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South Florida defeats Portland 74-68Pep Guardiola spoke of his relief after Manchester City finally got back to winning ways with a comfortable 3-0 defeat of Nottingham Forest on Wednesday. The champions had descended into crisis after a run of seven games without a win – six of which were defeats and the other an embarrassing 3-3 draw after leading 3-0. Four of those losses had come in the Premier League, heavily damaging their chances of claiming a fifth successive title, but they appeared to turn the corner by sweeping Forest aside at the Etihad Stadium. “We needed it,” said City manager Guardiola. “The club, the players, everyone needed to win. A good night's work 🫡 Thank you for backing us all the way, City fans 🩵 pic.twitter.com/UOcKm0Y6Ry — Manchester City (@ManCity) December 4, 2024 “But it is just one game and in three days we are at Selhurst Park, where it has always been difficult. “We played good. We still conceded some transitions and missed some easy things and lost some passes that you have to avoid, but in general, the most important thing was to break this routine of not winning games and we won it.” Kevin De Bruyne, making his first start since September after overcoming a pelvic injury, made a huge difference to a side that appeared rejuvenated. His powerful header was turned in by Bernardo Silva for the opening goal and the Belgian followed up with a powerful strike to make it 2-0. The 33-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season but it was a strong riposte to recent suggestions of a rift with Guardiola. A sweet strike 💥 ⚡️ #HighSpeedMoments | @eAndGroup pic.twitter.com/WJOkfKo2zr — Manchester City (@ManCity) December 4, 2024 “I’m so happy for him,” said Guardiola of De Bruyne’s telling contribution. “Last season he was many months injured and this season as well. “I’m so happy he’s back. He fought a lot, he’s worked and he’s back with his physicality. The minutes he played in Anfield were really good and today he played 75 fantastic minutes.” Jeremy Doku wrapped up a pleasing win when he finished a rapid counter-attack just before the hour but there was still a downside for City with injuries to defenders Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji. Guardiola said: “For Nathan it doesn’t look good and Manu has struggled a lot over the last two months. We will see. “Phil (Foden) has bronchitis but when he doesn’t have fever he will be ready.” Despite City’s dominance, Forest did have some bright moments and manager Nuno Espirito Santo was not downbeat. He said: “When you lose 3-0 and you say it was a good performance maybe people don’t understand, but I will not say that was a bad performance. “There are positive things for us in the game. Of course there are a lot of bad things, mistakes, but we had chances. “We didn’t achieve but I think we come out proud of ourselves because we tried. For sure, this game will allow us to grow.”
India Shines on Day Four: Commanding Lead in the First Test Against Australia
Maverick McNealy trails by one shot at the RSM Classic halfway point. Getty Images The third round of the 2024 RSM Classic begins Saturday morning at Sea Island’s Seaside course in Georgia. You can find full 2024 RSM Classic tee times for Saturday’s third round at the bottom of this post. Featured tee time for Round 3 After Thursday’s opening round at Sea Island’s Seaside course , Maverick McNealy was the story of the tournament. The 29-year-old fired a sizzling first-round 62 — a promising start in his quest to claim his maiden PGA Tour title. But leads are tough to maintain on the PGA Tour, and even though McNealy followed up his 62 with a round of two-under 70 on Sea Island’s Plantation course on Friday to reach 10 under overall, he’s now trailing 36-hole leader Patrick Fishburn (-11) by one shot heading into the weekend. Lee Hodges (-10) is T2 alongside McNealy after posting rounds of 69-63 to move 58 spots up the leaderboard. Fishburn is also seeking his first Tour victory, after posting four top-10 finishes in 2024, and will play alongside McNealy and Hodges in Saturday’s final grouping at 11:11 a.m. ET. You can watch Saturday’s third round of the 2024 RSM Classic on Golf Channel starting at 1 p.m. ET. You can also stream a live simulcast of the third round via NBCSports.com or the NBC Sports App with an active cable subscription. You can check out the complete Round 3 tee times for the 2024 RSM Classic below. 