
Paddle to pay $5m to settle FTC tech support scam claims
0
The firm will also be permanently banned from processing payments for tech-support telemarketers, says the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC complaint alleged that Paddle processed payments for deceptive tech-support schemes that targeted US consumers, including older adults.
The payments processor was accused of abusing the credit-card system and enabling deceptive foreign operators to access it, costing consumers millions of dollars.
Christopher Mufarrige, director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, says: 'The FTC will hold accountable payment companies that knowingly facilitate payments for scammers or look the other way when faced with red flags about their clients' conduct.'
Separately, MoneyGram will pay a $250,000 fine to settle a New York state lawsuit over claims it violated a federal rule designed to make it easier to send remittances.
The settlement comes shortly after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau withdrew from the civil case amid its ongoing pullback from enforcement activity.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
10 minutes ago
- Telegraph
July set to be busiest ever for Channel migrant arrivals amid ‘summer sale'
July is on track to be the busiest on record for migrant arrivals as people smugglers offer them 'summer deals' to cross the Channel, The Telegraph has found. So far this month, 2,378 asylum seekers have arrived in the UK on small boats. Overall, 22,360 migrants, mostly from the Middle East, Vietnam and East Africa, have successfully made the perilous journey across the Channel so far this year. That is a 57 per cent increase on the same period last year, when 14,164 people arrived in the UK on inflatable dinghies. Analysis of Border Force figures by The Telegraph indicates that this will be the busiest July on record, with 2,378 arrivals in the first 12 days compared to 1,711 in 2023 – the previous busiest 12 days. Extrapolating that daily rate for the rest of the month gives a total monthly figure of 6,143, which would be the highest on record. 'Increasingly professionalised' gangs targeting certain nationalities with discounts of up to 50 per cent and changing their tactics to avoid French patrols are driving the increase. Eritreans and Albanians are being targeted with personalised advertisements on social media, with smugglers offering passage for as little as £2,000. Smugglers have been increasingly launching 'taxi boats' – pre-inflated dinghies – from waterways and canals that lead into the sea, where they can be quickly loaded with people before police have a chance to intervene. The boats crawl along the coastline, picking up passengers who wait in the sea, out of reach of police. This week alone, The Telegraph witnessed two such examples in Gravelines, a seaside commune connected to the River Aa that has become a trafficking hub where as many as 300 migrants may be smuggled in a day, according to its deputy mayor. Dr Peter Walsh, a senior researcher at The Migration Observatory, ascribed the increase this year to discount deals being offered to migrants. In some cases, it was because they were willing to pilot the dinghies themselves. Dr Walsh said: 'The numbers go up and down, and special rates can be offered for individuals who say, 'Well, I have experience directing boats'. Special offers can be given to certain nationalities. 'There was this big increase in Eritreans crossing in small boats, and anecdotal evidence suggested they had offered a lower rate that made it more affordable. About all we can say is the typical cost in the thousands of euros rather than hundreds and the prices are dynamic.' Dr Walsh also pointed to the newer tactics employed by smugglers, such as inflating dinghies on land while concealed in trees or sand dunes and then sending them down inlets and rivers into the sea. 'They are highly adaptable, you know in a certain sense law enforcement is always a step behind and remember, law enforcement has to follow the rules of the law and that is a substantial disadvantage that they are at,' he added. In the early hours of Sunday, French police stopped a group of 40 or so migrants from setting off on a crammed dinghy bound for the UK, by wading into the water and puncturing its hull with box cutters. Police were later seen towing the deflated black rubber dinghy away over Sangatte beach, around five miles west of Calais. The passengers were mostly young men of Vietnamese, East African and Middle Eastern origin. Three or four women were believed to have been on board along with an infant boy no older than 18 months. They were not detained by the police, and were seen wrapped in gold foil blankets and being given hot drinks by aid charities at 5am GMT.


