It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
500 Indian And Sri Lankan Maids Duped In Singapore In 2023 - Here's how it happened?
By Saumya Joshi | Published: Thursday, April 4, 2024
In 2023, Singapore witnessed a surge in scam cases, reaching a record high, as disclosed by Home Minister K Shanmugam. These scams predominantly targeted migrants, with an 18 percent rise in reported cases, particularly affecting individuals from India and Sri Lanka.
The police reported a total of 46,563 scam incidents, resulting in a loss of SGD 651.8 million, marking the highest number of scam cases since tracking began in 2016. Among the victims were approximately 500 foreign maids from South Asian nations, primarily India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, who migrate to Singapore seeking better job opportunities, higher wages, and a stable socio-economic environment.
Maid from Myanmar Falls Victim to Scam via Viber Messaging App in 2020
In 2020, a maid from Myanmar found herself targeted through the messaging application Viber, where she was contacted by an individual claiming to be a bank staff member. The imposter requested her personal details under the guise of "updating" her ATM card. Unbeknownst to her, approximately SGD2,600 was withdrawn from her account, leaving her with only SGD45. Fortunately, she was able to recover SGD1,700 from the bank, according to a report by a Singaporean newspaper.
Government Measures to Combat Scam Spike and Protect Migrant Workers Measures to prevent the surge in scams and safeguard migrant workers are being implemented by the government.
When asked about tracking the number of affected workers and preventive actions, Minister Shanmugam assured that efforts are underway to raise awareness and provide training to workers to recognize and avoid scams.
The police had previously noted that foreign maids were primarily targeted by phishing, Internet love, and loan scams in 2021.
Under the Ministry of Manpower's mandatory settling-in program, workers are required to adopt self-protection measures against scams. Additionally, authorities conduct regular anti-scam education initiatives to keep workers informed about the latest scam trends and empower them to advocate for scam prevention within their communities.
The annual scam statistics for 2023 reveal that Singaporeans have incurred losses exceeding $2.3 billion since 2019. To mitigate the impact of financial scams, efforts are focused not only on educating workers but also on implementing the Domestic Guardians Programme. This program trains migrant domestic workers on preventing common crimes like housebreaking, trespassing, and abuse.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Canadians paying billions of dollars in 'excess' bank fees: report
KA CHING! HOW BANKS MAKE RECORD PROFITS
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
As the federal government pushes to reduce bank fees, a report from consultancy North Economics figures Canadians are overpaying by billions of dollars a year.
The report by the Alberta-based firm compared fees at the Canadian Big Five banks — RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank — with what consumers face in the U.K. and Australia.
It shows that Canadians pay much more per month for bank accounts, as well as for fees for non-sufficient funds, overdraft charges, and accessing ATMs at competitor banks.
To get a sense of just how much more Canadians pay, North Economics managing director Alain de Bossart looked at how Canadian and British non-interest retail bank profits compare with their deposits. The measure excludes interest-based profits from mortgages and other loans.
Using the retail banking profits to deposits ratio for 2022, he found that Canada's five biggest banks had $7.73 billion in "excess" income. The number works out to about $250 per Canadian.
"Canadian banks have done a very good job of extracting as many fees out of people as possible," said de Bossart.
He said he's been wanting to delve into the issue since moving to Canada from the U.K. about seven years ago.
"The first thing that struck me was that you pretty much have to pay a monthly fee, for just allowing a bank to hold your day-to-day deposits," said de Bossart.
"In the U.K., you can hold multiple bank accounts with multiple banks, and expect to pay no monthly charges at all for a bank account that allows you to do everything you would reasonably expect to do in a month."
The Canadian Bankers Association said in a statement that Canada's banks provide the tools Canadians and small businesses need to manage their finances.
"Our country’s competitive banking system provides good value, ready access and wide choice for consumers and businesses," said spokeswoman Maggie Cheung. “The banking sector understands the importance of financial well-being to all Canadians, and that many Canadians are feeling additional pressure on their budgets.”
The report highlights that along with major banks in the U.K. and Australia offering free accounts to all consumers, they also charge either nothing or only a few dollars when a customer is hit with non-sufficient funds. Canadian banks charge between $45 and $50 each time.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has been pushing to improve low-cost banking options and lowering non-sufficient fund fees but has yet to do so, which de Bossart said prompted him to look into the issue.
The report also notes that Canadian banks generally charge $5 for overdraft protection, either on a monthly or per instance basis, whereas U.K. banks charge nothing (though banks in the U.K. do charge higher interest on the overdrafted amount).
Canadian also often face multiple fees when using the ATM of a bank where they don't have an account, which can run anywhere from $1 to $9, while consumers in the both Australia and the U.K. aren't charged anything, he said.
Cheung said the banking sector "understands the importance of financial well-being to all Canadians, and that many Canadians are feeling additional pressure on their budgets.”
She noted that according to recent data from the Bank of Canada, roughly 57 per cent of Canadians either do not pay for a bank account or had their monthly fee waived or refunded.
No-cost accounts are available to groups like young people, students and seniors, but the North Economics report notes there is no free option offered to all Canadians.
It also points out that while customers can avoid paying fees if they keep a high enough balance in their account, that amount can run anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000. That means the lump sump can't be generating more via a different account with better interest rates.
De Bossart said the lower fees in the U.K. and Australia are in part a result of regulators having a stronger mandate to encourage competition, including through things like making it easier to switch accounts.
“The regulation mandate has really included a competition mandate, so the idea of promoting and enhancing competitive behaviours in the market, whereas in Canada, that's really not something that is being considered."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2024.
Friday, March 08, 2024
Canadians paying billions of dollars in 'excess' bank fees: report
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
As the federal government pushes to reduce bank fees, a report from consultancy North Economics figures Canadians are overpaying by billions of dollars a year.
