Scam News and Tracker

Hey listeners, Scotty here, and boy do we have a wild week in the scam world to unpack. So grab your coffee because things are getting spicy out there on the internet.

Let's kick off with something massive. Just yesterday, international authorities coordinated what they're calling Operation Chargeback, and let me tell you, this is the kind of takedown that makes my security-loving heart sing. Eighteen suspects got arrested across nine countries in a fraud scheme that's honestly mind-blowing in scale. We're talking about over three hundred million euros in damages, which is roughly three hundred and forty-five million dollars for those keeping score at home. These criminals had created fake websites pretending to be dating services, pornography platforms, and video streaming sites. They generated nineteen million fake subscriptions and hit credit cards from a hundred and ninety-three different countries. The prosecutor literally mentioned that North Korea was on that list, and even he seemed shocked. The scammers were incredibly clever, keeping charges under fifty euros to avoid triggering fraud alerts. Between two thousand sixteen and twenty twenty-one, they stole credit card data and laundered about one hundred and fifty million euros through shell companies registered in places like Cyprus and the UK.

Now, closer to home for many listeners, TSB bank just released data showing purchase fraud is exploding as we head into Black Friday and Christmas shopping season. They're seeing an eleven percent year-on-year increase in purchase scams, with victims losing an average of four hundred and fifty-two pounds per incident. Here's the kicker: sixty-three percent of all bank transfer fraud they're seeing is purchase-related fraud. Facebook is the number one platform where these scams originate, accounting for three-fifths of all their reported cases, followed by Instagram at twelve percent and WhatsApp at eleven percent. Scammers are targeting everything from concert tickets and gaming consoles to pet deposits, which has spiked notably this year.

But here's what really matters for you: stop clicking links in emails, avoid shopping on unfamiliar websites without research, and if a deal seems too good to be true, it absolutely is. Legitimate government websites end in dot gov, not dot com or dot org. And never, ever send money via gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers to someone claiming to be law enforcement or a government agency. That's literally never happening with real authorities.

Thanks for tuning in, listeners. Make sure you subscribe for more cyber security insights.

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Hey listeners, Scotty here—the only person you’d want as your sidekick if your inbox gets hit with a scam. Let’s get straight into what’s been making headlines in scam-land the past few days, because the internet criminals have not exactly been on vacation.

Right now, caller ID spoofing is raining havoc across Europe. Europol says phone networks are drowning in fake calls thanks to scammers using Voice over IP and sneaky apps to make calls look like your bank, the government, or your grandma. Elisa, the biggest telco in Finland, just reported 90% of incoming weekday calls from abroad were fraudulent before they threw down new anti-spoofing defenses. Imagine getting a call from your own area code and it’s not your cousin with their usual “can I borrow twenty?”—it’s someone trying to jack your savings. Europol warns that these spoofing rings are often international, making it hard for police to catch anyone, especially when some vendors offer “spoofing-as-a-service.” Add in SIM-based scams and you’ve got the world’s worst group chat.

Meanwhile, voice phishing’s been busy outside Europe too. Over in Korea, the Minjun ring made headlines after one of its operators, Baek Song-yi, got her prison sentence reduced just this week. She’d impersonated bank employees, swindling 107 victims out of $1.7 million, all orchestrated from the Philippines. Her defense? She turned snitch, gave up the group, made settlements with her victims, but the court still wasn’t buying excuses for the sheer damage.

Closer to home, let’s talk one particularly wild U.S. scam: in Illinois, charges were dropped against Jayesh Rabari and Nikul Desai, accused of stealing $100,000 from a Spring Grove couple through a fake Amazon account warning and tall tales about being FTC agents. Why no conviction? The couple couldn’t positively identify them, language barriers nixed their diversion program, and restitution kicked in—but get this, authorities say these "FTC scam calls" are happening again right now. If someone claiming to be a Fed starts asking for secret info, hit pause and call their official number—never trust a number handed over by a surprise caller.

