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The IDF confirmed it eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist working to rebuild the group’s military infrastructure in Kharbat Salim, southern Lebanon. Overnight, Israeli forces also dismantled a Hezbollah structure deemed a threat in Yaroun.

Former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Russia of deliberately working to isolate Iran from the international community, just days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed him for including a controversial sanctions clause in the 2015 nuclear deal.

Speaking at a gathering in Tehran, Zarif asserted that Moscow has long maintained two strict “red lines” in its dealings with Tehran — that Iran should never be allowed to have normal diplomatic or economic ties with the world, and that it should avoid direct military confrontation. “That is why Russia supported the Geneva interim agreement. It kept the wound open but prevented conflict,” he said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Lavrov earlier this week attributed the creation of the “snapback” mechanism — which enables the swift reinstatement of UN sanctions if Iran violates the nuclear accord — to Zarif, calling it “largely Zarif’s creation” and describing it as a “legal trap” for Tehran.

In response, Zarif defended the inclusion of the clause, saying it was added at the last stage of negotiations to replace a far worse proposal initially presented by Moscow and Paris. “Mr Lavrov and the French had suggested a very bad plan on the status of previous UN Security Council resolutions, and we worked hard to replace it,” he explained, according to IRNA.

Zarif said the mechanism later adopted into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231 was designed to ensure no single member state could use its veto to block or prolong sanctions.

For years, Iranian hardliners have lambasted Zarif for agreeing to the snapback mechanism, claiming it left the country vulnerable to renewed UN sanctions.

Last month, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom invoked that same snapback provision, reinstating sanctions on Iran for obstructing inspections and rejecting negotiations. The decision was made over the objections of Russia and China.

In a 2022 leaked audio recording, Zarif alleged that Moscow actively tried to derail the 2015 nuclear agreement, saying that “Russia made every possible effort in the final week to stop the agreement from being concluded.”

Zarif went further this week, accusing Russia of revealing classified details about Iran’s military and diplomatic affairs — including General Qassem Soleimani’s trip to Moscow and information about Iranian drone shipments used by Russia in the war against Ukraine. “They were the ones who made those public,” he said.

Lavrov, however, has maintained that Russia fully backed both the JCPOA and the UN resolution that approved it. He noted that the final call on the deal “was made directly by Zarif and Kerry,” while Russia and other nations participated only as observers.

The United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 under President Donald Trump. Following that decision, Iran steadily rolled back its compliance and, by 2019, had resumed enriching uranium to higher levels than permitted under the agreement.

{Matzav.com}

Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff described the tense hours before the ceasefire and hostage deal, when an unexpected Israeli strike nearly derailed the talks. Kushner said President Trump believed Israel was “getting a little bit out of control” and felt it was time to firmly step in to prevent actions that were not in the country’s long-term interests.

The U.S. State Department warned Saturday that it has “credible reports” indicating Hamas may imminently violate the Gaza cease-fire by launching an attack on Palestinian civilians — a move Washington said would be a “direct and grave violation” of the U.S.-brokered truce and would prompt countermeasures to protect people in Gaza. In a brief posting on social media, the State Department said it had informed the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement of the intelligence and demanded that Hamas “uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms.” The department said only that the planned attack would “undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts” and warned that “measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire” should the attack proceed. No operational details about the alleged plot were released. The warning comes amid growing signs that the fragile truce, negotiated last week and credited with temporarily halting two years of conflict, remains under acute strain. U.S. officials have repeatedly cited disturbing footage and reports of public executions and intra-Hamas violence in Gaza since the deal took effect — developments critics say show the group has been unwilling or unable to disarm fully. President Donald Trump, who helped broker the 20-point peace plan, sternly warned this week that Washington could authorize force if Hamas continues to carry out killings inside Gaza. “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza … we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” the president wrote on his platform — a comment his aides later sought to narrow by saying the United States would not itself occupy Gaza but could support allied action. The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment about the intelligence reports. The agency’s public posting underscored how quickly the diplomatic gains around the cease-fire could unravel if armed factions in Gaza disregard the accord’s terms — and how the guarantor nations are now being pressed to enforce compliance. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

WATCH: Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter crews intercepted and shot down a Russian “Geran” kamikaze drone during an air defense operation.

Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit Israel on Monday as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to advance implementation of the agreement, according to Axios.