The report by the Alberta-based firm compared fees at the Canadian Big Five banks — RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank — with what consumers face in the U.K. and Australia.
It shows that Canadians pay much more per month for bank accounts, as well as for fees for non-sufficient funds, overdraft charges, and accessing ATMs at competitor banks.
To get a sense of just how much more Canadians pay, North Economics managing director Alain de Bossart looked at how Canadian and British non-interest retail bank profits compare with their deposits. The measure excludes interest-based profits from mortgages and other loans.
Using the retail banking profits to deposits ratio for 2022, he found that Canada's five biggest banks had $7.73 billion in "excess" income. The number works out to about $250 per Canadian.
"Canadian banks have done a very good job of extracting as many fees out of people as possible," said de Bossart.
He said he's been wanting to delve into the issue since moving to Canada from the U.K. about seven years ago.
"The first thing that struck me was that you pretty much have to pay a monthly fee, for just allowing a bank to hold your day-to-day deposits," said de Bossart.
"In the U.K., you can hold multiple bank accounts with multiple banks, and expect to pay no monthly charges at all for a bank account that allows you to do everything you would reasonably expect to do in a month."
The Canadian Bankers Association said in a statement that Canada's banks provide the tools Canadians and small businesses need to manage their finances.
"Our country’s competitive banking system provides good value, ready access and wide choice for consumers and businesses," said spokeswoman Maggie Cheung. “The banking sector understands the importance of financial well-being to all Canadians, and that many Canadians are feeling additional pressure on their budgets.”
The report highlights that along with major banks in the U.K. and Australia offering free accounts to all consumers, they also charge either nothing or only a few dollars when a customer is hit with non-sufficient funds. Canadian banks charge between $45 and $50 each time.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has been pushing to improve low-cost banking options and lowering non-sufficient fund fees but has yet to do so, which de Bossart said prompted him to look into the issue.
The report also notes that Canadian banks generally charge $5 for overdraft protection, either on a monthly or per instance basis, whereas U.K. banks charge nothing (though banks in the U.K. do charge higher interest on the overdrafted amount).
Canadian also often face multiple fees when using the ATM of a bank where they don't have an account, which can run anywhere from $1 to $9, while consumers in the both Australia and the U.K. aren't charged anything, he said.
Cheung said the banking sector "understands the importance of financial well-being to all Canadians, and that many Canadians are feeling additional pressure on their budgets.”
She noted that according to recent data from the Bank of Canada, roughly 57 per cent of Canadians either do not pay for a bank account or had their monthly fee waived or refunded.
No-cost accounts are available to groups like young people, students and seniors, but the North Economics report notes there is no free option offered to all Canadians.
It also points out that while customers can avoid paying fees if they keep a high enough balance in their account, that amount can run anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000. That means the lump sump can't be generating more via a different account with better interest rates.
De Bossart said the lower fees in the U.K. and Australia are in part a result of regulators having a stronger mandate to encourage competition, including through things like making it easier to switch accounts.
“The regulation mandate has really included a competition mandate, so the idea of promoting and enhancing competitive behaviours in the market, whereas in Canada, that's really not something that is being considered."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2024.
Friday, December 29, 2023
UK
Post Office breaks daily cash withdrawal record amid cost of living crisis
Mark Sweney Thu, 28 December 2023 Photograph: Lucy Ray/PA
More than £62m in cash was withdrawn from Post Office branches on the Friday before Christmas, the most ever in a single day, as people rushed to finish their festive shopping.
The record withdrawals on 22 December from the 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK beat the previous record of just over £51m, set on the final Friday before Christmas last year.
The record also reflects the sharp increase in the cost of living over the past two years as the rate of inflation hit a 41-year high of 11.1% late last year, although it has since eased to 3.9% in November, the lowest rate of increase in two years.
“For some people, being able to withdraw cash for free helped them to finish last-minute shopping for the big day, for others it may have been a last-minute gift,” said Ross Borkett, head of banking at the Post Office.”
Cash payments have made a wider comeback during the cost of living crisis, as people turn to “tangible” physical money to help them manage their budgets. In 2022, cash payments increased for the first time in a decade, rising by 7% to reach 6.4bn payments according to the banking body UK Finance.
On Christmas Day this year, when about 1,500 Post Office branches mostly located in convenience stores were open, personal customers withdrew £800,000.
However, it was also a day that recorded a significant number of consumers aiming to bank their Christmas gifts of cash and cheques, with £1.1m in personal deposits made. Business customers also deposited £1.06m through Post Office branches on Christmas Day.
“Millions of people rely on being able to access cash every day at their local Post Office and it is no different on Christmas Day,” said Borkett.
“Business cash deposits being made on Christmas Day indicate just how vital it is that pub and restaurant owners have somewhere open and convenient to deposit their much-needed Christmas cash takings ahead of a quieter January.”
Cash withdrawals hit all-time high on last Friday before Christmas – Post Office Anna Wise, PA Business Reporter Thu, 28 December 2023
The amount of cash withdrawn at Post Offices hit an all-time high on the last Friday before Christmas as people sourced last-minute gifts, the group has revealed.
More than £62 million was withdrawn by personal customers on Friday December 22, the highest amount ever taken out on a single day.
The total beats the previous record by more than £10 million, when £51.5 million was taken out over the counter on Friday December 23 2022.
Some £800,000 was withdrawn on Christmas Day itself, the Post Office revealed.
Furthermore, about £1.1 million was deposited by personal customers and the same amount by business customers over the counter.
Ross Borkett, the Post Office’s head of banking, said: “For some people, being able to withdraw cash for free helped them to finish last-minute shopping for the big day, for others it may have been a last-minute gift.
