Year: 2024

 

Recommendations to avoid being scammed during online Christmas shopping

 

Christmas has become a prime setting for online fraud, due to the amount of shopping that takes place, and some people take advantage of this to launch scams adapted to this time of year. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has released a series of recommendations and warnings to ensure that nothing goes wrong this holiday season.

Fraudsters are “persistent in their attempts to deceive” users through a variety of channels, including text messages, malicious emails, malicious web pages and social media posts with false information, according to a note from Meta, with care being taken at this time to avoid being deceived.

Some attempts begin before the Christmas shopping season begins. For this reason, Meta recommends paying attention to emails and text messages received, avoiding sharing personal information and checking whether the website you are shopping on is trustworthy.

In addition to these more general tips, Meta adds others that are more relevant to this time of year. This is the case of fake Christmas gift boxes, advertisements that are shared through posts on social networks, promising gifts and prizes that do not exist. If someone comments on these posts, the scammers redirect them to messaging applications or Google websites, where they ask for data such as email address, telephone number, address or income level, so that they can be selected to win the prize.

Another scam involves discounted or free Christmas decorations, offering artificial Christmas trees and other decorations at “extremely low” prices. The scammers use videos of real people decorating the premises posted online and add voiceovers generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to describe the products and offers. If someone responds to these ads, they are redirected to websites, some created using Shoptify’s services, to make a fake purchase. Ultimately, the product, which does not exist, never reaches the user.

Meta also mentioned scams based on holiday vouchers. In this case, they follow the same modus operandi as the previous ones: they offer fake gift cards with the aim of tricking users into providing personal information in order to receive them. Specifically, they direct victims to pages that imitate social networks and ask them to fill out a form with their gender, age, income, employment status and level of interest in cryptocurrencies in order to participate in the prize draws. To make the situation more realistic, the websites present fake reviews claiming to have won previous prize draws “even though they thought it was a scam”.

PREVENTION

Firstly, Tobac said it is essential to “think like a hacker” and therefore be especially careful with recurring Christmas themes that can be used as a hook by cybercriminals to lure users into scams. This is the case, for example, with ads related to discounts that are “too good to be true”.

So, while users search for Christmas gifts and offers online, they should be aware of possible phishing attacks in emails and messages, as fraudsters often send their cyberattacks through these formats, pretending to be a well-known brand or even a bank.

In the same vein, sharing personal information on any online platform should also be avoided, as criminals often try to trick people into entering their bank details, for example. This also means that you need to be vigilant when it comes to payment, as they often tempt victims to pay in advance or use payment methods that cannot be reversed.

Anti-scam tools on WhatsApp and Instagram

To avoid falling victim to scams distributed through its main channels, Meta has asked customers to use its latest security tools, launched this year, on both the Facebook Marketplace shopping service and on WhatsApp and Instagram.

In the case of WhatsApp, if you receive a message from an unknown person, a context card appears with additional information about the user who wrote it. The same happens when you are added to an unknown group.

In particular, it details information such as whether the number belongs to a contact stored on the device or whether it is part of a common group. Similarly, in the case of an unknown group, information is displayed on whether it was added by a known contact, who created the group and the description of the group.

 

 

PJ dismantled one of the largest drug laboratories in Europe in the municipality of Lourinhã

 

The PJ – Polícia Judiciária dismantled 3^rd December in the municipality of Lourinhã, what it considers to be one of the largest cocaine laboratories, which had other European countries as its main destinations. It was a warehouse located in the parish of Reguengo Grande, which was closed by the police authorities as part of the ‘PACOBA’ operation.

Artur Vaz, director of the PJ’s National Unit for Combating Drug Trafficking, revealed in a press conference some details of the operation that began about a year ago and ended with the dismantling of what the PJ says is one of the largest industrial laboratories for extracting, transforming and packaging cocaine in Europe.

