The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.2 Chase Bank "Free Money Glitch" Situation is Crazy & actually Felony Wire Fraud womp womp & More News

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

The dumbest people you know are about to go to prison... https://www.Squarespace.com/Phil  & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase! Get up to 50% OFF @ https://BeautifulBastard.com today! Get your new favorite comfy tee, hoodie, & more 64 Days Until Election Day! Make Sure You Are Registered to VOTE: https://Vote.org  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - People Scammed Themselves with the Chase “Infinite Money” Glitch 02:18 - Protesters in Israel Demand Gaza Deal After 6 Hostages’ Bodies Recovered 06:04 - VPNs Skyrocket as Brazil Blocks X 08:25 - Sponsored by Squarespace 09:23 - South Korea Facing Deepfake “Crisis” as K-Pop Groups Are Vow Legal Action 12:47 - States Are Taking Newborns from Moms Actively Following Anti-Addiction Treatments ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino Associate Producer on Prenatal Drug Testing: Chris Tolve ———————————— #DeFranco #Hasanabi #KPop ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. You daily dive into the news and I got a special Labor Day show for you today. And it all starts with just the pure idiocy we saw over the weekend, right? Because I don't know if you saw this, apparently an infinite money glitch was discovered,

except it actually wasn't because real life is not Grand Theft Auto 6. The glitch, it was just fraud. So let me explain. When people deposited a check at Chase, right? The banker, more specifically here, the ATM, would immediately clear a portion of that check and then clear the rest of it later as they vetted it. So what people quickly figured out is that you could just deposit a check for a huge sum of money and then pull out a percentage of what was immediately available. And that

seemingly leading to clips of people literally throwing cash around in front of a Chase and flaunting what looks to be at least thousands of dollars that they presumably did not have, as well as others showing huge lines at Chase banks after the trend started going viral, with people suggesting that it was to take advantage of this glitch. However, most of us probably already saw the problem. What the fuck happens when the check comes back as bad?

Well, obviously Chase goes, ah, you got us good, you got us this time, you get to keep it. No, that's not what happened. Those accounts get fucking nuked and then people owe that money back. Not mention as a chase spokesperson put it regardless of what you see Online depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing the funds from your account is fraud plain and simple It's there is a non-zero chance that people who took advantage of chases mess up

They could be facing criminal penalties. I'm not talking about like a slap on the wrist This is very probably wire fraud, which is a fucking felony that is shockingly easy to prove. I mean, one, the authorities just need to follow the money and the paper trail, but also two, in the case of the real big idiots, there's TikToks and videos that they posted that are on the internet. Though also understand it's the internet,

so there's gonna be a mishmash of real videos and then people doing skits and fake stuff. But it feels like for a lot of people at this point, it feels like you should know better, right? Because this is hardly the first free money trend that's not a free money thing. It's gone viral and would have resulted in criminal penalties.

Cash app scams are pretty common. And also during the pandemic, a bunch of people were showing others how to get free money from the government with what just amounted to fraud. And so unfortunately in this specific avenue, it's yet another, what seems to be like a monthly lesson at this point, that if it seems too good to be true,

it very probably is. Especially when it comes to supposed free money. Treat that shit like a sketchy van with free candy on the side of it. Because really the only difference in those two situations is who is gonna be fucking you. And then in big international news, we gotta talk about these huge protests

that we've been seeing in Israel this weekend. Though also to do that, we have to start with what happened on Saturday. Because that is when the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in an underground tunnel in Southern Gaza. And notably there, three of the hostages were reportedly scheduled to be released

in the first phase of a ceasefire proposal that was discussed back in July, including 23-year-old Israeli-American Hirsch Goldberg Poland. And you might remember, his parents actually spoke at the DNC. With them calling for a deal to bring the hostages home and end the suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza.

Now today, they were in Jerusalem for their son's funeral. And with that, when the news broke, you quickly had the Israeli military claiming that Hirsch and the other hostages were killed by Hamas. Though this, as Hamas on the other hand, was saying that it was Israel's fault, with him then, without providing evidence, claiming that the hostages were killed by Israeli bullets.

However, yesterday you had the Israeli health ministry saying a forensic examination showed that the hostages had been shot at close range. But of course, either way there, there are a lot of people in Israel who feel like the government hasn't done enough. And notably, that includes the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which is a group started by families of those taken by Hamas on October 7th. And with that, you had them announcing that there would be protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other places across the country, writing on X, Today, the families will bring the nation to a halt. Today, the entire nation will stand alongside the hostages' families to protest the cabinet's ongoing neglect of the hostages.

