnerabilities are known as zero-days, because the hackers were exploiting the bugs before Microsoft had time to fix them. Details of how to exploit the bugs have been published, Microsoft said, potentially increasing the chance of hacks. Microsoft did not say where they had been published, and a Microsoft spokesperson did not immediately comment when reached by TechCrunch. In its bug reports, Microsoft acknowledged the input of security researchers in Google’s Threat Intelligence Group in their discovery of the vulnerabilities.  Microsoft said one of the bugs, officially tracked as CVE-2026-21510, was found in the …

Christian charity breaks fundraising rules on ‘exploiting’ donors

Christian charity breaks fundraising rules on ‘exploiting’ donors

Published by Sam Flores

A Pentecostal Christian charity breached fundraising rules after it asked for a large donation from a vulnerable person, the regulator has said. Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) was found to have breached three standards of the Code of Fundraising Practice, according an investigation summary published by the Fundraising Regulator (FR) yesterday. UCKG has attracted widespread criticism for its treatment of members, including allegations of ‘gay exorcisms’. UCKG is registered with the Charity Commission under the charitable purpose of “the advancement of religion”. Its income last year exceeded £15.4m. UCKG: donors may “expect intervention by God” through making “offerings” According to FR, a woman complained that UCKG solicited a “large donation” from her sister while she was a member of the church. UCKG was aware her sister was vulnerable as she had told the charity that she had experienced mental health problems. The complainant said her sister was also frequently asked for donations towards charity activities while acting as a volunteer, as well as a 10% tithe for membership to the church. UCKG …

France defender Lucas Hernandez accused of exploiting Colombian family

France defender Lucas Hernandez accused of exploiting Colombian family

Published by Sam Flores

PARIS, Jan 21 : French prosecutors are investigating Paris St Germain and France defender Lucas Hernandez and his partner following allegations of human trafficking and illegal employment by a Colombian family, a judicial source said on Wednesday. They pair denied any wrongdoing, saying they acted with good faith and kindness but had been manipulated. The probe, opened by the Versailles prosecutor’s office, concerns accusations that the family of five was employed without legal status between September 2024 and November 2025, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyer Lola Dubois. The Colombians, who performed babysitting and security roles, had no days off and sometimes worked up to 82 hours a week, Dubois told Reuters. In a statement sent to Reuters, 2018 World Cup winner Hernandez and his partner Victoria Triay rejected the accusations. “We opened our home and our lives to people who presented themselves as friends, who sought our kindness and for whom we had genuine affection,” they said. “They shared our lives with respect and dignity. We helped them, supported them and believed them when they …

Is the US unlocking Venezuela’s oil wealth or exploiting it? | US-Venezuela Tensions

Is the US unlocking Venezuela’s oil wealth or exploiting it? | US-Venezuela Tensions

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump aims to control and revive Venezuela’s oil industry. Critics call it modern-day colonialism. A nation with the world’s largest oil reserves, Venezuela is now at the centre of a high-stakes economic power play over energy supply – with global ramifications. The United States says it will control the sales and revenue of Venezuelan oil “indefinitely”, days after it abducted the nation’s President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump wants US companies to invest billions of dollars to revive the nation’s oil sector. Washington says that would benefit the people of Venezuela and the US. Critics, though, have called the move modern-day colonialism and a direct grab for energy resources. And, we look at Iran’s economic crisis. Published On 9 Jan 20269 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Source link

We must stop religious misogynists exploiting our charity sector

We must stop religious misogynists exploiting our charity sector

Published by Sam Flores

We should take pride in how far women’s rights in the UK have progressed in the past century. Within those 100 years, we saw women gaining the right to vote in general elections; the right to sit in the House of Lords; the right to own and control property when married; the right not to be discriminated against in work, education and training; and the right not to be raped by their husbands (incredibly, marital rape was only criminalised in 1995). The UK is now one of the best countries to be a woman. We are ranked fourth most equal in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2025. Sadly, this progress cannot be taken for granted. Human rights need constant defending, and women’s rights are no exception. Threats to women’s equality are emerging from several fronts, not least the rise in online ‘incel’ culture. But as our new report Mission and Misogyny reveals, one of these threats is coming from a truly shocking place: religious charities registered in the UK. Many people expect …