Episode 38 Cyber-Secure It Up
This episode of Level Up (Episode 38), hosted by Zad Plachies, Nabia, and Issa Plachies, provides a mix of current events, tech updates, and practical safety advice. The hosts reflect on the 13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah and share insights for the Muslim community regarding rituals and daily life.
Key Highlights from the Episode:
Africa Day (3:45 - 7:45): The hosts discuss the history of Africa Day (celebrated on May 25th), touching upon the 1958 conference in Accra, Ghana, and the vision of Francis Kwame Nkrumah for a united African continent, as well as the later efforts of Haile Selassie and Muammar Gaddafi regarding African unity.
Tech and App Updates (8:00 - 29:20):
Instagram: A discussion on the new "Instance" feature on Instagram, which encourages a more retro, unfiltered approach to sharing photos with friends.
Streaming: Mention of the new FreeTV streaming platform in South Africa.
Google Workspace: A detailed look at the visual and functional updates to the Google suite, specifically Google Meet. The hosts highlight new AI features like automated meeting transcripts, note-taking, AI-generated backgrounds, and improved studio-quality lighting and sound.
Cyber-Security and Scams (3:02, 29:45 - 47:00): A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to protecting oneself from scams. The hosts highlight:
Specific fraudulent activities in Hartbeespoort Dam, including fake balloon safari operators and rental scams.
General tips for online safety, such as avoiding suspicious EFT payments, verifying business physical addresses, and being wary of "too good to be true" prices on platforms like Facebook Marketplace.
The importance of not disclosing personal information or saying "yes" over the phone to potential scam callers to prevent identity or voice theft.
Listen to Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548
Episode 38: Cyber-Secure It Up
Sunday 31 May 2026 / 13th Thul Hijjah 1447AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)
Watch Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548
Episode 38: Cyber-Secure It Up
Sunday 31 May 2026 / 13th Thul Hijjah 1447AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)
Transcript
0:08
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To dear listeners, it's just past 200 p.m. right here in South Africa and it's our favorite day of the week, yad.
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It's the 13th day of Hijah 14:47 ah and alhamdulillah it corresponds to Sunday the 31st of May 2026.
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I'm Zad Plachies and with me are my co-hosts Nabia and Issa Plachis. Welcome to Level Up where we listen, learn, and
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grow inshallah with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's guidance and we break down the week's news and talk about what really
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46 seconds
matters to young Muslims today. Our WhatsApp line is open. The number is 0727861548.
0:55
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You can call in on 0185472 or DM us on i love.com.
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That's i o v e z a m. We on Instagram, Facebook X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tik Tok threads as well as upcrolled.
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So to all our listeners out there, Eid Mubarak, we hope you had a wonderful day and that all um your sacrifices, all
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your kurbanis, all your ibada, all your duas will be accepted and all the Hajj, everyone that's performed Hajj Haj,
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may Allah accept all your Hajj and uh may Allah return you home safely, inshallah.
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So today is still the 13th day of so after we still are reciting the so
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remember to recite Allahbar Allahbarillb Allahbar
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so that's after salah um males should be in congregation so it should be in jama in the masid um so you'll recite it
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loudly and females um can recite it softly Uh I heard something very interesting
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and I think maybe you can use this for next year but um people actually because
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you kind of forget it because it's only you know during that you recite this after each salah. So people pin it onto
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their malah or if they have a little salah room they stick it up on the wall and you know just to remind them and
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they tick it off as they go. So, it's also to encourage kids um to remember to do that. So, if if you get the kids
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involved as well, maybe if you stick it up and you let them tick it off or highlight um you know after every salah
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that you've completed that, then that's also something nice to get the the kids involved with.
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So, um after the half hour, we're going to be talking a little bit about scams.
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So, we got a message from one of our listeners and unfortunately one of her family members were victims to a scam
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and it seems that Harper Sport has become quite a hot spot for scammers lately. So, we're going to be talking
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about scams um how to deal with them as well. You know, how to to safeguard yourself with these type of things so that you don't fall victim to um scams.
