The Conversation

Heists Worth Billions: An investigation found criminal gangs using sham bank accounts and secret online marketplaces to steal from almost anyone – and little being done to combat the fraud

Written by David Maimon, Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University

In January 2020, Debi Gamber studied a computer screen filled with information on scores of check deposits. As a manager for eight years at a TD Bank branch in the Baltimore suburb of Essex, she had reviewed a flurry of account activity as a security measure. These transactions, though, from the ATM of a tiny TD location nestled in a nearby mall, s...

Behind the scenes of the investigation: Heists Worth Billions

Written by David Maimon, Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University

David Maimon's cybersecurity research group noticed a flood of checks in underground markets, which opened a window into much broader criminal activity.Collage by Kimberly Patch

Professor David Maimon is director of the Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group at Georgia State University.

He and his group are well familiar with what happens on...

Hurricanes push heat deeper into the ocean than scientists realized, boosting long-term ocean warming, new research shows

Written by Noel Gutiérrez Brizuela, Ph.D. Candidate in Physical Oceanography, University of California, San Diego

Satellite data illustrates the heat signature of Hurricane Maria above warm surface water in 2017.NASA

When a hurricane hits land, the destruction can be visible for years or even decades. Less obvious, but also powerful, is the effect hurricanes have on the oceans.

In a new study, we show through real-time measurements that hurricanes don’t...

How to protect yourself from drop account fraud -- tips from our investigative unit

Written by Kurt Eichenwald, Senior Investigative Editor, The Conversation

Loot stolen from the U.S. Postal Service is displayed on the dark web.Via Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group

The types of crimes that use drop accounts are multiplying rapidly, but there are ways to decrease your chances of becoming a victim.

Do not mail checks from anywhere but your local post office. Not even your own mailbox is safe. The...

US charitable donations fell to $499 billion in 2022 as stocks slumped and inflation surged

Written by Patrick Rooney, Glenn Family Chair Emeritus of Economics and Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University

Giving declines when the country tightens its belt.FreeTransform/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Charitable giving in the U.S. fell to US$499 billion in 2022, as donors dealt with their losses in the stock market and coped with 40-year high inflation rates.

For only the fourth time on record, Americans gave less than they did the previous year without...

Saving lives from extreme heat: Lessons from the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave

Written by Jason Vogel, Interim Director, Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington

Volunteers pick up water to deliver to homeless people during a 2021 heat wave.AP Photo/Nathan Howard

The heat dome that descended upon the Pacific Northwest in late June 2021 met a population radically unprepared for it.

Almost two-thirds of households earning US$50,000 or less and 70% of rented houses in Washington’s King, Pierce and...

Passengers whose flights are canceled or delayed may soon get better treatment in the US -- where airlines have long set their own rules

Written by Janet Bednarek, Professor of History, University of Dayton

In Europe, customers are entitled to cash compensation for flight delays and cancellations.Murat Deniz/E+ Collection/Getty Images

U.S. airline passengers in early 2023 faced the highest rate of flight delays since 2014. That heightened level of delays came shortly after December 2022, when Southwest Airlines experienced an epic meltdown, canceling 7...

US national parks are crowded – and so are many national forests, wildlife refuges, battlefields and seashores

Written by Emily Wakild, Cecil D. Andrus Endowed Professor for the Environment and Public Lands, Boise State University

Visitors at Sliding Rock, a popular cascade in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest. Cecilio Ricardo, USFS/Flickr

Outdoor recreation is on track for another record-setting year. In 2022, U.S. national parks logged more than 300 million visits – and that means a lot more people on roads and trails.

While research shows that spending time...

As Ukraine takes the fight to Russians, signs of unease in Moscow over war's progress

Written by Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University

Facing harder questions at home.Contributor/Getty Images

Whether or not the Ukraine counteroffensive that began in early June 2023 succeeds in dislodging Russian troops from occupied territory, there are growing signs that the push has prompted anxiety back in Moscow.

Such unease was, I believe, detectable in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s...

AI could shore up democracy – here's one way

Written by Bruce Schneier, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

AI could help elected representatives raise up constituent voices.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

It’s become fashionable to think of artificial intelligence as an inherently dehumanizing technology, a ruthless force of automation that has unleashed legions of virtual skilled laborers in faceless form. But what if AI turns out to be the one tool...