2024 RSM Classic tee times for Saturday: Round 3 (ET) Seaside Course – Tee No. 1 9:10 a.m. – Denny McCarthy, Brandon Wu, Kevin Chappell 9:21 a.m. – Austin Smotherman, Mark Hubbard, Harris English 9:32 a.m. – Adam Hadwin, Adam Schenk, Kelly Kraft 9:43 a.m. – Robby Shelton, Ryo Hisatsune, Matt Wallace 9:54 a.m. – Daniel Berger, Steven Fisk, Bud Cauley 10:05 a.m. – Joe Highsmith, Will Gordon, Ludvig Åberg 10:16 a.m. – Paul Peterson, Chandler Phillips, Austin Eckroat 10:27 a.m. – Kevin Yu, Martin Laird, Stewart Cink 10:38 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Patrick Rodgers, Vince Whaley 10:49 a.m. – Nico Echavarria, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Callum Tarren 11:00 a.m. – Michael Thorbjornsen, Luke Clanton, Michael Kim 11:11 a.m. – Patrick Fishburn, Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges Tee No. 10 9:10 a.m. – Andrew Novak, Sam Stevens, Patton Kizzire 9:21 a.m. – Jake Knapp, Christo Lamprecht, Phillip Knowles 9:32 a.m. – Blake McShea, Eric Cole, Joseph Bramlett 9:43 a.m. – Lanto Griffin, Brian Harman, Marcus Byrd 9:54 a.m. – Ben Griffin, Jonathan Byrd, S.Y. Noh 10:05 a.m. – Taylor Montgomery, Doug Ghim, Davis Thompson 10:16 a.m. – Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Lucas Glover 10:27 a.m. – Henrik Norlander, S.H. Kim, Kevin Tway 10:38 a.m. – William McGirt, Garrick High, Martin Trainer 10:49 a.m. – Carson Young, Tyson Alexander, Adam Svensson 11:00 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Russell Knox, Hayden Springer Latest In News Golf.com Editor As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Issue, which debuted in February 2018. Her original interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.Stock market today: Tech stocks and AI pull Wall Street to more records
NEW YORK , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE: LFT ) ("LFT" or the "Company") announced the declaration of a cash dividend of $0.08 per share of common stock with respect to the fourth quarter of 2024. The Company also announced the declaration of a one-time special cash dividend of $0.09 per share of common stock due to real estate investment trust tax considerations. These dividends are payable on January 15, 2025 , to common stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 31, 2024 . The Company also announced the declaration of a cash dividend of $0.4921875 per share of 7.875% Cumulative Redeemable Series A Preferred Stock. The dividend is payable on January 15, 2025 to preferred stockholders of record as of the close of business January 2, 2025 . Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Corey Stephenson had 21 points in CSU Bakersfield's 68-60 victory over Northeastern at the Homewood Suites Classic tournament in Fort Myers, Florida on Sunday. Stephenson shot 8 of 16 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line for the Roadrunners (4-3). Marvin McGhee shot 4 for 10 (1 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line to add 12 points. McGhee went 3 of 7 from the field (3 for 5 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points. LA Pratt led the way for the Huskies (5-2) with 15 points and six rebounds. Masai Troutman added 15 points for Northeastern. Harold Woods also had eight points. CSU Bakersfield led Northeastern at the half, 34-29, with McGhee (six points) its high scorer before the break. Stephenson's layup with 4:08 left in the second half gave CSU Bakersfield the lead for good at 56-54. NEXT UP These two teams both play Saturday. CSU Bakersfield visits Southern Utah and Northeastern visits Vermont. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Russia is using new technology in its attacks on Ukraine World Russia is using new technology in its attacks on... Charles MaynesNEW YORK — The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City. Mangione also mentioned the company in a note found in his possession when he was detained by police in Pennsylvania. Suspect Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday in Hollidaysburg, Pa. "We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America. So that's possibly why he targeted that company," Kenny said. UnitedHealthcare is in the top 20 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization but is not the fifth largest. It is the largest U.S. health insurer. Mangione remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested Monday after being spotted at a McDonald's in the city of Altoona, about 230 miles west of New York City. His lawyer there, Thomas Dickey, said Mangione intends to plead not guilty. Dickey also said he had yet to see evidence decisively linking his client to the crime. Mangione's arrest came five days after the caught-on-camera killing of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel. Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, was arrested on December 9, 2024, after a six-day manhunt and charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. His arrest has sparked a viral social media movement, with many hailing him as a symbol of resistance against systemic healthcare failures. The #FreeLuigi movement gained significant traction, with his social media profiles amassing over 100,000 new followers before being suspended. Despite this, the movement continues to trend, highlighting public discontent with the U.S. healthcare system. Some social media users argue that Mangione's radicalization stemmed from the struggles faced by millions in obtaining necessary healthcare, and not from his university education. Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona led to the seizure of a "ghost gun," a suppressor, fake IDs, and a manifesto criticizing the healthcare system. While the manifesto seems to admit guilt, some users question Mangione's responsibility, pointing out discrepancies in surveillance photos. The fascination with Mangione has only intensified, with discussions about his attractiveness and comparisons to characters in Ryan Murphy's productions. The phenomenon is reminiscent of society's long-standing obsession with infamous criminals, blurring lines between horror and hero worship. Former FBI agent Rob D’Amico noted that Mangione is seen by some as a "Robin Hood" figure fighting against corporate greed, which complicates the investigation. Police say the shooter waited outside the hotel, where the health insurer was holding its investor conference, early Dec. 4. He approached Thompson from behind and shot him before fleeing on a bicycle through Central Park. Mangione is fighting attempts to extradite him back to New York so that he can face a murder charge in Thompson's killing. A hearing was scheduled for Dec. 30. The 26-year-old, who police say was found with a " ghost gun " matching shell casings found at the site of the shooting, is charged in Pennsylvania with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Luigi Mangione was arrested Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in what law enforcement has called a "targeted attack." Mangione is from a prominent Maryland family with extensive business interests. The Mangione family is known for developing real estate and running businesses. Relatives expressed shock over the arrest and offered condolences to Thompson’s family. Mangione faces multiple charges, including murder, firearm possession, and forgery, in New York and Pennsylvania. Mangione is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family. In posts on social media, Mangione wrote about experiencing severe chronic back pain before undergoing a spinal fusion surgery in 2023. Afterward, he posted that the operation was a success and that his pain improved and mobility returned. He urged others to consider the same type of surgery. On Wednesday, police said investigators are looking at his writings about his health problems and his criticism of corporate America and the U.S. health care system. Kenny said in the NBC interview that Mangione's family reported him missing to San Francisco authorities in November. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.
In a groundbreaking achievement, astronomers have successfully captured the first detailed image of a star in its final stages of life, located in a faraway galaxy. The star, WOH G64 , is situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud , a smaller galaxy that revolves around the Milky Way and is believed to be about 160,000 light-years from Earth, as mentioned in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics . This image provides scientists with a rare opportunity to study a massive star as it sheds its outer layers, a process that ultimately leads to its very dramatic death in a supernova explosion. The discovery offers new insights into the life cycle of stars and how they contribute to the creation of elements in the universe. WOH G64: A giant star about to explode WOH G64 is a massive red star- - one of the largest types of stars in the universe. It’s about 2,000 times the size of the Sun. But regardless of its huge size, the star is at the end of its life. As stars like WOH G64 burn through their fuel, they start to shed their outer layers, sending gas and dust into space. This marks the beginning of the process that will eventually lead to a supernova- - an explosion, which is so powerful it can overpower an entire galaxy. When this phenomenon happens, the star won’t just disappear. The explosion spreads heavy elements like gold, silver, and iron into space- - materials that help form new stars and planets. According to Dr. Jacco van Loon, one of the scientists behind the discovery, stars like WOH G64 release the same amount of energy as the Sun shining for its entire 10-billion-year life. How did they take the picture? Previously, astronomers only had the view of far-off galaxies as small dots of light. Thanks to new technology, scientists can now take much clearer images. They made use of a technique known as interferometry , where, light from several telescopes combined to form a detailed image. For this discovery, astronomers utilized the European Southern Observatory 's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile. The VLTI consists of four big telescopes which act as one, and scientists can view faraway stars with incredible detail. According to The New York Times, the VLTI uses a particular device called GRAVITY which combines the light coming from all four telescopes, and that was the reason why scientists could make such a clear picture of WOH G64. What does the image show? In the picture of WOH G64, you can clearly see that there is a star surrounded by a cloud of gas and dust. This is material that the star is shedding as it blows off the outer layers. This is a major indicator that the star will soon reach its final end. As Dr. van Loon explained, stars such as WOH G64 spend their lifetime emitting significant quantities of energy, and as they begin to shed off their outer layers, this is the sign that they are preparing to explode as a supernova. What happens next to WOH G64? If the