They will also call upon leaders of the world to exert all possible pressure on Hamas to sign the deal. With that, it actually ended up being one of the biggest nationwide protests since the outbreak of Israel's war on Hamas, with a hostage families group estimating that at least 800,000 people took part. Notably with all that you had some protesters blocking highways across the country and clashing with police. In Tel Aviv, for example, you reportedly had police firing a water cannon and throwing stun grenades. Police reportedly arresting 29 people in the city accusing them of vandalism, disorderly conduct, and attacking officers. And then beyond that, the backlash against the government has continued into today. With the saying, for example, the country's largest labor union launching a strike and that disrupting everything from schools and universities

to businesses and even delaying flights in much of the country. But then also with that, a court ordered the strike to come to an end this afternoon. Because the union is technically authorized to call for strikes only for economic reasons and workers' rights, but not over political issues. While the union accepted the decision this time,

they've really made a point. You know, the domestic pressure there on the government is probably the greatest it's been at any point since October 7th, especially on Netanyahu. Because at the protest, you had people holding up signs calling him a murderer or a criminal, with many personally blaming him for failing to strike a deal with Hamas.

And in fact, with that, you know, he's been accused of purposely stalling efforts for a deal by some hostage families and their supporters. And as far as why, that's because his political survival largely depends on his far-right coalition partners who've already threatened to collapse his government if he agrees to cease fire. And, you know, with that, you actually had the likes of one of the biggest commentators on this issue, Hassan Piker, commenting on the opposition to Netanyahu inside Israel. Like Israeli society, by and large, is blaming Benjamin Netanyahu,ahu it seems or at least like the people that are protesting are blaming benjamin nanyahu for refusing to come to terms and bb is like spiraling out of control he might do some crazy as a last-ditch effort so it's definitely a situation

that we're going to be keeping a close eye on in the upcoming days uh considering that it's it's it's seemingly coming to like a final moment there whether you agree or you disagree with most of what Hassan says, he's not the only one thinking that the last few days could be pivotal. Because on top of everything that's happening in the country, we've seen the international pressure stepping up as well. I mean, one big thing, the UK announced today that it would halt exports of some arms to Israel

because of possible breaches of international humanitarian law by Israel. And this, as you had Biden saying outright today, the Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure a hostage deal. And then with that, we're now learning the Biden administration may be planning to present a final take it or leave it deal to both sides soon. And after that, if the two sides fail to accept it, it could be the end of American led negotiations. But ultimately, as always with the situation, anything could happen. For now, we'll have to wait to see if, we are just around the corner from a turning point or just more of the same.

And then, this news out of Brazil is both surprising and not surprising. Because over the weekend, X, Twitter, whatever you want to call it, it was officially banned for users in Brazil, South America's most populous country, which of course was very surprising. But then, unsurprisingly, VPN demand in Brazil has reportedly surged 1,600%. And that even with people risking nearly $9,000 in fines a day for finding workarounds. See, and all of this is stemming from a big months-long standoff between Elon Musk and a justice on Brazil's Supreme Court, because that justice wanted X to appoint a legal representative in the country, as well as for the platform to remove accounts that he said were breaking

Brazilian laws. So it's unclear what law-specific posts on these accounts were actually getting broken. The judge's orders are usually sealed from public view, though in recent years he's gone after the social media accounts of right-wing supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, with that including those who questioned Bolsonaro's loss back in 2022 and who sympathized with insurrectionists that attempted to invoke a military takeover. But what we saw was Elon Musk refusing to remove any accounts, framing the whole situation as a fight to protect free speech, and there accusing the judge of trying to silence conservative voices. Even tweeting late last night, "'His actions are against the will of the Brazilian people

he is supposed to represent.'" And adding, "'He should be impeached for violating his oath of office.'" Which yeah, I mean, this judge is a pretty polarizing figure. But even the likes of the New York Times framing it as on the left, he is considered a hero, on the right, a villain.

Though he argues that Brazilian law gives him the power to block online content that could threaten the country's institutions, saying back in April, "'Freedom of speech is not freedom of aggression.'" But whatever the case, after he ordered Brazil's telecom agencies to block X on Saturday at midnight,

you had tons of Brazilians trying to find a new platform, many flocking to Blue Sky and Threads, Blue Sky reporting half a million new users in two days. The way they also saw others doubling down on using VPNs and one right-wing congressman tweeting, "'I will keep tweeting regardless of state persecution or threats because I believe in freedom of expression, democracy, and real justice.

