159 phone number – Stop Scams UK

159 is a phone number operated by Stop Scams UK that you can call if you receive a suspicious or unexpected call about a financial matter: 

• How to use 159
  • If you receive a suspicious call, you can:
    1. Stop the conversation and hang up  
    2. Wait a few seconds  
    3. Call 159  
    4. State your bank’s name when prompted by the recorded message  
    5. Your bank will ask security questions and direct you to the best department  
    6. You can ask your bank if what you heard is true  
• Features of 159
  • 159 is a secure number that connects you directly to your bank:
    • 159 can’t be spoofed  
    • 159 will never call you  
    • Most major banks are connected to 159, including Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Chase, and more  
• Stop Scams UK’s goals
  • Stop Scams UK’s goal is to have Ofcom make 159 a mandatory number, like 101, 111, or 999. They also work on projects to better understand the scam problem and build solutions

Petrichor is the smell of rain. The word comes from the Greek words ‘petra’, meaning stone, and ‘ichor’, which in Greek mythology refers to the golden fluid that flows in the veins of the immortals.

petrichor noun

pe·​tri·​chor ˈpe-trÉ™-ËŒkȯr 

: a distinctive, earthy, usually pleasant odor that is associated with rainfall especially when following a warm, dry period and that arises from a combination of volatile plant oils and geosmin released from the soil into the air and by ozone carried by downdrafts

(Merriam-Webster)

The internet made a bold promise – that people anywhere on the network would be equal. It suggested we would interact with people worldwide. The reality is that the routing, searching and dissemination is tightly controlled, monitored and targeted.

This online news site is one I enjoy and which attempts to be global and informative. Of course it makes editorial decisions but I am happier with their world view than most other publications online at the moment.

I have mentioned it before but this is another shout out for:

https://restofworld.org/

Taken from the coverage on BBC of a birth certificate apparently damaged intentionally while a Passport application was being made for a UK passport:

“The BBC has contacted the Home Office for comment, and was directed to Mr Cleverly’s reply on X to the original post.”

So this is how official communications are carried out by a government – a post on “X” (still prefer to say Twitter…). The state of it.

Home Office investigating after ‘Israel’ crossed out on baby’s birth certificate – BBC News