star WOH G64 runs out of fuel, then its core will collapse. However, depending on the size of the star, that is where things get more interesting. If WOH G64 is large enough, it will explode as a supernova, and the light from the sky will be very bright. It could also form a black hole if it's massive enough; a region in space where gravity is so intense that no light can escape. The elements needed for life in the universe are produced by supernovae, which include iron and oxygen. As The Guardian reports, the time is approaching when WOH G64 will explode and cast those elements into space where they would form part of new stars, planets, and perhaps even life. A new era for studying stars This new image of WOH G64 is a great new step in our ability to study distant stars. Thanks to advanced telescopes and new methods like interferometry, astronomers can now observe stars in far-off galaxies in much more detail. This also allows scientists to study how stars die, how supernovae work, and how elements are formed. According to The New York Times, this now opens many possibilities for what could be discovered in the near future. With these tools, astronomers can now explore space in ways they never had before, revealing secrets about stars and the universe itself. Thumb image credit: X/@hyppi4uBEIRUT — Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the militant group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the all-out war. An Israeli bomb squad policeman carries the remains of a rocket that was fired from Lebanon on Sunday in Kibbutz Kfar Blum, northern Israel. Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said. The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the militants. Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on U.S.-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war. Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups. The Israeli police bomb squad inspects the site after a missile fired from Lebanon hit the area Sunday in Petah Tikva, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there. In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing. The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether injuries and damage were caused by rockets or interceptors. Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later. Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. A flock of birds flies above the smoke from Israeli airstrikes Sunday in Dahiyeh, Beirut. Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted command centers for Hezbollah and its intelligence unit in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, where the militants have a strong presence. Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to the Lebanese c... The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.” U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week. Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group. Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate $208 million to assist the Lebanese military. But Borrell later said that he did not “see the Israeli government interested clearly in reaching an agreement for a cease-fire" and that it seemed Israel was seeking new conditions. He pointed to Israel’s refusal to accept France as a member of the international committee that would oversee the cease-fire's implementation. The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of U.N. peacekeepers. With talks for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza stalled, freed hostages and families of those held marked a year since the war's only hostage-release deal. “It’s hard to hold on to hope, certainly after so long and as another winter is about to begin," said Yifat Zailer, cousin of Shiri Bibas, who is held along with her husband and two young sons. Around 100 hostages are still in Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead. Most of the rest of the 250 who were abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack were released in last year's cease-fire. Talks for another deal recently had several setbacks, including the firing of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who pushed for a deal, and Qatar’s decision to suspend its mediation. Hamas wants Israel to end the war and withdraw all troops from Gaza. Israel has offered only to pause its offensive. The Palestinian death toll from the war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. On Sunday, six people were killed in strikes in central Gaza, according to AP journalists at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. How often do you buy something online ? A couple of times a month? A couple of times a week? A couple of times a day? Everybody's answer will be different, but collectively, it's done a lot: Online retail accounted for over $1 trillion of purchases in the U.S. in 2022 and a record $277.6 billion in the second quarter of 2023 alone. Retailers ranging from titans like Amazon and Walmart, down to local small-town shops work very hard to land their share of that business. Sadly and inevitably—so do criminals and scammers. At any given moment, they operate millions of bogus sites. So how can you spot those