The CyberGuy Report

An audience member named Todd got a text saying he owed the California DMV $160 and his license was about to be suspended. One problem: he hadn't lived in California for over ten years. So he sent it to Kurt with a simple question, is this real? What Kurt found hidden inside that one text reveals exactly how the scam works, and the five red flags that give it away before you ever tap the link....

Scam calls are emptying retirement accounts faster than ever, and the scammers behind them aren't who you think. This true crime look at financial fraud could protect your retirement and your family's future. Kurt sits down with Darius Kingsley, JPMorgan Chase's head of scam prevention, to pull back the curtain on the global operation behind those calls, and exactly what you can do to...

When Jennifer Combs saw sewage-colored water pouring from her neighbors' faucets in Trinidad, Texas, she did what any good neighbor would do: she spoke up online. She made a Facebook post to gather information from residents who were silenced from speaking up about their water concerns. Days later, two officers arrested her in her own front yard on a felony charge for "causing public pani...

Candace almost clicked a button that would have handed scammers her Social Security number, bank credentials, and her entire identity. The email looked completely official, but one tiny detail didn't add up, and Candace paused just long enough to forward it to Kurt. In this episode, Kurt walks through the actual email Candace received, breaks down exactly why it almost worked, and gives you fi...

Jan emailed Kurt with a question most of us have never thought to ask: why does her insurance app need her location, her health data, and her movement… all day, every day.  Turns out, modern insurance apps have quietly turned your phone into a surveillance device, using something called telematics to measure every mile you drive, every step you take, and how well you sleep at night. And in some ca...

What happens when you miss jury duty? Like most normal people, Gale had no idea. She had just finished up work on her 70th birthday when she discovered a voicemail from an unknown number.  The caller claimed to be an enforcement officer, informing her that if she didn’t pay the hefty $10,000 fine immediately, she was going to be in even bigger trouble.  Within hours, thousands of dollars were gone...

A 50-year-old grandmother in Tennessee was babysitting when US Marshals showed up at her door with guns drawn. The charge: bank fraud in Fargo, North Dakota, more than a thousand miles away, in a state she had never set foot in. The only evidence? A facial recognition match from Clearview AI, run against photos pulled from social media. Angela Lipps spent more than five months in jail before her d...

Patricia lost service on her cell phone. The next morning, she was out thousands of dollars. In this episode, we break down a real-life example of how quick and vicious SIM-card swapping scandals can really be.  We walk through: What SIM swap scams are and how they work Warning signs to look out for Why banks and carriers sometimes fail to stop fraud quickly The timeline of how the money was stole...

Rosette needed to file a travel insurance claim, so she did what anyone would do, she Googled the phone number. Someone picked up immediately, sounded completely professional, and asked for her credit card and date of birth. It wasn't until the pricing felt off and a confirmation email didn't match the official website that she realized she'd been talking to a scammer the entire time. This is call...

An 85-year-old man receives what looks like a harmless PayPal refund email… and within days, he out $200,000. He was ashamed and lost. But instead of staying silent, he worked with the police to set up a sting operation, seeking at least partial justice for his misfortunes. In this episode, we break down one of the most sophisticated refund scams we’ve seen, how it unfolded step-by-step, and the r...

You didn't hand over your life to big tech, but your smart devices did it for you. In this episode, Kurt breaks down the five most alarming privacy clauses buried inside the smart home gadgets most of us already own: your TV, your Ring doorbell, your Amazon Echo, and yes, even your car. The revelations are infuriating — and most of it was turned on by default the moment you plugged in. The goo...

Dorothy Rhode got a text that looked exactly like a legitimate Apple Pay fraud alert. She called the number in the message, and the man who answered already knew her name, her address, and which banks she used.  He told her she'd been targeted by corrupt bank employees, that he was working with the FBI and FDIC, and that she needed to pull $15,000 in cash immediately and tell no one. She got i...

