The intersection of hackers, scammers, and false collaborations.

On Hacking Humans, Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of N2K's daily space podcast, T-Minus), are once again sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines to help our audience become aware of what is out there. First off, our hosts share some follow up, Asher wrote in to discuss follow up on the AI granny. Maria's story covers a "new QR code scam" involving unsolicited packages and brushing tactics, where scammers lure victims into scanning malicious QR codes to steal personal and financial information. Joe's story highlights how the FBI and CISA urge Americans to secure their text messages using end-to-end encryption to combat sophisticated hacking campaigns linked to China's government, which target telecom networks and user data. Dave's story highlights how pallet liquidation scams target buyers with offers of discounted merchandise, warning against red flags like unrealistic prices and unverified sellers. Our Catch of the Day comes from Jim, who shares a suspicious email he received offering a collaboration under the guise of a business partnership, which included overly generic language and an unusual sign-off from "Robert De Niro."

Resources and links to stories:

• New warning about ‘brushing’ scam as victims are reported in Colorado
• FBI warns Americans to keep their text messages secure: What to know
• Pallet liquidation scams and how to recognize them
• Mobile Communications Best Practice Guidance

You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here.

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