The IDF says it thwarted an attempt to smuggle weapons from Syria into Lebanon near Mount Hermon late Friday night. Troops from the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade and Unit 504 detained several suspects carrying grenades, handguns, RPGs, and ammunition, who were then taken for further questioning.

President Donald Trump revealed that the U.S. military carried out a strike in the Caribbean that destroyed a “very large drug-carrying submarine,” killing two alleged narco-terrorists and taking two others into custody. Trump also released footage of the operation.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the submarine was transporting “fentanyl and other narcotics” along a “well known narcotrafficking transit route” toward the United States. He claimed the mission may have saved up to 25,000 American lives by preventing overdose deaths.

“It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE,” Trump wrote. “U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl… There were four known narcoterrorists on board. Two of the terrorists were killed.

“The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution.”

Fox News has confirmed that two survivors were pulled from the sea by the U.S. Navy following the strike and are currently being detained aboard an American naval vessel. Trump’s post provided the first official confirmation of their identities and home countries.

This marks the sixth time U.S. forces have intercepted a suspected drug-smuggling vessel since military operations began in the Caribbean last month. The Pentagon has yet to publicly announce the name or code designation of the ongoing campaign.

Trump first mentioned the incident publicly during a White House meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” he told reporters.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking later in the day, declined to dispute reports about survivors, saying only that additional information would be shared when appropriate.

Earlier in the week, Trump confirmed that he had authorized CIA operations in the region. U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers also conducted a visible “show of force” mission near Venezuelan territorial waters on Thursday.

{Matzav.com}

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is wading deeper into the New York City mayoral race, blasting Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa for refusing to drop out and accusing him of effectively delivering City Hall to far-left Democrat Zohran Mamdani. Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital, posted data Friday from the prediction market Polymarket, showing Mamdani’s odds soaring to nearly 90%, far ahead of independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Sliwa. “It was not Zohran Mamdani’s debate performance,” Ackman wrote on X. “It was Curtis Sliwa’s statement after the debate that he is not leaving that has tipped the odds to 90% for Mamdani.” Ackman, who has publicly backed Cuomo’s centrist independent bid, said the only way to block Mamdani’s path to victory is for Sliwa to step aside. The billionaire’s intervention marks one of the rare instances of a Wall Street heavyweight openly weighing in on a city race. Sliwa isn’t budging. His campaign fired back late Friday, rejecting the notion that any billionaire should dictate the race. “Billionaires aren’t going to decide the outcome — it’s the voters,” said campaign spokeswoman Maria Sliwa. “Curtis is on a major party line just like Mamdani. If anything, Cuomo should drop out, not Curtis.” Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels crime-prevention group, has anchored his campaign on law and order and says he’ll stay in the race “to give Republicans a choice.” But the standoff is quickly becoming the campaign’s most volatile flashpoint. Ackman’s warning echoed Cuomo’s charge earlier Friday that Sliwa’s presence is splitting the anti-Mamdani vote and ensuring a socialist victory. “Curtis cannot win,” Cuomo said on WABC radio’s Sid & Friends in the Morning. “He was put on by the Republican county chairs because he’s a spoiler. They want Mamdani to win so they can say, ‘Look how crazy the Democrats have become — they elected a socialist who’s anti-cop, anti-business, antisemitic.’ It’ll help them politically, but it’ll kill the city.” Cuomo sharpened his attack by invoking Mamdani’s platform, warning that the 33-year-old assemblyman’s plans to “defund the police” and close Rikers Island without replacement jails would trigger “a mass exodus from this city.” Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, has already rattled the city’s political establishment with his surprise primary win over Cuomo and his rising appeal among progressive voters. If elected, he would become New York’s first Muslim mayor, and like the most left-wing leader ever to run the nation’s largest city. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Donald Trump believed Israel had gone too far following its failed September 9 strike on Hamas’s senior leadership in Doha, according to remarks by his senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner in an interview aired Friday.

Kushner made the comment alongside U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff during a joint appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes. The two men, both instrumental in crafting the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal, are featured in an interview set to air in full on Sunday.

“I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed,” Witkoff said, referring to Israel’s decision to strike Hamas leaders gathered in Qatar’s capital—a move that jeopardized delicate ceasefire talks mediated by Doha.

“It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks,” Witkoff explained. “We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them.”

According to Kushner, the fallout from the strike convinced Trump that “it was time to be very strong and stop them from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests.”

