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<ul><li>Nine Indian working professionals have been stranded in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) after being assured on WhatsApp that they will get jobs in the country. </li><li>The victims claimed that they paid over ₹70,000 to get visitor visas for UAE. </li><li>According to the Indian embassy in Dubai, there are nearly 40 such cases and police investigations are on. </li><li>The UAE extended 2,394 new licenses to foreign nationals in June this year — including Indians. </li><li>Fake recruiters duped over 75 Indian employees in Qatar in the month of April.</li></ul>In the backdrop of rising unemployment in India, the desperation for jobs has led to many scams and fake job scams. Lured by such <keyword id="462967" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="fake-job-offers">fake job offers</keyword> in Dubai, nine Indian working professionals have been left stranded in the <keyword id="6354870" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Arab-Emirates">United Arab Emirates</keyword> (UAE). The job seekers were assured jobs in Dubai via social media platforms like WhatsApp. "A WhatsApp message that promised jobs in the UAE within 15 days was being widely shared in Kerala, and I also received the forwarded message. I really thought it was genuine as many people were showing interest," <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/nine-indians-stranded-in-uae-after-accepting-fake-job-offers/articleshow/70315412.cms">TOI reported</a> citing one of the victims, Fazil. Claiming to be jobless at the moment, the victims said that they spent over ₹70,000 to get visitor visas for UAE by racketeers in Kerala. "I chatted with the agent who convinced me that I will have a job in a supermarket as soon as I land. He told me I will get Dh1,200 as monthly salary and free food and accommodation. I was going through tough times, and thought it would be a good start for me," said Fazil, a qualified technician. When they landed in Dubai, that they realised they had been tricked. According to the victims, a local agent took them to Ajman and Al Ain. The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi has now pitched in to send them back home. This is, however, not the only case. Last month, five men were left without jobs in Dubai, who moved on visitor visas to the country. "We have reported about 40 such cases to Indian authorities and police investigations are on. That is important to deter these illegal agents from duping more people," the embassy told The Khaleej Times. The embassy has thus warned the jobseekers to use official channels and follow immigration rules. On the flipside, the <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai/7600-jobs-created-in-dubai-last-month-">UAE extended 2,394 new licenses</a> to foreign nationals in June this year — including Indians. Fake recruitments have duped over <a href="https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/nri/fake-recruitment-to-qatar-75-including-keralites-duped-1.3974659">75 Indian employees</a> in Qatar as well, in the name of a company Ceprotec. The candidates gave their passports to the recruiters and also paid nearly ₹65,000 for visas. Company job portals and embassies have now started to warn potential job seekers on their website about fake job offers. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-uae-government-is-wooing-indian-teachers-offering-10-times-higher-pay-than-their-current/articleshow/69021762.cms">The UAE government is wooing Indian teachers — offering 10 times higher pay than their current</a>

Caution! WhatsApp job scams leave Indians stranded in Middle East

<ul><li>The Government of <keyword id="13126" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</keyword> has partnered with blockchain startup LegitDoc to issue tamper-proof diploma certificates to fight against <keyword id="255962" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="fake-degrees">fake degrees</keyword>.</li><li>These certificates will be issued using the <keyword id="2810876" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ethereum">Ethereum</keyword> blockchain.</li><li>The Indian startup is also working with the education ministries in <keyword id="6354780" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karnataka">Karnataka</keyword> and <keyword id="68884" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telangana">Telangana</keyword>.</li></ul>The Indian government may not have made up its mind about cryptocurrencies, that isn’t holding back the Government of Maharashtra from indulging in the benefits of the Ethereum blockchain. The Uddhav Thackeray-led administration has partnered up with a blockchain startup called LegitDoc to provide tamper-proof diploma certificates. <div type="ExtQuote" text="In the last 10 years, there has been a rampant increase in forgery of government-issued documents which have caused huge financial and reputational losses to the stakeholders involved." auname="Anil Jadhao, chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Skill Development (MSBSD)"></div> And, Maharashtra isn’t the only state. According to LegitDoc’s CEO Neil Marits, the company also has another “active work order” from the Government of Karnataka and is in the process of finalising another deal with Telangana. Education institutions like the National Institute of Technology in Surathkal and Sonipat’s Ashoka University are also exploring similar solutions to counter the increase in document forgery. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How will Ethereum cut down fake degrees?" comment="subhead" text="How will Ethereum cut down fake degrees?">How will Ethereum cut down fake degrees?</cmsannotation> LegitDoc is using the Ethereum blockchain to mint diplomas that can’t be tampered with. This is the same blockchain that is being used to mint non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are considered to be collector’s items and hence require proof of authenticity. The reason items minted on Ethereum are considered to be tamper proof is because there is no single authority in control. The online ledger, or blockchain, is verified by a network of computers. And, every record on the blockchain is forever, Nobody can tamper with it, not even the owner — at least not without putting a considerable amount of effort, money and energy. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Are there other alternatives?" comment="subhead" text="Are there other alternatives?">Are there other alternatives?</cmsannotation> It should also be noted that Ethereum, in itself, is not a cryptocurrency — it is a platform. The cryptocurrency that is built on the platform and fuels transactions is called Ether. According to the developers, Ether is the ‘fuel’ for apps built on the Ethereum blockchain. And, currently, it is the most popular platform for building applications. Using Ethereum has not only proven to be effective in the past but will also be cheaper than other verification methods — whether the value is monetary or in terms of the kind of effort and time required to cross-check individual claims. Colleges across the world, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/mit-issues-first-digital-diplomas-using-blockchain-technology">MIT</a>) — one of the world’s most renowned engineering schools — and University of Basel based out of Switzerland, are already running pilot projects. Even the central government announced a similar plan for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Delhi University, but there has been no update on the roll out since. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="India has a ‘fake degree’ problem" comment="subhead" text="India has a ‘fake degree’ problem">India has a ‘fake degree’ problem</cmsannotation> In India, getting a degree doesn’t always mean going through the educational system. For the right price, a person can even buy an MBA degree. As recently as April this year, <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/fir-against-92-teachers-in-up-for-using-fake-documents-to-get-job-121040500209_1.html">investigations</a> were launched against 92 teachers in Uttar Pradesh for using fake documents in order to get a job. In February, an entire operation doling out fake degrees to students was discovered in Punjab. <a href="http://ake">According to the police</a>, at least 1,000 fake degrees spanning across 16 government and private universities were issued by the perpetrators. Similarly, Manav Bharti University (MBU) in Himachal Pradesh was <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3123929/indias-fake-degrees-hundreds-singapore-malaysia-us-canada-left">busted</a> in March for selling fake degrees for over $1,000 each. The students of MBU are now spread across all over the world, in countries like Singapore, Dubai, South Africa, and the US. Those with certification from the private university were reportedly being asked by their employers to verify whether or not their credentials were genuine. <a href="https://forum.businessinsider.in/">For a more in-depth discussion, come on over to Business Insider Cryptosphere</a> — a forum where users can deep dive into all things crypto, engage in interesting discussions and stay ahead of the curve. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/imf-remains-wary-of-cryptocurrencies-calls-legalisation-an-inadvisable-shortcut/articleshow/84790881.cms">Inadvisable shortcut, a step too far, and dire consequences — the IMF warns countries against using Bitcoin as a national currency</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/the-indian-government-has-no-data-on-how-many-crypto-exchanges-and-investors-working-on-cryptocurrency/articleshow/84821709.cms">Equalisation levy on crypto exchanges in India will not apply to investors, according the Finance Minister</a>

This Indian startup is using Ethereum to help Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana fight against fake degrees

In a shocking turn of events, Mathura Police has arrested a first-year undergraduate student of BBA with 160 <keyword id="74492" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fake-passports">fake passports</keyword>. Most of these passports were of Arab countries. The cops are suspecting a whole racket of fake passports, being operated from his PG room. 
 
