Tax time is once again upon us here in the USA, which means that the tax scammers are coming out of the woodwork. Many will claim to be representing the IRS, claiming that there is an urgent need to fix a problem with your return, threatening penalties if you don’t pay them money. Others will simply try to file fake returns in your name, but send the massive false refund checks to themselves. I’ll help you spot and avoid these scams.

In other news: Apple’s Passwords app was vulnerable to phishing attacks (now fixed); Amazon is forcing Echo owners to share voice recordings; the Bluetooth chip “backdoor” that wasn’t; Captchas were used by Google to translate books and Street View images; ICE uses third party tool to scrape tons of your data; beware of online file converters; Clearview AI attempted to buy millions of mugshots; RCS messaging will soon allow end-to-end encrypted chats between iPhones and Android phones.

Article Links

1. [9to5mac.com] Apple’s Passwords app was vulnerable to phishing attacks for nearly three months after launch https://9to5mac.com/2025/03/18/apples-passwords-app-was-vulnerable-to-phishing-attacks-for-nearly-three-months-after-launch/
2. [arstechnica.com] Everything You Say to Your Echo Will Soon Be Sent to Amazon, and You Can’t Opt Out https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/everything-you-say-to-your-echo-will-be-sent-to-amazon-starting-on-march-28/
3. [darkmentor.com] The ESP32 “backdoor” that wasn’t https://darkmentor.com/blog/esp32_non-backdoor/
4. [techradar.com] Captcha if you can: how you’ve been training AI for years without realising it https://www.techradar.com/news/captcha-if-you-can-how-youve-been-training-ai-for-years-without-realising-it
5. [404media.co] The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring https://www.404media.co/the-200-sites-an-ice-surveillance-contractor-is-monitoring/
6. [malwarebytes.com] Warning over free online file converters that actually install malware https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/03/warning-over-free-online-file-converters-that-actually-install-malware
7. [404media.co] Facial Recognition Company Clearview Attempted to Buy Social Security Numbers and Mugshots for its Database https://www.404media.co/facial-recognition-company-clearview-attempted-to-buy-social-security-numbers-and-mugshots-for-its-database/
8. [appleinsider.com] RCS messaging will get end-to-end encryption on iPhone https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/03/14/rcs-messaging-will-get-end-to-end-encryption-on-iphone
9. Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/its-tax-scam-time/ 

Further Info

• Data Diva interview: https://www.debbiereynoldsconsulting.com/podcast/e228-carey-parker 
• Malwarebytes interview: https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/podcast/2025/03/what-google-chrome-knows-about-you-with-carey-parker-lock-and-code-s06e06 
• Amazon Mechanical Turk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Mechanical_Turk 
• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 
• Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

• 0:00:00: Intro
• 0:00:21: Guest appearances
• 0:01:22: News preview
• 0:03:50: Apple’s Passwords app was vulnerable to phishing attacks for nearly three months
• 0:10:41: Everything You Say to Your Echo Will Soon Be Sent to Amazon, and You Can’t Opt Out
• 0:21:30: The ESP32 “backdoor” that wasn’t
• 0:29:16: Captcha if you can: how you’ve been training AI for years without realising it
• 0:35:08: The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring
• 0:43:10: Warning over free online file converters that actually install malware
• 0:46:00: Clearview Attempted to Buy Social Security Numbers and Mugshots for its Database
• 0:49:31: RCS messaging will get end-to-end encryption on iPhone
• 0:53:02: Tip of the Week
• 0:57:26: Wrap-up