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So before we get into that, we're going to um look at today's top stories or rather the top stories of the week.
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Before we get into this week's news, did you know that on the 25th of May we celebrate World Africa Day?
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Yes, I did know that. And that was uh during the week. Yes.
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Oh, okay. So Issa, what did you learn about Africa Day? What do you know about Africa Day?
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So, I recently learned that this the history of it started in April 1958.
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Okay. So, that's quite a quite a long time ago, but it's a very good uh month.
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Very good month, right? Very good month to start things in.
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And several representatives of African countries met for a conference in Acra Ghana.
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Okay, that would greatly impact the future of the African continent. The conference
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was called by Ghanian Prime Minister who was Francisqame
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and Krummer who led Ghana into independence in 1957.
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His goal was to advocate for the liberation and unification of the African state.
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Francisqamer Krummer would go on to say the independence of Ghana is meaningless
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unless it is linked up with a total liberation of the continent.
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Prime Minister Inruma's dream was for Africa to be united as a federation, but
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his proposal split the representatives in two. This was the Casablanca block
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for unification and Monrovio block opposed and the disagreement lasted until 1963.
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Okay.
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The Ethiopian emperor Haley Salassi held a gathering in the Ethiopian capital of
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Adis Ababa in an attempt to bring the two factions together
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and this was on the 25th of May 1963
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where a charter that was agreed upon on by all parties was drawn up and this is
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why we celebrate Africa day on the 25th of May.
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Alhamdulillah. So um there was even more to that because so that's why we celebrate Africa day and that's when it
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started. But the late president Muhammad Gaddafi, Libyan president, um was actually trying to get a
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um a a unified currency for Africa, which would which would obviously be very strong and I think we could use it
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to trade instead of the weak dollar that that we use at at the moment. personal
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opinion but um yeah there has been quite a lot and alhamdulillah and inshallah
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there will be more um unity in Africa because we're the biggest continent and
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um you know we have rich natural resources throughout the continent um beautiful landscape just here in South
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Africa um is such a such a wonderful place mah and if we just unite we could be a force that could be reckoned with
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in terms of um everything and against the the the western so-called western
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world. Um but yeah, thank you for that Issa Shukran for sharing your Africa Day
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um knowledge with us. Um are you going to tell us anything more about what's in the news this week um while you're here?
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Um yes. So there were some quite a few uh news articles that I read and some
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new app app uh updates and all those icons and stuff.
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Okay. So um I think talk while you're talking about um new apps and new icons and stuff I think a lot of people have woken up in
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the last I think a week or two weeks to instance on Instagram and um it's a new
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feature on Instagram and I think they're really taking it back to basics and I don't think anybody knows how to use it.
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So, if you go into your um messages, you know that little aeroplane, a paper
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aeroplane looking icon, um there's a little camera that you use there or
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you'll see a stack of little photos. So, people if you have enough followers and
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they are using um or enough friends and they are using it, you'll see a little
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stack of photos. So they would have people would have started sharing and I know that people don't know how to use it because I've seen people saying what
9:16
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happens to it after I post where does it go and the if if you look at the the pictures that have been sent out you'll
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notice that people are just posting random things.
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So they'll take a picture of the floor or a few pictures of the floor and the sky and the you know um just random
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things or their cat jumping but you know like it's like quite a few pictures and
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I think it's I say it's going back to basic because firstly it's got this like retro look and feel. So it looks like a
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almost like a tube TV um you know design. So it's not square. like rounded on the edges.
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And if we remember Instagram when it first started, it was just for taking instant photos, right? And sharing them.
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And then obviously um the app became more got more features. It's you could start sharing videos, start sharing uh
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reals and I think there was at one time it was called IGTV.
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And then um filters started coming in and people started uh creating content.