The name of the accused is Vikas Kumar, and he belongs to Gopalganj in Bihar. According to Mathura SSP Rakesh Singh, he was arrested from his PG room once his landlord alerted cops after being suspicious of his activities. 
 
"Kumar was allotted a college hostel room, but the college administration threw him out of the hostel after finding his activities suspicious. He shifted from there and took up a PG accommodation but there too the owners found his behaviour very strange as he used to change the lock of his room every alternate day. He never contacted or talked to anyone and preferred stay inside his room," the SSP told TOI. 
 
After getting the complaint from the landlord, a police team raided his room where they found 160-odd passports both from India and Arab countries. They also recovered some job certificates and interim visa applications, along with a laptop, several mobile phones and SIM cards. 
Most of these passports belonged to people who want jobs in Arab countries, many of them in Iraq and Dubai. 
 
"Kumar earlier worked with a travel agency in New Delhi. We suspect that he runs a fake job racket. He used to monitor job vacancies in Arab countries, get fake passports made of Indian people, get them fake job experience certificates along with visa and other documents. He earned money from both companies and applicants in this manner," Singh added. 
 
The police team and IB want to know the names of the people involved in this racket, as it’s not possible to run such a huge business all alone. He would be further interrogated in custody so that the matter can be solved. 

	 
	<a href="http://fakepassports.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/fakepassports.jpg">Image source</a>

BBA student arrested with 160 fake passports of Arab countries

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Welcome back to our Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories. A venture-funded AI-friendship necklace received a lot of hate on the internet. But <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-zer-behind-friend-creepy-new-ai-necklace-interview-2024-8">its 21-year-old creator is undeterred</a>, adding that "personal vibes" have guided his decisions.On the agenda today:<ul><li>College students are reneging on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-college-students-renege-job-offers-tech-rescinded-2024-7">their job offers</a>.</li><li>The latest hedge-fund trend <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-embracing-hot-portable-alpha-strategy-to-win-investors-2024-7">marries passive investing with firms' secret sauce</a>.</li><li>Amazon has considered a "DoctorAI" tool <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-doctorai-automate-routine-healthcare-tasks-one-medical-2024-7">to automate routine healthcare tasks</a>.</li><li>Mark Cuban is the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-cost-plus-strategy-disrupt-drug-pricing-big-pharma-2024-7">shark circling Big Pharma</a>.</li></ul>But first: Big Tech reporting for duty.If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today-sunday-edition">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/app">here.</a><h3 id="58506b3b-b008-4ead-9e90-71439c9e98dd">This week's dispatch</h3><div type="image" title="Mark Zuckerberg graphic with dollar bills behind him" height="1500" width="2000" msid="112265720" hostid="261" sizebytes="730788"></div><h2 id="4b78459e-8dcf-46a0-957a-c13cd2e8f603">Big Tech's big week</h2>The masters of the tech universe reported earnings this week with all eyes on their AI investments.Even before Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft reported earnings, investors' focus was clear. Alphabet and Tesla had already been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-hype-train-profits-valuations-startups-google-openai-2024-7">put through the wringer</a>, and there were questions about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-gpt5-gpt4-expectations-ai-2024-7">OpenAI's ability to turn a profit</a>.When the dust settled, some eased concerns and bought themselves time, while others faced more scrutiny.Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn't shy away from his intention to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-spending-more-mark-zuckerberg-investors-stock-price-2024-7">keep plowing money into AI</a>, but investors didn't mind. (It also helps Meta beat revenue and earnings estimates <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-stock-quarterly-earnings-call-report-live-updates-2024-7">thanks to its ads business</a>.)Apple <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-bought-itself-some-time-after-quarterly-results-2024-8">bought itself some time, too</a>. While China sales remain an issue, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-aapl-stock-quarterly-earnings-call-report-live-updates-2024-7">it beat on earnings and revenue estimates</a>. The tech giant's newest iPhone model and Apple Intelligence set to be released this fall will be another test on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-will-find-out-fate-of-the-iphone-soon-2024-8">the effectiveness of Apple's AI spend</a>.On the other end of the spectrum were Amazon and Microsoft. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-stock-amzn-quarterly-earnings-call-report-live-updates-2024-7">Softening demand from shoppers</a> for Amazon led to a miss in reported net sales and a weaker-than-expected sales forecast for the third quarter.Microsoft took a hit when its cloud unit's revenue growth was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-investors-freaked-out-about-ai-spending-azure-growth-2024-7">slower than analysts had hoped for</a>. And news of a pharma company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pharma-cio-cancelled-microsoft-copilot-ai-tool-2024-7">canceling a Microsoft AI deal</a> didn't help. One executive compared the slide-generation capability of Microsoft's AI tools to "middle school presentations."But by Friday, investors had <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-selloff-today-jobs-report-recession-unemployment-tech-earnings-2024-8">bigger concerns</a> about the state of the economy after data showed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unemployment-rate-job-growth-july-labor-market-economic-data-2024-7">unemployment unexpectedly jumped in July</a>.<div type="image" title="A hand being held out for a handshake while another hand appears to move away" height="1500" width="2000" msid="112265718" hostid="261" sizebytes="105524"></div><h2 id="52995072-04bd-4288-b36f-7097769ca568">A cultural renege-ssance</h2>A college senior commits to a relationship in September, but jumps ship in April when a better option comes along. That's a familiar story in the world of Gen Z dating. But in this case, the people getting dumped aren't romantic partners — they're companies.Reneging on job offers is growing ever more common among ambitious Gen Zers, many of whom know companies have also pulled offers. The problem is that when a student reneges, their peers often pay the price.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-college-students-renege-job-offers-tech-rescinded-2024-7">Job seekers' anxious attachments</a>.<div type="image" title="A stock Trader looking at a bar graph" height="1500" width="2000" msid="112265717" hostid="261" sizebytes="446562"></div><h2 id="3def0688-49f6-4c7a-8c33-ac32f3fbc1d9">Hedge funds' old-turned-new strategy</h2>Sometimes to beat the market you need to be the market.That's the concept behind "portable alpha," a decades-old strategy gaining momentum on Wall Street. The approach includes mirroring the broad market via a benchmark, like the S&amp;P 500, coupled with an actively managed strategy from a hedge fund.The trend is being driven by institutional investors, but hedge funds are happy to oblige amid a difficult fundraising environment.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-embracing-hot-portable-alpha-strategy-to-win-investors-2024-7">Inside the "portable-alpha" mania</a>.<div type="image" title="Photo collage about Amazon's One Medical" height="1500" width="2000" msid="112265721" hostid="261" sizebytes="282108"></div><h2 id="3536a09f-4fa1-4a4d-b7db-d406609fe93c">Amazon's "DoctorAI" tool</h2>According to an internal planning document, Amazon's One Medical team has talked about developing a "DoctorAI" tool to automate routine healthcare tasks. The concept was proposed as part of the team's most disruptive ideas.By improving mundane administrative agenda items, the large language model could help reduce costs for Amazon's healthcare business — an important goal as the company tries to trim costs.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-doctorai-automate-routine-healthcare-tasks-one-medical-2024-7">More on Amazon's AI healthcare ambitions</a>.Also read:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-healthcare-one-medical-billion-loss-cost-cutting-profitability-2024-7">Amazon projected huge losses from its healthcare business in 2024, but strong sales growth, internal document reveals</a></li></ul><h2 id="6f06612a-69eb-4dd3-a3c3-e854a555c215">Mark Cuban's pharma mission</h2>In 2022, Mark Cuban launched a low-cost online pharmacy with the goal of cutting drug prices for consumers. His company, Cost Plus, is a hit: It offers more than 2,000 mostly generic drugs.Now, the billionaire "Shark Tank" investor is expanding into imports. That puts him in direct competition with big names like Pfizer and Novo Nordisk.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-cost-plus-strategy-disrupt-drug-pricing-big-pharma-2024-7">The shark in Big Pharma's waters</a>.This week's quote:"They hear this language, and they're aware that this was made up by somebody's grandfather 70 years ago, and it stuck."— Recruiter and TikToker Emily Durham, on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-reject-corporate-jargon-corporate-accent-2024-7">generation rejecting corporate jargon and workplace norms</a>.More of this week's top reads:<ul><li>Want to work for Blackstone straight out of college? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-blackstone-summer-analyst-program-and-internship-2024-7">Here's the best route</a>.</li><li>Don't feel sorry <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-linda-yaccarino-twitter-x-profile-2024-7/">for Linda Yaccarino</a>.</li><li>Tech's most powerful bromance is bolstered by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/business-bromance-nvidia-jensen-huang-mark-zuckerberg-siggraph-2024-7">billions of dollars of deals</a>.</li><li>A software engineer explains how he <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/software-engineer-takeaways-from-bicoastal-living-sf-nyc-personal-finance-2024-7">splits his time between NYC and SF</a>.</li><li>A thief locked a traveler out of his Google account, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-stolen-locked-out-google-tech-bank-2024-7">destroying years of work</a>.</li><li>Starbucks is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-reinvented-cafes-managment-plan-lines-waits-sales-2024-7">trying to make coffee fun again</a>.</li><li>The poster who sparked the fake JD Vance couch story <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-couch-sex-joke-author-speaks-2024-7">speaks for the first time</a>.</li><li>London's hedge fund rich are looking to avoid new taxes by relocating to Milan and Dubai. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-fund-rich-taxes-labour-london-uk-relocation-milan-dubai-2024-7">People who have made the move tell us what it's like</a>.The Insider Today team: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-defrancesco">Dan DeFrancesco</a>, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jordan-parker-erb">Jordan Parker Erb</a>, editor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/lisa-ryan">Lisa Ryan</a>, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.</li></ul>

