What the Hack?

We all know Instagram influencer accounts get hacked and held for ransom. And it’s no secret men send women pictures of their private parts via DM. This episode meets at the crossroads of these two open secrets. Model and writer Lisa Seiffert joined us to tell the tale.

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Caitlin Brodnick was not the most obvious target since she’s the host of a podcast called ScamWow. Which is why we were obviously impressed by the effort of her scammer and by her ability to see it for what it is and avoid getting got. Also discussed: Why you should never answer questions on social media.

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From QAnon to Mahjong and a parade of phishing victims, 2021 offered up a lot of teachable moments. We revisit six episodes from our first year, and invite the guests back to tell us how they improved their cyber defenses (or haven’t). 

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One of the hottest holiday gifts of 2021 is the new Nintendo Switch. The problem is they’re sold out everywhere. When this week’s guest tried to think outside the big box stores, she ran into a classic e-commerce scam. 

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Who steals a Christmas tree? Sadly, a lot of people do. Harry tells us about a scam that was way too evil for the Grinch playbook as well as the other kinds of scams he’s seen over his many years in the Christmas tree business.

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Kristine had been living la vida expatriate during Covid, when work called her back to New York City and she had to find a short-term rental. How’d a hardened reporter get sucked into a Craigslist scam? The same way we all do, and it’s a very good story.

Read the transcript here.

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Growing up in the shadow of child identity theft can be a struggle. For Axton Betz-Hamilton, her discovery of the culprit led to the shock of a lifetime. In the second installment of this two-part episode, we examine the massive financial and emotional toll of finding out a loved one wasn’t all that they seemed, and how to recover. Also discussed: stalkerware apps.

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By the time most people find out that they’ve been the victim of child identity theft, their credit is trashed. That’s what happened to Axton Betz-Hamilton. And like most victims of child identity theft, she was targeted by someone she knew. In the first installment of this two-part episode, the mystery of who stole Axton’s identity unravels in a very unexpected direction. 

Read the transcript here.

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Does your business depend on social media? How about your social life? Would you be willing to pay to get your account back if it got hacked? That’s this week’s dilemma for a well-known eyewear designer. Hear what he did.

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Josh works at a real estate company that oversees wire transfers every day. Hear the story about the time a single compromised email account almost cost his company big time.

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