Cybercrime, particularly privacy breaches through hacking, financial fraud, and identity theft via social networks and email, were the primary reasons behind the surge in calls made to the Cyprus Helpline 1480 in Q4, 2023, per statistics from the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (PIK). Within the reported period, a total of 740 individuals reached out to the helpline, with 71.8% of inquiries relating to cybercrime issues. Notably, the helpline has warned the public to be extra careful with video calls from unknown numbers on WhatsApp following the rise in incidents of impersonation where fraudsters pose as police representatives. This information was part of a status update by the Pedagogical Institute of Cyprus, the Cyprus Safe Internet Center, and the Helpline 1480, covering October 1 to December 31, 2023. Other reasons recorded for calling the helpline included requests for technical support, sexual extortion situations, and data privacy complaints.
The EURUSD currency pair remains in a tight range above the 1.0900 support level on Monday as it struggles for direction. Investors seek fresh cues at the start of a busy data week, which may indicate how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September.