Israel’s domestic opposition quickly seized on the revelations. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid posted on X that the comments amounted to an “earthquake,” adding that “no Israeli government has ever been described this way by an American administration.”

Lapid elaborated, “After the failed attack on Doha, Trump thought Netanyahu had lost control, and imposed a deal on him that Netanyahu didn’t want. The ’60 Minutes’ interview proves that it could have been arranged for Egypt to govern Gaza and help us fight Hamas. Instead, Netanyahu’s lack of control led to the entry of Turkey and Qatar, two of Hamas’s ideological partners.”

Following the botched Doha operation, Trump publicly expressed dissatisfaction with Israel, saying he was “very unhappy” about the attack on what he called a “strong” U.S. ally and that he had not been given adequate advance notice of Israel’s plans.

In the aftermath, Trump pledged that the United States would protect Qatar from future attacks and ensured that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu formally apologized to Doha. The strike failed to eliminate its intended Hamas targets but resulted in the deaths of several lower-ranking Hamas operatives and a Qatari security guard.

{Matzav.com}

Late tonight, Hamas handed over the remains of two Israeli hostages to the IDF through the mediation of the Red Cross.

The transfer came after an earlier announcement by Hamas’ military wing, which said it would deliver the bodies of two deceased captives to Israel at 10:00 p.m. local time.

At approximately 10:50 p.m., the IDF confirmed that the Red Cross was en route to a designated handover site in southern Gaza, where multiple coffins containing the remains of hostages would be received.

“The IDF requests that the public act with sensitivity and wait for the official identification, which will first be provided to the families of the hostages,” the statement added. “Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages.”

According to Hamas, the bodies were discovered in Gaza earlier in the day.

Israeli security officials have stated that Hamas is fully aware of the locations of additional deceased hostages and has the ability to transfer them at any time. Estimates suggest that the group could immediately release at least eight more bodies if it chose to comply.

If the identities of the bodies delivered on Saturday night are confirmed as those of Israeli hostages, Hamas would still be holding the remains of sixteen others. The IDF believes more transfers are likely to take place in the coming days.

Earlier in the evening, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement responding to the delay in Hamas’ compliance, declaring that the Rafah Crossing will remain shut until further notice.

“Its opening will be weighed in accordance with the way Hamas implements its part in the return of the deceased hostages and in the implementation of the agreed-upon plan,” the statement read.

The Hostages Families Forum expressed support for the decision but urged Israel to take a firmer approach. “At the same time, the Israeli government must not rely on the mediators – it must show a strong position against Hamas and demand the return of all 18 hostages, with no exceptions, and use all leverage it has. The government must declare that it will not continue to implement the agreement until all of the deceased hostages have been returned, in accordance with Trump’s plan.”

{Matzav.com}

The Gerrer Chassidus mourns the passing of Reb Yechiel Menachem Mendel Hertz z”l, one of its most venerable and distinguished chassidim of Ger, who passed away at the age of ninety-nine. He was niftar at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Yerushalayim.

Reb Mendel, as he was affectionately known, was born in Poland to his father, Rav Yitzchok z”l, and his mother, Mrs. Chana Leah a”h. He was among the few remaining chassidim who carried direct memories of prewar Poland and was the last living Gerrer chossid who had actually traveled to the Beis Medrash of Gur in Poland during his youth, a nesiah that remained etched in his heart for life.

In the Gerrer community, there are still several elderly chassidim who recall seeing the Imrei Emes zt”l during his final years in Yerushalayim . But Reb Mendel was unique. He alone had merited to travel to Gur itself in Poland before the war. He would often reminisce with deep yearning about those sacred days and the luminous atmosphere that surrounded the Rebbe and his chassidim.

A man of great modesty and deep scholarship, Reb Mendel devoted his life to Torah study, constantly producing original insights in learning. He was known to avoid public attention and would never speak of his age or personal past. Out of humility and fear of the ayin hara, he also refused to be photographed.

When reporters from Hamodia sought to interview him, Reb Mendel firmly declined, maintaining his lifelong discretion and humility. Within the Gerrer community, he was revered as a relic of an earlier, purer generation.