Families of jail inmates, beware! The Yavapai County Sheriff just flagged scams in Arizona where fraudsters pose as sheriff’s office employees, asking for money to get loved ones into fake "rehabilitation programs." North Carolina, California counties—same trick: phony bail bond requests and threats. It’s spreading fast, and at last count, local fraud investigators are getting dozens of cases a week, often powered by stolen personal data.

Scammers really love chasing the latest tech. Last Thursday, Malwarebytes reported Geek Squad scammers sending fake PayPal invoices and phishing attacks disguised as death notices targeting LastPass account holders. The big ticket though: “check cooking”—yes, scammers photograph and digitally deform checks to pull money right out of your account, so protect those checkbooks like they're rare

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Listeners, Scotty here—and if you're tuning in, congrats, you survived another week online without handing your wallet directly to a scammer. That’s no small feat in 2025. Cutting right to it: scams are getting smarter, weirder, and—in some cases—bigger than ever.

First up, an international drama that might as well be a Netflix series: Thai police just busted a 24-person luxury-villa hideout run by a scamming group with roots in Myanmar and China. This cross-border gang, including folks from Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, were masterminding online scams targeting victims in Singapore. Turns out, these “managers” checked into swanky Samut Prakan villas while plotting their next move, until the Thai Crime Suppression Division came knocking. Their “Boss Lin”—a Chinese financier—is still on the run, but dozens face charges tied to three scamming companies: DBL1, DBL2, and DRS.

Not to be outdone, Cambodia made headlines this week with a raid on a Phnom Penh building that bagged 106 alleged scammers, all Indonesian nationals. We’re talking entire cyberfraud factories—phones, computers, cars—all seized by Cambodian authorities. Over the past four months, they’ve arrested over 3,400 suspects from 20 countries in this unprecedented anti-scam crackdown.

Meanwhile, on the US front, the retirement world got rocked by the fast-spreading ACATS scam. Picture this: you check your investment account, and nearly half your life savings have moved to a stranger’s brokerage account. All legal on paper—thanks to the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service that’s meant for efficiency, but is now being abused by cyber crooks leveraging your stolen personal data. Victims like the Trans only escape total loss if they catch it instantly. So yeah, double-check those statements and set up account alerts.

We also saw authorities crack down on Coinme, a crypto kiosk operator. After Coinme allowed scammers to funnel cash from an East Bay grandma, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation slapped the company with a $300,000 fine and ordered it to reimburse scammed residents. The lesson: if someone demands crypto payments for “bail,” “taxes,” or even “exclusive offers,” it’s a scam. Seriously, nobody needs you to deposit 50 grand into a grocery store coin machine.

And, as the holidays ramp up, the classics get a high-tech upgrade: delivery alerts with fake links, urgent unpaid toll texts, “deepfake” celebrity scam videos, and an epidemic of fake bank calls. The Better Business Bureau and FBI are pushing alerts about AI-created scams, tech support pop-ups, holiday travel deals that vanish, and phishing attacks masquerading as your bank or the IRS.

To stay sharp, here’s my pro tip list: never use the same password twice, keep your software up to date, and enable two-factor authentication on everything. If you get a call from “your bank” or see an urgent message, hang up and call the real number. And if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

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Hey listeners, it’s Scotty here, your favorite scam-buster and cyber sleuth, back to keep you smarter than the average hacker. The last few days have been a whirlwind in scam-land — if you’ve gotten a mystery text, a spooky call, or a tempting crypto offer, you’re not alone. Let’s dive into what’s been making headlines, who’s eating jail food instead of data, and what you should know so you don’t become a bad statistic.

Right now, AI-powered phishing is the king of internet scams. The latest attacks aren’t just generic “update your password!” anymore. Scammers are leveraging artificial intelligence to impersonate banks and businesses — and even people you know — with emails and texts that look disturbingly legit. I’m talking about fake delivery notices from so-called UPS or USPS, urgent requests with real-looking links, and even messages in perfect English that reference your actual transactions. Deepfake tech is adding fuel, making scam videos starring “your CEO” or “mom.” According to hackers4u, losses from these tricks have reached millions just in the past few months.