In May, the PJ had already seized almost a ton of cocaine and has now intercepted another half a ton that was allegedly being trafficked by the same drug trafficking network. “Given the quantities involved and taking into account the national reality, everything points to [the drugs] being destined for other European markets ” and not for exclusive national consumption, Artur Vaz explained to journalists.

The PJ arrested “seven individuals allegedly belonging to an organized criminal group “, four Portuguese and three foreigners (two Colombians and one Moroccan), some of whom “were already referenced” by the authorities, added the PJ director, who did not want to reveal the status of each of the elements in this trafficking network.

It was in this warehouse in the municipality of Lourinhã that the PJ found an industrial laboratory “ for processing cocaine paste, packaging and packing ”, where there were around 460 kilos of processed cocaine and another 32.5 kilos in the process of being processed. “ We believe this is the largest laboratory found to date in Portugal”, announced Artur Vaz.

When the inspectors of the Judicial Police arrived at the scene, they caught three of the detainees red-handed working on the “transformation of drugs in the laboratory”. The judicial authorities issued 20 search warrants for homes and other homes, as well as four arrest warrants. The PJ also seized two firearms, a press, various laboratory equipment, large quantities of chemical products, a large amount of cash, as well as several light and heavy vehicles.

The operation carried out last week follows the seizure of almost a thousand kilos of cocaine, which arrived in Portugal in May in a shipping container from Colombia. The container entered the country via the Port of Setúbal and contained the drug hidden at the bottom of cardboard boxes carrying around 20 tonnes of bananas. According to the police chief, since December last year the PJ has “detected and dismantled five laboratories of this type in various regions of the country”, and there is no evidence to suggest that there were any connections between the different drug trafficking network

The investigation into Operation ‘PACOBA’ by the PJ will continue and is being carried out as part of an inquiry led by the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP). It began following the exchange of information within the framework of international cooperation and in close collaboration and coordination with the police and judicial authorities of Colombia (National Police), Spain (National Police) and the United States (DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration, HSI – Homeland Security Investigations and CBP – Customs and Border Protection). This police operation also included the participation of the PJ’s Scientific Police Laboratory and the support of the National Republican Guard.

 

Online sexual abuse against children is on the rise at a dangerous rate

 

The president of the Child Support Institute (IAC) warned today that sexual abuse against children on the internet “is increasing in a particularly dangerous way” and called for reflection and concrete actions because “there is a lot to do”.

In an interview with the Lusa news agency, when her second term as director of the IAC, where she worked for around 20 years, ends, Dulce Rocha highlighted online sexual abuse as the main current danger for children and young people.

He argued that it is necessary to call on the various platforms and stop the dissemination of abusive content, giving as an example the case of the United Kingdom, where “very restrictive laws on abusive content” were approved, which allow it to be blocked.

Dulce Rocha pointed out that “it has been very difficult to achieve consensus” among the member states of the European Union and warned that “currently, both hate speech and abusive content are increasing in a frightening way”.

“There is a lot to do and MEPs cannot just worry about financial issues [because] the issue of children’s safety is fundamental,” she said.

“If we don’t have safety in children, we don’t have safety anywhere,” she added.

She warned that the fact that “the child is in the room does not mean that he is safe” and that, therefore, there should be more dialogue in families and schools, since children and young people “know much more about the internet than adults”, but adults understand the issue of dangers and insecurity much better.

“When they are on [social] networks, many children, many young people, escape us and this is becoming a bit dramatic and we should all sit down at the table to better understand how it works and how we can protect these children”, Dulce Rocha concluded.

 

 

 

Global overview

The month recorded a global mean temperature of 14.10 °C, 0.70 °C above the 1991–2020 mean (Fig. 1). The month is estimated to have been about 1.62 °C warmer than the 1850–1900 pre-industrial average, and is the 16th month in a 17-month period in which the global mean surface air temperature exceeded 1.5 °C.