“Business cash deposits being made on Christmas Day indicate just how vital it is that pub and restaurant owners have somewhere open and convenient to deposit their much-needed Christmas cash takings ahead of a quieter January.”
ATM network Link also said the last Friday before Christmas had been the busiest day of the year for cash withdrawals, and the biggest total since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Around £460 million was withdrawn on December 22, on what was the last working day before Christmas for many people, ahead of a four-day break.
The average value of a withdrawal on that day was just under £105, according to Link.
Link chief executive John Howells said: “We generally see higher withdrawals ahead of bank holidays and the end of the month, but ATM use is changing.
“Pre-pandemic, people would typically visit ATMs around twice a week and take out around £65. Post-Covid, with more people comfortable using contactless payments, people tend to visit once and take out more, on average £85.
“Over the past few years, our research shows cash use is highest at convenience stores, supermarkets but also paying family and friends.”
The Post Office has previously stressed that businesses, particularly in the leisure and hospitality sector, rely on its branches to deposit cash, especially in communities where bank branches have been shut down.
It has also suggested that the rising cost of living has led people to increasingly turn to cash to manage their budgets on a weekly basis and often day by day.
Simon Trevethick, head of communications at StepChange Debt Charity, said: “Christmas is always a difficult time for people in financial difficulty, but this year more than most, given the past two years of rampant inflation and rising interest rates, millions of households are feeling the squeeze.
“Our research earlier this month found that one in four people said they would struggle to afford Christmas this year, rising to more than one in three households with children.”
Cat Farrow, chief operating officer at Cash Access UK, said: “Although more people are making digital and contactless payments, cash is still important to millions of people to help manage their money, and it’s still a popular way of giving gifts to family members.”
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
U$A
Scripps News survey finds $70M stolen from food assistance program
Forty-six states reported, in an exclusive Scripps News survey, $70,655,962 stolen from recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Before Burnes Garrison goes to her local grocery store, she plans. She has a strict budget and a set of criteria: Is it shelf-stable? Does it freeze well? Is it healthy?
“Buy your chicken, your beef, you know, your fish and then your vegetables,” she said. “Stuff like that, you know, trying to keep healthy."
The food she buys usually lasts for a month; she tries to buy in bulk to support her family. In 2012, she became the guardian of her grandkids, who moved into her Baltimore home after their mother passed away.
With more mouths to suddenly feed and on a fixed income, Garrison turned to the federal government for food assistance.
“[My] Grandson ... eat like a man working two jobs, you know, and the food stamps SNAP program helps a lot,” she said.
BURNES GARRISON IN HER BALTIMORE HOME (ZACH CUSSON / SCRIPPS NEWS)
Since 1939, the federal government has helped millions of Americans buy food. Today, the program is known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP for short. It’s funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and more than 20 million low-income households – including Burnes Garrison – receive a monthly stipend to help put food on the table.
But when Garrison was checking out at her neighborhood market with her grandson earlier this year, something unexpected happened when she tried to pay: Her card with SNAP benefits on it was declined.
“A young man behind the counter said, ‘There's nothing on your card,’” she said. But it was Feb. 11, and Garrison always got her benefits on the 10th of each month.
“I just checked this last night to prepare for the day and it was $360 on this card,” she said.
She was forced to return the meat and vegetables she was planning to buy to the store shelves. When she got home, she called the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, the local department that administers her benefits. An official confirmed her account was empty and they said her food benefits had been used at a Target in Minneapolis.
“Minneapolis, Minnesota? I live in Baltimore,” she said. “I don't know anybody in Minneapolis.” A Scripps News investigation found Garrison is one of thousands of SNAP recipients from across the country whose food benefits have been electronically stolen.
To get a sense of the scale of this ongoing crime, Scripps News reporters sent surveys to agencies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. We found at least 106,000 cases of stolen food benefits across 46 states, costing taxpayers more than $70 million.
“It's awful. It's horrible. I don't understand why they're doing it,” said Garrison.
When arrison signed up for SNAP benefits in 2012, she received an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. The card functions like a debit card: Money is loaded onto her card each month that, with a swipe, she can use to buy eligible food items at certain stores.
But these EBT cards are what make SNAP benefits an easy target for thieves. Unlike most modern credit and debit cards that have microchip and “card-tapping” capabilities, EBT cards still rely on a magnetic strip and a PIN. It’s this archaic payment mechanism that leaves these cards vulnerable to skimming devices that criminals place on top of card readers. Whenever someone swipes their card, the skimming device captures their card information. It’s a security flaw that is robbing taxpayers of tens of millions of dollars.
“There's all these security features in the private credit card and debit card sector that just don't exist with EBT cards,” said Michelle Salomon Madaio, the director of economic justice for the Homeless Persons Representation Project, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services for low-income persons. “When folks go to the department to find out why is there nothing on my card, they're told sometimes that 'Oh, well, in the middle of the night the entire balance was withdrawn' ... other families have been told 'Oh well, there was a purchase in California and New York.'” How thieves are doing it
Scripps News saw just how easy it is for these skimming devices to be installed. We obtained surveillance footage of criminals walking into grocery and convenience stores and planting skimming devices on top of card readers in checkout lanes.
“It fits perfectly and matches to the device that's there in the store,” said Commander John Haines, head of the criminal investigation division of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. “Just looking at it, you wouldn't be able to tell that anything is different. It literally takes seconds to put on.”
Haines said thieves then either sell the stolen data or use it to make fake cards which can be used to buy items eligible for SNAP purchases.
“That's what the plan is. As soon as the money hits the account, spend it as quickly as possible,” said Haines.
