Good morning. If you need something even smoother than your morning coffee to get through this day, check out Ne-Yo’s recent NPR tiny desk concert on YouTube. It features his best songs and classics from other artists you didn’t even know he wrote.

Tech

🧠 Inside the Minds of Scammers and How to Outsmart them

By Tobias Bautista

Cybercrimes are a rollercoaster of emotions, much like a sequel to “Inside Out.” Scammers are the puppet masters, expertly pulling at our emotional strings to lure us into their traps.

“Inside Out 2” is the latest hit, and it reminds us to keep our emotions in check—especially when it comes to avoiding cyber fraud.

Jonathan John Paz, BPI’s security guru, says, “Social engineering is the scammer’s favorite trick. Almost all cyber attacks start with it.” Scammers know exactly how to manipulate our feelings to get us to spill confidential information.

Here’s a quick guide to how scammers play on our emotions:

Fear: Ever got a call from “your bank” saying you need to act fast or lose access to your account? That’s fear in action. Scammers create a sense of urgency to short-circuit rational thinking.

Joy: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers dangle irresistible offers—low-risk investments, waived fees, extra rewards—to make you overlook the red flags.

Sadness: Romance scams prey on loneliness. Scammers build fake online personas, convincing lonely hearts to trust them, share personal details, and eventually part with their money.

‘Inside Out’ teaches us to recognize our emotions. Cybercriminals exploit fear, joy, and sadness to trick victims into revealing sensitive info.

BPI reminds everyone: the bank will never ask for confidential info via email, text, or phone. Keep your passwords and PINs to yourself.

“Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. We all play a role in keeping our bank accounts safe,” Paz adds.

🧗‍♀️ Huawei Keeps on Climbing

by Tobias Bautista

Besides looking just like an iPhone, Huawei is just as hot 🔥.

Huawei dominated China's smartphone sales from May 20 to June 16, seeing a 42.4% jump thanks to hot demand for its 5G products, while overall smartphone sales in China rose 6.8% with Xiaomi and Apple also seeing gains.

Local News

👾 Monsters in Shore: China’s Maritime Muscle-Flexing in Philippine Waters

By Tobias Bautista

The Philippines really needs ‘em Jaegers right now. Absolutely not the drink, but the massive mecha fighters in Pacific Rim.

China’s “monster ship,” the biggest China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel, took a scenic cruise past the Philippines this week, stirring up quite the buzz. The behemoth, weighing in at 12,000 tons, made its presence known near El Nido, Palawan, before drifting close to the Scarborough Shoal, according to SeaLight director Ray Powell.

Dubbed an "intrusive patrol," this was the final leg of its tour inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

Before its Palawan cameo, the ship made stops near the Ayungin Shoal and Escoda Shoal. The ship didn't linger, instead continuing its grand tour of the Spratly Islands and beyond.

Despite China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, an international ruling in 2016 invalidated these assertions. Nevertheless, China's intimidating maritime maneuvers persist, with Powell noting the ship's movements as a clear message of dominance.

Sports

🏀 The Villanova boys are together again: Mikal Bridges is traded to the New York Knicks

By Koby del Rosario

Brooklyn Nets swingman Mikal Bridges, along with a second-round pick, has been dealt to the New York Knicks in exchange for sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic, unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031, a protected 2025 first-round pick from the Bucks, an unprotected 2028 first-round swap, and a 2025 second-round pick. 

That was a huge haul for Mikal.

Despite the massive take from the Knicks’ future to secure the rising star, the Orange and Blue are ecstatic to have Bridges on board. He reunites with his fellow Villanova Wildcats in Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte Divincenzo as they were all over social media when the announcement was made.

The four were a part of the Villanova University Men’s Basketball team that won the NCAA D1 Championships in 2016 and in 2018. Yes, that iconic Kris Jenkins championship-winning shot.

As New York now looks to be one of the favorites in the East against now reigning champions Boston Celtics, their added depth is surely going to help with their “win-now” mentality.

Chemistry definitely won’t be a problem for this squad.

For the Nets, however, it seems as though they are going for rebuild mode in the hopes of landing pieces for the success of their future with the amount of assets they got in return.

💪 Strong Group Athletics set to deploy an even stronger group in the 43rd William Jones Cup

By Koby del Rosario

After a star-studded roster that featured the likes of Dwight Howard, Andray Blatche, and Andre Roberson earlier this year for the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship, Strong Group Athletics is now fielding a well-balanced lineup for the 43rd William Jones Cup.

Headlined by Rhenz Abando and Kiefer Ravena, the team boasts a formidable frontline with Angelo Kouame, Chris McCullough, Caelan Tiongson, Tajuan Agee, Allen Liwag, and Geo Chiu—who is coming off of his Taiwan Mustangs game against Gilas Pilipinas last Monday. 

SGA’s backcourt is stacked as well, with RJ Abbarientos, Jordan Heading, Dave Ildefonso, DJ Fenner, Jonathan Manalili, and Tony Ynot joining the fray. 

Despite the lack of NBA-level products as seen in past iterations of SGA-backed teams, this squad stresses the availability of all complete tools needed to win ball games—as mentioned by head coach, Charles Tiu.

The team is set for action in Taiwan on the 13th to 21st of July as they are eyeing to bring home the country’s seventh Jones Cup title.

News Roundup

• PNP to increase checkpoints and patrols ahead of 2025 polls

• Tesla’s Cybertruck with a fourth recall due to loose trim pieces and windshield wiper failure

• US Journalist on trial in Russia for Espionage charges — ones he and his employer deny

• Lilac Solutions claims its new technology can gather 90% of the lithium found in many brine formations, while cutting costs by 50%

Comment

Do you have a comment or wanna engage with other subscribers? View this post online and scroll to the bottom!

Games

🎯 Fun Brain Teasers

• Wordle: guess the random five letter word

• Connections: match four words of the same category

• Strands: word search but it depends on the category

Referral

Enjoying Araw Araw? Share the sunshine by sending out the link below! Rewards for referrals coming soon 👀

Feedback

Got feedback/concerns with Araw Araw? Help us make your days brighter ☀ by sending us feedback through the form below!

Feedback form here: https://forms.gle/nZ8LnDmsLiTWrp3X9