The levayah took place on Friday, beginning at the Sanhedria Funeral Home and continuing to Har Tamir in Har Hamenuchos for kevurah.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

A massive demonstration is planned for this Sunday in Manhattan, where thousands are expected to gather outside the Israeli Consulate to protest the proposed draft law in Israel. The rally will bring together the two Satmar Rebbes and communities from across the spectrum of Chassidic groups in New York.

The demonstration comes in the wake of the recent ceasefire agreement reached through the mediation of President Donald Trump. Organizers explained that Satmar has long maintained a policy of refraining from public protests against Israel during wartime, and that the current timing reflects the end of hostilities. They emphasized that the purpose of the rally is to call for the cancellation of the draft decree and to advocate for the continued protection of bnei yeshivos who remain detained in military prisons.

The gathering represents an unprecedented joint effort between both Satmar factions—those led by the brothers, the Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel and the Rebbe of Williamsburg—alongside numerous other Chassidic courts from across the United States.

During Simchas Torah, both Satmar Rebbes addressed the issue before thousands of followers at their respective ne’ilas hachag gatherings.

The Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel declared, “The chareidi Jews of New York are rising in a great protest against the treif government in Israel that decrees the conscription of yeshiva students. We are going to participate and cry out, ‘Hoshana lema’an datecha!’ We need a great salvation for the sake of Torah—they are trying to break those who study Torah in our holy land. Everyone must take part in this massive protest.”

The Rebbe of Williamsburg stated, “We remember how many tears the Vayoel Moshe shed and how deeply he grieved over the breaches in holiness throughout the world and especially in Israel since the founding of the state, when they began uprooting Torah. There has never been a time of distress for Yaakov like this. Fires burn, thousands of Jews are in danger, and they sacrifice themselves for Torah, ready to be imprisoned. It is our duty to stand by them, to give them strength and support.”

He added, “The Vayoel Moshe said that holding protests removes Hashem’s wrath over the decrees. As his students, we must remember this and fulfill our obligation to protest.”

The rally is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. Sunday on Manhattan’s Second Avenue, directly across from the Israeli Consulate.

{Matzav.com}

New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is under fire after campaigning side by side with a Brooklyn imam once identified by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing — and who has a long record of inflammatory sermons calling for “jihad” in New York. Mamdani, a self-described socialist and left-wing Democrat, appeared beaming in a photo with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, posted to X after Friday prayers at Brooklyn’s Masjid At-Taqwa. Also pictured was Councilman Yusef Salaam (D-Manhattan), a member of the exonerated “Central Park Five.” “Today at Masjid At-Taqwa, I had the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj,” Mamdani wrote on social media, calling him “one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders.” But Wahhaj, 75, is a deeply polarizing figure. He was named by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 bombing that killed six people and injured more than a thousand. He has also publicly defended some of the convicted plotters, calling the FBI and CIA the “real terrorists.” In sermons documented by U.S. intelligence agencies, Wahhaj called for an “army of 10,000 men” to wage a “gun-free jihad” on New York, saying, “Let them hear your voice… until the whole city can’t sleep.” “The fact that Mamdani stands with this imam is disqualifying,” said Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa. “New York needs a mayor who protects New Yorkers from terrorism, not embraces terrorists.” The imam’s controversies extend beyond rhetoric. Three of his children were convicted of running a terrorist training compound in New Mexico, where prosecutors said they trained minors to fight nonbelievers. Wahhaj has said he was the one who alerted police, but investigators believe his ideology shaped the cell’s extremist leanings. Wahhaj, who leads the Muslim Alliance in North America, has long served as a mentor to activist Linda Sarsour, one of Mamdani’s closest political allies and a prominent critic of Israel and U.S. counterterror policy. Security analysts say Mamdani’s appearance with Wahhaj raises troubling questions about the candidate’s political alliances. “The evidence demonstrates that Mamdani’s political trajectory has been reinforced by figures with documented extremist views,” an intelligence assessment noted, warning of “a direct national security threat to New York City.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A large fire broke out in a warehouse in Flatbush on Shabbos, spreading to an attached warehouse belonging to Bobbie’s Place — a massive clothing gemach that provides clothing for more than 10,000 children every year. Officials say 106 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene on East 14th Street near Ave M just before 11 p.m. Officials say the fire at the one-story building went on for over four hours. Crews got the flames under control at around 2 a.m. On Motzei Shabbos, volunteers and community members gathered near the scene as the extent of the damage was still being assessed. Early reports indicate that significant portions of the warehouse may have been affected, potentially impacting the gemach’s upcoming seasonal operations. Bobby’s Place has long been a cornerstone of chesed in the community, distributing new clothing to families in need throughout the year. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The body of 75-year-old Eliyahu “Churchill” Margalit Hy”d, who was murdered and abducted by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, was returned to Israel on Friday night. Margalit’s body was positively identified after being transferred to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv. The IDF had previously confirmed his death in December 2023, saying his body was being held in Gaza. His daughter, Nili Margalit, was also taken hostage during the October 7th massacre but was released from captivity on November 30. Eliyahu Margalit is survived by his wife, Daphna, his children Noa, Danny, and Nili, and three grandchildren. On Motzei Shabbos, the IDF announced that troops had brought back two additional caskets containing the apparent remains of hostages from Gaza. The bodies have been transferred to Abu Kabir for identification, a process expected to take up to two days. Hamas did not provide their identities. If confirmed, the latest recoveries would mean that 16 bodies of hostages remain held in Gaza, down from the 28 that were believed to be there at the start of the current ceasefire.