Across the country, law enforcement officials are playing whack-a-mole with card skimmers. Haines said incidents of theft come and go like waves.
“Last year, we had a wave that came, literally we could see it coming up from Florida, coming all the way up the East Coast,” he said. “We recovered a little over a dozen devices in a 30-day time period last year. And then right after us, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, all had the exact same thing happen. We do believe it was one group of people who clearly were organized in what they're doing.”
Haines said they haven’t made any arrests in that case because these types of cases are hard to solve. The devices themselves don’t have any clues that tell law enforcement who placed it and when. By the time someone reports it to the police, the criminal is long gone with the data.
Scripps News also learned possessing a skimming device isn’t illegal in D.C. Haines explained it’s illegal to capture information using a skimming device, but it’s not against the law to own the device. Our own analysis found that, like D.C., 28 states do not have laws that specifically make it illegal to possess a skimming device.
“If I had it here in my pocket and you stop me, there's no crime you can charge me with,” Haines said. “It's kind of a loophole in the law that I know we're looking at trying to work with our legislators here and see if maybe that's something that we can plug up so the actual placing of it and the possession of it to be illegal.”
But some investigations have been successful. In March, law enforcement arrested 15 individuals, some who were Romanian nationals, for allegedly stealing benefits in California. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department confiscated $129,000 and 429 fake cards.
Just a state over, Arizona law enforcement seized more than 1,200 fake SNAP cards and more than 3,200 cans of baby formula bought using stolen benefits. According to the state attorney general’s office, “more than 2,700 individual victims lost over $1.2 million in stolen SNAP benefits.”
CONFISCATED SKIMMING DEVICES (TOP LEFT), BABY FORMULA (TOP RIGHT) AND FAKE SNAP CARDS. (PHOTOS PROVIDED BY ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE)
“Law enforcement is being overwhelmed with this,” said Haywood Talcove, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Government Division. His team started to analyze stolen SNAP benefits in October of 2022. “There are thousands of these going on a day across the country, right? They don't have the resources, nor do they have the technical capability.”
Talcove says SNAP cards should have microchips, but he also wants the USDA to implement two-factor authentication, so users can stop their benefits from being spent across state lines.
“You need to add on some tools like multi-factor authentication to say: Is this really you? Did you really mean to go ahead and do this?” he said.
A spokesperson for the USDA said in a statement that the agency does not tolerate fraud and officials work closely with “state and federal partners, law enforcement, SNAP retailers, EBT processors, and other industry experts to protect SNAP benefits.”
In March, the USDA launched a partnership with five states to test “mobile contactless payments” in the food program. SNAP recipients in Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri and Oklahoma will be able to tap or scan their phones to pay for food, instead of swiping their card. USDA did not say if this advanced payment mechanism will be rolled out nationwide.
The spokesperson added that state administrators have the option to adopt chip-enabled cards and the USDA will “provide technical assistance” and “support” to them.
Last year, Congress passed a bill to reimburse victims of stolen SNAP benefits, like Garrison. But the funding only applies to benefits stolen between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2024.
U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger from Maryland hopes his bill will change that. He told us our reporting led him to introduce legislation to provide permanent funding for reimbursements and beef up security for the SNAP program.
“What this is doing is lining the pockets of criminals and hurting, you know, all of these people who are in a less-fortunate situation, and that's inexcusable,” he said. “It needs to be done because in the end that’s the only way you’re going to stop it.”
In the meantime, what kind of security features are available depends on where SNAP recipients live. States have contracts with third-party companies that process EBT payments and provide different levels of security. For example, in Wisconsin and Arizona, SNAP recipients can use a mobile app to request a temporary deactivation of their cards and block out-of-state or online purchases. But no state currently offers microchip technology.
There are other steps SNAP recipients can take to protect themselves, such as avoiding using a simple PIN like 1111.
“First, do not use a small retailer to get your provisions. Use a big retailer. They have much better security,” Talcove said. “The second thing that you should do is when you're using your card, even at the bigger retailers, put your hand over it when you're entering in the PIN number. The third thing that you should do is change your PIN number every month.”
But advocates like Madaio say it doesn’t matter if this is a state or federal issue: The bottom line is that people are being harmed.
“We've worked with families who have not been able to pay their rent, get an eviction notice, families who can't afford to pay the utility bill. It's very costly,” she said.
'You'll survive'
Losing her benefits meant Garrison didn’t pay her phone and cable bills that month. And she could only afford to pay half of her electric and gas bill.
“I was like, OK, you’ll survive, you’ll survive, but you don't know how devastating it can be,” said Garrison. “You have a budget. You know this is going to happen. We're going to go to the market. We're going to do this. We're going to do that. And then all of a sudden it just disappears. It does something to you.”
Some states, like Maryland, have their own state-funded reimbursement programs. In response to our national survey, 39 states said they had already reimbursed some 70,000 thefts a total of $52.9 million using a combination of state and federal funds.
Two months after her benefits were taken, Garrison was notified by the state of Maryland the money that was stolen was going to be replaced.
BURNES GARRISON RECOLLECTS HOW WORRIED SHE WAS WHEN SHE FOUND OUT HER SNAP BENEFITS WERE STOLEN. (ZACH CUSSON / SCRIPPS NEWS)
But the financial toll doesn’t compare to the emotional one. The most important thing to Garrison was to make sure her grandson was fed.
“I don't want him to worry about things that he shouldn't have to worry about. He should be worried about going to school, getting an education and planning for the future,” she said, teary-eyed. “I don't need him to be at school worrying about whether he’s going to have something to eat or not when he comes home.”
But it’s not just SNAP benefits that are being targeted. Scripps News learned other federal assistance programs that disburse benefits on EBT cards, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), are also being stolen. TANF are cash benefits that can be withdrawn from an ATM.
