How Hacks Happen

The story of Silk Road, the underground website where you could buy and sell anything, is now part of internet lore. Customers could order everything from pot to meth and have it delivered to their door. Then came fake IDs, unregistered guns, poisons, and murder-for-hire. But wherever there's illegal activity and lots of money, violence isn't far behind. This episode takes you on a very quick tour of the rise and fall of Silk Road, which met its demise in 2013 when founder Ross Ulbricht got caught.

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Well, it finally happened: I got scammed! I bought a high-end projector at a price that was too good to be true, because it wasn't true. Don't fall for the White Van scam!

White van speaker scam on Wikipedia
The Art and Math of Cryptography at Amazon.com

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In October 21, 2021, Josh Renaud, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, privately alerted a government authority that their website had vulnerabilities. In response, the governor of Missouri, Michael L. Parson, brought charges against the journalist for "hacking." This story would be hilarious if it wasn't true. Update: In July 2022, Josh Renaud was awarded The National Press Club press freedom award for his work.

• Get the "F12 IS NOT A CRIME" T-shirt
• Original St. Louis Post-Dispatch article: Missouri teachers' Social Security numbers at risk on state agency's website (requires subscription to view)
• Arstechnica article: Emails show what happened before Missouri gov. falsely called journalist a “hacker” 
• Governor Parson's Facebook post - Enjoy the comments.
• Missouri State Highway Patrol report
• Fundraising video: Gov. Parson holds fake news accountable. Enjoy the comments.

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You get an email telling you you've been billed for a product you never ordered, and when you call for a refund, you somehow you get an excess refund and have to send back the difference. Find out how scammers manipulate people into sending them "excess refund money" from a nonexistent refund, and what you can do to keep it from happening to others. Shout-out to YouTuber Kitboga for showing me how this scam works. 

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What is Tor? In this episode, we demystify the Tor browser and how it relates to the Surface Web, the Deep Web, and the Dark Web. Maybe you want to use Tor, and maybe you don't. But in any case you'll know what it is, and will be able to decide if it's right for you.

Download the Tor browser at the official site
A great read about the dark web at Wired.com
Get the T-shirt! Fly your Tor flag.

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After a little hiatus, we're back! Season 2 has so many great episodes coming up. We're going to explain how the refund scam works and what NFTs are, and we're going to talk about the notorious hacking case in Missouri, where the governor was convinced that pressing the F12 key is a crime. We'll also have a very special episode that discusses some of the things you can do right now, for free, in your own home, to keep yourself safe. So Like and Follow so you get a heads-up when the episodes start dropping! 

What we can we learn about hacks, scams, and fraud from TV shows and movies? Plenty, as it turns out. Fictional shows, documentaries, podcasts, and other types of entertainment are a treasure trove of knowledge. Don't discount the education you can get about scams, con games, legal proceedings, police procedure, and other aspects of safety, all while being thoroughly entertained.

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The Tinder Swindler is a fascinating Netflix documentary about a serial  romance scammer who took each of his "girlfriends" for more than $100,000 each. In this episode,  we look at what we can learn from The Tinder Swindler, going beyond the easy "blame the victim" mentality to show how effective such scams can be, and to point out the individual red flags you should watch out for in any new romance.

Resources for this episode:

• The Tinder Swindler documentary on Netflix
• Tinder Dating Safety Tips
• GoFundMe for Tinder Swindler victims

How Hacks Happen is ad-free because we rely on our listeners for support. 

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The hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014 was one of the most bizarre crimes of the decade. Instead of demanding money, the hackers threatened a terrorist attack on the USA if Sony didn't cancel the release of the film 'The Interview,' a comedy about two bumbling journalists who travel to North Korea and attempt to assassinate the country's Supreme Leader.  The release went forward anyway, and thankfully, the threats came to nothing. Enjoy the terrible English in the hackers' written threats against 'The Sony,' and Michele's terrible attempts at reading them aloud in a North Korean accent.

Resources for this episode:

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30512032

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/10/the-untold-story-of-the-sony-hack

https://www.vox.com/2015/1/20/18089084/sony-hack-north-korea

https://www.vox.com/2014/12/16/7403437/sony-hacks-threats

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/north-korea

https://www.operationblockbuster.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Operation-Blockbuster-Report.pdf

https://www.mandiant.com/resources/apt38-details-on-new-north-korean-regime-backed-threat-group

https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/6/17826722/north-korea-sony-hack-wannacry-charges

https://www.jhuapl.edu/Content/documents/SonyNightmareBeforeChristmas.pdf

https://www.mitnicksecurity.com/in-the-news/sony-hack-was-not-all-that-sophisticated-cybersecurity-experts-say

https://www.jhuapl.edu/Content/documents/SonyNightmareBeforeChristmas.pdf

https://www.vox.com/2015/4/21/11561700/sony-hack-was-not-an-inside-job-says-security-expert-kevin-mandia

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/10/the-untold-story-of-the-sony-hack

https://thinkst.com/ts/free/ThinkstScapes-2014-AH4-Trial.pdf

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/12/unprecedented-cyberattack-no-excuse-for-sony-breach-pros-say/

https://www.thewrap.com/president-obama-sony-made-a-mistake-in-canceling-the-interview/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4xjJbEwJsg

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Why are older people so susceptible to scams? There could be a relationship to the music you loved in your teen years. Just as most of us have a Musical Peak in our teens, I propose that we also have a Technology Peak in our 20s-40s. Nudging our elderly relatives out of their Technology Peak,  and into the present, is the only way to break this pattern. And the only way to do it is by showing them.

References:

Study of link between  adolescent age and music preference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2059204320965058

Other references:

https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/phone-number-spoofing

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/12/17003076/spotify-data-shows-songs-teens-adult-taste-music

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M15-0882?doi=10.7326%2FM15-0882

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolynrosenblatt/2014/02/13/why-do-elderly-parents-fall-for-scams-that-seem-so-obvious-to-us/?sh=2d28ad2991d8

https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/home-and-family/personal-technology/2016/09/2016-Longevity-Economy-AARP.pdf

https://www.marketplace.org/2019/05/16/brains-losses-aging-fraud-financial-scams-seniors/

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M15-0882?doi=10.7326%2FM15-0882

https://neurosciencenews.com/music-youth-17765/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/opinion/sunday/favorite-songs.html

https://neurosciencenews.com/music-youth-17765/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/189959/housing-units-with-telephones-in-the-united-states-since-1920/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/snake-oil-salesmen-knew-something/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056262/

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/nyregion/thecity/for-you-half-price.html

https://www.statista.com/statistics/189959/housing-units-with-telephones-in-the-united-states-since-1920/

https://www.elon.edu/u/imagining/time-capsule/150-years/back-1870-1940/

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/silicon-valleys-idea-of-successful-entrepreneurs-is-all-wrong-2018-05-11

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