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Lawmakers seek to limit spoofing scams

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Lawmakers seek to limit spoofing scams

A bid to cut a rising source of payments fraud could leave telco operators on the hook.

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Imagine the scene – you receive a call from the taxman, asking why you haven’t paid your bill.

Flustered – and seeing it’s from a legitimate number – you agree to settle right away to avoid any extra fine.

Only this call wasn’t from the government, but arose from a sophisticated and increasingly common fraud known as spoofing – that EU lawmakers are now on a mission to stop.

In legal plans put forward in June last year, the European Commission said that banks should reimburse customers for any losses suffered as a result of scammers impersonating bank staff.

In a report due to be voted on 14 February, lawmakers on the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee want to extend that.

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The new rules would also put telecoms operators and online platforms within scope, in line with the EU’s existing Digital Services Act, lawmaker Ondřej Kovařík (Czechia/Renew Europe) told Euronews.

“We’ve taken important steps forward in the Parliament to address impersonation fraud,” Kovařík said in a statement, adding: “In this respect we can cover more than simply someone pretending to be from your bank.”

The new plans would cover fake emails or phone calls that purport to come, not just from payment providers, but “any other relevant entity of public or private nature”, according to an amendment circulated internally among lawmakers.

Communications providers who don’t remove fraudulent or illegal content would also have to offer refunds to victims, according to the text, seen by Euronews and dated 26 January.

Those plans still need to be formally agreed by lawmakers and would also need support from governments meeting in the EU Council – but proponents are hopeful.

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“We could have a game-changer in this fight,” Anna Martin, financial services officer at Brussels-based consumer advocacy group BEUC, told Euronews in an interview, adding: “I’m convinced banks will take action – if they have financial consequences.”

Serious problem

It’s a serious problem. Existing EU payment laws which took effect in 2019 require online sales to be verified by fingerprint scans or one-time passcodes.

That made fraud harder – but also made scammers more creative, and the amounts involved can be high, if not lifechanging.

In Belgium alone, according to banking lobby group Febelfin, phishing scams rose 60% in a year to reach nearly €40m in 2022. The average loss from a fraudulent credit transfer is €4,191 – far higher than what’s typically at stake for credit card or ATM scams – says data from the European Banking Authority.

The hope is that new rules can encourage telecom operators and banks to work together to stop calls falsely appearing to come from legitimate banks, energy companies or tax authorities – yet not everyone is convinced.

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In an October submission to the European Commission, the GSM Association, a lobby group for mobile operators such as Orange and Telefonica, said a further liability could amount to €8bn a year with a “severely disruptive” effect on European connectivity.

Operators are worried there could be a conflict with existing online privacy laws, if they’re expected to moderate phone calls as if these were social media content.

But those within the financial sector are keen to see responsibility for tackling fraud thrown a bit wider.

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“It makes sense to put a bit of pressure on the telco operators,” Elie Beyrouthy, chair of the European Payment Institutions Federation, told Euronews. “It remains to be seen how to do that.”

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Russian general killed by car bomb, third senior military leader killed this year

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Russian general killed by car bomb, third senior military leader killed this year

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A Russian general was killed in a car bombing in Moscow on Monday, with investigators saying they suspect Ukrainian intelligence may have been behind the attack.

The bombing targeted Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, and he died from his injuries. He was the third senior Russian military officer to be killed in a bombing this year.

“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” said Svetlana Petrenko, the spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin had been immediately informed about Sarvarov’s killing.

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PUTIN REJECTS KEY PARTS OF US PEACE PLAN AS KREMLIN OFFICIAL WARNS EUROPE FACES NEW WAR RISK: REPORT

This undated image provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, shows Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, who was killed Monday morning after an explosive device detonated under his car in southern Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Sarvarov had previously fought in Chechnya and taken part in Moscow’s military campaign in Syria, according to Russia’s defense ministry.

Ukrainian forces have yet to take responsibility for the attack.

Prior to Sarvarov, Russia lost the head of its nuclear, biological and chemical protection force, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, in a similar bombing earlier this year. Ukrainian forces took responsibility for that attack.

