Two SIM swappers phished a phone company so they could steal $16K in crypto

Cryptocurrency thief pleads guilty in SIM swapping scheme | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Twenty-year-old Kyell Bryan of Pennsylvania has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for a SIM swapping and cryptocurrency theft scheme, according to the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Maryland.

According to the initial indictment statement, in June 2019, Bryan, who was 19, conspired with Jordan K. Milleson, then 21, and others. The group engaged in phishing and vishing (voice phishing) to trick employees at an unnamed wireless operator into coughing up their login credentials.

As Brian Krebs reported when Bryan and Milleson were indicted, they were active participants of the OGUsers trading forum, which has spawned similar phishing attacks against Twitter and others, usually with the intent of stealing and...

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Twitch is testing a rewind button

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

One of the appeals of Twitch is watching things unfold live, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished I could scrub back to see something again or a moment I might have missed. Soon, though, Twitch may have a solution to that problem, as it’s currently testing a new Rewind the Stream button with some users.

When you hit the button, you’ll be rewinded two minutes back in the stream, Twitch tells The Verge. From there, you can scrub through what’s been streamed so far and even watch what you missed at different speeds, like you would with any other Twitch VOD (video on demand).

If you hit the rewind button, you’ll still be able to see what’s happening in the live stream, thanks to a picture-in-picture window that will appear above...

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Extreme heat is a growing concern for doctors around the world

A resident splashes water onto their face during a heatwave in Sacramento, California, U.S., on Thursday, July 8, 2021.  | David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Extreme heat is a huge worryfor doctors and public health experts around the world, and it’s steadily become a bigger problem over time, according to a sweeping new climate report published today in the leading medical journal, The Lancet.

The analysis, from 43 academic institutions and United Nations agencies, focuses on the threats the climate crisis poses to human health. While the group has published similar reports over the past five years, this is the first time it includes warnings on the impact hotter days have on mental health and physical activity. It follows an increase in devastating heatwaves around the world.

“I saw far too many patients die in the ED as a result of their heat exposure”

“I saw paramedics who had burns on...

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Segway’s ‘Mecha Kit’ turns your transporter into a rolling turret

Photo by Segway-Ninebot

If you ever wanted to transform your self-balancing scooter into a mobile mini mech, now you can with Segway-Ninebot’s Mecha Kit add-on. The kit is compatible with the Ninebot S and Ninebot S Kids and puts you in the pilot seat of your scooter-turned-turret.

Photo by Segway-Ninebot

Once fitted onto your vehicle, you no longer have to stand up to drive. You can stay seated while you control your movement with dual joysticks and take aim at targets with beads of gel. And yes, it acts just like a mech — you’re able to shoot the semi-evaporating bullets while driving, spinning and drifting around. If that still doesn’t sound awesome enough, you can even customize the Mecha Kit’s RGB underglow lighting, as well as switch...

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Elon Musk’s Boring Company gets green light for Las Vegas tunnel system

Elon Musk’s Boring Company just won approval from local officials to move forward with building a network of vehicle tunnels underneath Las Vegas. Dubbed the “Vegas Loop,” the system will allow passengers to hitch rides in Teslas to and from places like the hotel casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, the city’s new football stadium, the Las Vegas Convention Center, and McCarran International Airport.

The Boring Company already operates a small version of this “Teslas in Tunnels” system underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center, which opened earlier this year and involves two 0.8-mile tunnels. But Musk’s startup proposed a massive city-wide expansion in December 2020 that largely lines up with what Clark County officials approved Wednesday.

T...

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FDA clears boosters for Moderna and J&J COVID-19 vaccines

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, following its authorization of a third Pfizer / BioNTech shot in September.

The agency also said today that it will allow “mix-and-match” boosters — eligible people who are already fully vaccinated can get a booster dose of any of the three vaccines, regardless of which they started with.

As with the Pfizer / BioNTech booster, the FDA cleared third Moderna shots for vulnerable groups, including people 65 years of age and older, those who are at high risk of severe disease, and people at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 at work.

