Millions of Brazilians received false emergency alerts on their mobile phones late last week, warning of “misantropia” and an “alien attack”. The messages, sent through the national civil-defence platform, reached residents of at least six state capitals including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, as well as municipalities in the Federal District and other states. Brazilian authorities confirmed the alerts were dispatched using credentials belonging to civil-defence agents in Pará state, and the federal police are investigating whether the accounts were compromised by hackers who obtained passwords via the deep web.

In Colombia, a parallel fraud has targeted travellers at Bogotá’s main bus terminal. The district security secretariat reported that criminals are exploiting search-engine results to pose as official terminal staff, offering fake bus tickets via WhatsApp and requesting bank transfers. One victim lost 95,000 pesos after paying for a non-existent seat to Bucaramanga. Officials stressed that the terminal does not sell tickets through messaging apps and urged passengers to verify channels directly with transport companies.

Russian authorities and cybersecurity firms have separately warned of two new schemes. One involves fake social-media groups that mimic university admissions committees, tricking applicants into entering their government-services portal credentials on phishing sites. The other uses bogus websites offering drone-attack alerts; after users register, they receive a message claiming their state-services account has been hacked and are directed to call a fraudulent support line, where operators may accuse them of financing terrorism or attempt to extract money. Both schemes exploit anxiety around bureaucratic processes and security threats, according to analysts in Moscow.

In response to the growing use of manipulated media, a detection app called RealCheck has gained attention for its ability to scan videos for signs of deepfake manipulation. Available in Latin American and other markets, the tool analyses video, audio and transcript to flag potential alterations and deceptive intent, though its developers caution that it provides context rather than a definitive verdict. Meanwhile, the Brazilian government has launched a new phase of its Celular Seguro programme, sending prevention messages to areas with high rates of phone theft, and has formally established a national database of restricted devices. The initiative was overshadowed by President Lula’s remark that citizens who have bought a stolen phone should not fear going to a police station to return it—a statement that legal observers note conflicts with the penal code’s criminalisation of receiving stolen goods. Investigations into the false alerts remain active, and no arrests have been reported.