fake online shopping sites? Spokeo provides a guide. In the early days of the internet , it took some genuine skills to set up a website, but those days are gone. A quick search will show that there are lots of apps and services offering websites on a prefabricated "fill in the blanks" basis, and most web hosts provide those tools as part of the service when someone signs up with them. It's even easier on social media . If you were opening a "side hustle" business tomorrow from your home, you could set up your own Facebook page tonight in under an hour, with exactly zero knowledge of websites. Once that page is set up, you just need to throw a few dollars in the direction of Facebook's advertising department, and they'll start advertising your page to users. It's no harder to promote a website, except in that case, you'd give your advertising dollars to Google. This is a simplified overview, but the main point holds: Establishing a presence online has become a very democratized process, open to anyone with minimal skills and even the smallest budget for advertising. That's been a boon for legitimate entrepreneurs, but it also makes life very easy indeed for scammers. There are multiple types of bogus websites . Some are imposters, created to look very much like a legitimate commercial or government site that you're familiar with, such as Amazon or Netflix. Others don't imitate a specific site, but instead attempt to capture the look and feel of those sites in general (whether that be a retail site, a government or bank page, or even something relatively shady like a gambling or porn site). Next, scammers find ways to drive traffic to their site. Often that's through phishing texts or emails, but deceptive ads on social media or search engines like Google and Bing work just as well. Once a browser arrives at the criminals' site (or, in some cases, downloads their app), any number of bad things can happen. One is that they'll download malware onto your devices, which can capture passwords or steal personal information. A more straightforward risk is that the browser will cheerfully enter their personal and banking/credit card information, thinking they're making a legitimate purchase. That's largely why fake online shopping sites are so dangerous, and so useful to scammers and identity thieves. Most bogus sites share some or all of those characteristics, but shopping sites are a very specific type of bogus site with some quirks of their own. One characteristic to count on—whether the website directly impersonates a major retailer like Amazon, a niche retailer like MEC, or just positions itself as an anonymously general retail site—is that it will offer unusually low pricing on high-demand products. That might be a mass-market item like the latest gaming console, a suddenly in-demand item that's unavailable through normal channels (remember trying to get masks and sanitizing wipes during COVID-19?), or something as mundane as disposable diapers or high-capacity computer drives. Whatever the product, the advertised price will be low enough to get attention. The bogus site will have any number of ways to transfer a browser's money to its coffers, depending on the scammers' intentions and skillset. A few of the most common include: These are all aside from the potential to infect devices or steal payment information . Sites focused on identity theft might consider a faux purchase to be just the added gravy. How common is online shopping fraud? Well, the news is pretty bad. The FTC's 2022 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book recorded over 327,000 online shopping complaints, the fourth-highest category for overall complaints and second among fraud categories. You would expect these sites to be more prevalent during the final quarter of the year, corresponding to the holiday gift-giving season—Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas itself—and they are, but that doesn't mean you can relax during the other nine months of the year. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, or APWG, identified nearly a million fake or phishing websites during the first quarter of 2022 alone (not a busy time of year for shopping), for example. To be clear, only 14.6% of those were eCommerce sites, but that still translates to well over 140,000 bogus shopping sites. The true number is almost certainly higher because the APWG only tracks the ones that use a phishing approach. Many opt to simply buy advertising instead (or as well), and those won't be captured in the APWG's statistics. However you slice it, there's a definite risk of encountering these sites when you shop. The good news is that bogus shopping sites aren't hard to spot, once you're aware of the risk. They aren't built for permanence; scammers pull them together quickly and cheaply and then abandon them once they stop producing.That "just good enough" approach leaves plenty of visible signs you can detect. Below, here's what to look for when recognizing fake online shopping sites. Bad images Bogus sites don't have direct access to the real products' manufacturing images, so they resort to copying and pasting from legitimate