The booster for the Moderna vaccine, though, will be a half-dose. Both vaccines are mRNA...

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Activision Blizzard discrimination case shouldn’t halt over agency feud, California argues in new court filing

Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

After Activision Blizzard requested a stay in the discrimination case brought against it by the state of California, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has filed its response.

Activision Blizzard’s request for a stay asserts that lawyers with the DFEH engaged in misconduct arising from a conflict of interest. According to the filing, some of the lawyers working on the case had previously worked on a separate case against the company when they were employed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or EEOC). Such an arrangement, Activision Blizzard argues, is in violation of a California state bar conflict of interest rule. As a result, the discrimination case should be put on hold until the...

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A first look at Microsoft’s new Windows 11 Android apps support

Microsoft has released the first preview version of its Android apps support in Windows 11. It’s available to testers in the Beta Channel version of Windows 11, which means you’ll need to opt into the Windows Insider program to get access. I’ve installed the preview version on two systems — a gaming rig with a Core i9 11900K and Microsoft’s Surface Pro X — to get a feel for exactly how well Android apps run on Windows 11.

The experience of installing apps is very simple. Microsoft has partnered with Amazon, so the Microsoft Store will list apps but send you over to Amazon’s Appstore app to get them installed or updated. This also installs a Windows Subsystem for Android in the background, which is the core technology that powers Android...

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Amazon Fire TV’s news app expands free local coverage to a lot more places

Image: Amazon

Amazon announced today that it’s doubling the number of local stations it supports through its news app on Fire TV, meaning more users will be able to easily find local news coverage for free.

The company said in a blog post that this week’s coverage expansion will make local news available in 158 total US cities. That’s up from coverage in 88 cities following a previous expansion in March. As of today, the number of local stations available through the news app has hiked from 126 to 259.

An Amazon spokesperson clarified that some metro areas offer more than one local station in the Amazon news app on Fire TV. The company said that more than 50 metro areas now offer more than one local news source.

The news app is free and supported on...

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Tesla bucks chip shortage woes with another profitable quarter

Image: Tesla

Tesla’s record third quarter brought its biggest three-month windfall ever, as the company announced Wednesday that it turned a $1.6 billion profit. That’s despite a global semiconductor shortage and delays in the rollout of the refreshed Model S sedan and Model X SUV.

Tesla turned that profit on just over $13.7 billion in revenue, and did it while its average sales price continued to drop due to the increasing popularity of the more affordable Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV. Tesla has also continued to increase the profitability of those vehicles — the company said Wednesday that the gross margin on its cars is up to nearly 30 percent.

Tesla’s success in the quarter stands in stark relief from the trouble other automakers have faced...

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VR treatment for lazy eye in children gets FDA approval

Luminopia

The Food and Drug Administration approved a virtual reality-based treatment for children with the visual disorder amblyopia, or lazy eye, the company behind the therapy announced today. Patients watch modified TV shows or movies through a virtual reality headset to improve their vision.

“We’re proud to be part of the FDA’s groundbreaking decision today, to approve a first-of-its-kind digital therapeutic that allows patients to watch their favorite TV shows and movies to improve their vision,” Scott Xiao, chief executive officer of Luminopia, the company that developed the tool, said in a statement.

Around 3 percent of children have amblyopia, which develops when the brain and eyes stop communicating properly. The brain favors one eye,...

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Hyper’s new 245W USB-C battery pack and charger are here to help charge all your gear at once

Hyper has announced a pair of over-the-top USB-C accessories: HyperJuice 245W USB-C Battery Pack and the HyperJuice 245W USB-C GaN Charger, each of which offers four USB-C ports for charging up all your gadgets at once.

Despite the big “245W” in the names here, neither the new charger nor the new battery pack uses the recently released USB-C PD 3.1 spec that enables charging at up to 240W. Rather, the number refers to the total combined wattage that the new products can put out across the four total ports; each port still maxes out at 100W, though. (Which means that you won’t be able to use it for the 140W fast charging on a new 16-inch MacBook Pro, for example.)