Insider Today: Mark Cuban vs. Big Pharma

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Five Gen Zs and millennials explained to BI how they <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/budget-cruises-harder-to-find-carnival-royal-caribbean-2024-7">pay for travel</a>.</li><li>Some say they've gone into debt or used "buy now, pay later" services like Affirm for their vacations.</li></ul>Money can't buy happiness — but it can buy a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silversea-new-ultra-luxury-cruise-ship-winning-over-younger-guests-2024-7">weeklong vacation</a> to the Amalfi Coast.And if you don't have the cash, you can just fake it 'till you make it — or at least put the trip on a credit card and worry about it later.Would you <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genz-millennials-going-into-debt-summer-vacation-travel-taylor-swift-2024-6">go into debt</a> to fund your dream vacation? More than one in three Americans who said they planned to travel this summer would — either by borrowing money, using credit cards, or a buy now pay later service like Klarna and Affirm — according to an online Bankrate <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/news/survey-summer-vacation/">survey</a> of about 2,300 adults in March.According to the survey, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genz-millennials-summer-travel-debt-remote-work-blame-2024-6">millennials and Gen Z</a> were the most willing to take on debt, with 47% and 42% of them, respectively, saying so. That's a stark comparison to Gen X and boomers, of whom 31% and 22%, respectively, said they're willing to do the same.Why not, when, as one young globetrotter, 24-year-old India Roby, put it, "There's biggest fish to fry," she told Business Insider, pointing to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-americans-build-wealth-changing-stocks-homes-people-missed-out-2024-8">general attitudes about the economy</a> and global conflict.<h2 id="8718bd13-63ec-4d28-ad67-b419474f8afe">'Fuck it — we ball.'</h2><div type="image" title="India Roby standing in street in Korea" height="1725" width="2300" msid="112607255" hostid="261" sizebytes="254606"></div>Family vacations weren't a staple of Roby's childhood, she said. Instead, she recalls growing up "super poor" with a "tumultuous upbringing, especially when it came to finances." Evictions and electricity being turned off were "a common occurrence," she said.But that's in the past. Now, she's a freelance journalist in New York City and earning what she says is the most anyone in her family has ever made, at an average of $65,000 annually. (BI could not verify this.)Her new financial freedom has come with the goal of going on one big vacation a year. So far, that's been trips to Honolulu and Los Angeles in 2021, Seoul, Korea in 2023, and again in June.She may not always have the cash to pay for it in full. But as the adage goes, if there's a will, there's a way.When she was "definitely broke" last year, she charged her flight to Korea on PayPal Credit, which prominently <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=daa803ea8347c2c61c809cec387a51ac86e04fe54aaa2bba43ea52bf6ce4bf9e&amp;postID=66aa41e9220fcb2243b8b0ff&amp;postSlug=millennial-gen-z-travel-debt-affirm-klarna-credit-cards-2024-8&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.com%2Fus%2Fdigital-wallet%2Fways-to-pay%2Fcredit-services%2Fpaypal-credit">advertises</a> its "buy now, pay over time" option. For her recent trip back, she opened a new Chase Sapphire Preferred card to pay for the flights, not the points. "I want to go to Korea," she said. "We're going to make it happen. I don't have the money, so I need to get money."That trip left her credit score "very in the gutter." She's now paying credit card debt, but happy she had a good time.<div type="image" title="photos of black and white photos of Roby with colorful markers" height="1725" width="2300" msid="112607257" hostid="261" sizebytes="100384"></div>"I don't want my finances and economic status to be the reason I can't have fun, live life, and be cute," Roby told BI. "I want to live my life and worry about the specifics later."But her secret sauce to affording traveling isn't just putting big payments on new cards. It's also buy now, pay later services like Affirm and Klarna, which she said she uses for almost every purchase, whether Instacart, supplies from Petco for her two guinea pigs, or "impulse purchases at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instyle.com/sandy-liang-nyfw-fall-2024-interview-8581691">Sandy Liang</a>."Some flights, such as a trip to New Orleans in 2023, and Airbnbs, like the one she had booked for her trip back to Seoul.And she's not alone — 16% of millennial and Gen Z travelers said they were considering using these services to fund their summer vacation, according to a recent Credit Karma <a target="_blank" href="https://www.creditkarma.com/about/commentary/young-americans-want-a-summer-of-fun-no-matter-the-funds">report</a>, which surveyed 2,006 adults online from June 6 to 8."I can't afford a $4,000 trip right off the bat, but if you split it up across six months, I could probably make that work," Roby said. "I am treating my childhood self to things I wasn't afforded, and also current me because I want to go on a vacation too."<h2 id="336f99d9-6701-4bb3-8775-6e67153e6bd3">'For now, it's going to be credit cards and Klarna until I die.'</h2><div type="image" title="Gilmore facing away from camera and towards pool and trees" height="1725" width="2300" msid="112607259" hostid="261" sizebytes="342398"></div>About a third of Gen Z and millennials said they don't feel "financially stable" in Credit Karma's survey.Hailee Gilmore, 27, isn't one of them. She and her husband share a two-year-old child and "a lot of student debt." But they both work two jobs each, with Hailee earning about $85,000 annually from her full-time position at the New York State Health Department and her part-time job at a car dealership.Despite this stable stream of income, Gilmore, like Roby, said she would likely use buy-now, pay-later services to book vacations for the foreseeable future.Before them, Gilmore — who also said she grew up "poor" — had been fronting travel costs on credit cards, although not to the same carefree degree as Roby. "I felt like I was making a bad choice," Gilmore said. "I felt irresponsible."She was initially skeptical of Affirm and Klarna — that is until it came time to book her and her husband's almost $3,200 honeymoon at a luxury all-inclusive resort in Mexico.He said they didn't have the money for it. She suggested using Affirm.And that they did, booking their big getaway in March 2021 with a 14-month payment plan of about $154 a month. "We go out to dinner a lot," she said. "That's the price of a dinner and drinks."The vacation had been paid off by their wedding and honeymoon in October 2022.