On Hacking Humans, Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of N2K's daily space podcast, T-Minus), are once again sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines to help our audience become aware of what is out there. First we start off with some follow up, our hosts share some more information on VIN swapping, and a clarification on bank participation in FinCEN. Maria shares a telling tale about a Bethesda couple loosing $367,000 in gold bars to a sophisticated scam involving fake officials and elaborate deceptions, but a police sting led to the arrest of a suspect, highlighting a growing nationwide trend of elderly victims targeted by gold bar fraud. Joe's story comes from KnowBe4 and is on DavidB, their VP of Asia Pacific, thwarting a sophisticated social engineering attack via WhatsApp by recognizing inconsistencies in the impersonator’s behavior and verifying directly with the colleague they claimed to be. Dave's story comes from the FBI on how criminals are exploiting generative AI to enhance fraud schemes, including using AI-generated text, images, audio, and video to create convincing social engineering attacks, phishing scams, and identity fraud, while offering tips to protect against these threats. Our catch of the day comes from a listener who received an urgent email from someone claiming to be an FBI agent with a rather dramatic tale about intercepted consignment boxes, missing documents, and a ticking clock—but let's just say this "agent" might need some better training in both law enforcement and grammar.

Resources and links to stories:

• “VIN swap scam costs Las Vegas man $50K, new truck"
• FinCEN
• Gold bar scammers claimed hackers could fund Russian missiles, police say
• Real Social Engineering Attack on KnowBe4 Employee Foiled
• Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud

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 [email protected].

Please enjoy this encore episode of Word Notes.

A collection of people, process, and technology that provides an organization the ability to detect and respond to cyber attacks.

On Hacking Humans, Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of N2K's daily space podcast, T-Minus), are once again sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines to help our audience become aware of what is out there. This week, Maria shares two stories this week, the first is from "PayPal" saying they are owed over $200. The second comes from LinkedIn where a gentleman shares the terrifying story of losing everything all because of a scam. Joe's story is on text message scams where strangers pretend to know you, building trust over time to lure victims into schemes like cryptocurrency fraud; he advises ignoring unknown messages, blocking suspicious numbers, avoiding links, and protecting personal information. Dave's story follows Silent Push Threat Analysts tracking "Payroll Pirates," a group leveraging phishing campaigns targeting HR systems like Workday to redirect payroll funds by using search ads, spoofed websites, and credential harvesting, as they alert organizations and share threat intelligence to counter these sophisticated attacks. Our catch of the day comes from a phishing scam email claiming to offer a $1.75 million compensation fund via the "United Bank for Africa," requiring victims to share personal and banking details under the guise of an IMF directive.

Resources and links to stories:

• “Wrong Number” Text Scams on the Rise
• Hunting Payroll Pirates: Silent Push Tracks HR Redirect Phishing Scam

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 [email protected].

Please enjoy this encore episode of Word Notes.

Cybercriminals who lack the expertise to write their own programs use existing scripts, code, or tools authored by other more skilled hackers. 

On Hacking Humans, Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of N2K's daily space podcast, T-Minus), are once again sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines to help our audience become aware of what is out there. This week, our hosts dive into some follow up from listener Will. who writes in about the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. They also share after an anonymous listener writes in with a suggestion on filtering scam emails using the DocuSign API. Maria follows the story of how Black Friday is increasingly being dubbed "Black Fraud Day," as criminals exploit the festive shopping frenzy to scam eager bargain hunters, often using AI to create convincing fraud schemes. Joe has two stories this week. The first one is on scammers exploiting financially distressed individuals by posing as the "Bankruptcy Fraud Watchdog Group," threatening bankruptcy filers with false accusations and fines payable in Bitcoin, while warning them against contacting their attorneys. The second story explores the rise of deepfake scams in the U.S., with criminals using AI-generated videos of celebrities like Elon Musk to deceive victims into fraudulent cryptocurrency investments, contributing to over $12 billion in annual fraud losses. Finally, Dave share's a story on a new wave of deepfake scams, where AI-generated videos of Elon Musk trick unsuspecting victims into investing large sums, contributing to billions in fraud losses. Our catch of the day comes from Raul, who shares a scammy text message sent to his mother, sharing his efforts to educate her on spotting fraudulent messages.

Resources and links to stories:

• Black Friday turning into Black Fraud Day, says UK cybersecurity chief
• U.S. Trustee Program Warns Consumers of Bankruptcy Fraud Alert Scam
• Deepfakes of Elon Musk are contributing to billions of dollars in fraud losses in the U.S.
• Inside the Mind of Thru-Hiking’s Most Devious Con Man

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 [email protected].

Welcome in! You’ve entered, Only Malware in the Building. Grab your eggnog and don your coziest holiday sweater as we sleuth our way through cyber mysteries with a festive twist! Your host is Selena Larson, Proofpoint intelligence analyst and host of their podcast DISCARDED. Inspired by the residents of a building in New York’s exclusive upper west side, Selena is joined by N2K Networks Dave Bittner and Rick Howard to uncover the stories behind notable cyberattacks. Being a security researcher is a bit like being a detective: you gather clues, analyze the evidence, and consult the experts to solve the cyber puzzle. On this episode, our cyber ghosts delve into the past, present, and future of some of the season’s most pressing threats: two-factor authentication (2FA), social engineering scams, and the return to consumer-targeted attacks.

Together, Rick, Dave, and Selena deliver a ghostly—but insightful—message about the state of cybersecurity, past, present, and future. Can their advice save your holiday season from digital disaster? Tune in and find out.

May your holidays be merry, bright, and free of cyber fright!

Please enjoy this encore episode of Word Notes.

An isolated and controlled set of resources that mimics real world environments and used to safely execute suspicious code without infecting or causing damage to the host machine, operating system, or network.

Please enjoy this encore of Hacking Humans:

This week, we are joined by host of N2K's T-Minus Space Daily podcast, Maria Varmazis, she sits down with Joe and Dave to discuss sextorion materials that were found on popular social media apps such as, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. Joe and Dave share quite a bit of follow up, Joe starts with an anonymous listener writing in sharing their story on gift card scams. Dave shares another anonymous listeners comments, sharing about what they think of Andy Cohen going public on how he got scammed. Finally, Joe and Dave hear from a listener by the name of "The Computrix," who says they need to defend Walmart. Dave share's his story about the most common phishing email themes of 2023. Joe's got the story of ransomware not being paid the same way as it used to be by companies, and share the two different angles on that. Our catch of the day comes from listener William, who writes in with a phishing scam that caught his eye.

Links to the stories:

• Sextortion training materials found on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, according to new report
• Most Common Phishing Email Themes of 2023
• Companies aren’t paying ransoms like they used to
• New Ransomware Reporting Requirements Kick in as Victims Increasingly Avoid Paying
• FBI: Scammers Are Sending Couriers to Collect Cash From Victims

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 [email protected].

Please enjoy this encore episode of Word Notes.

A stack of security software solutions and tools that allow organizations to orchestrate disparate internal and external tools which feed pre-built automation playbooks that respond to events or alert analysts if an event meets a certain threshold.

On Hacking Humans, Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of N2K's daily space podcast, T-Minus), are once again sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines to help our audience become aware of what is out there. This week, Joe shares a note from listener Michael before getting into stories, and Michael writes in to share that there are VIN cloning scams. Joe brings back the Iota discussion from last week. Joe's up first for stories and focuses on fraud. Dave informs us of the new human-like AI granny who is wasting scammers time. Finally Maria brings us the story of how BforeAI researchers analyzed over 6000 newly registered retail domains, revealing a surge in scam activity targeting shoppers with phishing websites, fake apps, and fraudulent offers, particularly during the holiday season, exploiting brand names, seasonal trends, and emerging technologies like AI and cryptocurrency. Our catch of the day comes from listener Kenneth who writes in about a fraudulent email claiming to be from Emirates Group, inviting a company to register as a vendor or contractor for upcoming projects in 2024/2025. The email emphasizes the company's experience in various sectors and urges a prompt response to initiate the registration process. It is signed by a supposed "Contractors Coordinator," Mr. Steve Ibrahim Ghandi, and includes fake contact details for the Emirates Group.

Resources and links to stories:

• VIN cloning
• How Cybercriminals Use Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) to Hack Cars
• Yes, your car's Vehicle Identification Number can be used to steal from you
• Geolocation Resources for OSINT Investigations
• Person dressed in a bear costume to fake attacks on cars for insurance payout, California officials say
• U.S. Trustee Program Warns Consumers of Bankruptcy Fraud Alert Scam
• O2 unveils Daisy, the AI granny wasting scammers’ time
• 2024 Online Holiday Retail Threat Report

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 [email protected].

A term of legal art that defines the types of data and circumstances that permits a third party to directly or indirectly identify an individual with collected data.