Scam calls are emptying retirement accounts faster than ever, and the scammers behind them aren't who you think. This true crime look at financial fraud could protect your retirement and your family's future.Kurt sits down with Darius Kingsley, JPMorgan Chase's head of scam prevention, to pull back the curtain on the global operation behind those calls, and exactly what you can do to stop it.This is not just another scam alert. It's an inside look at organized criminal networks using forced labor compounds in Southeast Asia, psychological manipulation, and bank fraud to target everyday families. And it's happening at record levels right now.Darius reveals how scammers operate, what JPMorgan's fraud alert systems are detecting in real time, and the steps every family should take before a scam call ever comes through. Whether you've already lost money or want to protect someone in retirement you love, this conversation could save a family's future.What You Will Learn in This Episode:- How scammers coach your family member on exactly what to say before they ever walk into the bank- Why that "law enforcement" call might actually be coming from a forced labor compound in Southeast Asia- What bank tellers are secretly trained to watch for that can stop a scam before the money leaves- How to add a trusted contact to your bank account so the bank can alert someone you trust- What red flags signal that a family member is being targeted by scammers right now- Why acting in the first minutes after a scam is critical, and what your very first call should be- How to file a report with the FBI's IC3 and why it matters more than you might think

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to https://cyberguy.com/podcast/ to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

When Jennifer Combs saw sewage-colored water pouring from her neighbors' faucets in Trinidad, Texas, she did what any good neighbor would do: she spoke up online.

She made a Facebook post to gather information from residents who were silenced from speaking up about their water concerns.

Days later, two officers arrested her in her own front yard on a felony charge for "causing public panic." Jennifer Combs is a mom of four who'd never even had a speeding ticket.

What unfolds next, a fired water clerk, a fired judge, and the real person who made the call to have her arrested, is so unbelievable that Jennifer Combs, a published crime thriller author, says she couldn't have written it herself.

What You Will Learn This Episode:

- Why speaking up on Facebook about a local problem can suddenly turn you into a target

- What to do when your Facebook posts are mass-reported and deleted to silence you

- How a small group can quietly control a town and punish anyone who pushes back

- Why reporting a problem to the state matters when local officials won't act

- The truth about who actually ordered Jennifer's arrest, and why

- How retaliation against critics can backfire in shocking ways

- What real courage looks like when standing up for your community gets you punished

- Why staying silent isn't the safe choice you think it is

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to https://cyberguy.com/podcast/ to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

Candace almost clicked a button that would have handed scammers her Social Security number, bank credentials, and her entire identity. The email looked completely official, but one tiny detail didn't add up, and Candace paused just long enough to forward it to Kurt.

In this episode, Kurt walks through the actual email Candace received, breaks down exactly why it almost worked, and gives you five specific things to check before you ever click another link from a government address.

What You Will Learn This Episode:

• Why fake SSA emails are so convincing and what makes them different from the real thing

• The single red flag in Candace's email that exposed the whole scam

• What actually happens to your device the moment you click that download button

• How scammers use your answers on a fake form to call your bank and pretend to be you

• Why you might not find out you've been scammed until weeks or months later

• How to check any email address in five seconds to know if it's really from the government

• The five steps Kurt uses to verify any official-looking email before taking action

• What antivirus software can actually stop, even if you accidentally click

  
  

  Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to ⁠⁠https://cyberguy.com/podcast/⁠⁠ to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

Jan emailed Kurt with a question most of us have never thought to ask: why does her insurance app need her location, her health data, and her movement… all day, every day. 

Turns out, modern insurance apps have quietly turned your phone into a surveillance device, using something called telematics to measure every mile you drive, every step you take, and how well you sleep at night. And in some cases, they're not just collecting that data, they're selling it.

Kurt walks you through exactly what these apps are harvesting, why insurers want it, and three specific steps to keep your discount without handing over your entire digital life.

What You Will Learn This Episode:

• How insurance companies use your phone to silently track your driving, health, and daily routines without most people realizing it
• Why tapping "allow" during a simple app setup may be the most expensive mistake you make this year
• The difference between car insurer tracking apps and health insurer wellness apps and what each one can actually see
• How a lawsuit revealed that one major insurance app sold 45 million Americans' driving data without their knowledge
• How to change your iPhone or Android location settings right now to stop all-day background tracking
• How to find and revoke the health data your insurance app is quietly pulling from Apple Health or Google Health Connect

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to https://cyberguy.com/podcast/ to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

What happens when you miss jury duty?

Like most normal people, Gale had no idea. She had just finished up work on her 70th birthday when she discovered a voicemail from an unknown number. 

The caller claimed to be an enforcement officer, informing her that if she didn’t pay the hefty $10,000 fine immediately, she was going to be in even bigger trouble. 

Within hours, thousands of dollars were gone.

But this story does not end there. Thanks to a new law in Arizona, Gale was able to recover her money and turn a devastating situation into a powerful lesson for others.

In this episode we explore: 

• How scammers can easily impersonate law enforcement

• The psychological tactics used to pressure victims into acting quickly

• Why cryptocurrency ATMs are a common tool in modern scams

• The warning signs that indicate you’re being scammed

• What to do immediately if you suspect a scam • How new legislation can help recover stolen funds

• Steps you can take to protect yourself and your family

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to ⁠https://cyberguy.com/podcast/⁠ to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

A 50-year-old grandmother in Tennessee was babysitting when US Marshals showed up at her door with guns drawn.

The charge: bank fraud in Fargo, North Dakota, more than a thousand miles away, in a state she had never set foot in.

The only evidence? A facial recognition match from Clearview AI, run against photos pulled from social media.

Angela Lipps spent more than five months in jail before her defense attorney, Jay Greenwood, finally got somebody to listen. This is what happens when AI gets treated like proof instead of a clue.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

- How a single facial recognition match landed an innocent grandmother in jail for over five months

- Why the photos you've posted on social media may already be in a Clearview AI database

- What detectives should have done before issuing an arrest warrant

- How attorney Jay Greenwood proved Angela was a thousand miles away from the crime

- What to say (and not say) if police ever come to your door for something you didn't do

- How to remove your photos from facial recognition databases before this happens to you

- Why this case is a warning for anyone who has ever shared a picture online

- The simple piece of evidence that finally got Angela's case dismissed

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to https://cyberguy.com/podcast/ to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

Patricia lost service on her cell phone. The next morning, she was out thousands of dollars. In this episode, we break down a real-life example of how quick and vicious SIM-card swapping scandals can really be. 

We walk through:

• What SIM swap scams are and how they work

• Warning signs to look out for

• Why banks and carriers sometimes fail to stop fraud quickly

• The timeline of how the money was stolen 

• What to do immediately if you think you’re being hacked 

• Practical steps to protect your accounts

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who uses their phone for banking, social media, or authentication codes.

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to ⁠https://cyberguy.com/podcast/⁠ to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

Rosette needed to file a travel insurance claim, so she did what anyone would do, she Googled the phone number. Someone picked up immediately, sounded completely professional, and asked for her credit card and date of birth. It wasn't until the pricing felt off and a confirmation email didn't match the official website that she realized she'd been talking to a scammer the entire time. This is called a search result scam, and it's one of the fastest-growing fraud tactics happening right now, and it's hiding at the very top of your Google results.Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

An 85-year-old man receives what looks like a harmless PayPal refund email… and within days, he out $200,000. He was ashamed and lost. But instead of staying silent, he worked with the police to set up a sting operation, seeking at least partial justice for his misfortunes.

In this episode, we break down one of the most sophisticated refund scams we’ve seen, how it unfolded step-by-step, and the red flags everyone should know about. 

In this episode we discuss:

• How a fake PayPal refund email started the scam

• The mirrored bank website that made everything look real

• How crypto ATMs are often used by scammers 

• The moment he realized he was being scammed 

• How scammers isolate victims and create urgency

• The police sting operation to catch the scammer 

• The multi-million dollar scams this trial cracked open

• Partial justice – the arrest and 18-year prison sentence

• Why victims rarely recover their money

• Common scam variations involving warrants and gold

• Warning signs everyone should watch for

• The red flags and top tips the policeman (whatever his title is) suggests people do in these types of scams (“"Do the research yourself and figure out what that real phone number is"”)

This story is shocking and unfortunately, not at all rare. Just like Brian, at CyberGuy we feel a duty to share these stories far and wide. If we can help even one person recognize the warning signs and cut off a scam at the pass, we’ve done our job. 

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms.

Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

You didn't hand over your life to big tech, but your smart devices did it for you. In this episode, Kurt breaks down the five most alarming privacy clauses buried inside the smart home gadgets most of us already own: your TV, your Ring doorbell, your Amazon Echo, and yes, even your car. The revelations are infuriating — and most of it was turned on by default the moment you plugged in. The good news? Kurt walks you through exactly how to shut every single one of these down, step by step, without getting rid of any of your devices.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• How your smart TV is watching what you watch and selling it to advertisers in real time
• Why your Ring doorbell has built a detailed map of your daily routine — including when you leave for work
• What it means that real Amazon employees can listen to recordings from inside your home
• How one automaker was logging your vehicle speed 25 times per second — and selling it to your insurance company
• Why your Amazon Echo has been saving every conversation you've had since the day you bought it
• How to turn off smart TV tracking on Roku and Samsung in under two minutes
• The exact steps to lock down your Ring app, delete your Alexa history, and opt out of car data sharing
• Why these devices are priced so low — and what you're actually paying with

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms.

Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.