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Job scams are on the rise as criminals become more sophisticated in their approaches and use AI to steal personal information. In 2023, reports of these scams had jumped by 118% from the year prior.
The Identity Theft Resource Center shared the Trends in Identity Report which highlights information from victims collected throughout the year.
The job and employment scams were found to be primarily carried out through websites like LinkedIn and job search platforms.
Typically, scammers will pose as recruiters and create fake job listings to attract people looking for work. The information inputted during the application process is then stolen.
The rise of AI has contributed to the scams as the report says: “The rapid improvement in the look, feel and messaging of identity scams is almost certainly the result of the introduction of AI-driven tools.
“A.I. tools help refine the “pitch” to make it more believable as well as compensate for cultural and grammar differences in language usage.”
The organization explains how the primary defense against the new advanced technology is much more low-tech as they suggest people pick up the phone and verify the contact directly from the source.
Victims are losing $2,000 in AI job scams 
This has been further backed up by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as they say tens of thousands of people have reported business and job opportunity scams.
According to data from the year prior, in 2022, people told the FTC they lost $367 million to these scams which was an increase of 76% from 2021. The median loss was found to be $2,000.
Aside from the fake listings, another commonly reported scam is pyramid schemes which typically present as a way for people to start their own business or gain financial freedom from working from home.
Promoters claim people can make good money by selling their products, but the revenue actually comes from how many new participants can be recruited.
Featured Image: Via Ideogram
The post AI job scams are up 118% – here’s what to look out for appeared first on ReadWrite.

Concord is yet another team-based shooter that we here at Readwrite Gaming are tipping to do very well at launch, and while the game doesn’t come out officially until 23rd August there are two public beta test events ahead of that where you can put the game through its paces. To do so however, you are going to need a PC that is up to spec, so we will have a look at the just released specifications ahead of the betas, but first, let’s check out how to get into them and when they actually are.
When are the Concord betas being held?
The Concord betas are set to run on two consecutive weekends, starting from this one. To get into both you will have to have pre-ordered the game. For the second, as long as you have a PC or a PlayStation 5 you are good to go.
Concord Early Access Beta – July 12-14th
Concord Open Beta – July 18-21st
As is Sony’s way these days you will need a PlayStation account (a free one will do) on either PC or PS5 to be able to join in the fun.
Concord System Specs

Whereas we are used to getting specs for just Minimum and Recommended standards, here we have specs for four setups including one for Performance and one for Ultra. This is quite cool and we wish more companies would start doing it.
Minimum

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (Creators Update)
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
RAM: 8GB DDR4
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT
Storage: 30GB SSD
Connectivity: Broadband

Recommended

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (Creators Update)
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
RAM: 16GB DDR4
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
Storage: 30GB SSD
Connectivity: Broadband

Performance

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (Creators Update)
CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM: 16GB DDR4
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Storage: 30GB SSD
Connectivity: Broadband

Ultra

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (Creators Update)
CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM: 16GB DDR4
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage: 30GB SSD
Connectivity: Broadband

We will be jumping into the game to see how it goes and will be back with more info as the two betas get underway.
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Microsoft is finally bringing out a crucial and long-awaited feature for Notepad as part of a Windows 11 update.
After 41 years out in the world, Microsoft’s Notepad app will finally get spellcheck and autocorrect. The two features are so commonplace as to be virtually standard issue across most other digital services but have not yet been present in the note-taking app.
Microsoft has of course already introduced spellcheck in Word and the feature in Notepad is thought to look much the same. Namely, it will use a red underline to show mistakes. The key difference is that right-clicking requires a double click to see a suggested menu of correct options, while in Word it takes just one.
The feature has been tested in Notepad since March and is now being quietly rolled out in gradual waves for Windows 11 users.
Microsoft first launched spellcheck in Word in 1985, meaning there have been almost four decades where the company could have translated into Notepad. However, the plain text app was also meant to be a less complex version of Word, perhaps offering a reason as to why it was never in place.