“I woke up on the third, I’m pregnant, went to call my card and found out that my benefits were swiped,” said Courtney Obee, a Baltimore resident whose TANF benefits were withdrawn in Miami, two hours after they were deposited into her account. “They took $1,300, $1,320 to be exact.”
For Erika Johnson, a mom of five who also lives in Baltimore, it happened a day later. Her account activity shows someone spent her $460 in SNAP benefits at a BJ’s in Tampa and withdrew $1,110 at a Tampa Target store.
“Florida? I’ve never even been to Florida personally myself, so I’m not understanding how it happened,” said Johnson. “It’s a hurtful feeling. I made promises to my kids and others I was unable to keep, so it’s hard.”
At the time, these women were denied reimbursements, and Johnson felt she was being treated differently because she received federal assistance benefits. "I feel like we should be protected as if this was the Bank of America or Wells Fargo or something like that. I feel like we should be protected just as they are,” she said.
Michelle Salomon Madaio, director of economic justice at the Homeless Persons Representation Project, says that by not prioritizing these families, the U.S. has a “second-class consumer system.” Certain protections under federal law require banks to reimburse customers for unauthorized fraudulent transactions, but no such law exists for federal assistance benefits.
“The majority of recipients in this program are children; there's a high percentage of people living with disabilities. So, I think if we as a society truly saw people as deserving of food and cash assistance, we would have the same level of response that we do when the same crime happens to someone who holds a credit card,” said Madaio.
Friday, December 08, 2023
German insurers say blown-up ATMs cost €110m in damages in 2022
2023/12/06
A destroyed ATM stands in a shopping center in Neu-Hohenschoenhausen after perpetrators have blown it up. Some €110 million ($118.6 million) in damage was caused by cash machines, or ATMs, being blown up in Germany last year, the German insurance industry said on Wednesday.
Paul Zinken/dpa
Some €110 million ($118.6 million) in damage was caused by cash machines, or ATMs, being blown up in Germany last year, the German insurance industry said on Wednesday.
"Cash accounted for around €30 million of this," Anja Käfer-Rohrbach, deputy managing director of the German Insurance Association (GDV), explained.
In 2022, the police registered a new high of 496 cases of ATMs being blown up, according to the GDV. In the previous year, there had been around 100 fewer cases. In total, there are around 55,000 ATMs in Germany.
As possible preventative measures, the association suggests closing bank lobbies at night, installing burglar alarms and video surveillance and colouring banknotes to mark them.
Researchers profile pollutants present in an important river basin in São Paulo state, Brazil
Scientists analyzed samples taken at 15 points in the basin and detected 45 contaminants, including compounds from agricultural, industrial and household effluents not yet regulated by Brazilian legislation
The Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaà (PCJ) River Basin comprises 76 municipalities in São Paulo state, Brazil, with more than 5.8 million inhabitants and a drainage area of more than 14,000 square kilometers. These three rivers and their tributaries are essential sources of drinking water, energy, irrigation for agriculture and water for industrial processes. Demand is very high, and the resulting water shortage is exacerbated by the climate crisis. This is not the only problem or the worst, however: the many rivers, brooks and creeks in the basin are severely contaminated by agricultural, industrial and domestic effluents.
Visible evidence of this pollution is frequently highlighted by the media, but until now there have been no in-depth scientific studies that identify the main contaminated areas, the specific contaminants and mixtures of contaminants, with their concentrations, occurrences and toxicities, and the potential risks to people and aquatic organisms.
Just such a study has recently been completed by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and colleagues affiliated with other institutions in Brazil and abroad.
“Besides the usual contaminants, which are well-known and subject to legislation, we also found emerging contaminants not covered by any legislation and with levels of toxicity in conditions of chronic exposure. Our study provides the first overview of the occurrence of PFAS compounds in São Paulo’s rivers,” said Cassiana Carolina Montagner, a professor at UNICAMP’s Institute of Chemistry and principal investigator for the study.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of thousands of synthetic chemical compounds used by industry in a vast array of products to make them waterproof, stain-resistant and non-stick. Most non-stick cooking pans are coated with a form of PFAS, for example.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to PFASs causes many human health problems, including an increased risk of kidney, prostate and testicular cancer. “The occurrence of seven PFASs in different rivers in São Paulo state is reported for the first time in our study,” Montagner said. “We also detected many other contaminants, making a total of 45. The most frequent were the agricultural pesticides atrazine, carbendazim, tebuthiuron and 2,4-D, which we found in 100% of the samples collected. Caffeine and bisphenol A [BPA], which enter rivers in household waste, were also in 100% of the samples.”
Caffeine is well-tolerated by humans but can be extremely harmful to aquatic organisms, Montagner noted. BPA is an organic chemical (2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) propane) used in the production of polymers and high-performance coatings. Plastic containing BPA is used in appliances, computers, toys, disposable cutlery, baby bottles, food and drink can linings and epoxy resin. BPA is also often used to coat the thermal paper used in cash registers and credit card receipts, ATM printouts and other everyday transactions.
Underscoring the severity of all this pollution, it should be noted that the area served by the PCJ Basin is important agriculturally and industrially, contains several major cities, and accounts for 5.3% of Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP). Highlights include sugarcane growing in Piracicaba, textiles in Americana, and a large population in Campinas (1.1m in 2022).
“Not only is the PCJ Basin the main source of drinking water for the entire area, but it also supplies water for irrigation, which isn’t treated at all before farmers use it. At the same time, the region contains many small towns that discharge raw sewage into the rivers,” Montagner said.
Emerging contaminants such as pesticides, hormones, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and PFASs are being dumped in the PCJ Basin, and no monitoring is required by the existing Brazilian legislation.
