That’s Odd

Chinese Hackers Stole $20M in Covid Benefits

Hackers linked to the Chinese government stole at least $20 million in U.S. Covid relief benefits, including Small Business Administration loans and unemployment insurance funds in over a dozen states, according to the Secret Service.

The theft of taxpayer funds by the Chengdu-based hacking group known as APT41 is the first instance of pandemic fraud tied to foreign, state-sponsored cybercriminals that the U.S. government has acknowledged publicly, but may just be the tip of the iceberg, according to U.S. law enforcement officials and cybersecurity experts.

“It would be crazy to think this group didn’t target all 50 states,” said Roy Dotson, national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator for the Secret Service, who also acts as a liaison to other federal agencies probing Covid fraud.

The Secret Service said that there are more than 1,000 ongoing investigations involving transnational and domestic criminal actors defrauding public benefits programs, and that APT41 is “a notable player.”

As soon as state governments began disbursing Covid unemployment funds in 2020, cybercriminals began to siphon off a significant percentage.

The Labor Department Office of Inspector General has reported an improper payment rate of roughly 20% for the $872.5 billion in federal pandemic unemployment funds, though the true cost of the fraud is likely higher, administration officials from multiple agencies say.

In-depth analysis of four states showed 42.4% of pandemic benefits were paid improperly in the first six months, the department’s watchdog reported to Congress last week.

A Heritage Foundation analysis of Labor Department data estimated excess unemployment benefits payments of more than $350 billion from April 2020 to May 2021.

“Whether it’s $350, $400 or $500 billion, at this point, the horse is out of the barn,” said Linda Miller, the former deputy executive director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, the federal government’s Covid relief fraud watchdog. The Secret Service said in a statement that it considers APT41 a “Chinese state-sponsored, cyberthreat group that is highly adept at conducting espionage missions and financial crimes for personal gain.”

SBF: “Management Failures” to Blame

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, made his first public appearance last week since his business empire imploded this month, insisting that he “did not ever try to commit fraud” and repeatedly saying he didn’t know the extent of what was going on within his crypto businesses.

In a live interview at The New York Times’ DealBook conference, Bankman-Fried blamed “huge management failures” and sloppy accounting for the collapse of his $32 billion company, which has sparked civil and criminal investigations.

Those investigations are focused on whether FTX broke the law by lending its customers’ funds to a trading firm, Alameda Research, which Bankman-Fried also owned. Speaking via a video feed from the Bahamas, where FTX was based, the 30-year-old said he didn’t “knowingly commingle funds.” At another point, he said, “I didn’t know exactly what was going on.”

Bankman-Fried also took responsibility for the collapse. “Look, I screwed up,” he said. “I was CEO.”

FTX disintegrated practically overnight after it was unable to meet a run on deposits that left the company with an $8 billion hole in its accounts. Within a week, the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy.

Bankman-Fried, who became a billionaire as FTX soared and was viewed as a wunderkind, faces significant legal trouble. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating FTX’s transfer of funds to Alameda.

On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called FTX’s collapse a “Lehman moment” for the cryptocurrency industry, referring to the bankruptcy of the Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers at the start of the 2008 financial crisis.

For someone facing possible criminal charges, Bankman-Fried has been surprisingly willing to speak publicly. Two days after FTX’s bankruptcy filing this month, he spoke with the Times for more than an hour about how he had managed his business empire while dodging questions about his company’s use of customer money.

On the video stream at the DealBook conference, Bankman-Fried fidgeted at times, as he often does during interviews. He said he was speaking publicly against the advice of his lawyers, who have instructed him to keep quiet.

“That’s not who I am,” he said. “I have a duty to talk.”

But he declined to speak in detail about his possible criminal liability. “There’s a time and a place for me to think about myself and my own future,” he said. “I don’t think this is it.” (© The New York Times)

Saying Nay to Kanye

Not many people are singing the praises of singer Kanye West nowadays. The artist has been making headlines for his recent bizarre and antisemitic comments. Now, a tattoo removal studio in the United Kingdom is offering the removal of Kanye West tattoos – for free.

NAAMA said that it started the service on November 15, just weeks after West began his antisemitic rampage and donned a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt.

The Kanye West tattoo removal initiative has received “global interest and a great response,” said Briony Garbett, NAAMA’s CEO. “It seems there are a few former fans with tattoo regret,” he added.

“When you have a tattoo inspired by someone you admire and they start making headlines for all the wrong reasons, it’s not exactly something you want to wear on your sleeve that you are or were a fan,” said Garbett. “With that in mind, we wanted to come to the aid of those who are embarrassed about their Kanye West inspired tattoos and are offering complimentary treatment for all UK fans that want them removed.”

Even though some people may want to erase West from their body, it’s not easy destroying that ink. The process involves using intense pulses of light to break up the tattoo ink, which is eventually cleared away by the immune system, according to NAAMA’s website.

The Kanye West initiative was born out of the studio’s existing “Second Chances” project, which provides free laser tattoo removal for clients with gang tattoos, hate symbols, or other traumatic or triggering tattoos.