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So not just posting photos because they would edit them and put filters and you know um change the way that they looked
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in the videos or the photos or whatever it is. And people have gotten so used to filters and editing stuff that they
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don't know how to just take a picture and post it. And I think that's where like one of the things comes out. But
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the other thing is is obviously uh Instagram or meta has realized that
11:03
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people are not using the the apps the way they want to use it. So obviously we we know that these
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apps are used for tracking people, right? They track stuff that we do that
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we say um if you if you didn't know that then you know you shouldn't be using these apps but you obviously have to be
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aware of what you're posting. Um, but they use these, that's why they have these certain trends that, you know,
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where you have these caricatures so they know what their users look like. And I think this is another way for them to track exactly what you're doing because
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when you take a picture, you're taking it instantly. So they already they can see what you're doing at that specific
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time or your location because now with uh AI it's easy to scan a picture and you know pick up similarities of where
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it is or what it is that you're taking a picture of. As you know, Issa, if you take a picture of a tree, for example,
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and you want to find out what tree it is, you take a picture and you upload it to to Google or you go on Google and you
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press that little camera and then it will tell you. Yeah.
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Yeah. So, in the same way, they're scanning these pictures that you're taking and they're obviously checking, you know, where you are, when you're
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posting and stuff like that. But, it's a new feature.
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Um, I'm sure they're going to add other things to it. Could probably start writing on it. Maybe they're going to start with videos as well. But the
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instance is a new um, Instagram feature that, um, is, you know, not very user
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friendly, I don't think, because people are hardly using it. And at the moment, um, I think it's quite nice because, you know, you can share it with just your
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friends. So, it's not really like a public thing. and then they can just um you know put a react to it. So put a
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little emoji, a heart or thumbs up or or something like that. So yeah, sorry that
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I took over your your time but you were saying something about apps.
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Oh yeah. So there was so in the apps
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part so there were app icons and new articles and uh even some I think a new streaming uh app coming to South Africa.
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What's the new streaming app? It's called a free TV. Oh a free TV. It's a streaming platform.
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Yes, I saw that. I think um SEC is actually running that. So Cent if you know the company that makes these big satellite dishes they've got this free
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to air. So it's a free p it's a free streaming platform. I don't think it's it's got a lot of channels but um you
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know it's an alternative for people that are looking at uh getting you know their news um on this this free streaming platform.
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M and then there were some other things as well like uh Samsung getting the new
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U one UI 9 okay 9.0 zero um on some uh of the new
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devices and stuff. And then Google recently gave the entire workspace suite
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a visual update rolling out vibrant gradient logos across all of its apps
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including Google Meet. So there were some apps like Google Drive, Google
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Docs, Google Meet, uh Google Maps. So uh like Google Meet got this like new icon that's like fully yellowish.
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Okay. I don't know if you've seen it.
15:07
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Yeah, I did see it. Um I haven't gone into the app yet. I um I remember that Google Meet was Duo before.
15:17
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Yeah. And then and I think before that it was called Hangouts or something. So they've changed the name quite a lot.
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They've changed the logo now quite a lot. But I believe there's new features as well um in this new Google Meet.
15:29
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Yes. So remember it had that uh Google colorish on the previous meet on the logo.
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Yeah. Yeah.
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And now it's got this yellow uh camera type.
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Okay. So since this design update uh Google meet has introduced a suite of
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powerful AI upgrades and prod productivity features. The most notable
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new features include Gemini AI enhancements AI noteaker and summaries.
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Gemini can automatically transcribe video meetings, take notes, and share summaries directly to Google Docs.
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Okay, so that's interesting. I would assume that there would be more AI cuz a lot of apps are are featuring more AI,
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but um transcribing video meetings, I think that's quite a useful thing. I know um like for YouTube, they have a
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transcript now. So when we upload our video, so we video you know this this um
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program of level up and we upload it uh after the show obviously on our YouTube
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channel at iOS.com or i love.com and there's a transcript that comes out which makes it a little bit easier for
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those um who just want to read through quickly. Uh obviously it's not the best
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uh transcript because there's a lot of words that it doesn't catch or a lot of words that they say is wrong or um you
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know but it it really helps I think transcribing video it makes it a lot easier. I can remember the days when we
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had to physically transcribe videos and it would take hours to sit and listen and um I'm talking about before even you
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know these uh smartphones and that when you actually used a dictaphone and you had to listen to it and uh you know if
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you miss something then you have to stop and then rewind and then go back and yeah so we've come a long way
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but also speaking of the transcribe things is is not direct like speech
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because like say for example we say and we love Zed they'll say like
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and we love uh something else or something like that.