“In our study, we collected samples at 15 different points in the basin and measured the contaminants present considering three factors: concentration, frequency and toxicity. Alongside the high frequencies already mentioned, we obtained elevated risk quotients for the herbicides diuron and atrazine, as well as the insecticide imidacloprid,” she said.
“In addition to longstanding unsolved pollution problems, such as contamination by fecal coliforms, for example, new problems are being caused by the presence of emerging contaminants, which are produced to guarantee the quality of modern life but pollute the environment owing to mismanagement of solid waste and inefficient sanitation. Our study suggests the need for a comprehensive monitoring program to assure the protection of aquatic life and human health.”
Monitoring
In response to enquiries from Agência FAPESP, the São Paulo State Environmental Corporation (CETESB) stated that it currently samples water at 519 points, of which 91 are in the PCJ Basin, analyzing traditional parameters such as organic matter, nutrients, fecal coliforms and metals, as well as agrochemicals and some emerging compounds, which it quantifies indirectly by means of two assays: one measuring estrogen activity to detect endocrine interferents (which mimic female hormones, including BPA); and another measuring glucocorticoid activity to detect anti-inflammatory drugs.
The statement also said CETESB has measured 42 different agrochemicals since 2017 in water samples from rivers in mainly agricultural areas.
“In the case of the PCJ Basin, we have monitored agrochemicals since 2018 in the headwaters of the Corumbataà [...] in the municipality of Analândia, where land use is agricultural in 65% of the basin. The agrochemicals most frequently detected in this part of the Corumbataà during the period 2018-22 were the insecticide imidacloprid [also very frequent in the samples analyzed by the UNICAMP researchers] and the herbicide tebuthiuron [found in 100% of the samples analyzed in the study]. Concentrations of imidacloprid frequently exceeded the chronic ecotoxicity limit for aquatic invertebrates set by the EPA [via the Office of Pesticide Programs, OPP], which is 10 ng/L [nanograms per liter]. In the same period, we did not detect 2,4 D or atrazine [both detected in 100% of the samples analyzed by the UNICAMP researchers], for which quality standards are specified for the protection of aquatic life in federal legislation [National Environmental Council (CONAMA) Resolution 357/2005],” the statement from CETESB said.
Finally, the statement said no values have been established in legislation for estrogen or glucocorticoid activity, adding that the “levels found in both of these two assays during the last five years in the PCJ Basin are considered low or insignificant on the basis of studies performed previously and international experience.”
About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.
Uncovering the impact of agricultural activities and urbanization on rivers from the Piracicaba, Capivari, and Jundiaà basin in São Paulo, Brazil: A survey of pesticides, hormones, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and PFAS
Sunday, November 26, 2023
EU Airspace closures, staff shortages and ageing tech: What’s behind 2023’s air traffic disruption?
2023 has been a disruptive year for air traffic control in Europe. Why is this, and will it continue into 2024?
We all appreciate the pilots who fly us safely to our destination. Some of us even clap for them on landing - much to the chagrin of fellow travellers.
But what about the hidden heroes guiding our safe path through the skies?
Air traffic control officers do the difficult job of keeping planes from crashing. Yet most of us had never even heard of them until they sparked travel chaos by going on strike this year.
When you know what it takes to become an officer, and the high stakes nature of their job, it’s easier to understand their demands for good working conditions and pay.
So what exactly is air traffic control, how do you get a career in it, and why has it been linked to so much travel disruption over the past year?
To find out what’s really behind Europe’s air traffic control problems and what it will take to fix them, Euronews Travel spoke to industry bodies, union members and the European Commission.
Staff shortages drove much of this year’s airport disruption and strike action.
The pandemic is partly to blame. The financial strain, health restrictions, low air traffic and uncertainty it caused put training for many air traffic controllers on hold. Being able to manage lots of overlapping planes is a key part of the job - and that takes practise.
“Adequate on-the-job training was only possible again when traffic levels had increased sufficiently to create a challenging practice environment,” explains Johnny Pring, the manager of Europe policy and advocacy at CANSO (the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation), a representative body of air traffic control providers.
Every controller goes through basic training, followed by specialised training in a specific expertise, such as Tower Control, Approach Surveillance or Area Control Surveillance. They must then progress to field training at the airfield they will eventually control.
Finally, they will complete on-the-job training with an ATCO who is qualified to provide it. At airports where traffic has seasonal peaks, simulators are used for training during less busy periods to help maintain competence.
As every airport varies in density and complexity, and part of the training is location specific, air traffic controllers cannot be easily transferred between different airports.
At Maastricht Airport’s Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) in the Netherlands - one of the most complex and busiest in Europe - the training takes approximately three years, according to Eurocontrol, an international organisation that works to achieve safe and efficient air traffic management across Europe.
Strict regulations govern the whole process and mean that most parts of the training can only be led by qualified ATCs. This means there is limited capacity for training, and staff shortages squeeze this even further. What is air traffic control, anyway?
Air traffic control helps aircraft to move safely and efficiently through the sky.
Controllers are in constant contact with pilots, giving them information and advice to make sure they take off and land safely and on time. They give the pilots permission to take off, approve the route they’ll take, and ensure that aircraft are kept a safe distance apart in the skies, tracking their progress as they go.
In the UK, aircraft in the airways system are handled by NATS (National Air Traffic Services) and overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Eurocontrol oversees air traffic management across the European Union.
Various Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) - the employers of controllers - provide individual air traffic control at airports, which is specialised to each location. Controllers hand over to one another as an aircraft travels between different jurisdictions.
National Air Traffic Services personnel giving a demonstration in the operations room at National Air Traffic Services in Swanwick southern England, May 2017.