The HyperJuice 245W USB-C GaN Charger features four ports,...

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Facebook reaches settlement after being accused of discriminating against US workers

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Facebook settled with the US Department of Justice following claims that it discriminated against US workers (via CNBC). The DOJ filed charges against Facebook in December 2020, alleging that Facebook reserved specific positions for temporary visa holders and discouraged US citizens from applying.

A report from the DOJ revealed that it’s fining Facebook $4.75 million in civil penalties and is requiring Facebook to pay up to $9.5 million to any victims of Facebook’s alleged discriminatory practices.

Facebook also reached a separate agreement with the US Department of Labor. During an audit of Facebook’s PERM applications — the program that lets visa holders permanently work in the US — the DOL found potential recruitment violations that...

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Mark Zuckerberg called to testify before the Senate following Instagram reports

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

A top Democrat is demanding Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg or Instagram chief Adam Mosseri testify before the Senate to explain how the company plans to protect kids in light of new reports that platforms like Instagram can encourage harmful behavior in teens.

In Wednesday’s letter, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on consumer protection, called on the Facebook executives to testify in light of recent reporting from the Wall Street Journalon how the photo-sharing platform harms young users.

“Parents across America are deeply disturbed by ongoing reports that Facebook knows that Instagram can cause destructive and lasting harms to many teens and children, especially to their mental...

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eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar is backing the Facebook whistleblower

Photo by Jabin Botsford-Pool/Getty Images

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified in front of Congress two weeks ago about the ways the company’s products can bring harm to users, after leaking documents supporting her claims to The Wall Street Journal. Now Politico reports that the campaign to support Haugen’s advocacy against her former employer has been aided by eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar.

Omidyar is no stranger to the media, providing financial backing to_The Intercept_, for example. According to Politico, when asked to comment, his advocacy group Omidyar Network pointed to an unbylined blog post that went up today titled “In Support of Tech Whistleblowers Who are Holding Tech to Account.”

If you’re looking for a “why” behind the impactful rollout of Haugen’s...

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Amazon offers up more data to tell third-party sellers which items will be popular

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon has announced a tool that will give sellers access to information about what shoppers are currently looking for and help make it easier to choose which products to create next. Amazon calls it the Product Opportunity Explorer and says that it’ll give sellers access to data and trends that will help them “identify opportunities to launch new, high-potential products to serve unmet customer demand.”

With Amazon’s track record of copying popular products and selling them under its Amazon Basics brand, an obvious concern with this tool is where the data is coming from and how granular it is. While Amazon quotes a seller saying that they’re excited to get “recommendations specifically relevant” to their business, it’s easy to imagine...

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Google Calendar’s new focus blocks can auto-decline meetings for you

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

It can be hard to block off focus time during the workday. To help make scheduling dedicated work blocks a bit easier, Google is adding new dedicated focus time entries to Calendar.

The focus time entries have a small headphones icon on your calendar and can be given a different color to help separate them from other things on your schedule. If you want, you can set focus time entries to automatically decline meetings that get scheduled during that block, which could help ensure that your focus time stays open and free from pesky meetings. Focus time entries will also appear in your “Time insights” panel so you can see how much of your time you’re spending in meetings and on focused work.

Image: Google

Here’s what...

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The Verge guide to Android

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google never stops issuing updates to its Android OS (well, unless your phone is old enough to have outlived its update period), and it has recently introduced its latest upgrade: Android 12.

As always, the new OS is coming to Google’s Pixel phones first, and when it does come to Samsung and other Android devices, it will probably be tweaked somewhat by the manufacturer. But whether you have uploaded Android 12 into your Pixel or are still using Android 11 on another phone, we’ve assembled a guide that will help you make the most of your mobile life.