With that, asking Brazilians to join a planned protest this coming weekend to call for the judge's impeachment. And this is what a political science professor at State University of Rio de Janeiro saying in a tweet just ahead of the ban. I've used VPNs a lot in authoritarian countries like China to continue accessing news sites and social networks. It never occurred to me that this type of tool

would be banned in Brazil. It's dystopian. Right, so it's gonna be very interesting to see where all this goes, because I mean, just a few hours ago, the rest of Brazil's Supreme Court voted to back up the ban. And really, no matter your thoughts on Elon Musk

or what fucking X has become these days, for a lot of people, it is a tool to stay connected with the rest of the world. And rightfully so, you have a lot of Brazilians feeling like they're now being left in the dark. And then, you know, for those of you looking to kickstart a business, showcase homemade crafts, start a personal blog,

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And start your free trial today over at squarespace.com slash phil. And hey, all I say is when you're ready to launch, don't forget to use offer code phil for 10% off your first purchase. That's squarespace.com slash phil or scan the QR code on screen. And then, so you already know that deep fakes are a massive issue and they've only been getting worse but here's the thing in south korea it's on a completely different level and it's affecting everyone from celebrities to everyday people even leading to massive protests and promises from the government and top entertainment

industry players to crack down so much so that even groups like human rights watch have taken notice and described it as a digital sex crime deep fake crisis it's also not a situation where they're just being more vocal about it. Right, according to a 2023 report by a US startup that focuses on identity theft, 53% of all deep fakes involve Korean actresses and singers. And the number of cases that the police have agreed to take on has risen from 156 in all of 2021

to 297 so far this year. But really those cases are just small drops in a really large bucket. With women right now across the country reporting that their likeness are being deepfaked into porn scenes and shared across friend groups. And that's if they're lucky. I mean, sometimes they find their way into larger groups like one that has over 200,000 members, all of which can then affect their lives across family, relationships, and work, despite not even willingly being involved in the deepfake. And that is because you have many people saying South Korea has a mean streak of

misogyny that many are trying to tackle. It can get really, reallyake. And that is because you have many people saying South Korea has a mean streak of misogyny that many are trying to tackle. It can get really, really bad. And even being perceived as someone who is in porn is enough to be labeled horrendous things. And often what we see is that this is being done in chatroom apps. Although, I mean, it's really an issue

across all popular platforms in South Korea. I mean, even YouTube's taken action despite deepfakes almost never lasting on the platform. Instead, they spent the last week demonetizing a large channel owned by a right-winger in the country who was actively downplaying the problem. But really, the platform of choice seems to be Telegram. And that's probably because despite promises that it actively monitors and moderates content, it's clearly been very hands-off with it. So because of that, South Korean regulators have promised to more actively crack

down on platforms, and they're even opening probes against Telegram. And this notably as Telegram's founder was arrested in France last week. So Korean regulators have now asked French regulators to help them with their investigation into the platform and facilitate any communication with Pavel Dorov. But it's not just government agencies that are promising to crack down. Or the major music labels,

they are also infuriated with the deepfake situation and they've promised to do their part as well. And that, you know, it's not surprising, like any talent agent would be angry for their client if they were in the situation. But specifically in South Korea, the music labels have much more control over their talent and their image.

Like it's common for artists to be banned from even dating anyone over fears that it might alienate fans. Now, obviously the labels can't directly jail deep fake creators, but you have labels like JYP, which represent the extremely popular girl group TWICE, addressing this situation on Saturday, writing, we are gravely concerned about the recent spread

of deep fake AI generated videos involving our artists. "'This is a blatant violation of the law, "'and we are in the process of collecting "'all relevant evidence to pursue the strongest legal action "'with a leading law firm without leniency. "'We wanna make it clear that we will not stand by "'while our artists' rights are violated "'and will take decisive action to address this matter

"'to the fullest extent possible.'" With also their colleagues at YG who represent Blackpink writing, "' we are seriously concerned about the ongoing creation and circulation of inappropriate deepfake content involving our artists. We are continuously monitoring these extensive and malicious illegal activities, actively working to remove and block such content. We are also pursuing all possible legal measures, including criminal proceedings, to address these issues. In closing, we are committed to firmly and rigorously responding to any illegal acts

that significantly harm the dignity and reputation of our artists. And as all that's happening on that end, you have fans also trying to do their part to slow down how common deepfakes are. For example, on Twitter, there are being multiple relatively large accounts, such as one named after Blackpink member Rosé,

that are now organizing mass reports of deepfake content that portray her or other K-pop stars. But as far as how this plays out or how much any of this can be reined in, that remains to be seen. And then, you know, there are very few moments in life as meaningful and as beautiful as the birth of your first child.