<div type="image" title="the Gilmores in front of a colorful Riviera Maya sign and trees" height="1150" width="2300" msid="112607262" hostid="261" sizebytes="179172"></div>What she once thought was a "scam" has become a routine part of booking Airbnbs, flights, and an annual family vacation to Ohio. In the next year and a half, the Gilmores also plan to take their first family trip to Disney — using Affirm, of course."I would be able to pay a chunk of money, but my heart, growing up poor, is saying I shouldn't pay $2,000 right now for a vacation," Gilmore told BI. "In my mind, it's more feasible when I look at it as a monthly budget item."<h2 id="c0e1190b-5b56-471b-841c-4c02b2328699">To some, going into debt isn't worth a vacation.</h2><div type="image" title="Witter sitting on ground in front of people and lighthouse" height="1725" width="2300" msid="112607250" hostid="261" sizebytes="501898"></div>Take Crystal Witter, a 27-year-old law student, entrepreneur, and content creator in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for example. As a self-proclaimed solo travel lover with no commitments, she says now is the time to prioritize seeing the world, especially as she envisions a short-term future in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-law-paul-hastings-list-non-negotiable-expectations-debate-2023-4">Big Law</a>, notorious for its long working hours.She took out a "small" student loan to supplement her full law school scholarship. But because it's so little, she doesn't foresee paying it off as a long-term concern. (Interest rates for some student loans are typically lower than that of traditional loans or credit cards.)"Money comes back, but experiences you'll have forever," Witter told BI, calling from her vacation in Dubai. "I'll never be 27 again, in Dubai, traveling solo, falling off of dirt bikes, and living life."However, she believes financial responsibility is more important than "impressing people on social media."<div type="image" title="composite of Witter in Dubai" height="1070" width="1427" msid="112607252" hostid="261" sizebytes="157424"></div>Witter funds her trips using her earnings from her TikTok accounts, her main source of income, which she said averages more than $6,000 monthly. (BI could not verify this.) While she does use a travel-specific credit card for points, she won't accrue a balance or use buy now, pay later services, calling them "risky.""Having high debt is not the real trend despite what people see on social media," Witter said. "As young people, we have a responsibility to ensure our future is safe as much as we want to enjoy the present."<h2 id="337c5328-110e-4f89-97ab-6afa38915745">Take it from someone who learned the hard way.</h2>If there's one person who can speak to Witter's sentiments, it's Canada-based Erin Spencer. Her full-time job is in the "financial industry," but she also creates TikTok content about her journey with debt, a topic she's personally well-versed in.By 19, she was accruing credit card debt while "going on trips I couldn't afford," Spencer told BI. By 24, she had accumulated 25,000 Canadian dollars — about $18,300 — in debt, ultimately filing for bankruptcy.Now, at 30, she still owes more than CAD$26,150 — about $19,100 — for payments such as taxes, car, and student loans. "I've basically had debt my entire adult life," Spencer said.Like others, accruing a credit card balance was her way of affording trips. For example, her Boston vacation in 2022 and an international shopping trip to Maine in 2023, which she estimates had added a "couple thousand" onto her card.<div type="image" title="photo of trader joes" height="1369" width="1825" msid="112607254" hostid="261" sizebytes="85760"></div>But just because she went on these vacations doesn't mean they were stress-free. "I felt like I was living a lie and hiding something from people," she said. "I was embarrassed.""Am I really enjoying it?" Spencer recalled asking herself. "Am I trying to keep up with the Joneses?"That is, until a switch flipped in November, when she shared her bankruptcy story on TikTok.Now, she's wholly committed to paying off her debt."I don't want to be a statistic," Spencer told BI. "I don't want to get into a cycle of filing bankruptcy."Despite this mindset shift, she still has a goal of traveling once or twice a year. But instead of going further into debt, she now uses a sinking fund, which she supplies with earnings from some of her TikTok brand deals and about $50 to $100 from each of her corporate job's paychecks. (She said she makes between CAD$75,000 to CAD$85,000 annually from both. BI could not verify the amount.)While she still has debt, having a travel-specific fund has allowed her to truly enjoy her vacations, including her latest two-week "recharge" trip in April to Florida, which cost about $2,500 — but didn't deepen the well of her debt.<div type="image" title="composite of Spencer in Florida, walking by water and posing in front of it" height="1080" width="1440" msid="112607266" hostid="261" sizebytes="141728"></div>Yes, she got some backlash on TikTok for going on the trip. And yes, she could've put that money toward her payments. "But I would still have debt, and I'd probably be way more burned out if I didn't take a break and come back focused and ready to pay off my debt again," she told BI. "Everybody needs a break sometimes."According to Credit Karma's survey, about one in four and one in five Gen Z and millennials, respectively, said they will use cash from a travel-specific savings fund to pay for their summer vacation.Like Spencer, Zakaria Karanikos, 25, is one of them. She uses a sinking fund to budget for travel despite graduating with student debt — a balance of which currently sits just shy of $120,000 — in 2022.In the past, she would put her vacation expenses on a credit card and work extra shifts to pay it off. Now that she earns more in her post-grad job — $72,000 annually — she only uses credit cards for the points."People my age feel this pressure to either not care about money and travel because they're never going to be this young again, or prioritize their career and never travel to get financially ahead," Karanikos told BI. "I think you should find a way to balance both. Our time is limited. Both can be important."<div type="image" title="Karanikos posing by fountain" height="1725" width="2300" msid="112607268" hostid="261" sizebytes="360488"></div>Or, as Spencer put it, a disagreement with the proliferation of the casual "treat yourself" mentality. "You really deserve it when you save for it and earn it."But that doesn't mean she no longer struggles with the urge to spend more than she can budget for.Her springtime Florida trip almost completely emptied her travel fund. For her 30th birthday in July, she was tempted to put another trip on her card. "I was having a full battle with myself, even if it's just a few thousand dollars," she said. (She ultimately decided against it.)Spencer said she doesn't judge people who put vacations on their credit cards. Of course, she's been there, too.But now, she "sleeps peacefully.""You can't live life in a delusion, put everything on credit, and hope you're going to get rich or pay it off somehow," Spencer said. "Eventually, it catches up with you."