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So I think there's still quite a bit for you to talk about Issa. Yes, there is quite a lot of things. I think we can
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carry over this uh Google updates to uh the next half and um yeah, let's go for
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a break and uh when we come back, we'll be continuing our discussion of the latest news. Inshallah.
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18 minutes, 55 seconds
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19 minutes, 10 seconds
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19 minutes, 25 seconds
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19 minutes, 34 seconds
But right now, we'll be continuing our discussion of the latest news. If you would like to join the conversation, our
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19:49
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media that's ov zoom m.
20:03
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So, you were talking about um we were talking about Google's new look in the Google suite and then you were telling
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us a bit about Google Meet. I think lots of people use uh Google Meet and Zoom
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nowadays and obviously Teams. Um it's it's become obviously you know virtual workplace and it's good to know what
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features they have. I think there's a lot of apps that we use and we don't even know the capabilities of these apps
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especially stuff like Google apps that are you know like free to use well mostly. Um yeah so so you were saying
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something what are the new features of Google Meet?
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So I was saying that there was uh like AI um enhancement AI um stuff. Yeah,
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like um transcribing and notable and all those things, right?
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And taking notes and summaries and summarizing and directly taking it
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to Google Docs, right?
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Okay. And then uh studio look and sound AI machine learning automatically
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enhances your lighting, simulating studio lighting, fixes
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distorted audio and increases video, sharpens so you look and sound your best.
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Okay, so they're obviously bringing um YouTube features um into into Google Meet now as well. I like when they when
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they move um good features um from one app to the other, you know, that speak to each other and that enhance the app.
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So, yeah.
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Yes. And then um AI background generation create unique custom meeting
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backgrounds simply by texting a text prompt. Example, modern home office.
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Oh, okay. So, you have like a a AI generated background. So, you um instead of you know using a wallpaper, you can now create something else.
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Yeah. So, like uh for example like let's say it's so a classroom. Yeah.
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Like a classroom setting. So, you're sitting at home. You're not really in a classroom setting, but you want it to look like a classroom setting.
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Yeah. So it's like uh you know like so Google meets and WhatsApp and all those things have their like own backgrounds
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where you can choose like a celebration or forest or something like that.
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Yeah. So it's it's not the basic stuff anymore and you don't have to have a physical picture of it um that you
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upload. It generates it itself. You just put in a text prompt. Okay. Interesting.
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AI makeup. You can now choose from 12 AI applied studio makeup looks that stay
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seamlessly in place during everyday movements.
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Okay. So, it's it's basically filters again. Yeah. Okay.
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So, yeah. And then layout and interface upgrades, dynamic
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layouts and portrait tiles. The meeting layout automatically prioritize active
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speakers by cropping out empty or distracting background space.
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Oh, okay. So, if there's people that are not interacting, then they removed from the screen or is that what they're saying?
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I think so. Maybe like uh like say for example you you're actually sitting at
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your desk in like your room and you don't and then someone sitting on a bed
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or a couch in the background and then there you have a background on or something like that.
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Oh okay. I thought maybe if you are part of the meeting and you're not active
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then your tile doesn't get shown you know like only the active tiles get shown but okay I understand what how
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you're looking at it but we have to use the app to to find out exactly what what they mean I actually I think last year might be
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the last time I used I think when it had the old it looked kind of like a teams of the old update I remember.
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Okay.
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Yeah. And then face match. When using companion mode in a conference room, you
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can label your video tile so other participants can easily match your face with your name.
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Okay.
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So like in Zoom like where you have like a little name that says uh Issa or Tos or something like that.
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Yeah. Okay. Maybe like that. Color theme tiles.
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Participants who have their cameras turned off now get color sampled theme tiles instead of blank black squares.
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Okay.
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So, I suppose it's kind of So, it's okay. It's not like really needed, but Yeah.
