This week, our hosts Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of the T-Minus Space Daily show) are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. This week’s follow-up brings two gems: a smart tip from a listener on handling suspicious “bank calls” by asking the caller to leave a note on your account, then verifying directly with your bank. Plus, a delightful story about “Chicken Camp,” where trainers hone their skills by teaching chickens tricks—proof that maybe one day a chicken-driven tractor isn’t such a far-fetched idea! Joe's story is on YouTube scam-baiters who helped expose a $65 million fraud ring that preyed on vulnerable victims, including a Holocaust survivor’s widow. Maria's got the story of how agentic AI browsers, designed to shop and click for you, proved alarmingly easy to trick into scams and phishing schemes—ushering in a new era of “Scamlexity.” Dave's story covers a growing luggage tag scam where discarded tags give scammers enough personal info to file false baggage claims against travelers. The catch of the day comes from listener Chad, who spotted a suspicious message likely aiming to hijack his Facebook account—but wisely didn’t take the bait.
Resources and links to stories:
- YouTube ‘scambaiters' expose ring that left Holocaust survivor's widow penniless: DA
- “Scamlexity” We Put Agentic AI Browsers to the Test - They Clicked, They Paid, They Failed
- Airport Worker Reveals Growing Luggage Tag Scam Targeting Travelers
Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.