These millennials and Gen Z-ers are going on vacation — no matter how much it costs 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Indian and Nepalese men are being coerced into fighting for Russia against Ukraine, a report said.</li><li>The men were apparently deceived by fake job ads and forced to sign military contracts.</li></ul>Countless Indian and Nepalese men have been forced into joining <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-democracy-the-best-kremlin-against-all-evidence-navalny-2024-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">Russia</a> in its fight against Ukraine, according to multiple reports.At least 20 Indian men were reported by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/02/india-ukraine-war-uae-job-dubai-fight/">The Telegraph</a> as being trapped on the front lines after being tricked with the false promise of job opportunities.But the total number could be much higher, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/07/he-had-no-idea-he-was-being-sent-to-a-war-zone-the-indian-and-nepalese-men-on-frontlines-in-ukraine">The Guardian,</a> which noted that some estimates are in the hundreds.Indian and Nepalese men told The Guardian that they had been pressured into signing military contracts written in Russian and that they couldn't leave because their passports had been taken.<div type="image" title="Russian soldier" height="1369" width="1825" msid="108307053" hostid="261" sizebytes="155988"></div>The family of Hemil Mangukiya, a 23-year-old from the Indian state of Gujarat, spoke of the confusion and fear their son felt after being tricked onto the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-military-avdiivka-struggles-with-underprepared-defensive-lines-2024-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">front lines</a>.Mangukiya traveled to Russia last December after watching a recruitment video on YouTube, The Guardian reported. He believed he was going to work in security — but when he arrived, he was taken to a military training camp and then to the front lines.He died in a missile strike in Ukraine in late February, his family said.Mangukiya's father, Ashwin, told The Guardian that the family is "devasted" and that they are "still trying to get back his dead body."At least 26 Indian men have been tricked by recruitment videos by the YouTube channel Baba Vlogs, run by the Dubai-based Indian recruiter Faisal Khan, The Guardian said.The channel falsely advertised military helper jobs that would not involve fighting on the front lines.Khan told The Guardian that he had been "misled" by a Russian intermediary about the position and said he had "no idea they would be sent to a war zone.""We are trying to get these people out of there now," he said.Similar tactics have been used on Nepalese citizens. Speaking to The Guardian from an army hospital in Russia, Nandaram Pun, from the Rolpa district in Nepal, said that he had been offered a job in Germany and was told to go to Russia as a transit stop.But like many others, he said he was taken to a military camp shortly after arriving in Moscow. He was later sent to Bakhmut in Ukraine, where he became injured in a drone attack."We had no idea about the drone attacks. My legs, thighs and right hand were hit by shrapnel," he said. "I don't want to be cured, because if they think I am better, then they will send me back to war again."Pun said he had attempted to contact the Nepalese authorities in the hope of being rescued, but he had received no help.<h2>India and Nepal's reactions have been completely different</h2>The apparent coercive tactics used by Russia are significant, not just for those involved, but for Russia's respective relations with India and Nepal.While Nepal has historically had a <a target="_blank" href="https://mofa.gov.np/nepal-russia-relations/">friendly relationship</a> with Russia, the government has pushed back against its citizens being recruited.<div type="image" title="Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Nepal's then-Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal in 2010" height="1380" width="1840" msid="108307228" hostid="261" sizebytes="193640"></div>In December, a spokesperson for the Nepal government said in a statement that it had requested the Russian government to "immediately return" the bodies of six Nepalese nationals killed in the war and pay compensation to their families, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/nepal-urges-russia-not-recruit-its-citizens-into-army-says-six-killed-2023-12-05/">Reuters reported</a>.In February, the government <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/05/nepal-bans-citizens-from-working-in-russia-or-ukraine-after-deaths-in-military">barred citizens</a> from working in Russia or Ukraine after the death toll increased to 12, and countless others were reported missing from the front lines.A spokesperson for Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Guardian they were working "constantly" to bring its citizens home.While the exact number of Nepalese people still fighting in Russia is not known, the spokesperson said 245 families had filed petitions claiming that they had a relative trapped in the army, while five others have been recorded as prisoners of war by Ukraine.India's reactions to the situation appeared to be less confrontational.<div type="image" title="Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016" height="1324" width="1765" msid="108307232" hostid="261" sizebytes="136954"></div>"We are aware that a few Indian nationals have signed up for support jobs with the Russian army," a spokesperson for the Indian Government said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mea.gov.in/response-to-queries.htm?dtl/37653/Official_Spokespersons_response_to_media_queries_regarding_Indians_caught_in_conflict_in_Russia">statement</a> on February 23."The Indian Embassy has regularly taken up this matter with the relevant Russian authorities for their early discharge."The spokesperson urged all Indian nationals to "exercise due caution and stay away from this conflict," but did not make an official ban.India's relationship with Russia has only appeared to strengthen since the invasion of Ukraine, as it did not join the EU, the US, and other Western countries in imposing sanctions.The leaders of the two countries have also made public exchanges during this period. Most recently, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call in January, where they discussed "the situation in Ukraine," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-indias-modi-discuss-ukraine-wish-each-other-well-elections-kremlin-2024-01-15/">Reuters </a>reported.Representatives for the Russian army, the Indian government, and the Nepalese government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Indian and Nepalese men say they were tricked into fighting for Russia in Ukraine and can't return home

