Hacking Humans

Thinking past the US 2024 Presidential Election, In part three of the series, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire’s Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses reducing the impact of propaganda in the future elections with Perry Carpenter, Chief Human Risk Management Strategist at KnowBe4 and host of the 8th Layer Insights Podcast, Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of the The American Sunlight Project, and Scott Small, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Tidal Cyber. Check out Part 1 & 2! Part 1: Election Propaganda Part 1: How Does Election Propaganda Work? In this episode, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire’s Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses personal defensive measures that every citizen can take—regardless of political philosophy—to resist the influence of propaganda. This foundational episode is essential for understanding how to navigate the complex landscape of election messaging. Part 2: Election Propaganda: Part 2: Modern propaganda efforts. In preparation for the US 2024 Presidential Election, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire’s Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses recent international propaganda efforts in the form of nation state interference and influence operations as well as domestic campaigns designed to split the target country into opposing camps. Guests include Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of the The American Sunlight Project and Scott Small, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Tidal Cyber. References: Rick Howard, 2024. Election Propaganda Part 1: How does election propaganda work? [3 Part Podcast Series]. The CyberWire. Rick Howard, 2024. Election Propaganda: Part 2: Modern propaganda efforts. [3 Part Podcast Series]. The CyberWire. Christopher Chabris, Daniel Simons, 2010. The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us [Book]. Goodreads. Chris Palmer, 2010. TFL Viral - Awareness Test (Moonwalking Bear) [Explainer]. YouTube. David Ehl, 2024. Why Meta is now banning Russian propaganda [News]. Deutsche Welle. Eli Pariser, 2011. The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You [Book]. Goodreads. Kara Swisher, Julia Davis, Alex Stamos, Brandy Zadrozny, 2024. Useful Idiots? How Right-Wing Influencers Got $ to Spread Russian Propaganda [Podcast]. On with Kara Swisher. Nate Silver, 2024. What’s behind Trump’s surge in prediction markets? [Analysis]. Silver Bulletin. Niha Masih, 2024. Meta bans Russian state media outlet RT for acts of ‘foreign interference’ [News]. The Washington Post. Nilay Patel, 2024. The AI election deepfakes have arrived [Podcast]. Decoder. Nina Jankowicz, 2020. How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, 2024. FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, 2021. Meatloaf Recipes Cookbook: Easy Recipes For Preparing Tasty Meals For Weight Loss And Healthy Lifestyle All Year Round [Book]. Goodreads. Perry Carpenter, n.d. 8th Layer Insights [Podcast]. N2K CyberWire. Renee DiResta, 2024. Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality [Book]. Goodreads. Robin Stern, Marc Brackett, 2024. 5 Ways to Recognize and Avoid Political Gaslighting [Explainer]. The Washington Post. Sarah Ellison, Amy Gardner, Clara Ence Morse, 2024. Elon Musk’s misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials [News]. The Washington Post. Scott Small, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal Cyber. Staff, n.d. Overview: Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity [Website]. C2PA. Staff, 2021. Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections [Intelligence Community Assessment]. DNI. Staff, n.d. Project Origin [Website]. OriginProject. URL https://www.originproject.info/ Stuart A. Thompson, Tiffany Hsu, 2024. Left-Wing Misinformation Is Having a Moment [Analysis] The New York Times.

In preparation for the US 2024 Presidential Election, Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire’s Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses recent international propaganda efforts in the form of nation state interference and influence operations as well as domestic campaigns designed to split the target country into opposing camps. Guests include Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of the The American Sunlight Project and Scott Small, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Tidal Cyber. References: Scott Small, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal Cyber. Renee DiResta, 2024. Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality [Book]. Goodreads. Nina Jankowicz, 2020. How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict [Book]. Goodreads.

Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire’s Chief Analyst and Senior Fellow, discusses personal defensive measures that an average citizen, regardless of political philosophy, can take in order to not succumb to propaganda. References: David Ehl, 2024. Why Meta is now banning Russian propaganda [News]. Deutsche Welle. Jeff Berman, Renée DiResta, 2023. Disinformation & How To Combat It [Interview]. Youtube. Niha Masih, 2024. Meta bans Russian state media outlet RT for acts of ‘foreign interference’ [News]. The Washington Post. Quentin Hardy, Renée DiResta, 2024. The Invisible Rulers Turning Lies Into Reality [Interview]. YouTube. Rob Tracinski, Renée DiResta, 2024. The Internet Rumor Mill [Interview]. YouTube. Robin Stern, Marc Brackett, 2024. 5 Ways to Recognize and Avoid Political Gaslighting [Explainer]. The Washington Post. Sarah Ellison, Amy Gardner, Clara Ence Morse, 2024. Elon Musk’s misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials [News]. The Washington Post. Scott Small, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal Cyber. Staff, 2021. Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections [Intelligence Community Assessment]. DNI. Staff, 2024. Election Cyber Interference Threats & Defenses: A Data-Driven Study [White Paper]. Tidal. Stuart A. Thompson, Tiffany Hsu, 2024. Left-Wing Misinformation Is Having a Moment [Analysis. The New York Times. Stuart A. Thompson, 2024. Elon Musk’s Week on X: Deepfakes, Falsehoods and Lots of Memes [News]. The New York Times. Will Oremus, 2024. Zuckerberg expresses regrets over covid misinformation crackdown [News]. The Washington Post. Yascha Mounk, Renée DiResta, 2022. How (Not) to Fix Social Media [Interview]. YouTube. Renee DiResta, 2024. Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality [Book]. Goodreads. Nina Jankowicz, 2020. How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict [Book]. Goodreads.

Cybersecurity interview with ChatGPT. In part one of CyberWire’s Interview with the AI, Brandon Karpf interviews ChatGPT about topics related to cybersecurity. Rick Howard joins Brandon to analyze the conversation and discuss potential use cases for the cybersecurity community. ChatGPT is a chatbot launched by OpenAI and built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-3 family of large language models. Cyber questions answered by ChatGPT in part one of the interview. What were the most significant cybersecurity incidents up through 2021? What leads you to characterize these specific events as significant? What were the specific technical vulnerabilities associated with these incidents? Who were the cyber actors involved in each of these attacks? Do you think it's valuable to attribute cyber attacks to specific actors?

Maria Varmazis, host of N2K's daily space show T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share the story of how cybercriminals are exploiting the chaos following Hurricane Helene in Florida by launching scams and phishing attacks. Veriti’s research highlights three key threats: FEMA claim scams, phishing using hurricane-related domains, and malicious files disguised as FEMA documents, all targeting vulnerable individuals. This week, Joe's got three hard-hitting stories lined up! First, U.S. authorities have charged 18 individuals and companies for pulling off fraudulent schemes to manipulate cryptocurrency markets. Next, leaders from four crypto firms and market makers face charges for wash-trading and inflating prices to lure in investors. Finally, in a groundbreaking move, federal prosecutors have launched the first-ever criminal case targeting wash trading in digital assets, shaking up the crypto world. Dave share's a Facebook watch you can't say no too. Our catch of the day comes from Reddit, and follows a chain of messages where a scammer is sharing news that sounds a bit too good to be true. Links to the stories: Exploiting Hurricane Helene with FEMA Scams and Phishing Threats Eighteen Individuals and Entities Charged in International Operation Targeting Widespread Fraud and Manipulation in the Cryptocurrency Markets Seeking Information in Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Investigation U.S. Federal Prosecutors File First-Ever Criminal Charges for Crypto Market Manipulation You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.