sites. \That means bogus sites' product images (and often their fake logos, if they impersonate a legitimate site) are fuzzy and low-res. A URL that's slightly "off" Imposter sites obviously can't have the same URL as the legitimate site, so they'll usually have a URL that looks right, but isn't quite. They might have a typo in the name, or incorporate the real company's name into their URL in a non-standard way ("myfakesite.amazon.com.123xyz.com"), or—sneakiest of all—use a letter from a different language's character set , which looks the same to the eye, but not to the computer. Broken links The scammers may have simply copied and pasted user interface elements from a legitimate site, in which case many links on the site may be broken (or simply not clickable). Lots of missing elements A legitimate retail website will have several pages of legalese, often starting with a pop-up about its cookie policy or privacy policy. You should certainly expect to see a detailed document spelling out shipping policies, return and refund policies, and similar details. If those are missing or brief and vapid, it's probably a fake site. Limited options for payment Sites that plan to take your money and run will often show oddly specific payment options, from wire transfers to gift cards to cryptocurrency. The thing those payment methods have in common is that it's very difficult to get money back once it's spent. Sites geared around capturing your personal or payment information, on the other hand, may insist on getting your credit card. Typos, grammar, and linguistic errors Simple, silly language errors are often a red flag. Scammers may not be native English speakers, and it shows up in awkward or sometimes inappropriate phrasing. Errors in actual product listings aren't necessarily a smoking gun—you'll see them frequently on real Amazon pages—because they come from the manufacturers, who are often not English speakers. Language errors on the rest of the site are more of a concern. HTTP vs. HTTPS In the address bar of your browser, a legitimate retail site's URL will start with HTTPS, rather than HTTP, and will show a closed lock symbol. The majority of fake sites now also have an HTTPS URL and will show the lock (so this isn't as helpful as it used to be), but less-sophisticated scammers may miss that detail. You can automatically rule those ones out. And, of course, the biggest red flag of all is an unrealistically low price on the product you're looking for. We all want to get a really good deal, but that impulse will often lead you astray. If a shopping site fails those basic "eyeball" tests, the smart thing to do is just close that browser tab and walk away. If you want to dig deeper, or if you aren't sure, there are a few quick and easy ways to verify a site's legitimacy. Use a URL/website checker Remember those really sneaky fake URLs that use a letter from another alphabet? The best way to check those (and other problematic elements in a URL) is through a URL verifier/website reputation service, like the ones from URLVoid and Google . Just copy (don't click!) the link, and paste it into the checker. If the site is sketchy, they'll tell you. Look up the site on a registry Domain names all need to be registered and there are several lookup tools to check this, like ICANN's registration lookup (think of it as Spokeo for websites). If a site claims to be Amazon but was registered just a few weeks ago, that's a really big red flag. Similarly, if the site isn't located where it should be, or if the ownership data is obscured, that's grounds for concern. Turn to Google If you have a bad feeling about a particular site, do a quick Google or Bing (or whatever) search that pairs the site's name with keywords like "scam," "fraud," "bogus" or "ripoff" and see what comes up. If you get a lot of hits, that's definitely grounds for concern. Go Forth and Shop (Safely) If a given site fails any or all of those tests, then keeping your wallet in your pocket is definitely the smart choice. Instead of making the purchase, report the site instead to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the FTC's Report Fraud website. That will get the investigative wheels turning and may help protect someone less wary from falling victim to the scammers. As always, wariness and skepticism are your friends when it comes to avoiding scams. Don't click on links in emails, texts , or social media messages; instead, go to the company's site by typing the URL directly. If you search a company's page on Google, scroll down through the actual search results until you find it instead of clicking on the sponsored results or advertisements at the top. Most of all, remember the golden rule of scam avoidance: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Keeping those principles in mind, and using the tips given here to screen out dubious sites means you'll be able to shop 'til you drop (safely), despite the vast number of scammers out there. And that—as the credit card ads like to say—is priceless. This story was produced by Spokeo and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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