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Yeah. But like uh so then you can like change the color or something like that. Yeah.
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But like not to show like a like a round face or something with a like a silhouette. Yeah, like a gray person.
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Then mobile control restricting onscreen controls have been simplified.
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The hand raise feature is now neatly tucked into the overflow menu on mobile devices.
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while emoji reactions have moved to the main bottom bar for quicker access.
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Okay. So, we just have to remember that that's one thing I can't get used to is when they start moving things around
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because especially like for insting things around and then you're looking
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for something like even to post something and then you must look where is the button um to do this. So, yeah.
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or even like uh when WhatsApp was turned with meta AI or meta like that
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where they had new features and all those things. Yeah.
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Then workflow and integration Google chat consolidation
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in meeting messages, shared files and important links are no longer lost when the call ends. Messages are powered by
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Google chat allowing attendants to continue conversations and review shared files along
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after the meeting. Okay. So, that's that's a plus because there's lots of
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times when um you know the the the conference ends and there's a chat that
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you wanted to go through and you want to check because you're listening to the webinar for example and people are chatting. So you don't have time to go
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through the chat and there sometimes they say there's something important that they've put in the chat or they've shared a link or you know someone's
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asked a question and it's been answered in the chat and you don't have time to get it and I think um you know if they
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just used which the technology has been there forever because when we started instant messaging I know in MSN
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messenger you could uh you know save your chat and you had like a file that
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you could keep and you could keep all the the text from there. So, I think this is quite a nice addition to Google
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Meet. Um yeah, cuz um I know like if we're not like signed into like uh like for example,
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it's Teams and then you you see messages go in and then like the host or
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something leaves and then you can't get into the messages or something.
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Yeah. So that's that's basically what they're saying is that it's not lost now. M and then drive integration and
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28 minutes, 49 seconds
docs collaboration. You can start or join meetings directly from within Google Docs, Sheets or Slides without needing to open a separate window.
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Okay. So, I think Teams has already got that. Um but yeah. Okay. So, there's quite quite
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29 minutes, 11 seconds
nice features um with Google Meet if you use it on a daily basis. Um I think
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you'll know that that there's new things now.
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29 minutes, 21 seconds
Um it's nice to see things evolve. Um it was sad when when we lost Skype and it moved into Teams.
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Yeah.
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Uh cuz Skype was one of the first, you know, um what would we say? video calling,
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conference calling type applications, joining meeting kind of thing.
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Okay. So, um we did mention that we're going to talk a little bit about scams. Uh Issa, do you know what's a scam?
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It's uh someone that like tries to send you like
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uh a fraud message from like somewhere or uh pretend to be like somebody.
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Yeah. So, so basically a scam is someone trying to get something out of you.
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Whether it's your identification, whether it's uh trying to get money from you, it's usually end up they're trying
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to steal money from you. Um and we received a message where one of our listeners said one of their family
30:24
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members was recently um a victim of a scam. So, in Hartabia Sport Dam, there's
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apparently a um I don't know if it's a group or they say it's a business called
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30 minutes, 38 seconds
Hartis Air. Um so, they are parading as a hot air balloon uh provider and
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according to Bill Harraps who's been there for many years, there's only a few um providers. So apparently this um
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company called um Hart's Air. So they even got a website.
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It's called Heartiesair.com and they show the owners Darren Ba, Steven Barta.
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Um but apparently the these two brothers have been running the business for 10 years, but it's it was established in 2035.
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The business was established in 2035.