In Portugal

November 2024 was classified as extremely hot in terms of air temperature and dry in terms of precipitation

It was the warmest November in the last 94 years; the mean value of the average air temperature, 15.14 °C, presents an anomaly of + 2.69 °C in relation to the 1981-2010 normal value.

The mean value of the maximum air temperature, 19.29 °C, was the 4th highest value since 1931, with a positive anomaly of 2.50 °C in relation to the mean value.

The average minimum air temperature, 10.99 °C, was 2.89 °C higher than normal, being the 3rd highest value since 1931 and the 2nd highest since 2000.

During the month, air temperature values ​​were almost always above the monthly average value, with 6 October standing out when 20% of the meteorological stations in the IPMA network recorded maximum temperature values ​​above 25 °C. On 6 November, the highest value of the month was recorded, 27.9 °C, at the Alcácer do Sal meteorological station.

Regarding precipitation, in November, the total monthly precipitation, 67.1 mm, was lower than the average value for 1981-2010 (-50.3 mm).

During the month of November, the most significant precipitation occurred on the 1st, 4/5, 14 to 16 and 24/25.

 

 

Free Vaccination against Flu and Covid-19 extended to people aged 50-57 years

 

Free seasonal vaccination against flu and Covid-19 will be extended to the population aged between 50 and 59 from Tuesday, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) announced today.

People between 50 and 59 years old “can schedule from December 17, 2024 [Tuesday] the vaccination against flu and against covid-19 in a health unit of the National Health Service or in participating community pharmacies”, said the DGS in a statement.

The extension to this age group “is taking place in light of the progress of the current vaccination campaign and the availability of vaccines”, said the DGS, highlighting that, to optimise individual and collective protection, scheduling should preferably be done before the Christmas and New Year festive period.

The vaccination of people aged 60 or over, people with comorbidities, health professionals and other risk groups remains a priority, the statement added.

With the approach of winter, the period of greatest circulation of respiratory viruses, the DGS appealed to eligible groups to get vaccinated, “especially with the approach of the Christmas festivities, moments of family gatherings and with friends”.

According to the latest data from the DGS, between September 20, when the current vaccination campaign began, and December 8, 1,467,039 people were vaccinated with the seasonal booster against covid-19 and 2,207,428 people against the flu.

The autumn-winter seasonal vaccination campaign is taking place at more than 3,500 vaccination points across the country, with the priority being to protect the most vulnerable people, preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death.

The on-line scheduling will be updated so to schedule a vaccination it is best at present to visit at a community Farmácia.

 

 

More than half a million traffic fines registered until July – most for speeding

 

There were more than 395 thousand speeding violations, of which only around 335 thousand were related to radars

More than half a million traffic violations were detected in the first seven months of the year, 6.2% more than in the same period in 2023, the majority of which were due to speeding, the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) revealed this Friday.

According to the ANSR report on 24-hour accidents and road inspection, from January to July 2024, 141.9 million vehicles were inspected, either in person or through automatic inspection methods, an increase of 79.8% compared to the same period in 2023.

Of the 141.9 million vehicles inspected in that period, the authorities detected 545.1 thousand infractions, which represents an increase of 6.2% compared to the same period in the previous year.

Most of the fines were for speeding, namely drivers caught by radars managed by the National Road Safety Authority, which recorded, in this period, a 49.6% increase in the number of infractions, rising from 224,464 from January to July 2023 to 335,801 in the same period this year.

According to the report, of the 395,492 speeding violations recorded, 335,801 were recorded using ANSR radars.

The document highlights that the number of drivers checked by the radar system under the responsibility of ANSR, totaling 136,719,761, increased by 88% between January and July, compared to the same period in 2023.

“SINCRO managed by ANSR registered an increase of 88.1%, in contrast to the PSP and GNR which registered decreases of 22.4% and 14.7%, respectively”, the document states.