Fast-forward to good news — scammers can’t hide forever. Just yesterday, Singapore’s Bedok Police Division arrested a 24-year-old involved in money laundering and scam-related offenses. This guy allegedly duped a victim out of $75,000 using a WhatsApp investment scam tied to a phony online trading platform. He even ran errands for crooks by collecting cash and handing it over in exchange for measly rewards, all recruited via Telegram. Now he faces prison for cheating, unauthorized computer access, and acquiring criminal benefits. You love to see scammers get pinched.

Deep in the U.S., Polk County Sheriff’s Office just cuffed 17-year-old Collin Griffith for running spoofing scams, while in New Braunfels, property owners are being targeted in a brazen email fraud campaign. It’s worldwide, folks — no place is immune.

So how do you dodge these digital traps? Here’s my pro playbook. First, whenever you get an unexpected message, don’t tap, don’t click, just pause. Omar Rodriguez at Texas Regional Bank says scammers rely on catching you off guard, so chill out before you react. Always verify messages, calls, or requests using official websites or published phone numbers — never the ones provided in the suspicious message. And for heaven’s sake, never pay anyone using gift cards, crypto, or wire transfer unless you want your money to vanish faster than my patience for weak passwords.

Tech support scams are also up. If someone calls saying your computer is infected, hang up and run a scan yourself. And smishing, those scammy text messages, are now delivering malware in 94 percent of cases according to hackers4u, so turn on SMS spam filters and always check the sender.

Big tip: Stop oversharing on social media. Your travel plans and pet names are pure gold for scammers, as Malwarebytes warns. Sharpen your passwords, use multi-factor authentication, and run regular digital footprint

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Hey there, I'm Scotty, and boy do we have some wild scam activity heating up right now. Buckle up because the digital underworld is working overtime in October 2025, and you need to know what's coming at you.

Let's start with the international students getting absolutely hammered. The U.S. government revoked thousands of student visas this year, and the scammers smelled blood in the water. These criminals are posing as government officials, police, and even university staff, weaponizing that fear of losing legal status. Half the victims reported getting hit through email or text, while others got voice calls from people pretending to be from immigration enforcement. Some scams involved fake job offers with upfront payments, others threatened unpaid tolls or delivery fees. The pressure tactic was real too, with threats of arrest or promises of gift cards that never materialized.

Now, here's where it gets particularly nasty. In Massachusetts, specifically Norfolk County, we're seeing a jury duty scam absolutely exploding. Two women just lost a combined sixty-seven hundred dollars to callers claiming to represent the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office. One victim from Sharon got pressured into sending fifty-two hundred dollars through a Bitcoin kiosk after being threatened with ten to twelve days of detention. Another victim from Dedham lost fourteen hundred fifty dollars after receiving what looked like a fraudulent court document. The caller threatened seventy-two hours in jail if she didn't pay immediately. And Jackson County Sheriff's Department in Illinois is dealing with the same pattern, with scammers identifying themselves as Sergeant Corey Foster demanding payment for supposed arrest warrants. These calls come from spoofed local numbers with that familiar area code to make them look legit.

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is also warning about text message scams claiming residents have outstanding traffic tickets. These messages include URLs with "ezpassnj" and ".gov" to look official, then redirect to fake websites that steal your information.

Listen, law enforcement agencies don't call demanding money over the phone. They don't work that way. If you get one of these calls, hang up immediately. Don't engage. Don't call any number from the message. Look up the official agency number yourself and verify.

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency is also flagging that scammers are targeting workers with phishing emails and random texts. Never click links in unsolicited messages. Always verify independently.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this scam briefing. Make sure you subscribe for more cybersecurity intel. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Hey listeners, it’s Scotty here, your wit-powered guide to all things scams, cyber, and hacking. Let’s jump right in, because if there’s one thing cybercrooks never do, it’s procrastinate.