Andrew Matthews/PA File via AP
What’s behind the ATC strikes and why are some more disruptive than others?
From strikes to technical failures, it’s been a turbulent year for Europe’s air traffic controllers.
In spring, French air traffic controllers (ATCs) began a strike in solidarity against pension reforms. Then in September, London’s Gatwick Airport was forced to limit flights after its already depleted ATC team was struck with COVID-19.
At the time, easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren blamed understaffing for the disruption, telling a British newspaper that the way the service is structured, run and regulated is in need of modernisation.
The problems show no sign of abating. Just last weekend, passengers at London’s Heathrow Airport faced delays and cancellations due to ATC staff shortages and strong winds. On the same day in France, ATC staff staged a walkout that lasted until Tuesday and led to further disruption for travellers.
Why are air traffic controllers going on strike?
Firstly, the cost of living crisis has led workers in various sectors to strike over pay. Many ATC strikes have been called to demand wages that are in line with inflation.
Unions have also called for improved working conditions and support for providing a safe and efficient service for transport users - especially in light of persistent staff shortages.
Most recently, French ATCs have walked out over new legislation requiring them to register their intent to strike at least 48 hours in advance.
Tuesday’s action in France marked the 65th day of strikes by air traffic controllers since the start of the year.
French strikes are particularly disruptive as they also affect ‘overflights’ using French airspace.
“Countries have different approaches to how ATC strikes are regulated,” explains CANSO’s Pring.
“In certain countries (Italy, Greece and Spain), overflights are protected and the strikes only affect domestic traffic; in others, all flights are affected. This regulation is a matter for national governments.”
How is the pandemic still affecting Europe’s air traffic controllers?
The pandemic is beginning to feel like a distant memory. Flights in Europe are back to over 94 per cent of 2019 levels and tourism is booming. But for air traffic controllers, its legacy lives on.
ANSPs manage air traffic on behalf of companies or countries, and collect fees from airspace users. With flights grounded during COVID-19, their revenue plummeted. This forced many of them to make cost savings, such as cutting staff.
ANSPs operating under the Single European Sky (SES) - an EU initiative that seeks to improve their performance - are faced with further cost pressures. The SES sets targets for safety, environment, capacity and cost-efficiency.
While its 2023 assessment shows that Europe’s ANSPs met their cost-efficiency targets, it highlights that “for some Member States, achieving this was a result of not adequately investing in their post-pandemic capacity” - with knock-on effects for capacity targets. It is possible that this was a conscious choice to help cut costs in line with targets.
However, this is not the aim of the legislation.
Why are ANSPs so heavily regulated?
As IATA - the trade association for the world's airlines - explains, “Airports and air navigation services providers (ANSPs) are, for the most part, natural monopolies.” This means strong regulation is needed to ensure they do not raise their prices arbitrarily. It also aims to ensure they improve their services and maintain efficiency.
“In effect, the aim of the Single European Sky framework is to encourage monopolies to make the necessary investments with a view to being able to provide sufficient capacity and meet their performance targets,” explains Deborah Almerge Rückert, press officer for Transport and Mobility at the European Commission.
“Such investments could include training and hiring of staff, upgrading to newer systems, rollout of new technologies, radars and so on.”
All stakeholders, including ANSPs, airlines and professional staff organisations, are consulted when setting the performance targets, she adds, with differing views being taken into account.
In the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulates air traffic control. It has recently approved a hike in prices to enable the provider to recover the costs lost during COVID-19. This will see the average cost of UK air traffic services rise by around £0.43 (€0.49) to around £2.08 (€2.39) per passenger per flight by 2027.
With air traffic now increasing, ANSPs are under pressure to hire more staff. However, since they are prevented from making a profit under rules established by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), more work doesn’t mean higher profits.
An easyJet plane bound for Munich, takes off at Tegel Airport
in Berlin, Germany, January 2018.Jens Kalaene/dpa via AP
Why do ANSPs struggle with recruitment?
ANSPs have found it difficult to recruit new ATCOs - a challenge being faced by the whole aviation industry, according to Pring. This partly stems from air traffic control being a very niche industry that lacks access to top talent.
As most ANSPs are civil service organisations, their staff have certain job security rights and tend to work until retirement - which is capped at age 60 in many European countries due to the high-pressure nature of the roles.
As the demand for air traffic control really took off in the 1980s, many of the industry's experts are now coming to the end of their careers.
“Looking ahead, many ANSPs will have to address a retirement wave over the next decade,” adds Pring, which could worsen the situation significantly if action isn’t taken soon.
Currently, slow or non-replacement of ATCOs after retirement is common practice due to budget limitations.
How has the war in Ukraine impacted air traffic control?
Still reeling from the pandemic, ANSPs were hit with a new unknown: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“[This] has led to unprecedented [air] traffic volatility across Europe,” says Pring.
As a result ANSPs face uncertainty in long and short term planning. They have also encountered fresh challenges, as ATCs have to adapt to new traffic flows due to airspace closures resulting from the war.
The route extensions resulting from the closure of Ukrainian, Belarussian and Russian airspace to European traffic have also pushed ANSPs off course in meeting their Single European Sky environmental targets. Air traffic delays fell in 2023
All this is not to say that the safety of air travel has been compromised in any way. As Pring notes, “Throughout the pandemic and the recovery, the ATM [air traffic management] industry continued to deliver safe and efficient flight operations.”
He even points to some operational successes in summer 2023. Air traffic flow management delays per flight fell by 18 per cent from 2.7 minutes per flight to 2.3 minutes, compared to 2022, excluding weather factors.
During NATO’s major military air exercise carried out over Germany in June, ANSPs successfully managed to keep travellers flying with fewer disruptions than expected. Only 12,474 flights were directly delayed out of a total 293,928, or 4 per cent of all flights.