But for many mothers across the United States, that is also a gut-wrenching and terrifying moment. And that's because they know that as soon as the doctor snips the umbilical cord, they are going to have to fight to try to keep that baby. Take for example, Jade Das. She's a woman who was 26 years old when she realized that she was pregnant, and at the time, she and her boyfriend had both been recovering from opioid addiction. So as a treatment, she was subscribed to Suboxone, also known as buprenorphine, which is a medication that prevents withdrawal,

which, you know, you might automatically think is risky for a fetus. I mean, you're not even supposed to take ibuprofen while pregnant. But while it can make newborns experience withdrawal symptoms, these are only temporary, and they're easily treatable. Whereas on the other hand, if you quit the meds, that could trigger withdrawal, which could in turn lead to relapse and potential overdose or contractions that could result in a miscarriage or premature birth. But in January of 2021, Jade gave birth to what tests showed was a healthy baby girl with no documented withdrawal symptoms. But then just an hour later, the hospital called Arizona's Department of Child Safety to report a case of suspected child abuse or neglect. And that's because the

toxicology test came back positive for Suboxone. And regardless of whether the nurses actually believed that was evidence of abuse, they legally had to report it. And the reason for that requires a little evidence. So you've always been picky about your produce, but now you find yourself checking every label to make sure it's Canadian. So be it. At Sobeys, we always pick guaranteed fresh Canadian produce first. Restrictions apply. See in-store or online for details. Explanation. In the 1970s, there was a law adopted by the federal government called the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. That's Harvard resident Dr. Rohan Kazanchi, who for you might be a familiar face by now. He's hopped on for our stories about race-adjusted medicine and excited delirium. And that law that he just

mentioned kicked off all of what we're about to dive into. And among other things, it defined child abuse and neglect and required states to gather data on those crimes. This law has been updated almost every decade. In the early 2000s, mid-2000s, it was updated to include sort of exposure in utero to, quote unquote, an utero to quote unquote an addictive substance or dependence on an addictive substance at birth. And a key thing is that substance doesn't have to be an illicit one. So a pregnant mother taking prescribed medication

to treat opioid addiction such as buprenorphine or methadone is treated the same as someone taking actual opioids. They're essentially punishing parents for seeking evidence-based treatment for their opioid use disorders. And the consequences of this are what you'd expect. So in a video call with a child welfare investigator,

Jade defended herself against an onslaught of questions about her past addiction and recovery. But a week later, a nurse, a security guard, and the investigator showed up to her hospital room in person with an order to remove her newborn baby from her. She recalled this to the New York Times and Reveal. It was just like pure despair.

I don't even know how to explain it. And so now the battle was on to win her daughter back. With a judge throwing up endless hoops for her to jump through, a substance abuse assessment, counseling, parenting classes, a psychological consultation, weekly sessions in family treatment court. She also had to sign over all of her medical, mental health and Suboxone treatment records,

submit to eight to 10 random drug tests per month, and resolve any open criminal cases. Which for her were just things like shoplifting and trespassing for when she was homeless years ago. And if she did all that, then she and her boyfriend, Ryan, could see their daughter three times a week inside a government office.

And eventually, thanks to the intervention of tribal social services, Ryan got custody of the baby, but Jade couldn't live with them or see her daughter without supervision. But the big thing there is he couldn't supervise her because he had to work, and she couldn't work because she had no car.

So then feeling like they had no other choice, they took the baby and ran. With them packing up and driving from state to state to state, but the cops eventually caught up and threw Jade in jail for two months. So then their daughter went back to foster care and they got a second chance to follow the rules and potentially reunite with her.

But then in March of 2023, Jade went to court to resolve a probation violation for a misdemeanor trespassing charge from her opioid days. And to her surprise there, the judge sentenced her to six months in jail, which meant she could neither work on her case plan nor actually attend the next court hearing at which a judge would most likely decide her child's fate. So now Jade's daughter is three and a half years old

and her mother has lost custody indefinitely. All my life I really looked forward to being a mother and I feel like I'm having that, that basic human experience taken from me. And so the situation is that now, thousands of women like her have been reported to Child Protective Services for prenatal substance exposure,

with many also losing their babies for weeks, months, or years, which can be stressful and traumatic. And this, even though, keep in mind, they are doing what promises the best outcome for themselves and their baby. Right, I mean, mothers who use addiction meds during pregnancy are more likely to go back for recommended pediatric checkups

and less likely to readmit their baby to the hospital during its first year of life. In fact, availability of those drugs is linked to reductions in certain types of child maltreatment caseloads like abuse and neglect. With an expert even telling CNN, in states where there are punitive policies, including mandated reporting,

birthing people are less likely to access prenatal care, less likely to use medications for opioid use disorder, less likely to use psychotherapy services, and less likely to really connect with any healthcare provider in pregnancy. But also addiction meds make up a small percentage of the drugs pregnant mothers take. Right, as of 2021, about one in every five pregnant women

reported some form of substance use. And those include ones that are often legal and may not even be harmful. Prescription opioids is another example. Some patients have severe pain or they may have comorbidities like sickle cell disease that predispose them to having pain crises while they're pregnant.