So, what’s hot in scam news this week? First up, Martin County, Florida is buzzing. Authorities just issued a warrant for Kenique Bellamy—a local woman who turned jury duty into a $23,600 Bitcoin fever dream. Bellamy posed as a sheriff’s officer, claiming the victim missed federal jury duty and had a warrant out for his arrest. The twist? She scared him into dumping thousands in a Bitcoin ATM. Law enforcement’s warning: always verify calls about legal matters; real officers will never demand payment via crypto, especially not with the clock ticking and your freedom allegedly on the line.

Moving north, Waltham is dealing with a cluster of bank text scams. Victims got texts supposedly from Citizens Bank and Santander, lost nearly $10,000 apiece after handing over account info over the phone. The police believe these are linked—so if you get a message “from your bank,” call the number on the card, not the one in the text. And never share account details with anyone who initiates contact with you—period.

The digital crooks are diverse. Monroe, Georgia police just tackled a scam where someone posed as a cartel, demanding $25,000 for a kidnapped daughter—who wasn’t even kidnapped. It’s old-school fear-mongering, dialed up with text messages.

On the tactical front, October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this year the FBI is warning about a spike in AI-driven phishing scams. Scammers use AI chatbots to polish language and images, forging emails and acting like your relatives. They even harness AI to clone voices. If your “loved one” calls and starts talking in language that doesn’t fit—be skeptical, confirm their identity with a pre-chosen codeword, and never send money under pressure.

Holiday shoppers need eyes in the back of their digital heads. Allstate just reported that fake online stores are popping up everywhere, often with deals that seem unreal. Their data shows a spike in identity theft and new account fraud this October, mostly tied to scam retail sites, TikTok shop impersonators, and delivery scams. Before entering payment info, check the web address for “https” and the padlock—no padlock means no purchase. Use credit cards for online buys, and read independent reviews before clicking on any “too-good-to-be-true” deal.

Gift cards aren’t safe either. Jingle Thief, a cybercrime group, wriggled into dozens of cloud accounts lately—stealing Microsoft 365 logins and patiently issuing fake gift cards to sell on the black market. They’re not in a hurry. They get in, set up fake authenticator apps, and hang out for months. Companies are scrambling to keep up.

For every scam, there’s a smart move. Use strong, unique passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, keep devices updated, and never click sketchy links or download files from pop-ups

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Quick download to your scam radar, listeners—Scotty here, your resident expert on digital deception, and honestly, it’s been a blockbuster week in Scamland. Let’s jack right into the main feeds and see who’s been hacked, hijacked, and hopefully, hauled off in handcuffs.

First up: Singapore. Just days ago, the Singapore Police Force launched an island-wide crackdown, arresting twenty-four people—yes, that includes a 15-year-old—for masterminding a government official impersonation scam. Nine more are still getting interrogated. The twist? Scammers posed as staff from M1, a telecom company, or impersonated officers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. One poor victim was manipulated into wiring over a cool $1.1 million in less than ten days, buying gold bars, sending crypto, and scanning YouTrip QR codes like their keyboard was on fire. Even when OCBC bank flagged red flags, the victim was coached by the scammers to lie and say it was all for “investments and gifts.” Props to OCBC—after double-checking, their Anti-Scam Centre stepped in, convinced the victim he was being duped, and shut it down. Authorities later found most of the cash was zapped out of the country before they could freeze accounts. Wild, right? And get this: twenty-three of those arrested were actually selling or renting out their own payment accounts to criminal syndicates. That’s like giving a bank robber your car, mask, and Google Maps directions to the nearest vault.

Don’t think the U.S. is getting off easy. In Ohio, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation recently helped recover $36,000 of the $88,000 stolen from a 67-year-old after she fell for a classic “tech support” crypto scam. It started with a pop-up warning of a virus, led to a fake “Microsoft technician,” and a cinematic series of events involving gifting access to her new laptop and draining her savings into Bitcoin kiosks. The silver lining? Law enforcement used a combo of digital tracing and good old-fashioned legwork to recover part of the funds.

On the everyday scam front, phishing is running wild on college campuses. Miami University’s security teams just had to remind students that no, that “$385 for a part-time research job” is not your ticket to easy street. And across gas stations nationwide, criminals are drilling holes in tap-to-pay terminals, forcing you to dip your card where hidden skimmers are lurking like digital piranhas. If you see a payment terminal that feels loose, take your business inside—and if your debit card gets snagged, your whole bank account could vanish overnight.