The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, headed by MK Boaz Bismuth, anticipates that the Draft Law will reach the stage of formal approval in November, according to a report by Kan Reshet Bet. The legislation is set to move forward following committee deliberations over the coming weeks.

The current version of the Draft Law was crafted through ongoing dialogue between Brigadier General Shai Taib, who leads the IDF’s Human Resources Planning Division, and representatives of the chareidi political factions. These include Shas MK Yinon Azoulay and former minister Ariel Atias. The discussions came in response to the military’s stated need to increase recruitment numbers.

On Thursday, Bismuth handed over the framework of the proposal to the committee’s legal advisor, attorney Miri Frankel-Shor. Using this outline, a formal draft of the bill will now be prepared and brought before the committee. The proposal is expected to be presented shortly, with discussions scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

The framework relies on understandings previously reached between the committee’s former chairman, MK Yuli Edelstein, and the chareidi parties prior to the Iranian assault on Israel. Under those agreements, recruitment targets were set at 4,800 chareidi men in the first year, 5,700 in the second, and approximately 50% of each eligible group within five years. If those goals are not met within a year, both personal and institutional penalties will take effect.

Among the proposed penalties are limits on obtaining a driver’s license, restrictions on international travel, loss of discounts for public transportation and home purchases, and disqualification from educational scholarships.

Notably, the draft that Bismuth is submitting excludes several of the additional provisions that had appeared in Edelstein’s version of the bill—such as the installation of a biometric monitoring system and the requirement for yeshiva students to sign in three times daily to confirm attendance.

{Matzav.com}

Criminal syndicates operating from China have raked in over $1 billion in just three years by sending out fake text messages to Americans, according to the Department of Homeland Security. These messages often pretend to be official notices about unpaid tolls or postal fees and are designed to get victims to hand over their credit card numbers.

The Wall Street Journal revealed that the United States is being inundated by these fraudulent texts, which authorities describe as part of an advanced, large-scale operation benefiting criminal networks in China. The messages, which typically claim recipients owe money for toll violations or delivery charges, are used to steal financial information from unsuspecting victims.

As Breitbart News has previously reported, Departments of Motor Vehicles across the country have been warning about these text scams targeting drivers. Agencies in New York, Florida, and California have noted a spike in fake text messages using intimidation tactics to trick people into revealing personal data.

These “smishing” or SMS phishing schemes falsely tell drivers that they owe money for traffic fines and threaten severe penalties — such as suspended licenses or additional fees — if they don’t pay. In reality, none of these texts come from legitimate government agencies. They are part of a growing international web of fraudsters impersonating official institutions to deceive the public.

Investigators say the criminal groups running these scams use the stolen credit card numbers to buy luxury goods like iPhones, gift cards, designer clothing, and cosmetics. They exploit a loophole that allows them to load stolen card information into Google or Apple Wallets overseas and then share them digitally with people in the United States who make purchases for them.

The massive operations rely on “SIM farms,” which are warehouses filled with devices containing thousands of SIM cards — the tiny chips used in cell phones. These setups let scammers send out thousands of text messages from a single location, automating what would otherwise require countless phone numbers.

While the criminal masterminds control the SIM farms from abroad, they hire gig workers inside the U.S. to set up and maintain the equipment. These recruits, often found through the Chinese app WeChat, receive detailed instruction manuals and live tech support from overseas handlers. Authorities estimate that around 200 SIM boxes are currently active across 38 locations in cities like Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami.