How to use spellcheck and autocorrect in Notepad
You can enable or disable spellcheck on a file-by-file basis in Notepad. You can toggle off corrections like .md, .srt, .lrc, or .lic within the settings. It will be automatically disabled in log files and other coding-related file types.
If you don’t already have access to spellcheck, make sure you’re using Windows 11, as it’s only available in the latest software. Otherwise, it might not have rolled out to you yet, so wait a few days to see if it becomes available.
Autocorrect can also be similarly disabled and enabled in the settings, offering the ability to automatically correct spellings. It can also be toggled on and off between individual files.
Featured image: Microsoft
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Since Once Human is an open world survival game, securing the best loot is key to literally staying alive.
Therefore, getting a boost at the start of the experience is certainly welcomed and with the Once Human pre-registration rewards, your wish will be granted.
Below, we’ll take a look at all Once Human pre-registration rewards available as well as how to get them so you know exactly what’s required to enable some early in-game bonuses.
All Once Human pre-registration rewards
The way the Once Human pre-registration rewards work is the more players who pre-register for the game, the more bonuses that become available.
Thankfully, since there has been so much hype for the game, the top tier of rewards has been reached which required a whopping 20 million sign ups. In fact, at the time of writing, this number is approximately 21.1 million, beating the mark comfortably.
Here is a full list of the Once Human pre-registration rewards so you know what you’re in for if you choose to sign up also:

Energy Drink x3
Energy Link x600
Grenade x3
Activator x10
Canned Lunch Meat x3
Adrenaline Shot x1
Sanity Gummy x5
Projection Generator x5
Molotov Cocktail x5
Energy Link x400
AKM Skin Kraken
Meta Cap
Surprise Furniture
Dragon’s Grip Gloves

How to get Once Human pre-registration rewards
To get the Once Human pre-registration rewards couldn’t be simpler.
All you need to do is head to the official Once Human website and scroll down to the ‘Pre-registration rewards’ section. Now hit the ‘pre-register now’ button and enter your email along with the platform you want to play it on.
After doing this, you will have pre-registered for Once Human and your rewards will be given to you in-game!
Now you’re good to go with these bonuses, check out if your PC is up to scratch with Once Human system requirements, as well as if you can play with your friends via crossplay.
The post Once Human pre-registration rewards: A full list and how to get appeared first on ReadWrite.

If you simply can’t wait for the upcoming open-world reboot of Crazy Taxi, then the next best thing may be to install a mod that tips more than a wink to the venerable old classic arcade game and bolts it firmly onto the side of one of the best games in recent years (these days at least).
The new Taxi Work in Night City mod for Cyberpunk 2077 sets you up for a little Uber-esque roleplay in the future by giving you a taxi firm to run. The mod will see you driving around the city and picking up passengers before ferrying them to their destination. They will then pay your fare and depending on how efficient you were, and how much danger they were in they will adjust it accordingly – so Crazy Taxi then. With Keanu Reeves.
The mod has been developed by verified Nexus Modder RollermineC who also has a smattering of other Cyberpunk 2077 mods to their name, but nothing on the scale of this.
The mod has been out less than a day so far and already has downloads heading towards 300 downloads. RollermineC actually says the mod is more based on Grand Theft Auto but it is impossible not to see the Crazy Taxi similarities.
The description reads, “This mod introduces a taxi mission inspired by the GTA series. Players need to pick up the customers and drive them to their destinations. After each successful fare, players earn money based on the distance between the start and finish points. Consistently completing fares unlocks new vehicle options from Autofixer, enabling players to eventually own vehicles from Combat Cab.”
The Side Quest feature of Cyberpunk 2077 has been a hugely popular way for modders to add new content into the game that was once much-maligned but has now been revamped into one of the best games in modern times by CD Projekt Red.
The post Drive a futuristic Uber around Night City in this Crazy Taxi-like mod for Cyberpunk 2077 appeared first on ReadWrite.