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31 minutes, 22 seconds
that is like in in the future. Yeah. So, hearties air balloons, but they're selling um uh
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31 minutes, 30 seconds
these packages at ridiculous prices. Like I think it was 2,000 rand or 3,000 rand. I
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31 minutes, 39 seconds
think once it started getting out, people started, you know, sending messages on Facebook to say they've been scammed. Uh, someone said that they
31:48
31 minutes, 48 seconds
bought a package um for their spouse or something I think for their birthday and
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31 minutes, 55 seconds
they paid 3,000 rand and they then you know obviously when they found out that this could be a possible scam had
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32 minutes, 2 seconds
messaged these people and now they've been blocked because obviously they've you know know that people uh know that
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32 minutes, 10 seconds
it's a scam and um are on the run. So, Bill Harrap Balloon Safaris put out a
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32 minutes, 18 seconds
message to say for those asking about Mahali Sky Hart's ballooning and similar operation operations. These fraudsters
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32 minutes, 26 seconds
and scammers have been operating for years under various names and social media pages. The matter has been reported repeatedly to authorities,
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32 minutes, 35 seconds
banking institutions, including Capit, investigative journalists, social media platforms, and cyber crime divisions.
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32 minutes, 43 seconds
Unfortunately, enforcement and takeown processes move painfully slow or not at all. These criminals prey on
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32 minutes, 50 seconds
unsuspecting members of the public, damaging the reputation of legitimate tourism operators who have spent decades
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32 minutes, 57 seconds
building trusted businesses. We strongly urge the public to do proper due diligence before making payments to any
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33 minutes, 4 seconds
ballooning operator. Verify that the company is legitimate and established. Check for a physical operating address.
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33 minutes, 12 seconds
Confirm valid contact details and website history. And be cautious of too good to be true
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pricing. Avoid EFT payments to suspicious personal accounts. Look for verified reviews and long-standing
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33 minutes, 28 seconds
online presence. Bill Harrap's original Balloon Safaris has been operating legally and safely in the Mahalis River
33:35
33 minutes, 35 seconds
Valley for over 45 years. There are only three legal and legitimate commercial hot air balloon operators operating in Haeng.
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33 minutes, 45 seconds
It's air ventures in Molders's drift, Bill Harab's original balloon safaris, scareport west of hatabasport dam and
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33 minutes, 53 seconds
ballooning essay in the kha free state and midlands.
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33 minutes, 58 seconds
So these operators are established accountable businesses with proper operating structures, aviation compliance, traceable histories and
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34 minutes, 6 seconds
legitimate reputations built over many years. The so-called Mahali sky heartis ballooning and similar scam pages are
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not affiliated with legitimate operators. Please stay vigilant and protect yourself from online scams. So
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um that wasn't the only thing that's been happening in Harabas. There's also uh a man that has been uh saying that
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he's got accommodation within Haripasport dam and uh you know also at too good to be true prices people have
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been paying him into his personal account and when um the people go to these uh establishments or even to these
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34 minutes, 50 seconds
houses because some of them are people's actual personal houses that he's saying that he's renting out And um they they
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34 minutes, 59 seconds
don't even know who this guy is. So um like they said like Bill Harop says it's been happening for years but you know
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obviously because of social media now people are becoming a bit more aware and making others aware. So just just be
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aware and I think the main thing is um do your due diligence you know um lots of people fall prey to Facebook scams.
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Um, Facebook Marketplace is a hub for these things where people say they have a certain product, you go on there and
35:32
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you want to purchase it and um they say they'll send it to you via Curio Pudo or
35:41
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um Paxi or whatever it's called and it never gets sent right. So in terms of
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35 minutes, 49 seconds
those those type of things these Facebook marketplace I know sometimes it becomes dangerous because we've seen um
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people actually been robbed you know uh there was an incident I think last year
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a few years ago where a brother went with his cell phone was just before he was about to get married and he needed
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to sell his phone and he was actually shot because uh they tried to rob him of
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the phone. Um so you know use certain uh legitimate businesses check that they
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36 minutes, 24 seconds
are registered. Um, especially if if you are selling something, if you are buying
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something, don't EFT unless you see the product or have the product um or are in
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front of the person with the product, especially in these type of cases where there's the service providers like Bill
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Harrap said uh you know check if there's um physical address you know with social
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media you can ask people go into community group say, "Does this business exist?" Um, you know, you rather be safe
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than sorry. Don't, you know, if a business takes offense when you say, you know, is this business legitimate? Then,
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I mean, that's that's on them. But you spending your hard-earned money. You don't want to be scammed out of it. So,
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and I mean, you can ask family and friends as well, you know, have they used the service? um you know is it
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legitimate before you you do a purchase and I think it's it's for anything uh because the banks really don't like to
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37 minutes, 34 seconds
get involved they will send you a fraud message um when you are doing a online purchase but when you know when you
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actually need them they're not there to help you when I've known people have had their card stolen and they tried to
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reverse payments and it takes forever But you at home and you're doing a a
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normal uh online purchase, maybe you've never purchased on Amazon or Take a Lot or something and now they say that it's
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a a fraudulent thing and they phone you and you know it's but yeah anyway that's a whole another story.