The ANSR reports that 72.6% of the total number of fines registered in the first seven months of 2024 corresponded to speeding and 5.9% of the infractions were due to the lack of mandatory periodic inspection, and it was also found that driving under the influence of alcohol reached a weight of 2.8% of the total, the lack of insurance represented 1.8%, the use of a cell phone 1.6% and the failure to use a seat belt 1.3%.

Compared to the previous year, with the exception of speeding, which saw an increase of 23.1%, ANSR highlights that there were generalized decreases in all other types of infraction, highlighting the absence of seat belts (-44.9%), child restraint systems (-33.2%), use of a mobile phone while driving (-32.3%), excess alcohol (-21.4%) and lack of insurance (-14.0%).

 

 

 

 

 

The history of the Portuguese Firefighters is one of the richest and oldest in our country, it is more than 600 years of history, filled with unparalleled achievements and, above all, a unique dedication to the public cause and the safety and protection of the citizens, our heritage and the territory.

This show is a tribute to all of these men and women who are on the front lines of supporting populations in a wide variety of emergency situations.

To commemorate their mission we launched three tags: Rural Firefighting, Urban Fire and Victim Relief.

The launching ceremony of this Collection will be presided over by the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Paulo Simões Ribeiro, and will have the presence of representatives of partner entities.

Program:

 

 

High price of olive oil leads to increased fraud: ASAE warns of increasing criminal networks in Portugal

 

ASAE opened 54 criminal proceedings and 30 related administrative offences due to fraud in the olive oil sector until the end of October this year, which, according to ‘CNN Portugal’, is due to the price increase. “Most of them are related to fraud in the product itself”, indicated the inspector general Luís Lourenço. “If there is a greater possibility of economic gain, it is normal that there is a tendency for there to be more cases of fraud.”

There are an increasing number of criminal networks operating in Portugal, which has led the Food and Economic Safety Authority to make olive oil one of its top priorities for investigation this year, having even sent teams from other projects to investigate supply chains. “This year, we have seen this increase, we have already registered around ten more criminal proceedings compared to last year”, said the official – in the European Union, the number of cases has soared: in the first three months of the year, there were 50 infractions, three times the number recorded in the same period in 2018, when the price began to rise.

Counterfeiting networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, the official pointed out. “It is not possible to commit this type of crime individually, because the product has to go through several stages. A large part of the chain has to be aware of it,” he said, arguing that frauds involve lower quality products. “The issue is the remaining product, which may not be of such high quality, and in this case, there has to be a network that makes this type of change.”

ASAE seized at least 350 thousand euros in operations related to olive oil fraud, which became widespread in the falsification of labels, which brought great economic advantages to criminal networks when the price of olive oil reached substantially high levels. “In previous years, there was no economic advantage in producing this type of label, so they did not appear on the market, which brings a new complexity in terms of investigation. We need to investigate the entire chain”, highlighted Luís Gonçalves. “We also found false mentions of organic production, misleading consumers into buying products that do not correspond to what is promised.”

Throughout the year, ASAE seized nearly 100,000 litres of counterfeit cooking oil and olive oil, and closed at least five establishments, having seized more than 350,000 euros related to fraudulent practices in the olive oil sector. “This increase in prices, combined with the lack of the product itself, smaller productions and the market itself working, led us to take greater action”, said the inspector general. “ASAE’s intervention was aimed at ensuring the quality of the national product, and maintaining this quality so that there is no distrust in the market.”

 

 

 

Human trafficking: number of victims increases by 25%, majority are women and girls

 

The conclusion is from a UN report, which states that the majority of women and girls identified among the victims continue to be trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

The global number of victims of human trafficking has increased again (25%), after falling during the Covid-19 pandemic, with women and girls remaining in the majority, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Wednesday.

The conclusions are from the ” Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024 ” , released this Wednesday by UNODC, and which covers 156 countries from all regions and sub-regions of the world (95% of the world population), with data from the period 2020-2022 and other preliminary data from 2023 provided by only 72 States.