The Global Anti-Scams Alliance says people worldwide lost $442 billion to scams this year, and—ready for the kicker?—over 50% of those scams start with shopping or job opportunities that just seem a little too perfect.

Your cheat sheet: Never trust unsolicited calls claiming to be government or tech support, never click strange QR codes, and always verify job offers and payment terminals. When in doubt—pause, question

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Did you get a weird “Hey, are you coming to the BBQ?” text this week? If you did, you and John from Huntsville, Alabama, have something in common—and trust me, BBQ is not on the menu. The real dish is a WEEX cryptocurrency scam dressed up as casual texts from a stranger. These scammers start off friendly, building rapport, but give it a week and suddenly you’ll be trading “digital gold” on what looks like WEEX, a legit crypto exchange, but surprise! The “exchange” is a fake setup designed to steal your cash and every drop of personal info it can siphon. Real exchanges get hijacked as cover, and the only one BBQ’ing is your bank account once you send money or crypto to someone you’ve only met by text. Always dig into “investment” claims, double-check platforms, and if the pitch gets dodgy or rushes you, run like you just saw a phishing link the size of a Great White.

Speaking of fishy moves, let’s click over to California—Santa Clara, to be exact—where authorities just busted six people in an organized retail and gift card scam that’s straight out of a cyber drama. Sheriff Robert Jonsen called it the biggest takedown they've had: Thanh Vo, Corey Guting, Erik Nguyen, Ye Zhang, De Lu, and Yan Wong allegedly raked in millions by coercing people—mostly seniors—into buying gift cards at places like Home Depot and Lowe’s. Victims handed over the codes to scammers, who then bought truckloads of merchandise, filling entire homes with stolen goods. The key lesson here: any call or text demanding gift card payments for “fees” or “urgent situations” is almost certainly a scam. Ignore, report, and remember: you don’t pay the police—or the IRS or the power company—in gift cards.

Now, hold onto your phones—because artificial intelligence has entered the chat. Scammers can now clone voices and faces with frightening accuracy. There’s a reported case where scammers used AI-generated videos of Jennifer Aniston to convince a guy she was in love with him—until, shocker, “Jennifer” asked for cash. The latest trend? The “phantom hacker” scam, powered by generative AI: step one, impersonate tech support and make you install malware; step two, fake your bank and convince you to “protect” your account; step three, pose as the government and drain your funds. If anyone ever urges you to move money “for your own safety,” especially using Apple, Google, or any unfamiliar tech tools, just hang up and walk away. It’s easier than explaining to your bank how Jennifer Aniston emptied your account.

For your cyber shield, never click links from texts or emails that seem off—even if they look official. Only download apps from the Google Play or Apple App Store. If you ever get a digital “arrest” threat, ignore it—no authority arrests people over WhatsApp. And if an offer sounds too good, like a $5 million job out of nowhere, it is.

Thanks for tuning in! Smash that subscribe button and stay one step ahead of the scammers out there. This has been a quiet please production, for mo

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Early this week, I’m sipping my third coffee and suddenly my phone starts vibrating with a text that reads, “Congratulations! Your resume was selected. Click here to begin onboarding.” Listeners, don’t be fooled. Job recruiting scams are surging again, and they’re sneakier—thanks to AI-driven bots blasting out millions of messages every second, as cybercrime expert Frank Skiba just told The National Desk. This is no coincidence. With the U.S. government shutdown drama creating job insecurity, scammers are pouncing, using fake job offers and links so convincing you’d think you got headhunted by Fortune 500 royalty.

The main rule: Don’t click, don’t reply. The second you interact, you go from bot fodder to prime human target. The scam ups its game, maybe even sends in a “human recruiter” with your name or details scraped from social media. Real companies don’t ask you to pay for training kits, laptops, or background checks. And if you want a job? Go directly to the company’s real website or their LinkedIn—not the link in some random text.