_The Verge_guide to Androidis a comprehensive resource that will help you learn how to use your Android phone’s best features and further educate you about this popular and flexible mobile...

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Giant retailers pledge to leave fossil-fueled ships behind

A cargo ship carrying containers are seen covered in thick smog in Near of Kolkata City on January 25.2021. | Photo by Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Major retailers, including Amazon and Ikea, are beginning to clean up their shipping pollution. A group of companiespledged yesterday that by 2040, they’ll only contract ships using zero-carbon fuels to move their goods. Both Ikea and Amazon were among the 15 companies responsible for the most maritime import pollution in 2019, according to one recent analysis.

Joining Amazon and Ikea in the commitment are Unilever, Michelin, and clothing retailer Inditex, which owns Zara and other brands. German retailer Tchibo, Patagonia, sports gear company Brooks Running, and FrogBikes are part of the deal, too.

The aim is to leave behind heavy fuel oil in favor of alternatives that don’t release planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions. But there...

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Acer Aspire Vero review: for a better footprint, find a better laptop

Despite Acer’s branding, this isn’t the most environmentally friendly laptop you can buy

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How to install Fortnite on Android

Image: Epic Games

Epic Games launched its battle royale hit _Fortnite_on Android devices in 2018 with a big catch: it was exclusive to Samsung-made phones for a few days as a way to help market the then-new Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

At the time, would-be players had to deal with a waiting list and / or a restrictive list of qualified Android phones. These days, it’s a lot easier — but you still need to download it directly from Epic. (Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said this is basically to avoid paying Google’s 30 percent cut on in-app purchases.) Epic is using its own website and a Fortnite Installer program to distribute the game more widely on all compatible Android devices.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown to make sure you’re prepared and understand the best way...

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It’s time for the Pixel Watch

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are the company’s most interesting devices in years. They might actually succeed at the Pixel’s ultimate goal of being the shining example of what Android phones can and should be capable of.

It’s high time that Google followed that example with a Pixel Watch that does the same thing for Wear OS. It’s pretty likely that Google is already working on something along those lines: When we asked, Rick Osterloh told_The Verge’s_ Dieter Bohn that its own Wear OS wearable is just a matter of time. He noted that Google’s acquisition of Fitbit is still “pretty early in the integration” since the purchase only went through a few months ago — it takes time to develop a product, after all, especially one with a new...

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Mark Zuckerberg has been added to a DC lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine is adding Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica data-mining scandal. Racine announced the addition on Twitter this morning, saying his investigation had revealed that Zuckerberg was “personally involved in decisions related to Cambridge Analytica and Facebook’s failure to protect user data.”

The 2018 lawsuit accuses Facebook (and now Zuckerberg) of misrepresenting its policies around third-party data access and compromising user privacy with lax protections. The attorney general’s office alleges that Facebook violated the Consumer Protection Procedures Act and seeks civil damages for the offense. A judge allowed the case to proceed despite Facebook’s...

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Facebook will start downranking your Groups posts if you break its rules

Photo by Michele Doying / The Verge

Facebook will start demoting all Groups content from people who have violated its policies elsewhere across the platform. The move is supposed to limit rulebreakers from reaching other people in a community, and it builds on existing policies that prevent them from posting, commenting, or inviting others.

In a blog post, Facebook says it will also add a new “Flagged by Facebook” feature that shows group administrators content that’s been flagged for removal. The admins can choose to remove the content or to ask for a review if they believe it’s appropriate, with the goal of getting administrators involved before Facebook steps in and issues a strike that could affect the group itself.

Facebook has paid increasing attention to groups...

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You can donate $10 for a chance to win the Xbox 20th anniversary Adidas sneakers

Microsoft and Adidas’ Adidas-themed sneakers. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft and Adidas revealed a slick-looking pair of limited-edition Xbox sneakers earlier this month to celebrate Xbox’s 20th anniversary, and now, we know what you need to do to actually try to win a pair for yourself.

