How Hacks Happen

They're the kinds of cousins you wish you didn't have, but you don't really have a choice. What's the difference between hacks and scams, and how do they work together to part you from your valuables like personal information and money? In this episode, we look at the similarities and differences between these shady cousins, and how you can keep them from doing their dirty work.

Resources: 

• 91% of all cyber attacks begin with a phishing email to an unexpected victim
• Sony Hackers Used Phishing Emails to Breach Company Networks
• Social Engineering Attack

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In the wake of the devastating California wildfires, conspiracy theories abound, some of them with no basis in fact. Just after her Pasadena home was threatened by the fires, author Su Falcon ran into a wall of disinformation in social media. Find out what she did about it, and how you can help keep the internet free of this kind of destructive garbage.

Resources

• Website: California Fire Facts
• Website: Watch Duty
• Website: AirNow
• Book: How I Survived My First Year with Chickens
• Video: ‘They're Eating the Dogs:' Trump Makes False Claim About Migrants | WSJ News

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2025 promises to be an exciting year for scammers. From ridiculous job offers to the colorful family of Apple ID scams, join us on a whirlwind tour of schemes designed to part you and your money.

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The Honey tool has been exposed as a scam, after dozens of YouTube influencers heavily promoted it. Honey was supposed to save online shoppers money by finding discount codes, but how could it make money doing that? By stealing from its own advertisers, of course! Find out how Honey did it, how they got exposed, and what the future holds for Honey's funny money and the stain upon its parent company PayPal.

Resources

• Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam
• 'Biggest Influencer Scam of All Time'?: PayPal Accused of Poaching Commissions Via Its 'Honey' Browser Extension

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Romance scams aren't the only goals of a catfish. The catfish needs some way to get all that money delivered into their hands without leaving a trail. To accomplish this, they recruit unwitting victims into laundering their money. Meet Alice, who unknowingly becomes a money mule for Parker the Catfish.

Resources

• What is a money mule?
• Catfished YouTube Channel

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How do catfish convince victims to send money? In this second of a three-part series on catfishing, we look at the many tricks romance scammers use to separate victims from their hearts, and their cash, including love bombing and claims of riches to come.

Resources

• Catfished YouTube Channel
• Scam Haters United website

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Catfishing scams have reached new heights, particularly romance scams. But how do they get away with it? This first of a three-part series on catfishing explores the techniques these scammers use to fool their victims, which involved social engineering at a high level. 

Resources

• The man who "sold" The Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Ulysses Grant's tomb
• All About Ethel Kennedy's 34 Grandchildren
• Catfished YouTube Channel

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Hackers have been releasing password leaks for years. But what exactly is a password leak, and should you be concerned? In this episode of How Hacks Happen, we look at how password security has changed over the years, and how you can keep yourself safe in the ever-changing world of online security.

Resources

• Rockyou2024 analysis: Mega password list or just noise?
• Have I Been Pwned? Check your password
• NIST Special Publication: Digital Identity Guidelines

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With Netflix shining attention on the victims of the 2015 Ashley Madison breach, we're running a replay of our own coverage from 2021 that gets into the dark underbelly that Netflix skipped: lies Ashley Madison told about their services (and their CEO's fidelity), and blackmail attempts from enterprising hacker types. We also put forth evidence that the hacker, who was never caught, is most likely Canadian and a woman.

Resources

• Impact Team Pastebin notice, July 20, 2015: https://pastebin.com/ZGXmk8R9
• Krebs on Security report on breach: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/07/online-cheating-site-ashleymadison-hacked/
• Suicides attributed to Ashley Madison breach:
• https://money.cnn.com/2015/09/08/technology/ashley-madison-suicide/
• https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34044506
• https://toronto.citynews.ca/2013/11/10/woman-hurt-typing-fake-profiles-for-dating-site-20m-suit-alleges/
• https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/08/ashleymadison-500k-bounty-for-hackers/
• https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/08/who-hacked-ashley-madison/
• https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/08/was-the-ashley-madison-database-leaked/
• https://grahamcluley.com/ashley-madisons-leaked-database-available-download-read-this/
• https://grahamcluley.com/ashley-madison-fake/
• https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/the-strange-rise-and-sudden-fall-of-noel-biderman-the-former-ceo-of-ashley-madison/slidelist/48716152.cms
• https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/business-privacy/safeguards-and-breaches/privacy-breaches/respond-to-a-privacy-breach-at-your-business/gd_pb_201810/
• https://www.wired.com/2015/08/happened-hackers-posted-stolen-ashley-madison-data/
• https://grahamcluley.com/ashley-madison-wives-receiving-blackmail-let

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The medical records of 1/3 of Americans were stolen from Change Healthcare in February 2024, and leaked to the dark web. So who is Change Healthcare, and why did they have your data in the first place? Get the skinny on this week's episode.

Resources

• Change Healthcare Cyberattack Affected 100 Million Individuals
• The Change Healthcare attack: Explaining how it happened
• Wyden Hearing Statement on Change Healthcare Cyberattack and UnitedHealth Group’s Response
• Testimony of Andrew Witty, Chief Executive Officer, UnitedHealth Group Before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations “Examining the Change Healthcare Cyberattack”
• The impact of the Change Healthcare cyberattack: What to know
• Change Healthcare Cyberattack: What Consumers Should Know
• Received a letter from Change Healthcare? What you should do next
• Change Healthcare Attack Cost Estimate Reaches Nearly $2.9B
• Change Healthcare Finally Admits It Paid Ransomware Hackers $22 Million—and Still Faces a Patient Data Leak

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