The treatment would typically cost around £2,000, or $2,456, depending on the size of the tattoo and the number of treatments needed.

Could be you would be better off not inking your values on your sleeve in the first place.

Quick Chill

San Diego Padres All-Star pitcher Joe Musgrove recently traveled to Antarctica to celebrate his 30th birthday and break a Guinness World Record.

Musgrove, accompanied by fellow Padres pitcher Sean Manaea and a team from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, traveled to the coldest continent in a bid to set the Guinness World Record for the fastest baseball pitch thrown in Antarctica.

Musgrove’s goal was to throw an 80 mph pitch, and after a few warm-ups, he was able to exceed his goal and set the record at 86 mph on Friday, two days before he celebrated his 30th birthday in Antarctica.

The pitcher’s companions from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which provides support for athletes with physical challenges, included Landis Sims, a teenage baseball player born without hands or feet; Roderick Sewell, the first person with double above-knee amputations to finish the Ironman World

Championship; and Justin Phongsavanh, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games for the javelin throw.

“I’m constantly inspired by Landis Sims and the athletes from Challenged Athletes Foundation who overcome their challenges every day to achieve their goals,” Musgrove said in a statement. “Antarctica is one of the most remote and extreme destinations in the world. I can’t think of a better place to showcase pushing the limits of what’s possible.”

It’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Rat Czar

Are you a “somewhat bloodthirsty” New Yorker whose nose twitches when you smell a rat? Perhaps you should consider becoming the Big Apple’s new rat czar.

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration posted a job listing this week seeking someone to lead the city’s long-running battle against the pervasive rodents. The official job title is “director of rodent mitigation,” although it was promptly dubbed the rat czar. The salary offered is pretty “mice”: $120,000 to $170,000.

“The ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty, determined to look at all solutions from various angles, including improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management, and wholesale slaughter,” reads the ad.

Although the posting is whimsical, the job is not for the faint of heart. New York City leaders have been trying to control the rodent population for generations, with mixed results. Sightings of rats in parks, sidewalks and other places in the city have recently increased.

“Cunning, voracious, and prolific, New York City’s rats are legendary for their survival skills, but they don’t run this city – we do,” the job posting added.

Applicants are expected to have a crafty sense of humor and “to lead from the front, using hands-on techniques to exterminate rodents with authority and efficiency.”

No more Mr. Mice Guy.

Ever tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube? It’s easier said than done. But one good piece of advice is to break the process down into steps, according to the cube’s inventor.

“Problem solving is a very basic activity of the human mind, and if a problem is complex, you need to divide the problem into smaller elements,” says Ernő Rubik, who invented the cube in 1974.

“For me, the cube represents what freedom means. Freedom is never endless,” he said during a recent visit to New York. “It lets you do what is necessary to achieve your goal.”

Rubik had used the cube as a teaching tool in Cold War-era Hungary. Now, there are more than 450 million cubes sold.

The original 3x3 Rubik’s has more than 43 quintillion — that’s more than 43,000,000,000,000,000,000 — possible configurations, but the principles behind the cube have been refashioned for 2x2, 4x4 and 5x5 cubes, a board game called Rubik’s Race, a pyramid, and a tower, among others.

It took 36 years after the invention of the toy for anyone to come up with an answer for the minimum number of moves to solve it. In 2010, a group of mathematicians and computer programmers proved that any Rubik’s Cube configuration can be solved in 20 moves.

Practiced cube-solvers can complete a Rubik’s Cube in a matter of seconds. The current world record holder solved a cube in 3.47 seconds.

Rubik was a budding artist who hoped to become a sculptor or a painter before he studied architecture. He earned a degree in architecture at Budapest University of Technology and became a teacher in the interior design department at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest.

Rubik regularly used physical models and materials to teach concepts in construction and design.

“As our body needs some kind of exercises, the brain needs that kind of exercise as well,” he says. Thus was born an elegant teaching tool he named “The Magic Cube.”

“I tried to make it as simple as possible because I thought the task itself is complicated enough,” he says. “You don’t need to complicate anymore.”

He notes, “One of the main keys of the cube is the contradiction between complexity and simplicity,” Rubik explains. “On one hand, the cube is a very simple form. And on the other hand, the potential of the variation of movement is so complicated.”

So simple, yet so complex.

“How About Me?”

Police are always looking for the public’s help in catching criminals – especially if the person has firsthand knowledge of the crime.

Last week, Christopher Spaulding helped police in Georgia nab a criminal – himself! – after the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office posted a “Most Wanted List” which did not include him.

“How about me?” Christopher asked police on Wednesday about they posted

It later reshared a screenshot of the exchange along with Spaulding’s arrest photo, writing, “We appreciate you for your assistance in your capture!”

The department thanked the Fugitive Unit for “efficiently” arresting Spaulding who it said had two arrest warrants for felony violation of probation.

It added, “Our Top 10 is compiled based off of the severity of the charges only. By not being on this list does not mean our Fugitive Unit is not looking for you if you have an active warrant.”

We appreciate the clarity.

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