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PUTIN DERIDES EUROPEAN LEADERS AS HE INSISTS RUSSIA’S WAR GOALS IN UKRAINE WILL BE MET BY FORCE OR DIPLOMACY

Policemen secure the area near the scene where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed under his car in Moscow, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo)

Russian military officer Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik was also killed by a car bombing in Moscow in April.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in the aftermath of that attack that he had received reports about the successful “liquidation” of Russian military leaders, though he did not mention Moskalik directly.

The Monday bombing comes as Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. remain in peace talks. Russian officials said they were proceeding “constructively” on Sunday, even as missiles rained down on Ukraine’s port city of Odesa.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a journalist’s question during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin also noted on Friday that the nation’s “troops are advancing,” and expressed confidence that Russia would achieve its goals by military force if Ukraine does not accept its peace terms.

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“The goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to accomplish this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Germany charges ex-Syrian prison guard over Assad-era abuses

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Germany charges ex-Syrian prison guard over Assad-era abuses

Prosecutors accuse the official, named as Fahad A, of torturing dozens of prisoners in jail run by Syrian intelligence.

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German prosecutors have charged a former Syrian security official with crimes against humanity, accusing him of torturing dozens of prisoners at a Damascus jail while ex-President Bashar al-Assad was in power.

Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor General’s office announced the indictment on Monday, alleging the ex-prison guard, named only as Fahad A, took part in more than 100 interrogations between 2011 and 2012 in which prisoners were “subjected to severe physical abuse”.

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The abuse included electric shocks, cable beatings, forced stress positions and suspensions from the ceiling, according to a statement by the prosecutor’s office.

“As ‌a result of such mistreatment and the catastrophic prison conditions, at least ‌70 prisoners died,” said the statement, noting the former guard is also charged with murder.

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The official was arrested on May 27 and formally indicted on December 10.

He is being held in pre-trial detention, the German prosecutor’s office added.

Syrians have demanded justice for crimes committed under the decades-long rule of al-Assad, who was removed from power in December 2024 after a rapid rebel offensive.

The Assad regime, which was accused of mass human rights abuses, including the torture of detainees and enforced disappearances, fell after nearly 14 years of civil war.

Universal jurisdiction

In Germany, prosecutors have ⁠used universal jurisdiction laws to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.

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Based on ‌these laws, several people suspected of war crimes during the Syrian conflict have been arrested in the last ‍few years in Germany, which is home to about one million Syrians.

In June, a court in Frankfurt handed a life sentence to a Syrian doctor convicted of carrying out acts of torture as part of al-Assad’s crackdown on dissent.

The doctor, Alaa Mousa, was accused of torturing patients at military hospitals in Damascus and Homs, where political prisoners were regularly brought for supposed treatment.

Witnesses described Mousa pouring flammable liquid on a prisoner’s wounds before setting them alight and kicking the man in the face, shattering his teeth. In another incident, the doctor was accused of injecting a detainee with a fatal substance for refusing to be beaten.

One former prisoner described the Damascus hospital where he was held as a “slaughterhouse”.

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Presiding judge, Christoph Koller, said the verdict underscored the “brutality of Assad’s dictatorial, unjust regime”.

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Patriots rookie RB Tre’Veyon Henderson sidelined against Ravens with head injury

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Patriots rookie RB Tre’Veyon Henderson sidelined against Ravens with head injury

BALTIMORE (AP) — New England running back Tre’Veyon Henderson left Sunday night’s game at Baltimore in the second quarter with a head injury.

Henderson was slow getting up after a carry in Baltimore territory. He was able to walk off the field, but then headed to the tunnel a short time later. He was later ruled out.

Henderson entered the game with 773 yards rushing and is a Rookie of the Year candidate after teaming up with Drake Maye to help the Patriots close in on a playoff berth. He had touchdown runs of 52 and 65 yards in last week’s loss to Buffalo.

He had just 3 yards on five carries before exiting against Baltimore.

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