Carer Caught on Hidden Camera Stealing From Elderly Stroke Victim
September 18, 2019 | Security
Moment carer, 48, is caught stealing from elderly stroke victim by her family who set up secret camera hidden in a clock. Shocking footage shows carer Sharon Wilcox taking money of client's purse The incident was captured by a hidden camera inside a clock in the living room Wilcox pleaded guilty and was handed a suspended nine-month prison sentence Court heard that Sylvia Williams had been mistreated on more than one occasion A carer has been caught stealing from an elderly stroke victim by her family who set up a secret camera hidd...
An Artificial-Intelligence First: Voice-mimicking Software Reportedly Used in a Major Theft
September 18, 2019 | Fraud
Thieves used voice-mimicking software to imitate a company executive's speech and dupe his subordinate into sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to a secret account, the company's insurer said, in a remarkable case that some researchers are calling one of the world's first publicly reported artificial-intelligence heists.The managing director of a British energy company, believing his boss was on the phone, followed orders one Friday afternoon in March to wire 220,000 euros ($380,800) to an account in Hungary, said representatives...
Trade Secrets Theft: Architect Convicted, Sentenced to Community Detention
September 18, 2019 | Fraud
An Auckland architect found guilty of stealing trade secrets from his former firm has been convicted and sentenced to community detention, in what may be a precedent-setting case in New Zealand.Michael Davies was sentenced this morning in the Auckland District Court after a jury decided he had committed the crime of stealing confidential and commercially sensitive material.The 46-year-old was charged with nine counts of stealing trade secrets for a pecuniary advantage and was found guilty of eight.On the ninth charge, which related to...
What3Words: The App That Can Save Your Life
August 27, 2019
Police have urged everyone to download a smartphone app they say has already saved several lives. What is it and how does it work?Kicked. Converged. Soccer.These three randomly chosen words saved Jess Tinsley and her friends after they got lost in a forest on a dark, wet night.They had planned a five-mile circular stroll through the 4,900 acre (2,000 hectare) woodland Hamsterley Forest, in County Durham, on Sunday evening, but after three hours they were hopelessly lost."We were in a field and had no idea where we were," the 24-year-o...
Spyware and GPS Tracking: The Next Frontier for Family Violence
August 26, 2019 | Security
We understand when a woman is murdered. We understand the hundreds and thousands of incidents that take the police to homes all over New Zealand and Australia.Now there’s something more – and it’s so prevalent that family violence services are changing the way they operate. New research from Deakin University tells us that spyware is the next frontier – a “particularly acute threat” – in family violence. In fact, the manufacturers of spyware actively encourage and promote the use of their products for the surveillance of intimate part...
Risks of Sharing Your Phone Number
August 16, 2019 | Technology, Security
For most of our lives, we have been conditioned to share a piece of personal information without a moment's hesitation: our phone number.We punch in our digits at the grocery store to get a member discount or at the pharmacy to pick up medication. When we sign up to use apps and websites, they often ask for our phone number to verify our identity.This column will encourage a new exercise. Before you hand over your number, ask yourself: Is it worth the risk?This question is crucial now that our primary phone numbers have shifted from l...
Can You Refuse To Be Served Legal Documents / Papers?
August 13, 2019 | Other
We often are asked if a defendant refuses to accept service of legal proceedings at the time they are offered by hand is the service still effected? Well the short answer is yes.Often we will come across a defendant that says “I’m not touching them and don’t accept them” in this situation we will set the documents at the feet of the person and walk away. Service has been effected by bringing the documents to their attention.If the person is actively avoiding service by either not coming to the door or having others shield him there ...
New Zealand Man Served Legal Papers Over WhatsApp By Wealthy Divorcee
June 26, 2019 | Technology
A New Zealand man embattled in a multi-million dollar divorce with his former wealthy British partner has been served legal papers over WhatsApp.Hamish Hurley and Mandy Gray began a relationship in 2013 when Hurley was Gray's fitness coach and physiotherapist. But the couple split in January and the called her former partner an "emotionally abusive gold digger", the Telegraph reported. James Bailey, Hurley's lawyer, rejects Gray's claims that he is a gold digger saying the assets were bought together.Bailey said Gray was "providing th...
Exclusive: The Investigators New Zealand Can Unlock ANY IOS (up to 12.3) Device
June 18, 2019 | Technology
The Investigators New Zealand now have access to a system that is capable of unlocking any iPhone, iPad or high-end Android device, renewing the delicate dance between the technology to extract data from locked smartphones and the manufacturers that promise privacy to their customers.Universal Forensic Extraction Device, or UFED was created to help Private Investigators and law enforcement in unlocking and extracting data from locked iOS and Android services.The system allows The Investigators New Zealand to gain access to third-party...
Exclusive: A Yellow Cardigan, An Empty Photo Album, and No Dad - One Man's Search for His Father
April 18, 2019 | Other
Kane McGarvey is on the hunt for the father he never got to know. The day Kane McGarvey came into this world was the closest he ever came to meeting his father.That was when the man he has never known visited the New Plymouth hospital and left him a yellow knitted cardigan and an empty photo album.And then he disappeared. Now McGarvey is a dad himself, and it's the 27-year-old's relationship with his three-month-old son Elijah that has triggered the search for that missing part of his life."Life's been different for me...Everyone els...