In this episode of Beyond Connected , we dive deep into the world of AI-powered toys and the risks they pose for children. AI companies insist their chatbots aren’t meant for kids, yet third-party developers are creating toys that put these chatbots directly into the hands of children. RJ Cross, a researcher from the Public Interest Research Group PIRG joins the show to uncover the loopholes, risk...

Today on Beyond Connected, we’re answering your biggest cybersecurity questions - from suspicious texts to deepfake scams and outdated computers. Are you unknowingly putting your personal data at risk? Let’s break it all down. Is this text message a scam? Here’s how to find out. Is a dedicated financial computer a smart idea? If you do it right, yes! How do I saved my loved one from a deepfake imp...

In this episode of Beyond Connected, we speak with Chrisanna Elser, whose life took a shocking turn when a police officer knocked on her door and accused her of stealing a package from a nearby home. Lucky for her, she was the perfect person to fight this kind of case. Using footage from her dash cam, surveillance systems, and even her Google Timeline, she quickly assembled the evidence to prove h...

What would it feel like to perform a duet with your 14-year-old self? In this episode, we sit down with entertainment icon Donny Osmond to talk about the surreal experience of sharing the Las Vegas stage with an AI powered digital version of himself. Using archival photos, voice samples from his teenage years, and next-generation stage technology, Donny is literally performing with his younger sel...

In this powerful episode of Beyond Connected, we sit down with wellness icon Susan Powter for one of the most raw and inspiring conversations we've ever had. After disappearing from the spotlight at the height of her fame, Susan opens up about financial collapse, exploitation, isolation, and surviving rock bottom.   And there's one huge reason why this story belongs on our show: technology did not...

Online scams are evolving fast, and everyday people are paying the price. In this episode, we invited Philip Martin, the Chief Security Officer at Coinbase, to chat about cybersecurity best practices and how to avoid the proliferation of scams online. We dig into how modern cybercrime actually works, from password reuse and data breaches to bank impersonation scams and social engineering attacks....

What really happens when a school decides to take smartphones out of students' hands? In this episode, we sit down with an education leader who made a bold move 2 years ago: removing smartphones from the school day. What followed was a huge increased in student focus, connection, and a complete shift in student culture. This is a real conversation about technology, attention, parenting, education,...

Online scams are exploding and identity theft at an unprecedented rate. In this episode of Beyond Connected, I'm breaking down five common myths about identity theft and explaining how scammers easily manipulate people using personal data, technology, and psychological pressure. This conversation dives into how cybercrime actually works today and why smart, careful people are still getting scammed...

This episode is a warning for every family living in the age of AI.   An elderly Southern California woman named Abigail was targeted by a ruthless cyber scammer using deepfake video and impersonation tactics. The scam was so convincing that she believed she was in a real relationship with Steve Burton from General Hospital. What happened next is heartbreaking. Abigail was manipulated into sending...

We've been getting some fantastic messages ever since we opened our call line a couple months back, so this week we're doing a voicemail box special! We cover a great variety of topics here:    How do I transfer my photos and data to my new phone and I have no access to my old phone? How often should I upgrade my phone? Does skipping upgrades affect my safety? Facebook wants to confirm my identity...

Many tech companies like to start off the year with exciting new product announcements, and 2026 is no different. Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I was absolutely blown away by the latest and greatest in the tech world. This week on the show, I wanted to break down my favorite picks, including a crazy futuristic new TV, a robotic vacuum that can actually climb stairs, LG's...

Trucking is a tough job. Driving 10+ hours a day by yourself through long stretches of empty highways. Being away from your family and friends for weeks at a time. It's no wonder that the trucking industry is facing some of the worst turnover rates in any sector. To make matters worse, trucking companies are struggling to find new recruits more than ever before. Now, I know this is certainly a hot...

Many folks think they'd never fall for a malicious financial scam, but the reality is that these bad actors are becoming more and more adept at emotionally manipulating their victims. On this week's episode, I sat down with Joe Allen, a disabled man out of Connecticut who fell victim to a vicious cryptocurrency investment scam. Stuck at home and out of work, Joe got a text message offering him exc...