What’s inside the mystery box? Spoiler: It’s a scam!

As Dave Bittner is at the RSA Conference this week, our hosts ⁠⁠Maria Varmazis and ⁠⁠Joe Carrigan⁠⁠, are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with some follow-up from José on episode 335, sharing how UK banking features like Faster Payments and the “Check Payee” function might have helped prevent a scam involving fake banking apps—and he even tells a wild tale of someone using a fake app to reverse-scam a bike thief. Joe covers the House’s overwhelming passage of the SHIELD Act to ban revenge porn—including deepfakes—and why critics say it could threaten encryption. He also shares a strong warning about trust and the real risks of sharing intimate images. Maria has the story of a surge in sophisticated subscription scams, where cybercriminals use fake “mystery box” websites, social media ads, and influencer impersonations to trick users into handing over credit card data and signing up for hidden recurring payments. Bitdefender researchers warn these polished scams are part of a broader evolution in social engineering, designed to bypass skepticism and evade detection. Our Catch of the Day comes from listener Rick, who received a suspicious email that appears to be from Harbor Freight—a popular U.S. retailer known for affordable tools and equipment—offering a “free gift” to the recipient… classic bait for a likely scam.

Resources and links to stories:

• ⁠House Passes Bill to Ban Sharing of Revenge Porn, Sending It to Trump
• TAKE IT DOWN Act
• Trump’s hasty Take It Down Act has “gaping flaws” that threaten encryption
• Congress Passes TAKE IT DOWN Act Despite Major Flaws
• Mystery Box Scams Deployed to Steal Credit Card Data

Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at ⁠⁠hackinghumans@n2k.com⁠⁠.