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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've waded into cryptocurrency investments, you probably know about crypto scams. But what you don’t know about crypto wallets could be exactly what a thief needs to steal all those magic gains. We also talk about bears, if you're into that sort of thing. Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when you combine an actor, a well-followed Instagram account, an early morning alert and a master cleanse with a hacker? An account takeover and ransom situation, of course! Also covered in this episode: no-click exploits. Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The teenage son of this week’s guest learned a lesson we've been banging on about for years--the hard way. Don't use your debit card when a credit card will do. There is a very specific reason we say this, and you can find out what it is right here. Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Covid epidemic shut down music venues around the world, but with our ever more connected planet, the bands played on. Music people moved their gigs online and Twitch became a major venue for that. That’s where Emily McVicker ran into trouble with a new version of the overpayment scam. Also in this episode: Can you steal a Tesla with a Raspberry? Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some scams give us something to laugh about whether it's the sheer audacity or the incompetence that made them work. Loki’s story is not one of those capers. He was the victim of a catfishing scam where he figured as the catfish as the result of identity theft. But the worst part? The person who did it to him... Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Larry worked on the assembly line at Ford and a long list of impressive jobs to which he can now add “Scam Slayer.” Online criminals often target retirees, because they assume senior citizens are easy prey. Larry is an object lesson in how not to fall victim to the kinds of crime targeting the AARP crowd. Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary is a lot of things. Cannabinoid cooking maven, former radio host, and her banter could make the saltiest sailor blush. When she was angling to find love (and sex) online, a rather young-sounding catfish took the bait and what followed was pretty funny. Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many of us, Joyce spent hours during the Covid lockdown connecting with friends by playing games online--in her case a MahJong app. Imagine her surprise when using a legitimate app to find a scammer trying to empty her entire bank account. The most likely culprit? You will rethink your game time when you hear what it was. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Toma is in the business of making the world a greener place, which made him a target for someone looking to tap into his credit at a local bank. A stroke of luck was all that stood between him and economic ruin. Find out in the latest episode how Paul was compromised and why you should never reuse your passwords. See the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Beeler of Boyne Resorts protects fans of the great outdoors from prying eyes and other online threats. Fending off the assortment of cyber attacks that come his way is all in a day’s work, which is why Dan was the first to know when his company got hit by ransomware. Hear what happened, and how Dan saved the day. See the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noah’s son had a boat coming to him, but finding one to buy during the pandemic was like trying to raise the Titanic. This episode focuses on that classic moment when Noah found a deal too good to be true. Boat-selling skullduggery ahead, as we learn how be like Noah when it comes to online scams. See the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Digital pirates pick up all sorts of viruses and bugs while downloading their treasures. Episode Five features a savvy digital native who picked up a nasty bug during a digital stroll down the gamer’s version of Memory Lane. Whether you think you’re immune to online contagion, or you just need a little pirate humor, we got it here. See the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aunt Sally was happy to spend her time birdwatching and hanging out with her family. Then one day, a single typo put her in the crosshairs of a hacker who was intent on stealing all her money, rifling through her personal data and stealing her identity. Also: Don't post pictures of your vaccination card! Read the episode transcript. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a journalist, he’s traveled to some of the most dangerous places in the world and managed to not get hacked. But the moment he gets some down time at home: O, the shame. Also covered: smishing, social engineering, 419 scams and once again, why you should never re-use your passwords. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Covid-19 pandemic created massive unemployment and with that, a shadow pandemic of unemployment scams. In our second episode, Adam’s sister-in-law was targeted in two different states and tells us the tale. Also discussed: are biometrics better than passwords? Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that you can activate malware on your computer just by looking at an image posted in the comments of an online discussion? We're big on good cyber hygiene. Our first episode provides an important life lesson: Always use a burner computer to troll your enemies. And of course beware of evil clowns. Check out Roy’s story about the time he got hacked while trolling QAnon followers. Read the episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The award-winning true cybercrime podcast is back with new stories and actually helpful advice. Every week, we dive into scams, hacks, and digital disasters with real people who’ve been there and security pros who know how to help. What the Hack is a production of DeleteMe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices