Hacking Humans

Joe has the story of a cold-calling conman, Dave has a story of vindication for seniors who lost money in phone scams, the Catch of the Day has Joe doing his research, and later in the show my conversation with Dustin Warren from SpyCloud. His team has been monitoring criminal forums during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he’s here to share what they’ve been seeing. Links to stories: Coronavirus conman...

Dave has the story of a Walking Dead actress raising money for a scammer, Joe has an article warning of Government websites giving bad security advice, the Catch of the Day tries to put the fear of God in it's victim, and later in the show Carole Theriault returns with an interview with a couple of researchers from a firm called Lookout, who analyzed a phishing scam with over four thousand victims...

Joe has the story of a very exposing scam, Dave has the scoop on a rare BadUSB attack, The Catch of the Day is a 'lame scammer who needs to get a life' and later in the show our conversation with Tom Miller from ClearForce on continuous discovery in the workplace, and the human side of protecting your business. Links to stories: ‘What kind of breast check-up would need my face?’: Woman falls victi...

Dave shares an example of modern-day snake oil, Joe brings us his favorite old-time scams, the Catch of the Day is straight from Dr. Dochterman - you really can't make this stuff up - and later in the show Joe speaks with Scott Knauss - a security consultant who was targeted by scammers. Links to stories: Coronavirus Scam Alert: Beware Fake Fox News Articles Promising A CBD Oil Cure Slowing the Sc...

Dave shares the story of a malicious website posing as a Coronavirus map supposedly from Johns Hopkins University, Joe has the story of an elderly woman who lost a lot of money to two men claiming her grandson was in a car accident, the Catch of the Day's dying wish is to give you money to build an orphanage, and later in the show Carole Theriault returns and speaks with Samuel C. Woolley from Uni...

Joe shares the story of a phishing website posing as the Singapore Police site, Dave shares a harmful, simple little message, the Catch of the Day drags her scammer through the mud and asks if he wants his casserole dish back. Later in the show our conversation with Gretel Egan from Proofpoint on their 2020 State of the Phish report. Links to stories: SPF warns of phishing website posing as police...

Dave has a story of an investment scam featuring celebrities, Joe warns of scams surrounding the Coronavirus, the Catch of the Day features Joe's son-in-law's adventure with thousands of bot infiltrations, and later in the show, Dave's extended interview with magicians and entertainers Penn and Teller at RSAC 2020 in San Francisco. Links to stories: Revealed: fake 'traders' allegedly prey on victi...

Joe shares some insights into the art of cheating travelers, Dave has a story of a woman facing drug charges trying to kidnap another woman's baby, an update on last week's bizarre phone scam, The Catch of the Day features otters, sexy ham, frustrated scammers and... you're just going to need to listen. Later in the show, our interview with Tim Sadler from Tessian on human element of cybersecurity...

Dave shares the most bizarrely honest phone scam of all time, Joe has a pretend PayPal phishing scam, the Catch of the Day finally lets Dave show us his best Blanche Devereaux, and later in the show Christopher Hadnagy from Social Engineer LLC returns with an update on the trends he’s been tracking. Links to stories: Active PayPal Phishing Scam Targets SSNs, Passport Photos Current PayPal phishing...

Joe shares a collection of romance scams from the great plains, Dave has a report which uncovered a root system of fake news, the catch of the day comes straight from... Warren Buffett? Later in the show Carole Theriault speaks with Lisa Forte from Red Goat on how her experiences working with the police have informed her perspective on the human factors in cyber security. Links to stories: Don't G...

Dave finally has good news. Joe shares a fake website created by the US Trading Commission... which doesn't exist. The catch of the day threatens FULL DATA LOSS! Later in the show, Anna Collard is the founder of security content publisher of Popcorn Training – a South African company that promotes Cyber Security awareness by using story-based techniques. Our conversation centers on the state of cy...

Dave shares a particularly exposing sextortion scam. Joe has a story of a million-dollar scam that targeted college students in Miami just trying to pay their tuition. The catch of the day comes straight from The U.S. President. Later in the show, part two of Carole Theriault's interview with Jamie Bartlett, the brains and host behind The Missing Cryptoqueen, an amazing BBC podcast about trying to...

