Hacking Humans
It's Just Too Good to Be True.
AI Summary
The episode covers a wave of social‑engineering threats targeting holiday travelers, charitable donors, and taxpayers, highlighting fake booking sites, fraudulent cancer‑research crowdfunding, and IRS‑impersonation scams that promise "too‑good‑to‑be‑true" refunds. Hosts share real‑world examples—a suspicious nonprofit chair email, a BBC investigation into child‑cancer fund misuse, and an IRS warning with red‑flag cues—while also noting Dave Bittner’s recent SANS Difference Maker honor. The takeaway is to stay vigilant for urgent, high‑reward offers and verify sources before sharing personal or financial information.
Episode Description
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. We start with some follow up on a big honor for Dave, recognized by SANS as a Difference Maker in Media—plus a quick chicken update, a newly named rooster, and construction officially getting underway on the new run. Maria has the story on a congressional warning about a surge in winter holiday travel scams, as fake booking sites and airline impersonators drive millions in losses during peak travel season. Dave has two stories this week, one on a friend who received a suspicious email appearing to come from the chair of a nonprofit, and the other on a BBC investigation uncovering how fraudulent crowdfunding campaigns exploited children with cancer and their families, siphoning off millions meant for life-saving treatment. Joe’s story covers a warning from the IRS on how to spot and avoid tax scams, highlighting red flags like too-good-to-be-true refunds, urgent threats, fake websites, and impersonators pressuring victims for money or personal information. For our Catch of the Day, it turns out Aquaman isn’t just ruling the seas — he’s apparently sliding into fans’ texts, proving once again that when a celebrity starts sounding a little too approachable, it’s probably not Hollywood calling.
Resources and links to stories:
ALERT: Winter Holidays Travel Scams
Children with cancer scammed out of millions fundraised for their treatment, BBC finds
Recognize tax scams and fraud
How to know it's the IRS
Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.
Show Notes
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. We start with some follow up on a big honor for Dave, recognized by SANS as a Difference Maker in Media—plus a quick chicken update, a newly named rooster, and construction officially getting underway on the new run. Maria has the story on a congressional warning about a surge in winter holiday travel scams, as fake booking sites and airline impersonators drive millions in losses during peak travel season. Dave has two stories this week, one on a friend who received a suspicious email appearing to come from the chair of a nonprofit, and the other on a BBC investigation uncovering how fraudulent crowdfunding campaigns exploited children with cancer and their families, siphoning off millions meant for life-saving treatment. Joe’s story covers a warning from the IRS on how to spot and avoid tax scams, highlighting red flags like too-good-to-be-true refunds, urgent threats, fake websites, and impersonators pressuring victims for money or personal information. For our Catch of the Day, it turns out Aquaman isn’t just ruling the seas — he’s apparently sliding into fans’ texts, proving once again that when a celebrity starts sounding a little too approachable, it’s probably not Hollywood calling.
Resources and links to stories:
Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.
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