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But um in terms of uh the the scams, I think protecting your identity is the
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most important thing. We get these also robot scam. So they phone you and they ask you to are you the certain person
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and they always tell you don't say yes because they use that voice recording of you saying yes to use it for other
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things and don't verify anything over the phone unless you know don't verify your home address or your ID number or
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any personal details over the phone. um if you are unsure that you know like it's a legitimate business like your
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your um bank phoning you or you know somebody that actually requires that
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39 minutes
information would you say to them um if you're uncomfortable I can email you this information and then you you you
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know do your due diligence or or if you uncomfortable but you think that it it could be a legitimate business just tell
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them that I'm busy at the moment can you call me back in an hour or so then check um you know is this a real business and
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then you can proceed with whatever information they require from you. Okay.
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So I just wanted to actually add in something um in terms of the you know you mentioned about the banking
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institutions and um maybe they call you and they ask you for certain information
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and then you say you you know if you know about them then you you might as well give them your information. But
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there has been instances where you would think that your institution is calling because maybe they'll scam you
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basically and say um there's some fraudulent account some fraudulent um activity on your account and um they you
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will need these details or would you like to upgrade and then they'll need these details. So in terms of that also
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I feel like you should be very weary of that. So don't don't freely give out
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even if you know that you know even if they say they're from your bank and then this has been happening. So you know to try and get your trust just um like you said keep uh make some due diligence.
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Don't give out that information immediately. And I like that you said don't say yes because actually we saying
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it we you know cuz they can usually take um your voice recording. This is actually very scary because I'm just
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thinking I'm talking and I'm saying these words don't you feel like no but I think um in terms of first your first point um there's true caller now.
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already there um you know people are on an ongoing basis reporting these
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fraudsters or scammers or spam calls so that already you know there's a flag
41:15
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raised right um I know the SMS as well they say um you you've got an outstanding fine please click the link
41:23
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up don't click any links in an email in a SMS in anything rather go to a website
41:30
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that you know Like if they say it's it's a a website even when they um sometimes uh it could be you know you looking for
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a job or something and they say click the link to fill in the details go to the website look for the careers page um
41:45
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links are very easy to to scam you um you know to get your information.
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Secondly, in terms of voice recordings, um we we doing this voice recording, but
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you know, it's it's more on the lines of scammers actually getting that information from
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um you know, a call that they're on with you. And they, you see, they use that because they're actually on another call
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42 minutes, 15 seconds
with um, you know, a financial institution at the same time or something, you know, they they they're running things concurrently because
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42 minutes, 23 seconds
this the scam has to take place very quickly. Um, and it's usually not that
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42 minutes, 31 seconds
uh the scam takes a while unless they're scamming a lot of people, but they're not going to spend too much time on
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42 minutes, 38 seconds
trying to scam one one person and they usually know who to target. So, it's obviously um they've got that information. They buy the information
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from the bank, so they know that you have a premium or platinum account or whatever it is, you know that you have money. They're not going to scam people that don't. Are you sure about that?
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42 minutes, 57 seconds
Because I mean there might be some instances where people think that you have money.
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Yeah. Well, obviously they're going to target the people that they think that have have money.
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Exactly. They think they don't know for sure.