When someone clicks the link in one of these fake toll notices, they’re redirected to a convincing phishing website asking for their name, credit card, or banking details. The scammers use tools shared on Telegram channels to build these fake sites, allowing them to monitor victims’ keystrokes in real time and immediately enter the same data into mobile wallets under their control.

The thieves then recruit people in the U.S. through Telegram to act as “mules,” who make purchases using the stolen data. Typically, 400 to 500 mules operate daily, earning about 12 cents for every $100 gift card they buy. Using remote tap-to-pay software, the scammers link their own phones in China to the mules’ phones in America, letting them spend the stolen money seamlessly.

In some cases, the mules buy high-end electronics or clothing, but more often they purchase gift cards to obscure the money trail. Those cards are later used to buy merchandise that’s shipped to China and resold for profit — with the proceeds funneling back to the organized crime rings behind the scheme.

The wave of fake texts is intensifying rapidly. Proofpoint, a company that monitors mobile spam, reported that Americans received a record 330,000 toll-related scam messages in a single day last month. The monthly average for such messages is now more than triple what it was at the start of 2024.

In September, Breitbart News reported that the Secret Service uncovered a massive SIM farm operation in the New York City area involving 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers. The network was not only used for financial scams but also for “swatting” attacks targeting public figures.

The Secret Service said the operation, located within a 35-mile radius of New York City, was run by foreign “nation-state threat actors” and criminal organizations. The agency’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit traced the fake emergency calls to multiple sites in the tri-state area and found an elaborate network of servers capable of sending huge volumes of calls and texts while constantly swapping SIM cards to avoid detection.

Among those targeted by the swatting attacks were Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), and Nikki Haley, illustrating how the same technology used for large-scale fraud is also being weaponized for harassment and intimidation.

{Matzav.com}

A disturbing new TikTok trend powered by artificial intelligence is leading to frantic 911 calls from terrified people who believe a stranger has broken into their homes.

The viral prank uses AI tools to fabricate hyper-realistic images or videos of a so-called “homeless man” sneaking into someone’s house, rummaging through the refrigerator, or even lying on their bed. Pranksters then send these fake clips to family members or friends, who are tricked into thinking the footage is real and call the police.

According to The New York Times, police departments in multiple states have now responded to what appeared to be home invasions, only to discover that the supposed intruder was a computer-generated illusion.

Authorities near Detroit, Michigan, said they’ve received several such reports. The West Bloomfield Police Department confirmed that some residents had fallen for the AI prank and stressed that it wastes critical resources.

“Here’s the problem: officers are responding FAST using lights-and-sirens to what sounds like a call of a real intruder — and only getting called off once everyone realizes it was a joke,” explained the Yonkers Police Department in New York in a Facebook post. “That’s not just a waste of resources… it’s a real safety risk for officers who are responding and for the family members who are home if our officers get there before the prank is revealed and rush into the home to apprehend this ‘intruder’ that doesn’t exist.”

Experts say the prank is disturbingly easy to pull off. Greg Gogolin, a professor and director of cybersecurity and data science at Ferris State University, demonstrated how quickly such technology can be used to manipulate reality.

“It’s frustratingly easy to do,” Gogolin said, noting that he created a program in just a few hours to show how AI can alter images. “This is a natural language processing machine learning program called a face swapping,” he explained.

The software can convincingly merge facial features from one person into another image or video, producing visuals that look nearly indistinguishable from real footage.

Gogolin warned that once these tools are released, they often end up in the wrong hands. “They share that out or sell it. … It’s dispersed and that’s where the real danger is because people without any technical background can then utilize that the way they wish,” he said.

While older versions of AI image generators often made obvious mistakes — like limbs in the wrong place or people with extra arms — the technology has advanced dramatically. “You might generate something and an arm will be off, the elbows are in the wrong place. It used to be you would often see people with like three arms. A long arm, a long leg, the dynamics were not correct. A lot of that has been corrected or at least drastically improved with the newer versions,” Gogolin noted.

He also cautioned that law enforcement agencies need better cyber training to deal with AI-related crimes. “There are very few degreed investigators that have a cyber security background, let alone a computer science background particularly at the local level, even at the state level,” Gogolin said.

{Matzav.com}