From October 21st at 12PM ET through October 23rd at 11:59AM ET, you can donate $10 on StockX, an online collectibles marketplace, to be entered to win one of 20 pairs. Donations will benefit Gamers Outreach, a charity that helps children in hospitals by bringing them video games.

Image: Microsoft

A closer look at the Xbox-themed shoes.

The cool shoes are just one piece of Microsoft’s 20th anniversary celebration for Xbox. The company is releasing a translucent controller and headset that...

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Microsoft now lets you test Android apps on Windows 11

Microsoft is now allowing Windows 11 testers to try out Android apps. A preview version of the Windows Subsystem for Android will be available to beta testers of Windows 11 today, providing access to apps from the Amazon Appstore. Testers with Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm processors will all be able to try out Android apps on Windows 11.

Apps can be loaded through the Microsoft Store, which will list a variety of apps that then point toward the Amazon Appstore to load and install. Android apps can run side by side with other Windows apps, and they’re also integrated into Alt + Tab and Task view, and you can pin them to the Start menu or the taskbar.

Image: Microsoft

Android apps are available in the Microsoft Store on...

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CD Projekt Red delays next-gen Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 to 2022

A screenshot from_Cyberpunk 2077._ | Image: CD Projekt Red

In September, CD Projekt Red said it was targeting late 2021 release dates for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s next-gen upgrades, but on Wednesday, the company announced those won’t be hitting this year. Now, the plan is for the next-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077 to release in the first quarter of 2022, while the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is scheduled for a release in the second quarter of 2022.

IMPORTANT PRODUCTION UPDATE pic.twitter.com/KOnaIVOt4v

— CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) October 20, 2021

With the delays, it seems like CD Projekt Red is taking steps to ensure it doesn’t repeat the botched launch of Cyberpunk 2077, which was riddled with bugs and issues when it was first released in December...

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Sony is officially bringing God of War to PC

Image: Sony

One of Sony’s best PlayStation games, God of War, is headed to PC. The game will be available on January 14th, 2022, and you can preorder it now on Steam and the Epic Games Store for $49.99.

If you opt to pick up the game on PC, you’ll be able to play it at 4K and unlocked frame rates, as well as in a 21:9 ultra widescreen aspect ratio (assuming you have the right hardware to support those features). The game will also support Nvidia’s DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and its Reflex low-latency technology for “a more responsive experience.”

Image: Sony

A screenshot from_God of War._

Sony promises that the game will have “robust controller support and keyboard mapping customization,” and you can of course...

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The mission to break barriers to space travel for people with disabilities

Azubuike “Zuby” Onwuta flashes “Hook ‘em Horns” for the camera aboard the Zero G flight. | Image: Mission: AstroAccess

When Sina Bahram shifted into weightlessness for the first time on Sunday, he could feel the air brushing past his skin as his body began to float into the air. As someone who’d longed to be an astronaut since he was four years old, he’d been waiting many years to have this exact feeling.

“I knew it would be a joyous experience just because I looked forward to it for many decades of my life, but the visceral nature of that joy wasn’t brought home until you actually experience it,” Bahram, a computer scientist who runs Prime Access Consulting, tells The Verge. “It is truly indescribable.”

Bahram got to perceive free fall for the first time onboard a specially outfitted plane operated by the Zero-G Corporation, a company that provides...

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Scientists took the first steps toward pig-to-human kidney transplants

Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

For the first time, surgeons successfully attached a kidney from a genetically modified pig to a human patient — a major scientific breakthrough, and one that could open up a new way to provide organs to sick people.

Scientists got the kidney from a pig genetically engineered so that it wouldn’t produce a sugar called alpha-gal, which the human immune system attacks and would trigger the body to reject the organ. Surgeons at NYU attached the organ to a brain-dead patient on a ventilator whose family agreed to the experimental procedure. It was connected outside of her body to blood vessels on her leg, and observed over a period of 54 hours.

The recipient’s body didn’t immediately reject the kidney, and the kidney functioned normally...

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