7.24.2014
GOOD TO KNOW: Pictures of cats are popular on the Interwebs, but they can also reveal interesting things about the location of the people who post them.
THE SKINNY.
WHAT NOT TO DO FOR CONCERT TICKETS.
Joining an international cybercrime ring to defraud eBay’s online ticketing service, StubHub, is definitely not the way to go.
LEARN FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE.
Yesterday, seven people all based in different parts of the world including New York, New Jersey, Barcelona, London, and Toronto in connection with this group that stole credit and debit card numbers to purchase tickets to a number of high profile events like the JT and Jay-Z concert, a Yankees baseball game, and a Broadway play before reselling them to net profits. They dispersed these profits through PayPal accounts and British and German bank accounts. Six of the seven were indicted in New York yesterday.
WHAT’S THE CHARGE?
In the NY State Supreme Court, the six were charged with a slew of crimes including money laundering, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and identity theft.
TEAM WORK, MAKES THE DREAM WORK.
In a rare showing of international cooperation, StubHub, Manhattan’s D.A.’s office, and other authorities worked closely with law enforcement around the globe for about a year. This coalition relied on I.P. addresses, and the PayPal and bank accounts to track down the individuals and successfully complete the second largest crime bust in the last year.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
YOU SHOULD NEVER SETTLE.
The European Union’s competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, is feeling some pressure to either delay or get rid of certain parts of its antitrust settlement with Google. Alumnia previously proposed a settlement to address anitrust complaints against the Internet company for favoring its services over its competitors in search results. Online review companies involved believe the settlement could be stronger and want the commissioner to at least require Google to use their results to power the company’s specialized search products when appropriate. Almunia is expected to reach final decision on this case this fall in September.
ALL IT DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN …
Facebook basically killed it in the second quarter on Wall Street. According to reports, the social media company saw significant revenue growth all thanks to ads shown to users who accessed its service via their mobile devices. We recently told you that FB just closed its deal with Oculus, and it also successfully purchased WhatsApp, a popular text messaging app, before that. Now, the Zuck wants us to turn to the book of faces to search for content. This plan will roll out over the next six month and will likely prompt us to spend even more time on the platform. By the way, according to the company, you’re already spending about 41 minutes on FB daily (more than the time we spend exercising). Awesome.
THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’
LinkedIn just bought tech ad and measurements company Bizo for $175 million. As soon as the deal closes in the third quarter, marketers can tap into Bizo’s resources, which will allow them to better target professionals with ads and measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns.
Twitter is joining the ranks of Google and Facebook by revealing its also lacking in the diversity department. About 60% of its employees say they are white and about 70% identify as male. Unsurprisingly, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and black people are the most underrepresented.