Dave's phone is blowing up with smishing attempts. Joe shares a story about fake license renewal attempts from The New Zealand Transportation Agency. The catch of the day flips the script on their attacker. Later in the show Carole Theriault speaks with Jamie Bartlett, the brains and host behind The Missing Cryptoqueen, an amazing BBC podcast about trying to get to the bottom of the OneCoin scam....

Dave has an account from a man who was almost scammed by an impersonation of his own close friend. Joe has the story of a sophisticated phishing scheme involving Microsoft Office 365. The catch of the day goes all the way back to the age of pirates. Carole Theriault interviews Andrew Brandt from Sophos regarding their 2020 threat report. Links to stories: Tricky Phish Angles for Persistence, Not P...

Dave has a master list of cyberbadness. Joe has some handy red flags this tax season straight from our beloved IRS. The catch of the day features an alluring proposition from someone who is probably not "Sofia". Our guest is Devon Kerr with Elastic Security Intelligence and Analytics who shares his insights about Ransomware.  Links to stories: 7 types of virus – a short glossary of contemporary cy...

Dave has a warning from a galaxy far, far away. Joe has a report of a scam attempt on a listener who fancies fancy pens. The catch of the day features a Tinder dating app bot scam. Our guest is Dennis Dillman from Barracuda Networks, sharing his thoughts on employee training. Links to stories: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fake-star-wars-streaming-sites-steal-fans-credit-cards/ Ha...

Today's episode is a re-broadcast of an episode from August 2018.  Dave looks at Hollywood script pitch event scams. Joe describes a romance scam murder scheme. Spontaneously combusting ATM cards. Guest Jayson E. Street from SphereNY describes his security awareness engagements. Links to stories mentioned in this week's show: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-are-wannabe-screenwriters-get...

Joe's wife has been getting suspicious shipping notices. Dave describes a phone scam where crooks intercept phone calls. The catch of the day turns the tables on a would-be scammer. Carole Theriault speaks with Peter Draper from Gurucul about their 2020 Insider Threat Report. Links to stories: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/police-warn-of-new-phone-scam-where-criminals-intercept-your-calls-1.470675...

Dave describes a gas-pump hidden camera scam. Joe shares the story of a fraudulent Microsoft Windows Update notice. The catch of the day involves a scammer making use of an online celebrity's profile picture. Our guest is Karl Sigler from Trustwave with tips for staying safe online through the holidays.  Links to stories: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/11/hidden-cam-above-bluetooth-pump-skimmer/...

Joe shares the story of a woman losing her life savings to a scammer claiming to be from the FBI. Dave describes the $139 shed scam. The catch of the day is another threat of revealing compromising photos. Carole Theriault speaks with Chris Bush from ObserveIT about security threats from employee burnout. Links to stories: https://www.wsj.com/articles/robocall-scams-exist-because-they-workone-woma...

Dave wonders about Juice Jacking warnings. Joe shares findings from Agari's latest email fraud and identity deception report. The catch of the day promises romance in exchange for airline tickets. Our guests are David Spark and Allan Alford, cohosts of the Defense in Depth podcast.  Links to stories: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/travel/story/travelers-beware-juice-jacking-public-charging-sta...

Joe shares stories of typo-squatting. Dave reminds warns us against responding to malicious email, even just for fun. The catch of the day is from a listener, leading on a romance scammer. Carole Theriault returns with an interview with Chris Olson from The Media Trust on how targeted advertising can enable election interference. Links from this week's stories: https://www.securityweek.com/err-hum...

Joe shares a report on who's more susceptible for scams. Dave shares a story from a listener who what hit by a scam attempt while staying at a hotel. Our catch of the day involves an attempt to scam someone selling a motorcycle. Our guest is Maria Konnikova, an award-winning author, journalist, and international champion poker player. Her latest book is The Biggest Bluff. Links to stories: https:/...

Happy Halloween from Joe, Dave, and everyone at the CyberWire!

Dave describes a credential gathering scam targeting users of the Stripe online payment system. Joe responds to an email message from his boss, and learns a valuable lesson. Our catch of the day follows someone as they string along a text messaging scammer. Carole Theriault returns with an interview with J Bennett of Signifyd, an AI firm fighting romance scams. Links to stories: https://cofense.co...