Maria Varmazis, host of N2K's daily space show T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share the story of a South Carolina couple, and how they were devastated to discover their vacant land in Concord, Massachusetts was fraudulently sold by thieves who posed as them, with the new owners already building a home on the property, prompting a lawsuit and an FBI investigation. Our hosts share some follow-up on two intriguing listener contributions. John blocks Google ads using NextDNS, which catches ad wrappers unless manually disabled. Georgi from Japan describes a new Visa card with no visible number or CVV. Dave's story is on triangulation fraud, a scam on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, where a fraudster lures buyers with fake listings for popular products at enticingly low prices, then uses stolen payment information to purchase the legitimate product from a seller, ultimately leaving the buyer unaware until debt collection notices arrive. Meanwhile, Joe has two stories this week. Police arrested five individuals in connection with a fake Brad Pitt scam that defrauded two women of $362,000. He also explores insights from the 2024 Global State of Authentication survey in a Q&A with Yubico VP Derek Hanson, who discusses the future of passkeys. Our catch of the day shares some royal secrets you won't want to miss. Links to the stories: Valuable land in Concord, Massachusetts stolen from couple. Now a home is being built there The Amazon triangle scam: What it is, how it works, and what to do Police arrest five people over fake Brad Pitt scam after two women lost $362,000 2024 Global State of Authentication survey: Q&A with Yubico VP Derek Hanson on a passkey future You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.

It's all in the details, folks. Pay attention to those and you can avoid unnecessary stress. Dave Bittner, Maria Varmazis, and Joe Carrigan swap stories on email password-stealing attacks, Google ads scams, and fake banks this week. The team shares follow up from listener Steven from the UK about the hazards of shoulder surfing when they received their new debit card with all PII on the same side of the card. A friend of the show JJ shared a story and a warning about fake checks. Never accept a check from a stranger. Dave's story covers Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber reporting center, warning iPhone users of a new Apple ID phishing campaign. Maria talks about new research that uncovers a new scam that takes advantage of public wishlists on ecommerce websites, which in this case is Walmart, but is similar to those found on Amazon and other sites. Joe's story is about a firm in Singapore with an email from a supplier requesting that a pending payment be sent to a new bank account based in East Timor.  Our Catch of the Day is from Reddit on the /scambait subreddit "THE Dolly Parton is going to let ME in her VIP club." Links to the stories: iPhone Users Warned As New Email Password-Stealing Attacks Reported Walmart customers scammed via fake shopping lists, threatened with arrest Police recover over USD 40 million from international email scam THE Dolly Parton is going to let ME in her VIP club. You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.

This week, Dave and Joe share some listener follow-up from Clayton about credit card fraud and the potential issues with automatic update services that some cards provide. Dave's story is on sextortion scams targeting spouses, where scammers claim a partner is cheating and provide links to fake "proof." Joe has two stories this week, the first one is on how Police in Lebanon County arrested an alleged grandparent scammer after a sting operation. Joe's second story is on scam victims being compensated under a new Labor plan in Australia, which would fine banks, telcos, and social media platforms up to $50 million for failing to meet anti-scam obligations. Our catch of the day comes from Reddit, where someone posted a text message thread of their conversation with a scammer about a potential job. Links to the stories: Sextortion scams now use your "cheating" spouse’s name as a lure Police in Lebanon County arrest alleged grandparent scammer after sting operation Scam victims to be compensated under Labor plan to fine banks and social media platforms $50m Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

Maria Varmazis, host of N2K's daily space show T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share the story on the "Hello pervert" sextortion scam, where scammers now use threats of Pegasus spyware and photos of victims' homes to intensify their demands. We have quite a bit of follow-up today. Scott from Australia shared how self-service checkouts now display scam warnings when purchasing gift cards to prevent fraud. Jim highlighted a vulnerability in YubiKey encryption libraries that allows key cloning with an oscilloscope, while a former US Marshal reminded us that Zelle is marketed specifically for transfers between friends and family. Joe's story is on Loria Stern, a small bakery owner who fell victim to a counterfeit check scam after receiving a $7,500 payment for a large cupcake order that was later halved, resulting in her bank withdrawing the funds. Dave's story follows the scams targeting grieving individuals on Facebook, where cybercriminals use fake funeral live stream links or donation requests to steal money and credit card details. Our catch of the day comes from listener Anne, who shares a phishing email sent to a friend. The email emphasized the importance of thorough testing in the software development lifecycle and came with a suspicious PDF attachment, likely containing a malicious link. Anne hopes the campaign has zero success. Links to the stories: “Hello pervert” sextortion scam includes new threat of Pegasus—and a picture of your home LA bakery owner takes big financial hit after receiving scam order of 1,000 cupcakes, paid for with a $7.5K counterfeit check — her bank’s promise of protection fell through Fake funeral “live stream” scams target grieving users on Facebook You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

Maria Varmazis, host of N2K's daily space show T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share the story of how the ease of registering an LLC in Colorado has led to a surge in fraudulent businesses. She discusses how residents receiving suspicious mail addressed to fake LLCs registered at their homes are overwhelming the state's Secretary of State with thousands of complaints. Joe's story is on how scammers used a seaside hotel and former bank offices on the Isle of Man to defraud victims in China out of millions of dollars. Dave's story follows a phishing campaign where attackers impersonated HR departments by sending fake mid-year employee engagement surveys to steal Microsoft Office 365 credentials. Our catch of the day comes from Mitch, who received a scam email claiming to be an invitation to join the "Great Illuminati Brotherhood." The email promises wealth, fame, and protection, urging the recipient to contact them to solve financial problems and join the so-called "Elite Family." Links to the stories: Colorado has a backlog of shady LLCs to investigate China scam run from Isle of Man Mid-Year Engagement Trap: How Fake Surveys Are Used in Phishing You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

This week Joe and Dave share some listener follow up from Tim, who writes in to give some more information on a payment apps story in episode 302. Joe's story is on Suzy Enos, whose sister died, only for scammers to impersonate a family member and take over her phone number, leading to fraudulent charges on her accounts. Enos fought back to secure her late sister's assets and raise awareness about protecting accounts after a loved one's death. Dave's story follows how scammers exploit the "Automatic Billing Update" (ABU) program to enroll people in fake subscriptions and charge them even after their credit cards are replaced. To avoid this, you need to inform your issuer that it's a subscription scam and request them to block the merchant from using ABU to get your new card number. Our catch of the day comes from listener Felipe, who writes in share a letter he got in the mail where scammers were trying to convince him that he is owed money from a family member he has never heard of before. Links to the stories: Her sister died. Then scammers took over her phone number and started racking up bills. Mastodon Royce Williams The little-known credit card program that lets companies share your information Keep your cards on file always up-to-date MasterCard Automatic Billing Updater Service Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share her story on how AI-generated scams have infiltrated the world of crochet and other crafts, selling fake patterns that often result in impossible or frustrating projects. Dave's story is on the rise of "digital arrest" scams in India, where criminals posing as law enforcement officers coerce victims into making payments to avoid fake charges against their loved ones. Joe's story come's from a listener this week, and follows the latest evolution of the classic invoice scam, where scammers are now embedding unrelated but meaningful text to bypass spam filters. Our catch of the day comes from listener William, who shares a classic Nigerian Banker Scam. In this version, a young bank employee named Zayas Yovani claims to have discovered your overdue funds at the Central Bank of Nigeria. He offers to release the money if you help him flee the country, requiring you to purchase special hard drives and share your banking details. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: This is what happens when ChatGPT tries to create crochet patterns 'Digital arrest' scams are big in India and may be spreading You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe to share her story from listener Chloe, who shared a post she found on a social media platformed called "Bluesky," where a company is asking for photos and videos of your children to help AI smarter. Our hosts share some listener follow up on how a scammer impersonated a government official to deceive a woman into converting her assets into gold bars, resulting in the theft of over $789,000. They also share some follow up from listener Steve to discuss the "No Numbers Project" from episode 300. Joe's story is on regulators investigating whether major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, are adequately addressing Zelle scams by shutting down accounts used by fraudsters. Dave has the story on the FTC warning that scammers are the only ones who promise to remove all negative details from your credit report. Our catch of the day come from listener Benjamin who shares an email they received claiming to know things about him that he would not want getting out. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: Bluesky Second gold bar scam suspect arrested, extradited to Maryland Regulators Probing Big Banks’ Handling of Zelle Scams FTC warns consumers of scammers offering to remove all negative information from credit reports You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave to share her story on how recent research by security firm Veriti reveals a phishing campaign targeting Trump’s 2024 supporters, soliciting cryptocurrency donations through fake WinRed-branded domains, with limited transactions and some activity traced to China. Dave and Maria share some follow-up from a listener, including suggestions for protecting Dave's father's computer from phishing scams by using LibreWolf browser, UBlock Origin extension, and NextDNS, as well as a listener sharing insights on the pronunciation of "Ports-Muth." Dave's story follows how in June, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna was impersonated via deepfake technology in an attempted scam to deceive a Ferrari executive into signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement for a fictitious acquisition, but the ruse was detected and the company emerged unscathed. Dave also goes on to share news about his own home state Maryland and their gift card policy. Our catch of the day come from the scam subreddit and follows a text message where a scammer is trying to intimidate the recipient. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: Ferrari exec foils deepfake attempt by asking the scammer a question only CEO Benedetto Vigna could answer Maryland becomes first state to pass law against gift card draining TRUMP CAMPAIGN CRYPTO SCAM: UNVEILING THE PHISHING PLOT You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