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No, but what I'm saying is that um you know, you have to be more vigilant the
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the more wealth you have. I mean, it's it's the same with these kidnappings nowadays, you know. But before you go off topic, I have another point that I wanted to
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raise in terms of the EFT. Um you you were talking about you know people purchasing and you know using their
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hard-earned money but what about businesses who have hardearned products or services you know um who are actually
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43 minutes, 41 seconds
doing the work and then they either scammed out of it like you know we would know that's why we always say you know pay upfront but what about you know
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those people who send a message to say you know it's been efted and they immediately take it out um you know the
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43 minutes, 57 seconds
money out or uh transfer it back out or it's a scam SMS or something like that.
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Yeah. So you know it becomes very difficult with businesses and it happens on a daily basis and um yes there are
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people that you know you run a business um you say put down a deposit and then you know people don't pay the the rest
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of the amount. Um and that's why we say you know pay the full upfront. If you can't afford it now you can't afford it
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later basically type of thing. Um, but yes, there there's been instances where
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44 minutes, 31 seconds
people have sold their vehicle and they've paid the money, you know, you see the money in your account and then they just drive out with the car and
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44 minutes, 39 seconds
then they um, you know, they reverse the payment.
44:44
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Exactly. So, what do you do in that instance now? You lost your you didn't get the money plus you lost your car. It's it's it's a it's very difficult.
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Um, one of the things is if you do have the people's details, you'll obviously have to open up a case. Um, if you know them, you can go to small claims court.
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You can go to the financial institution.
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There's obviously lots of ways, but it's not going to be as easy as you think to get the money back or the product back.
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Um, but that's why we say, you know, do do your due diligence. Um especially if you if you're selling a product and it's
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to a person that you don't know um and it's you know like like a vehicle you know make sure that you've got all their
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45 minutes, 30 seconds
details um you know because you obviously have to transfer the client to their name so you need their ID you need
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you know all th those things so get make sure that um you know you verify it at the police station or go there or you know do those certain some things.
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Um, so I think I I think we saw it I think about last year or early this
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year, uh, I think on Facebook or something, uh, where they were talking
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about this fine for, you know, fines for the car. Yeah.
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As a fraud SMS.
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46 minutes, 11 seconds
Yes. Yeah. So they they're using these SMSs where they say that you've got a fine and people who don't have cars have
46:18
46 minutes, 18 seconds
been getting these SMSs. Um I get messages to say that I have an outstanding account. I don't have any
46:25
46 minutes, 25 seconds
accounts in my name. So um or you know you you owe a certain bank that you
46:32
46 minutes, 32 seconds
don't even bank with. Um so they use this and they say that you know you'll be listed or and people get very worried
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because you know uh people use credit on a daily basis and um they get worried that you know
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46 minutes, 48 seconds
they're going to be blacklisted or listed on ITC or whatever it is and um you know they fall prey to these things
46:55
46 minutes, 55 seconds
but you know just when it involves money just make sure that you think clearly um
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47 minutes, 2 seconds
you know especally Especially with us being Muslim, we ask Allah for guidance on a continuous basis. When we're making
47:09
47 minutes, 9 seconds
big purchases or we we doing business and it's, you know, uh a big amount, we read, you know, we make these decisions with
47:18
47 minutes, 18 seconds
Allah's names always. And we need to make sure that whatever we do, we ask Allah for guidance. I think that's the
47:25
47 minutes, 25 seconds
most important thing for us to take away from from today. Once again, if you would like to join the conversation during the week, you can do so on our
47:34
47 minutes, 34 seconds
social media pages at iilovs.com. That's iv zoom m. We are on Instagram, Facebook
47:42
47 minutes, 42 seconds
x, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tik Tok, threads, as well as upscrolled. And you are welcome to read the articles on our website ioveza.com.
47:51
47 minutes, 51 seconds
And if you've missed any of the other Level Up episodes or you would like to just go back and listen to it, you are so welcome to do so on Radio Islam International Soundcloud.
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48 minutes, 2 seconds
To our dear listeners for joining us on this lovely Sunday afternoon. Please join us every Sunday right here on Radio Islam International from 2 to 3:00 p.m.
48:12
48 minutes, 12 seconds
Inshallah. Amen. from myself, Nabiha, from Aisa and from Zad. Enjoy your Sunday and we wish you a wonderful week ahead inshallah.