So how can ANSPs build on this positive momentum?
How can Europe fix its air traffic control problems?
Lundgren may have been on the money when he said that the way air traffic control is structured, run and regulated is in need of modernisation.
“Dealing with the forecast increase in air traffic and the increasingly complex traffic mix will require investment in technology - increased digitalisation or automation - and people,” says Pring. “So this is a major focus for European ANSPs.”
In France, improvements are already in the pipeline. The country has scheduled a major overhaul of its air traffic control system in 2024, with thousands of flights to be cut while it is installed.
The EU’s Single European Sky targets also have a role to play.
“In setting the targets for the coming years, it is crucial to strike the right balance between cost efficiency (which determines what ANSPs can charge their airline customers) and capacity and environment,” says Pring.
“Only in this way will ANSPs have sufficient financial means to invest in the necessary resources - staff and infrastructure - to service their customers.”
This is not the only role the European Commission plays in helping with reforms.
“The Commission is working with Member States to reform ATCO training, which is unnecessarily long and complex,” says Almerge Rückert.
It also aims to improve network management and system resilience by “allowing ATCO mobility across borders and/or cross-border service provision to fill capacity gaps,” she adds.
Such reforms to the Single European Sky would not only help to make service provision more efficient, flexible and scalable, but “should also help reduce flight cancellations in the event of strikes.”
Euronews Travel reached out to French union SNCTA, Belgium’s Union Syndicale Bruxelles (USB), and the UK’s GATCO and Prospect but did not hear back.
Saturday, October 28, 2023
New strategy boosting carbon dioxide reduction to carbon monoxide
Classical strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) describes that reducible oxide migrates to the surface metal nanoparticles (NPs) to obtain metal@oxide encapsulation structure during high-temperature H2 thermal treatment, resulting in high selectivity and stability.
However, the encapsulation structure inhibits the adsorption and dissociation of reactant molecular (e.g., H2) over metal, leading to low activity, especially for the hydrogenation reaction.
Recently, a research group led by Prof. LIU Yuefeng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has proposed a new migration strategy, in which the TiO2 selectively migrates to second oxide support rather than the surface of metal NPs in Ru/(TiOx)MnO catalysts, boosting the CO2 reduction to CO via reverse water-gas shift reaction.
The researchers achieved controlled migration by utilizing the strong interaction between TiO2 and MnO in Ru/(TiOx)MnO catalysts during H2 thermal treatment, and TiO2 spontaneously re-dispersed on the MnO surface, avoiding the formation of TiOx shell on Ru NPs for the ternary catalyst (Ru/TiOx/MnO).
Meanwhile, high-density TiOx/MnO interfaces generated during the process, acting as a highly efficient H transportation channel with low barrier, and resulting in enhanced H-spillover for the migration of activated H species from metal Ru to support for consequent reaction.
The Ru/TiOx/MnO catalyst showed 3.3-fold catalytic activity for CO2 reduction to CO compared with Ru/MnO catalyst. In addition, the Ti/Mn support preparation was not sensitive to the crystalline structure and grain size of TiO2 NPs. Even the mechanical mixing of Ru/TiO2 and Ru/MnOx enhanced the activity.
Moreover, they verified that the synergistic effect of TiO2 and MnO didn't alter the catalytic intrinsic performance, and efficient H transport provided a large number of active sites (hydroxyl groups) for the reaction process.
"Our study provides references for the design of novel selective hydrogenation catalysts via the in-situ creation of oxide-oxide interfaces acting as hydrogen species transport channels," said Prof. LIU.
Tsukuba, Japan—Similar to the process of photosynthesis in plants, the conversion and storage of solar energy into chemical energy hold significant promise for addressing critical energy and environmental challenges, including the depletion of fossil fuels and threat of global warming. One promising avenue in this pursuit involves harnessing light energy to convert CO2 into value-added chemicals.
In this study, the researchers harnessed the potent photocatalytic properties of a ruthenium (Ru) dinuclear complex with self-photosensitizing capabilities to achieve a remarkably efficient CO2 reduction reaction. This process yields a remarkably high selectivity for carbon monoxide (CO). When a dimethylacetamide/H₂O mixture containing the Ru dinuclear complex as a photocatalyst and a sacrificial reducing agent was exposed to light with a central wavelength of 450 nm in 1 atm CO2 atmosphere for 10 h, all the sacrificial reducing agent was consumed, and the substrate CO2 was converted into CO with a selectivity exceeding 99%. The maximum quantum yield at 450 nm was determined to be 19.7%. Furthermore, even when the initial CO2 concentration in the gas phase was reduced to 1.5%, the photocatalytic CO2 reduction by the Ru complex proceeded with remarkable efficiency, indicating that nearly all the introduced CO2 could be converted into CO.
In this newly developed Ru dinuclear complex, the two Ru complex moieties engage in photosensitization, enhancing the stability of the complex catalyst under reaction conditions. This enhanced stability is attributed to the extraordinarily strong chelating effect of the ligand employed. The researchers have future plans for further enhancing the catalytic activity to create a reaction system capable of efficiently driving the CO2 reduction process, even at a lower CO2 concentration equivalent to that of the Earth's atmosphere, which is approximately 420 ppm.
### This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid (nos. 21K18973 and 21H01947) from the Japan Society of Promotion of Science (JSPS, MEXT) and a Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) Green Catalysis Science for Renovating Transformation of Carbon-Based Resources (Green Catalysis Science) (JSPS KAKENHI grant no. JP23H04902).
Original Paper
Title of original paper: Self-Photosensitizing Dinuclear Ruthenium Catalyst for CO2 Reduction to CO
A Flourish map