This week we celebrate 300 episodes! Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe and shares a PSA on the CrowdStrike outage. Her story focuses on the Olympics, as this was the first week the Olympics started, and she shares about a recent fraud campaign that is targeting iPhone users in India, posing as India Post through smishing attacks. Our hosts discuss some follow up, from listener Brie, who writes in to share how one police force is helping folks stay safe from scam callers. They also share a story from listener Mark, who writes in about his 77-year-old mom's Facebook account being hacked, and she was tricked into downloading an app and opening her banking app while on a fake customer service call. Dave's story is on Gina Russell, who posed as a psychic and led an elaborate extortion scheme with her family, coercing victims into giving them millions of dollars under threats of harm. Joe has the story of social media giant Meta saying sextortion scams are increasing, with criminals from Nigeria often targeting adult men in the U.S.. Our catch of the day comes from an anonymous listener, who shared a post they found on the social media platform "Shared," about a scammer getting messed with. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: Phishing Campaign Targeting Mobile Users in India Using India Post Lures Sextortion scams run by Nigerian criminals are targeting American men, Meta says ‘Psychic’ and family of extortionists scam Md. man out of $4.2 million You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

This week, Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe, as they celebrate Maria joining the Hacking Humans podcast every week! Maria's story is from a listener this week who writes in with a story on an IT company that is a third party for a healthcare company, and the dangers that can come from that. Dave and Joe share some listener follow up from Michael, who shares some thoughts on AI. Dave's story follows how a recent study found that 40% of elderly adults in the UK regularly face phone-based fraud attempts, with significant impacts on their mental health and quality of life. Joe follows a Scottsdale couple, Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King, and how they have been indicted for a $900 million fraud scheme targeting hospice patients, receiving $330 million in illegal kickbacks used to purchase luxury items. Our catch of the day comes from listener Jim who writes in with a letter about a concerned beneficiary who received a letter from the FBI about their overdue inheritance with the National Bank of Belgium. The message confirmed the legitimacy of their claim but warned of potential scams by individuals impersonating bank officials. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: Two-Fifths of Senior Citizens Suffer Frequent Fraud Attempts ‘It’s really disgusting’: Scottsdale couple accused of $900 million fraud scheme targeting hospice patients, according to DOJ You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