A travel business that deploys AI software to help people book package vacations is announcing the close of an oversubscribed £5.04 million (roughly $6.45M) Series A round.
Heartcore Capital has led the funding with participation from Eka Ventures and re-investing angels. The money raised by Byway will be used to expand into new regions, with the company saying they plan to add more hires too.
This will include engineers as they aim to dial up the proprietary AI-based software that acts as a travel planner.
At the moment, 60% of Byway’s company is based on AI as customers book trips online through the trip-designing software called JourneyAI. The remainder, at 40%, is a human-based concierge service where staff can talk to potential customers.
How does Byway’s travel AI tool work?
The Byway planner recommends certain trips to users and does so by drawing on information sources and contexts to build packages. This includes transport timetables and fare information, as well as the details inputted by the customer.
In a conversation with TechCrunch, the founder Cat Jones explains how the AI takes into account the information the company has on previous trips that were well received.
Unlike other travel tools, Byway focuses on flight-free travel. Jones explains how the funding will be used to perfect the AI when it comes to disruptions: “We are still manually sorting disruption at the moment. But actually that’s something that, very soon, especially with the funding – we will be able to automate the vast majority of our disruption detection and automation disruption replanning.
“So that we can alert people and say, ‘Look, your trip’s been disrupted here. Your train’s running a bit late, you’re going to miss the connection — here’s the reworked bit that we’ve done for you. And then, yeah, absolutely talk to us if you want to. But actually, if you’re just happy with that you can just accept it and off we go.”
The founder hopes the funding will help with further improving the AI’s responsiveness too, as she says the technology needs to become more detailed.
“You can get this general model where we have particular local nuances, but — increasingly — the more regions that we go into, the more local nuance the JourneyAI technology needs to have within it.
“But we are, kind of, in a place where we’re going, ‘Gosh, we understand it; we already know now that it needs this, and it needs this, and it needs this’. And actually our biggest problem is we don’t have very many developers… So we’ve got this back-end roadmap for JourneyAI but we haven’t got enough back-end tech people to run as quickly as we’d like at that roadmap, and then the same in the front end… Hence this fundraising.”
Featured Image: Photo by Josh Nezon on Unsplash
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Ethereum’s (ETH) Ethereum Foundation is initiating its first hackathon, dubbed “Attackathon,” with a $2 million reward pool.
According to a July 8 announcement, the event aims to conduct a comprehensive security audit of the blockchain’s codebase through crowdsourcing. The Ethereum Protocol Security (EPS) team announced on July 8 that the four-week challenge will invite security researchers to seek vulnerabilities in the protocol’s code actively.
Participants must adhere to specific competition rules, with rewards granted only for impactful and compliant reports. The event will commence with a technical overview of Ethereum’s code to prepare participants for identifying potential vulnerabilities.
Upon conclusion, bug bounty platform Immunefi will compile the findings into a detailed vulnerability report. The EPS team has contributed $500,000 to the prize pool and is seeking sponsors to raise an additional $1.5 million by August 1, when further details will be released.
Not the last hackathon
Similar hackathons are planned for future hard forks to address codebase changes. The next major upgrade, “Pectra,” combining the “Prague” and “Electra” updates, is anticipated in late 2024 or early 2025.
Noteworthy upcoming features include a “social recovery” option, potentially eliminating the need for lengthy private wallet keys and introducing smart contract-like capabilities to wallets.
Hackathons and bug bounties are common in the crypto space, with many projects offering substantial rewards to ethical hackers. Immunefi’s platform displays bounties ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, with LayerZero offering the highest reward at $15 million.
MakerDAO is not that far behind, with a $10 million bounty pool followed by SparkLend’s bug bounty reward pool at $5 million. Still, such bug bounties are far from being a new crypto fad.
As ReadWrite reported back in 2012 about Google offering a $1 million bug bounty pool for discovering vulnerabilities in its Google Chrome web browser. A full exploit of bugs in Chrome itself was prized at $60,000, a partial exploit that combines a Chrome bug with other bugs gets $40,000, and the consolation prize is $20,000 an exploit of Chrome using bugs in Flash, Windows or something else.
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