In cases like this, I also don't think we need to file a Child Protective Service report. And while drugs like these are targeted, others that can also impact fetal health, such as insulin or medications for depression, anxiety, and ADHD, they get less scrutiny, which appears to suggest that the stigma around certain drugs may be distorting

child welfare policies. And with this, we know that politics plays a role in mandatory reporting laws because they aren't applied equally everywhere. The language in the federal law is so vague that states have chosen how to interpret this, you know, and have had to make their own policies and recommendations to health systems to interpret it.

So some states designate prenatal drug use as civil child abuse, and others go as far as involuntarily committing the mother, terminating her parental rights, or even criminally prosecuting her. But big picture, at least 26 states mandate reporting for prenatal substance exposure with no exceptions for prescribed opioids or addiction medications. I think that's bizarre. I don't think that

makes a lot of sense. Don't understand that is not to say there are not legitimate cases where CPS intervention is needed. If somebody has an active substance use disorder, perhaps they are not engaged in treatment. Perhaps they have a recent relapse, an unsafe home environment, or just some other factor that makes it seem like there's not an ability to safely take care of their child at the time of discharge. But even there, you have Rohan saying you need a multidisciplinary team, including an expert like a social worker, not just a single physician, to make that assessment. And if one doctor is not enough, one drug test certainly isn't either. Organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics really recommend verbal screening during prenatal care rather than toxicology testing at the time of discharge. Getting a single urine test is not diagnostic of a substance use disorder. It's a snapshot in time, whereas a substance use disorder

implies substance use that is causing impact on somebody's life and is really longitudinal over time. And the last thing is that toxicology testing is heavily limited by high false positive rates and other problems with the actual test itself. And then, you know, coloring everything we've talked about so far, there are racial disparities at every single step of the process. Clinicians choosing to test people for substance use during pregnancy and choosing to even test their newborns. The filing of a report by a mandated reporter, true investigations being opened, substantiation of the investigation, separation of a family, and the choice not to reunify down the road. There are racial disparities at every single one of those steps as well. This, even though black mothers are no more likely to test positive for substance use while

pregnant than other racial groups. In fact, among patients with a history of substance abuse, white mothers are more likely to test positive than black mothers. And so the place where Rohan works, the Boston Medical Center, it revised its policy in 2021 to only report cases where they observe true protective concerns. What they notice is that the impact was huge.

We found in a study that we just published earlier this year that we reduced CPS reporting by 45%, meaning 45% of cases we were able to not report because there were no protective concerns whatsoever. So you're talking about hundreds of mothers who may have otherwise been surveilled by CPS investigators and dragged through the courts to prove they're worthy of keeping their own children. And that bears out even when you look at CPS data. So when we look at how Massachusetts handles prenatal substance exposure reporting cases, 50% of those cases are investigated,

but not substantiated, meaning we're wasting state resources and tax bill dollars. But with experiments like his and a growing body of research establishing that mandatory reporting is too strict, lawmakers have begun to take another look at these policies.

You have a handful of states like Connecticut, Colorado, and Washington changing their laws so that a positive drug test no longer automatically triggers a CPS report. And instead, they evaluate each patient on a case-by-case basis, then refer them to programs and resources to help reinforce the new family. Also, federal lawmakers introduced a bill last October that would require consent for prenatal drug tests and block states from mandating reporting, at least in cases where the mother is taking a drug in accordance with the recommendations of

the prescribing practitioner, and the healthcare provider has no other reason to suspect the child is an imminent danger. But notably, that bill has yet to be passed as Icribing practitioner, and the healthcare provider has no other reason to suspect the child is an imminent danger. But notably, that bill has yet to be passed as I'm recording, and most Americans haven't even really heard about this issue. So for now, you know, you can count yourself among the few, and it'll be interesting to see if and when this passes.

And in the meantime, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts. With all that said, my friends, that is the end of your Monday, evening, Tuesday morning dive into the news. As always, thank you for being a part of my daily dives into the news. I hope you are having or had a great Labor Day.

But either way, I'll be right back here for you tomorrow with some more news. I love your faces and I'll see you then.