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Over the last year, the website Exceljet has been the victim of an AI-powered "SEO heist."</li><li>An online marketer used artificial intelligence to clone thousands of Exceljet's articles for a competitor.</li></ul>Traffic was crashing, and David Bruns couldn't figure out why.Exceljet, his website for navigating Microsoft Excel, had been a hit since 2012, quickly becoming a lucrative full-time job for the Utah resident.In late 2022, though, visits to Exceljet started slipping — and then kept going down. The site relies heavily on Google search traffic, and with the tech giant periodically updating how it ranks websites, Bruns wondered whether he'd fallen out of the company's favor. He'd also embarked on a technical rebuild; perhaps that had something to do with it?Then, in the fall of 2023, a friend flagged a social-media post to him, and it all made sense. Bruns has been the victim of an "SEO heist," one of the first of the new generative-AI era. It was an audacious plot to copy his website and siphon away hard-earned Google referral traffic using powerful new artificial-intelligence tools.The heist was part of a wildly successful campaign that sent traffic to the perpetrator's client up an estimated 60-fold, even as Exceljet's online visits halved."It's one thing to get outranked by an article that is arguably better than the article that you wrote, but it's something else to get outranked by an article that was written by a machine that no human ever reviewed," Bruns told Business Insider. "It's just wrong to make money on that."Exceljet's struggles raise big questions about the future of the internet. Content on any topic can now be generated with the press of a button, and it's all but impossible to spot the difference between this synthetic stuff and what a human might produce on the same subject. That's quickly upending the existing rules of the web — and it's a particularly thorny challenge for Google."The usual signal methods of what's true are no longer clear, and trusted sources like Google searches don't turn up the right things anymore," said Ethan Mollick, an associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who studies the impact of AI. "We're going to have to fundamentally change how we relate to information. I just don't know whether we're going to do that as fast as we need to."<h2>SEO on steroids</h2>The central battleground where this is playing out is Search Engine Optimization. SEO professionals help websites improve their ranking in search results, using tactics ranging from official Google trend analysis to more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/features/23931789/seo-search-engine-optimization-experts-google-results">dubious tricks to game the system</a>. The basic idea is to find out what people are searching for and deliver relevant content for those queries.SEO experts were quick to see the commercial potential of generative AI when ChatGPT burst onto the scene over a year ago. Once you know which Google search terms (aka keywords) to target, there's no longer any need to ask humans to laboriously type up a relevant article. Now, AI models can knock that out in seconds, thanks to new startups such as Jasper and SEO.AI.It's SEO on steroids, and Jake Ward has been more audacious than most industry players in taking advantage of this. The Exceljet heist is his AI-powered handiwork. And he's unapologetic.Ward argues that what he's done is no different than any other SEO content strategist; generative AI has just made it way faster. "It's unusual that something acceptable, if done once, suddenly becomes unethical when reproduced at scale," he wrote on X earlier this month."Most websites, especially large-scale projects, will hire cheap writers who know nothing about the topic they're writing about," he added. "They copy and regurgitate content from the top few Google results. AI is smarter than 99% of the people writing those articles."<h2>The Exceljet heist, explained</h2>An expat from the north of England now living in Dubai, Ward and his business partner worked to boost the presence of the business-planning software startup Causal on Google — in part by using generative AI to feed off Exceljet's existing content.First, they downloaded Exceljet's "sitemap" — essentially, a directory of the roughly 1,800 pages on Exceljet's website. They took the URLs for each page and fed them all into AI content-generation tools. Using those URLs as guidance, the tools promptly spat out a stream of articles on the same subjects, no human author required.It's not clear exactly when Causal began posting the Exceljet-inspired articles, but its traffic has been climbing steadily for more than a year. It's also not Causal's only attempt to use AI to boost its ranking: Ward's business partner <a target="_blank" href="https://mackgrenfell.com/blog/building-2-000-unique-seo-pages-with-gpt-3">Mack Grenfell</a> previously wrote about using generative AI to work with Causal as early as October 2021.At the start of May 2022, Causal was averaging less than 10,000 organic traffic visits a week, according to estimates by the web-analytics tool Ahrefs. Around the start of 2023, it was reaching 200,000, and it peaked in October at more than 600,000 a week.Over the same period, Exceljet's traffic plunged. It averaged about 2 million users a month in 2022, Bruns said, and by 2023, that was down to just over 1 million. (Changes to Google's algorithm, tweaks to Exceljet's website, and other non-AI-augmented competition may have also played a part in that decline.)<h2>The backlash</h2>On November 24, Ward posted on X about his targeting of Exceljet, saying he "stole" traffic from a competitor.The post went viral, and the backlash was swift. Gergely Orosz, a high-profile software engineer and newsletter writer, argued that it posed a significant <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/GergelyOrosz/status/1729141146956574797">threat to Google</a>."Generating absolute junk with AI just to make some $$ is happening at alarmingly fast pace. First sites/articles, then images and soon videos," Orosz wrote. "Internet search like Google is becoming much more useless, even as they try and battle all this. Trusted sources become more valuable."In a conversation with BI, Bruns echoed Orosz's criticism. "This is a big problem for Google," he said. "If people keep finding crappy articles at the top of the search results, they're going to end up questioning whether Google's doing a good job, but the fact that the articles are near or they can be at the top of the result makes it seem like they're legitimate."Even more galling for Bruns: When he reviewed the AI-generated Causal posts, he found factual errors in some articles, with one describing a purported feature that doesn't exist in Excel. Google even selected this AI howler as a "<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/exceljet/status/1729186481439437135">featured snippet</a>" and placed it prominently at the top of relevant search results, Bruns said."I started to look at the quality of the articles and realized that we're losing traffic to stuff that doesn't even make sense," he said.When reached by BI, Ward initially said he was open to an interview but subsequently declined to talk on the record. "The client in question doesn't want any more exposure with what we did," he said in a voice message.Causal did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<h2>Google responds</h2>Google isn't fussed about AI-generated content. The $1.67 trillion search giant won't penalize synthetic articles in its search results — so long as it deems the content useful to users."AI can be a useful tool to help people with creative endeavors, including the development of great content," a Google spokesperson, Jennifer Kutz, said in a statement. "But like any tool, it has the potential to be misused, so we have a number of efforts to protect the integrity of Search and ensure we're taking a responsible approach."If Google determines AI is being used primarily to manipulate search rankings, though, that's not allowed. It's a nebulous judgment that may prove difficult even for a company with Google's AI prowess.Shortly after Ward posted his thread, Causal's organic web traffic dropped off a cliff. In early October, it was accruing more than 610,000 organic traffic visits a week, according to Ahrefs' data; by mid-December, that had plummeted to about 190,000. It looked, said some experts, suspiciously as if Google had taken a "manual action" — <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/RossHudgens/status/1729889490947518868">deliberately penalizing the website</a> in its search rankings. (Google declined to comment on specific websites.)"I can't confirm there's a penalty," Patrick Stox, an SEO expert at Ahrefs, said. "But there's basically no other thing besides deleting a bunch of pages that would cause a drop like that."<h2>Google conflicted</h2>While Google passes judgment on other websites' synthetic content, it's hard at work building its own AI models to churn out automated text and other information.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/business/google-artificial-intelligence-news-articles.html">The New York Times</a> reported that Google was trying to sell some of these generative-AI tools to major news publishers. And there are bigger changes coming. Google is building out Search Generative Experience, or SGE, an experimental AI question-answering tool baked directly into search. It could be the biggest shake-up in Google's 25-year history, delivering customized answers directly to users.AI-powered search experiences such as this may lead to traffic declines of as much as 25% for many websites, Insight Partners, a venture-capital firm, has said."As with every great disruption, you either adapt to that disruption or you ultimately perish," Gary Survis, an operating partner at Insight, said.It's a one-two punch for publishers and websites dependent on Google for traffic: Their links may be demoted below Google's AI-generated content, and they'll be competing in any remaining traditional search results with other websites that use AI to write content automatically. <h2>Dipping their toes</h2>Media companies are already using dipping their toes in the AI water, with sometimes calamitous results. The Gizmodo publisher, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/8/23788162/gizmodo-g-o-media-ai-generated-articles-star-wars">G/O Media</a>, was slammed for publishing AI-generated stories containing numerous factual errors earlier this year. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/11/media/sports-illustrated-ai-articles-ceo/index.html">Sports Illustrated's publisher recently fired the magazine's CEO</a> following a brouhaha over its publication of articles that featured fake writers and AI-generated profile pictures.Still, other publishers aren't dissuaded. Michael Nunez, the editorial director at the tech-news site VentureBeat, encourages his writers to experiment with AI tools. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-insider-newsroom-will-use-ai-2023-4">Nich Carlson</a>, global editor in chief of BI, said in April that the newsroom would carefully learn how to use this new technology."The most important piece of that for us is that we never rely on AI blindly or uncritically, and we use it as a tool to augment human skill or judgment rather than to replace it," VentureBeat's Nunez told BI. (Disclosure: Nunez and the author of this article both sit on the board of the San Francisco Press Club.)Even Exceljet's Bruns is starting to use AI in his workflow despite Ward's SEO heist."A lot of times when I finish an article, I will feed it back into ChatGPT and ask it to review the article. I'm mostly interested in typos or logical errors," Bruns said. "I sometimes use it to generate ideas," he added."Like occasionally, I'll ask it: Can you tell me how you would solve this problem in Excel?"Got a story? Contact the reporter, Rob Price, via the encrypted-messaging app Signal (+1 650-636-6268), email (rprice@insider.com), Telegram / Wickr / WeChat (robaeprice), Twitter/X DM (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/robaeprice">@robaeprice</a>), or mail: Rob Price, Business Insider, 44 Montgomery St, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.