The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
The real reason Gen Z have stopped being ‘sober curious'
Hold the kombucha and pour me a pint! It seems that Gen Z are actually drinking alcohol, and I'm not surprised one bit. I wish I'd made a note of the number of wine tastings, seminars, meetings and dinners where the seemingly existential crisis of Gen Z not drinking was discussed. Not to mention the thousands of entries on a brief Google search to see how much it's been written about. It was going to be the death knell of the wine industry. But I never really believed it was going to stay that way. People change, after all. And, it seems I was right. New data released by IWSR shows that the situation is altogether far more nuanced. I mean, aren't most things in life? It seems the ' sober curious ' generation have become curious about booze. IWSR's Bevtrac findings show a marked increase in 'alcohol participation levels' compared with two years ago. In research carried out in the top 15 markets (including the UK, North America and Australia) in April 2023, 66 per cent of Gen Z consumers said they had consumed alcohol in the past six months, this figure rose to 73 per cent in March 2025. And interestingly, the trend is especially strong in some key global markets, including the UK, where participation increased from 66 per cent to 76 per cent, Australia, where there was a staggering leap from 61 per cent to 83 per cent, and the US, with a huge bump from 46 per cent to 70 per cent. As Richard Halstead, COO of consumer insights at IWSR, says: 'There is evidence that the propensity to go out and spend more is recovering among this group – challenging the received wisdom that this generation is 'abandoning' alcohol.' Issues such as consumer confidence around inflation has had a huge cross-generational impact when it comes to purchasing, with the cost of living crisis having been brutal for many. But Gen Z have especially suffered, maturing in a period where they're met with soaring costs and stagnant salaries, not to mention the global pandemic and the impact it had on hospitality and real-life socialising. Further research published by Rabobank in April supports this notion, with data showing that Gen Z's drinking is actually on par with previous generations. And that in the US, the proportion that each generation spends of their after-tax income on alcohol is exactly the same – boomer, millennial and Gen Z'er alike. The headlines were misleading. We were being told that it's a generation obsessed with 'wellness', but it turns out they're just skint! And my God, we have all been there (I mean, I still mostly am, aren't you?). It's just that when I was starting out on an incredibly meagre salary, I was propping it up with a hefty overdraft and a plethora of credit cards. Banks were falling over themselves to give people like me credit cards and overdrafts without any checks as to whether you could actually afford them. My Egg card was well and truly funding my millennial avo and egg habit to the max. Want to go shopping? Get a store card. Want to go out for a drink? Put it on your credit card. I was a fully signed up card-carrying millennial who definitely drank above the recommended weekly allowance. Boozy Thursdays spread effortlessly into Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I was the queen of knowing a little late-night drinking den that was still serving in the early hours of the morning. But I'm delighted that most of my Gen Z friends appear to be far more sensible and financially astute. Believe me, I learn a lot from them. And I'm thankful that personal finance isn't so readily available; it crippled me for many years. And looking at this situation from someone who makes a living from tasting and talking about drinks, with a heavy leaning on wine, I think the alcohol industry should be pleased with this emerging picture. The days of excessive underage drinking are hopefully dwindling and people are being more cautious with the amount they drink. Both of these are excellent outcomes. And there's a genuine interest in premium products too. Drinking less, but better, has never been an easier or cooler thing to do. Nothing stays the same forever. And the wine industry for the most part reflects this, showing a keen and energetic desire to welcome new consumers. In many ways, I feel nothing but excitement about these latest figures. It's one of my greatest pleasures to help people find the wine that sparks their love of this wondrous product that has endured for thousands of years. Wine and the world that surrounds it really is a beautiful thing, so here's to the latest generation of wine lovers, I can't wait to share a glass with you.


The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Secret Service's ‘cascade of failures' allowed Trump assassination attempt, report says
A new Senate committee report on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year, described the events as a 'cascade of preventable failures' and called for more severe disciplinary action to be taken with the Secret Service going forward. In the 31-page, highly critical findings released on Sunday, the Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee lamented the mishandling of communications around the rally and said Trump was denied extra security on the day. 'A 20-year-old gunman was able to evade detection by the country's top protective agency for nearly 45 minutes,' the committee stated, adding that 'not a single person has been fired'. The publication of the report comes exactly a year after the attempted assassination of Trump, when he was wounded after a bullet grazed his ear on 13 July 2024. One rally-goer, Corey Comperatore, was killed before the shooter, a 20-year-old nursing-home worker from Pennsylvania named Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by a Secret Service agent. Crooks scaled a building overlooking the rally and opened fire using an AR015-style rifle. The image of Trump defiantly raising his fist in the immediate aftermath of the attack became a political touchstone, helping push Joe Biden out of the race and fuelling support around his presidency in a heightened, accelerated manner. The committee behind this latest report, chaired by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, conducted 17 interviews with members of the Secret Service and reviewed thousands of legal documents before it reached its conclusion. While it offers no new information on Crooks's motives, which are still ambiguous almost a year on, it does shine light on the supposed disorganization and disarray of the security agency as the assassination unfolded. The investigators found that the Secret Service 'denied or left unfulfilled' multiple requests for additional staff and assets, and despite acknowledgements of vulnerabilities at the venue, assigned an inexperienced operator to oversee operations. 'What happened was inexcusable,' the committee stated, adding that 'the consequences imposed for the failures so far do not reflect the security of the situation.' Six Secret Service agents have since been suspended without pay after the events last July. Their suspensions range from 10 to 42 days, with a loss of both salary and benefits during their absence. This disciplinary action comes nearly a year after the shooting. The agency's deputy director, Matt Quinn, told CBS News that the Secret Service would not 'fire our way out of this' crisis.