This week, Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe, as they celebrate Maria joining the Hacking Humans podcast every week! Maria's story is on supplement scams, as there has been a significant surge in health-related supplement scams on social media platforms, utilizing advanced technologies like AI-generated images and deepfake videos to promote fake products endorsed by celebrities and medical professionals. Joe's story follows Airplane WiFi, now essential for many travelers, and how it poses unexpected risks as recent incidents highlight dangers like "evil twin" attacks, urging caution with VPNs and verifying network legitimacy to safeguard personal data midair. Dave has the story on 2 women charged in a romance scheme, defrauding elderly men out of $7 million. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: Deep Dive on Supplement Scams: How AI Drives ‘Miracle Cures’ and Sponsored Health-Related Scams on Social Media Federal Agency Issues New Security Advice If You Use Airplane WiFi 2 women charged in 'romance schemes' to defraud elderly men out of $7 million, feds say You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here. Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

This week Dave shares a story on Business email compromise (BEC) scams, and how they are a major threat, costing $26 billion annually. The story shares how it's crucial for employees to verify suspicious emails through a secondary channel and for companies to foster transparent communication to mitigate such risks. Joe shares two stories with us this week. The first is from a listener named Jay, who received a story from a relative. In this story, someone claiming to be a constable calls to warn about a person who has gift cards with the victim's name on them, then tries to get the caller to call the police to confirm. Joe's second story comes from Allison Gormly at Consumer reporter at WTHR in Indianapolis. Allison share's videos videos on Instagram that all start with “Hey Allison,” this one starts with Hey Allison, a stranger sent me money on Venmo, should I send it back? Our catch of the day comes from listener Cameron, who shares how he is a business owner with a public-facing email address, and how he gets his fair share of scam emails, but this one takes the cake. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: How to Spot a Business Email Compromise Scam Scam alert on Venmo, CashApp & Zelle! Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

This week Joe and Dave share some interesting follow up from a few episodes ago where Dave shared his love for baby grand pianos and how scammers we're using that to lure people into traps. Listener George wrote in to share about a show on UK Channel 4, called "The Piano," it's a music competition where visitors play a public piano in a train station, judged by hidden famous pianists, with winners performing at the UK Royal Festival Hall. Joe's story is a warning to travel goers using booking.com, as they share scams are at a all time high. Dave's story follows some neighborhood Facebook groups, and how they are inundated with posts about air duct cleaning services, prompting an investigation that reveals a scam involving fake profiles, telemarketers in Pakistan, and local technicians. Our catch of the day comes from listener Christopher, who writes in to share an outlandish message he received from a hacker with too much time on their hands. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: Note by Note: The Making of a Steinway Piano | Musical Instrument | ENDEVR Documentary Booking.com warns of up to 900% increase in travel scams Air Duct Cleaning Scam Exposed! Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.

Brandon Kovacs, a Senior Red Team Consultant at Bishop Fox, is talking about how Artificial Intelligence is shaping the future of social engineering. Listener Adina wrote in to share their thoughts on an earlier episode on Google. Dave share's listener Tony's write in for his story this week. Joe and Dave discuss some questions Tony shared about preparing for an overseas trip when his bank account was locked due to security measures triggered by setting up a backup phone and using a VPN. Joe has two stories for this week, one from Blair Young at WBAL, where Maryland Lottery is warning the public about a phone scam claiming Powerball winnings. The second comes from listener Don who shares a story on people who hold posters up saying they need money for children's funerals. Our catch of the day comes from a listener that found a "task scam" on Reddit. Please take a moment to fill out an audience survey! Let us know how we are doing! Links to the stories: Maryland Lottery warns public about phone scam claiming Powerball winnings ‘It’s a scam’: Poster-holders aren’t really raising money for a child’s funeral Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.