Inside the first 'SEO heist' of the AI era

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nigerian influencer Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi, was known for flaunting his wealth online.</li><li>In an affidavit, the FBI alleges his lifestyle was funded by a series of cybercrimes, including money laundering and fraud.</li></ul>On the surface, Hushpuppi looked just like every other rich Instagrammer with millions of followers and millions to spend.A Richard Mille watch. A Rolls-Royce Wraith. Shopping bags from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel. You name it, the Nigerian influencer — real name Ramon Abbas — had it, and he showed it.And while the online flexing brought him 2 million followers, it also led the FBI right to his doorstep. On November 7, Abbas, 40, was<a href="https://www.insider.com/nigerian-influencer-hushpuppi-sentenced-11-years-jail-2022-11"> sentenced to 135 months in federal prison</a> for money laundering and internet fraud.Insider attempted to reach Abbas for comment for this story via his lawyers. Louis Shapiro, one of his attorneys, declined to comment. John O. Iweanoge, II, Abbas' other lawyer, did not respond to Insider's request for comment.<h2>A 'Yahoo' boy from the slums of Nigeria</h2>Abbas grew up in a poor neighborhood of Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria. A driver named Seye, who knew him as a child, told <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58553109">the BBC</a> that Abbas' father was a taxi driver and that his mother worked at the market.By Abbas' own account — detailed in a handwritten letter, dated September 9, to the judge overseeing his trial — he started selling sneakers and clothing out of his car trunk in his neighborhood over 25 years ago. As his fashion business grew, Abbas was able to open boutiques around the city.But everyone else, Seye told the BBC, knew Abbas made money through other means. Abbas was a "Yahoo" boy, Seye said, referring to a term used to describe people who were involved in cybercrime, such as internet fraud and love scams."Hushpuppi grew up in my community, in Bariga," Adedeji Oyenuga, an associate professor at the Sociology department at Lagos State University, told Insider. The neighborhood was considered a slum, with many people living in poverty.<div type="image" title="A shanty slum built on stilts in the Bariga waterfront fishing community in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital." height="2757" width="3676" msid="96481721" hostid="261" sizebytes="1142836"></div>As part of his Ph.D. research, Oyenuga spent six years living among a group of Yahoo boys in Abbas' community.Yahoo boys tend to be aged 15 and above, Oyenuga said. Some left school early. Others completed parts of their formal education but were unable to secure a place at a university or a job."They have a lot of awareness about what the world has to offer, but great frustration that they can't find it for themselves because of unemployment and other thwarted opportunities to make a living," Daniel Smith, a professor at the Anthropology department of Brown University, told Insider about the reasons some young Nigerians get mixed up in crime.Very few succeed because of cybercrime — much less get to a level like Abbas', Smith said. <h2>Transforming into the influencer known as Hushpuppi</h2>In 2014, Abbas left Nigeria for Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, the BBC reported.It was around this time that his Hushpuppi online persona took off, per <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-hushpuppi-gucci-influencer/">Bloomberg</a>.<div type="image" title="A screenshot of one of Abbas’ Instagram post, obtained by the FBI as part of their investigation into his crimes. Abbas enjoyed flaunting his ill-gotten wealth online, posing alongside expensive vehicles while wearing luxury clothing." height="1165" width="1554" msid="96481725" hostid="261" sizebytes="149560"></div>The captions on his now-defunct Instagram account were a mix of motivational wisdom and hashtags showing off the luxury brands that he wore in the photos. "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing that it is stupid. #versace #versacemedusa #Versaceshoes #Versacebelt #Versacering #versacesneakers #Medusa #sneakers #sneakerhead #SneakerRoleModel," read the caption on a now-unavailable post on Abbas' Instagram account, per Bloomberg.Back in Nigeria, Abbas' Instagram presence turned him into a celebrity of sorts. He was seen rubbing shoulders with famous Nigerian musicians and prominent local politicians, the Pidgin-language service of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-53296813">BBC News</a> reported in July 2020.<h2>Social media posts catch the FBI's attention</h2>Abbas moved to Dubai and continued to upload images of himself posing with luxury vehicles and private jets while decked out in designer gear. Insider scanned through pages of court documents, old media reports, and retail sites to put together a picture of Abbas' spending habits. Among the items that made an appearance on his Instagram page: a black Bentley Bentayga (retail price starting at $160,000), a Disney x Gucci collection T-shirt ($650 and up), and a Richard Mille RM11-03 watch ($230,000). <div type="image" title="Screenshots of Abbas’ Instagram posts where he flaunted his Richard Mille watch, obtained by the FBI as part of their investigation into his crimes." height="1436" width="2632" msid="96481728" hostid="261" sizebytes="236338"></div>Everyone scrolling through his public Instagram profile could see the extent of his money — including the FBI."We have a lot of people at the FBI who are constantly looking through open source media and other intelligence data to identify investigations that we should be going after, and this is one of those examples," FBI special agent Andrew Innocenti, who was involved in the case, told Insider. As far back as 2019, Nigerian media outlets were speculating that Abbas was a fraudster and a Yahoo boy, Innocenti said. Those reports plus his social media presence gave Innocenti and the FBI an inkling that something could be amiss, he added.In October 2019, one of Abbas' co-conspirators in online scams was arrested in a different investigation, but the police uncovered communications between the two, Innocenti said. Eventually, Abbas' social-media pages were used as evidence to establish charges against him, per the FBI affidavit filed against Abbas by Innocenti in June 2020.The FBI was able to link the phone number that Abbas used to communicate with his co-conspirator to an email address that he used to create his Hushpuppi Instagram and Snapchat accounts.The FBI was even able to use his birthday posts to verify his name and date of birth against his previous US visa application.One of those posts, uploaded to Instagram on October 11, 2017, featured a cake that said "Happy Birthday Ramon" and the caption "Thanks so much @gucci for this special. God bless you guys at the Dubai Mall Gucci Store!!!," per the affidavit.According to the affidavit, Abbas "finances this opulent lifestyle through crime," by targeting victims around the world "in schemes designed to steal hundreds of millions of dollars."In one scheme in January 2019, Abbas allegedly worked with a co-conspirator to launder $14.7 million that North Korean hackers stole from a bank in Malta, per a<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/nigerian-man-sentenced-over-11-years-federal-prison-conspiring-launder-tens-millions"> statement</a> from the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.In another scheme, Abbas and his co-conspirators allegedly tried to steal $100 million from an unnamed Premier League football club by intercepting payments using fake emails, per the affidavit.The Dubai police caught up to him in June 2020, and they released <a href="https://twitter.com/DXBMediaOffice/status/1276133837374926850">a stylized video of the raid.</a>It featured Abbas' Instagram photos spliced together with footage of the police barging into his apartment, and cybercrime-style graphics layered over clips of people typing away at computers — a flashy end to the showy Instagram star. <h2>'Continue to shame those waiting to shame me'</h2>While Abbas' story has captivated the world, Smith, the Brown University professor, said it's important to not let the attention further contribute to stereotypes that exist about Nigeria."Most Nigerians don't hope that their country is going succeed because of crime," Smith said. "People would much rather have more legitimate ways of making a living."In some ways, Abbas' story fits right into the global narrative of online wealth-flaunting — <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CkBRiAqqQNu/?hl=en">inherited</a>, acquired, earned, and ill-begotten alike. In others, Abbas' story fits right in with that of the Yahoo boys he grew up with in Nigeria.Many of the young men who made money through illegal means flaunted it everywhere — not just online, Oyenuga, the Lagos State University professor, said. If they made enough money, there was a chance they could move to a new community and re-establish themselves as a person who got rich through legitimate means, he added.One thing, however, is clear to Innocenti: Abbas was good at the social-media game."Somebody like this doesn't become as well known and as prolific as Abbas was unless he knew what he was doing. He capitalized on opportunities early in life and he utilized social media in a really effective way to gain followers," Innocenti said.After his arrest, Abbas even gained an additional 200,000 to 300,000 followers before Instagram took down his Hushpuppi account, Innocenti said.Abbas was on top of his social-media game up until the very end, per Bloomberg.On June 7, 2020, he posted a photo of a white Rolls Royce with the caption, "May success and prosperity not be a 'once upon a time' story in your life… Thank you lord for the many blessings in my life. Continue to shame those waiting for me to be shamed #RollsRoyce #RoyceRoyceCullinan #RR #AllMine."Two days later, the Dubai police was at his door.

