Queenslanders warned about cyber scams surrounding COVID-19 Vaccines

Security firm Mimecast is warning Queenslanders about the increase in potential cyber scams involving the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. 

The warning follows reports cyber criminals are sending fake vaccine booking messages to steal personal information and cash from victims.

Mimecast’s cybersecurity expert, Garrett O’Hara, says it’s important to check links before clicking them to ensure they come from official sources. 

 

Security experts warn of vaccine booking scams

Security firm Mimecast has warned Queenslanders about the increase in potential cyber scams involving the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. 

The warning has followed reports that cyber criminals are sending fake vaccine booking messages to steal personal information and cash from victims.

Mimecast’s cybersecurity expert, Garrett O’Hara, said it’s important to check links before clicking them to ensure they come from official sources. 

"Events like this are a perfect storm," O'Hara said.

Uber and Lyft to share data on deactivated drivers

In the United States, rideshare companies Uber and Lyft have announced they will be sharing data with each other, regarding drivers deactivated for serious crime offences, such as sexual or physical assault, and murder. 

The collaboration is called the Industry Safety Sharing Project, and will be administered by a third party.

Uber and Lyft have invited other US rideshare companies to join the project.

 

ATO owed hundreds of millions of dollars in JobKeeper repayments

The Australian Tax Office’s Second Commissioner, Jeremy Hirschhorn, has revealed the agency is still owed several hundreds of millions of dollars from Jobkeeper recipient companies that were declared ineligible, were overpaid, or attempted to rort the payments. 

Since Jobkeeper’s inception, over $80 billion in payments have been made. 

The Serious Financial Crime Taskforce is currently overseeing five JobKeeper related cases, with two more such cases under consideration for acceptance.

 

Myanmar death toll hits 70

The Myanmar military has reportedly murdered seventy civilians since staging a coup in February.

United Nations human rights investigations reveal concerns of growing evidence of crimes against humanity being committed by the new military regime.

More than two thousand people have been unlawfully detained, with evidence emerging of the use of torture.

The military have been clashing with protestors across Myanmar since the military deposed the elected government of Aung Suu Kyi on February 1st.

 

COVID-19 traces found in Queensland wastewater

49 Queensland suburbs are under high alert after wastewater testing found fragments of the COVID-19 virus in water treatment facilities. 

Fragments have been detected in Cairns North, Marlin Coast, Fairfield and Mackay South, covering a catchment area of 49 suburbs. 

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young urges anyone with symptoms to get tested, no matter how mild.

 

Petition to encourage reusable nappy use in North Queensland

North Queensland mother Chloe Wilson has begun a petition asking the Whitsundays Regional Council to consider a rebate program for the purchase of reusable nappies.

Wilson said that the initial cost of modern cloth nappies prevents parents from choosing them.

It is estimated one million nappies have gone to landfill in the Whitsundays. Each will take up to five hundred years to break down.

The Whitsundays Regional Council said it will raise the issue at a regional waste management meeting later this month.

Workers in Bangladesh now able to sue UK companies in landmark ruling

The England and Wales court of appeal passed a landmark ruling yesterday that strengthens overseas third party workers’ protections against international corporations.

The case involves London-based shipping company Maran, which sends its old vessels to be demolished in South Asia. 

The practice exploits South Asian countries’ weak regulations while distancing the shipping company from liability, at least until now.