Not all scams are digital. The FBI just announced a major bust: “Operation Silver Shores” took down fifteen members of a transnational gang running a $30-million telemarketing scheme. Using fake timeshare sales and posing as lawyers, they bled hundreds of elderly Americans dry, even copying real attorney license numbers. Fresno, Bakersfield, Texas, Florida—these crooks spanned the map. Federal officials warn: Never pay fees upfront for legal settlements, and only trust payouts you can verify independently. Remember—no legit government agency will request payment to release your own money, and if anyone demands your account or routing number, run, don’t walk.

Meanwhile, some gangs are upgrading from drugs to scams, because fraud is easier money. The lesson? If it involves surprise settlements or urgent legal fees, call your local law enforcement or the FTC and get a sanity check.

It’s not all gloom: Meta just launched upgraded anti-scam tools on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Facebook. On WhatsApp, if you try to share your screen with an unknown contact—classic move for a “tech support” or “bank agent” scam—a warning pops up. Messenger is now testing AI that flags suspicious messages, offering to scan recent chats for scam patterns, and prompts users to block or report. The Passkeys upgrade means you can ditch passwords and use your fingerprint or face to log in, making account theft a much harder score for criminals. And Meta is rolling out privacy guides and scam alerts, especially targeting seniors in collaborations across the globe.

Add in the basics: never overshare personal details on social media, keep your privacy settings tight, and talk to family—especially teens and seniors—about cyber safety. Scammers are evolving, but so can you. Thanks for listening, techies! If you want the latest in scam-spotting, hacking prevention, or just my next caffeine-fueled rant, subscribe now. This has been a quiet please pr

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Hey, Scotty here, and let’s be honest—if your inbox looked half as healthy as mine did this week, you’d need hazard pay for opening it. The digital Wild West is, well, wild, and I’ve got the latest hot goss on how scammers are getting bolder by the day, who’s actually getting busted, and how you can keep yourself from becoming tonight’s cautionary tweet.

First, let’s talk about the headlines. Over in Cambodia, South Korea just extradited 64 of its citizens—58 of them are facing arrest at home for running digital rackets targeting their own countryfolk right from Southeast Asia. These folks were allegedly running scams that’d make a noir flick jealous: romance scams, fake investment schemes, and some voice phishing so convincing it’d fool your own grandma. The thing is, these criminal hubs—call them “scam industrial parks”—aren’t just targeting locals. According to the Associated Press and ABC News, victims from as far as South America, Europe, and East Africa are being trafficked to work these scams, sometimes under threat of violence. Just last August, a South Korean student was found dead in Cambodia after being lured in for a simple “job”—a grisly reminder that behind every phishing email, there’s often a much darker human story.

Meanwhile, over in China, the government is playing whack-a-mole with a full-on fraud epidemic. The Ministry of Public Security reported that in just the first half of 2025, they’ve cracked nearly 300,000 telecom and internet scam cases—that’s almost as many as cups of coffee I down in a year. In China alone, some 67,000 people were indicted last year for this stuff, and losses are running into the billions. What’s new this year? Scammers are leaning hard into AI for deepfake videos and calls. You might answer your phone, hear your “boss” urgently asking for cash, see their face and hear their voice, only to realize you just funded a scammer’s yacht party. China’s old school “pig butchering” scam (yes, that’s the actual term) is now a global export—long con dating chats, fake investment platforms, and that gut-wrenching moment you realize your crypto is as real as a unicorn emoji.

But here’s the thing—you don’t have to be a mark. Even big-name banks, like Wells Fargo, are warning that scammers are mining your social media, scraping the dark web for your last five addresses, and throwing AI at every data trail you leave. Phishing, smishing, vishing—it’s the scammer’s holy trinity down at your local dark web café. They want your panic, your trust, your click.

So, how do you fight back? Listen, I live for practical tips as much as my morning espresso. Use a password manager—no, “password123” doesn’t count. Skip the links in unsolicited emails, even if they look like your old college roommate. Check reviews for companies you’re about to send money to, and if something smells too good to be real, it probably is. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority just reminded everyone—banks will never ask for your password or OTP over

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