Inside the Instagram-fueled rise and fall of Hushpuppi, an influencer who showcased money, jets, and cars online — and brought the FBI right to his door

<ul><li>Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts &amp; President-EEMA writes how <keyword id="2192890" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Experiential-marketing">experiential marketing</keyword> events will become more and more rarified and niche events will become the norm once we resume normalcy. </li><li>He further pens down how innovation and invention can help define the moment. </li></ul> In today’s hyper-connected world where every second seems to be a race to the finish, the quantum of messaging pushed out has imploded! It's neither news nor views that make the NEWS, its fake news that finds more eyeballs and creates a lasting impression! Add to that whatsApp, gaming, streaming videos, online series, dating games and pornography and phew! it's worse than the 1100 TV channels that you had at hand to scroll through! How then will brands stand out and make a true impact? Digital’s biggest disadvantage is its lack of lasting impression because of the lack of the `touchy-feely’ factor which allows our brain cells to format what we know as, 'Memory’! The millions of images that pepper our screen and reflect off our eyeglasses tend not to have 'a sticky factor’ and fail to imprint itself it's our psyche! Santa Claus, a derivative of Saint Nicklaus adopted by Coca Cola to be its brand ambassador sporting the now-famous red Santa costume, denoted happy family, joyous times, celebration, gifts and more, was the perfect experiential Marketing roll out ever! Shah Rukh Khan’s 'come to Dubai as my guest’ personalized the experience and created a sticky factor – implanted a memory! Experiential Marketing events will become more and more rarified; A box at centre court or the finals of the T-20 is not nearly enough any longer. Tomorrow’s events will have to go way beyond this. Niche events where you fly 20 – 30 people to the Antarctic ice shelf for a sleepover and to watch a faultlessly choreographed contemporary dance act by a group of performing Penguins who invite you to their home for a meal of albatross and flying fish is what will be the norm. The rest will be streamed out to you which you will watch in fleeting moments between rushed taxi rides and your afternoon sandwich! But given COVID, will Physical Distancing, (I hate the word social distancing as its representative of age-old customs of discrimination on the lines of caste, colour or religion), allow for this. Perhaps not in the short run, but say in 12 months or 18 months once this disaster is in control and economies limp back and folks need that break, need the experience, need to feel alive, we will take steps to revisit our memories or make new ones! Marry history, culture and built heritage with tradition and the exotic, creating experiences that are both breathtaking, visually satisfying, a gastronomic delight, and offering up the pleasures of retail therapy, or occasions that allow you to bond together, feel the love, find peace, celebrate life itself or perhaps embark on an adventure that you will never forget! Most companies and event professionals tend not to think out of the box and prefer to copy, adapt or steal ideas rather than experiment, experience and invest in long term brand building experiences. The need of the moment is education and information – old advertising is long dead…. give way to the new! To do this you need daring corporate marketing managers to take the risk, young professionals to understand their clients and wow them not just with a stupendous set and fanfare music but by being able to embed them into the heart of the event. The event and experiential industry in is worth $1 trillion, it provides jobs, contributes to local economies, employs millions and yet we remain in the shadows, working under the radar, bringing in the riches in a form that isn’t recognized and cannot be tabulated. We have to nurture the young, celebrate the genius, bring in the design and throw out a faux copy of an outdated act, above all, we should want to be original and create that one occasion that will live on in people’s memories! Online or offline, innovation and invention will be the defining moment! - Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts &amp; President-EEMA

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<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Yana Paskova/Getty; Shayanne Gal/Business InsiderMichael Cohen's relationship with President Donald Trump has soured.</div></div></div><ul><li>A former DOJ prosecutor said revelations that Michael Cohen secretly recorded a sensitive conversation with President Donald Trump talking about payments to a Playboy model isn't the most interesting revelation to the story.</li><li>The former federal prosecutor said the key is where the payments originated.</li></ul>Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former longtime fixer and lawyer, threw the media and <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> spheres into a frenzy late Tuesday night.His lawyer released a secret recording Cohen made featuring himself and Trump discussing how to buy the rights to a former Playboy model's story about an alleged affair with Trump.The model, Karen McDougal, was eventually paid $150,000 by the publisher of The National Enquirer, a Trump-friendly tabloid whose owner is close friends with the president. The story was never published, a tactic known as "catch-and-kill."But Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor who spent 12 years at the Department of Justice, said the existence of Cohen's tape is not the most significant piece of the story."We knew, as best as anyone on the outside of an investigation can know, that Trump and Cohen were somehow involved in this payment," Cramer said. "This tape proves that and it certainly gives Cohen credibility and gives us more proof that Trump used other people to do his dirty work. But as far as having a substantive impact, I don't think the tapes themselves will change much."Cramer said the amounts of the payments are "chump change" and amount to "a rounding error" in the grand scheme of Trump's spending.The key question now, he said, is where the money came from.<h2>'We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia'</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Jeenah Moon/ReutersMichael Cohen was Trump's longtime fixer.</div></div></div>Cohen's links to Russia and Ukraine date back to his childhood.Seth Hettena, a longtime investigative journalist formerly of The Associated Press, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/a-brief-history-of-michael-cohens-criminal-ties-628875/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in Rolling Stone this year that Cohen spent much of his youth around Russian organized crime.Cohen first met Trump through his father-in-law, the Ukrainian-born businessman Fima Shusterman.Shusterman and two partners owned a taxicab business, and all three men were convicted of crimes related to money laundering in 1993, Hettena wrote."Fima may have been a (possibly silent) business partner with Trump, perhaps even used as a conduit for Russian investors in Trump properties and other ventures," a former federal investigator told Hettena. "Cohen, who married into the family, was given the job with the Trump Org as a favor to Shusterman."Cohen told Hettena the allegation was "untrue," adding that his source was "creating fake <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword>."In May, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, released an "executive summary" saying a Russian energy tycoon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-michael-cohen-reimbursed-stormy-daniels-payment-avenatti-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reimbursed</a> Cohen for a $130,000 payment to Daniels prior to the 2016 election.Cramer, who worked on public corruption, fraud, and organized crime cases at the DOJ, said finding out where the payments Cohen made came from could help answer some of the biggest <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-acting-like-russian-asset-experts-say-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questions about Trump's ties to Russia</a>."If you're following the money, and everything always comes down to money ... you have to figure out where Trump's and Cohen's loans are coming from," Cramer said. "If they're from [Russian or Ukrainian] oligarchs, through Cohen, there's your connection."The Trump campaign is currently wrapped up in the investigation into whether any Trump associates colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Trump also floored observers last week when he praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and appeared to refuse to hold Russia accountable for its election meddling. The performance prompted national security experts to suggest that Trump is acting more and more <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-acting-like-russian-asset-experts-say-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like a Russian asset - wittingly or not</a>."If you're wondering about Russian influence, money is the No. 1 major coercion or enticement," Cramer said. "If these guys are getting their loans or payments from Russia, that would answer a lot of questions about how beholden Trump is to Russian interests."<h2>'Picture a wheel and spokes. Kiev is in the middle'</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image">Chris McGrath/Getty ImagesDonald Trump met with Vladimir Putin in a controversial summit in Helsinki last week.</div></div></div>Trump has well-documented public financial connections to Russians.His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-said-money-pouring-in-from-russia-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in 2008 that "in terms of high-end product influx into the US, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.""Say, in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo, and anywhere in New York," he added. "We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trump-property/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last year that at least 63 people with Russian passports or addresses bought a combined $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida.The report said about one-third of the owners of units in the seven Trump buildings were LLCs, which are able to hide the identity of a property's true owner.Cramer pointed out that this would be where Trump's tax returns, which he has not released, would come into play."Picture a wheel and spokes," he said. "Kiev is in the middle. I'd be shocked if there weren't loans on there originating from Ukraine or other parts of eastern Europe. And Cohen may very well know about that, given his family's connections to the region."Glenn Simpson, the cofounder of opposition research firm Fusion GPS, also touched on Cohen's link to Russia while testifying before the House Intelligence Committee last year.He told lawmakers Cohen "had a lot of connections to the former Soviet Union, and that he seemed to have associations with organized crime figures in New York and Florida - Russian organized crime figures."Simpson also emphasized another observation.During Trump's presidential campaign, he said, "serious questions about Donald Trump's activities in Russia and the former Soviet Union went to Michael Cohen. ... He was the only person who had information on that subject or was in a position to answer those questions." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-super-earth-2018-6">Super-Earths are real and they could be an even better place for life than Earth</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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