The report points to a 25% increase in the number of trafficking victims detected globally in 2022, compared to pre-pandemic figures from 2019. Between 2019 and 2022, the global number of victims of trafficking for forced labour increased by 47%.

In total, between 2020 and 2023, the number of trafficking victims reported by Member States amounted to 202,478.

“This trend can be attributed to the 31% increase in children detected compared to the period before the Covid-19 pandemic,” the report points out.

Victims are trafficked globally through an increasing number of international routes, with African victims to the largest number of destinations.

Most victims are women and girls, child victims are increasing

In 2022, the majority of human trafficking victims were women and girls (61%). Although the number of underage victims has increased since 2019, adults remain the most common age group, with adult women accounting for 39% of victims.

The majority of women and girls identified among the victims continue to be trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. However, female victims are also trafficked in large numbers for forced labour, particularly domestic work, and for other types of exploitation, including forced marriage and criminality.

While previous editions of this report have shown how child trafficking, especially in the context of forced labour, typically occurred in low-income countries, recent data show that while child trafficking is still detected in these areas, it has been increasing in high-income countries.

This occurs mainly in the case of girls trafficked for sexual exploitation (60%).

“Trafficking of girls for sexual exploitation is on an alarming rise in many regions of the world. The international community and national authorities must step up efforts to prevent this form of trafficking, to ensure victim-centred and trauma-informed investigations, as well as tailored protection and assistance programmes for girl victims.”

The growing number of children along migration routes may explain the rising number of trafficked boys. After the pandemic, more unaccompanied and separated children were registered at the borders of Europe and North America, regions where more boys are victims of trafficking.

“In 2022, children accounted for 38% of detected victims globally. Girls (22% of total victims) were most typically trafficked for sexual exploitation and, to a lesser extent, for forced labour and other forms of exploitation, such as forced marriage. Boys (16%) were primarily trafficked for forced labour and other forms of exploitation, typically forced criminality.”

Since 2019, there has been an increase of approximately 31% in child victims, 38% among girls.

Types of Human Trafficking: Forced Labor Sees One of the Biggest Increases

Already in the context of ongoing conflicts and climate-induced disasters, the risk of human trafficking is increasing as one of the direct consequences of global instability and climate change, resulting in forcibly displaced populations, the report concludes.

Looking more broadly at the types of human trafficking, since 2019 forced labor has seen greater increases (per 100,000 inhabitants) than trafficking for sexual exploitation and other purposes.

“Trafficking for forced labour has increased by 47% globally when compared to the period before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Although trafficking for forced labour is now more commonly detected than trafficking for sexual exploitation, far fewer traffickers are convicted of this crime.

In 2022, more than 70% of traffickers were convicted of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and only 17% were convicted of trafficking for forced labour, in contrast to 42% of victims detected in 2022.

According to UNODC, most human trafficking is perpetrated by organized crime groups.

In 2022, men accounted for around 70% of those investigated, prosecuted and convicted for human trafficking and the number of people convicted globally returned to slightly below 2019 levels, but with an increase of around 36% compared to 2020.

 

 

 

 

With over 70% of Europeans living in urban areas, cities are key to implementing the European Green Deal and fostering a sustainable, low-carbon society. Since 2010, the European Green Capital Award has recognised cities’ efforts to become greener and cleaner.

On 27 November 2024, the European Commission announced Guimarães, Portugal, as the European Green Capital of 2026 thanks to its commitment to continuously improving sustainable development and its results in seven environmental management areas. The city has made sustainability a central part of its culture, as exemplified in its motto, ‘One Planet City’.

The Commission announced the winners of the 2026 European Green Cities Awards on Wednesday (27 Nov), with Guimarães (Portugal) taking the European Green Capital prize and the European Green Leaf award for smaller cities going to Águeda (Portugal) and Vaasa (Finland).

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 17 November 2024, shows Guimarães from above.