Hacking Humans
Recent Episodes
Managing online security throughout the decades.
This week, our hosts Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of the T-Minus Space Daily show) are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start off with some more chicken follow up, this week, delving into malware-related chicken names. Dave’s got the story of Brevard-based Health First Health Plans teaming up with the FBI to warn consumers about a nationwide medical insurance scam where victims pay upfront for fake coverage and end up stuck with huge medical bills. Maria shares the story on how a recent April 2025 survey reveals that while most US consumers feel confident identifying scams and rely on traditional security measures like strong passwords and two-factor authentication, many still experience scam attempts and data breaches, with real-time threat detection emerging as the most valued feature in security products. Joe shares a personal story about how he was mildly got, got—tricked, that is—he thought he was filling out a quick survey for a waiter, but it actually ended up as a Google review. It's a reminder of how AI and tech are blurring the lines in everyday interactions, and how easily people can get tripped up by these evolving processes. The catch of the day this week is from the Scams sub-Reddit, and Dave reads a text from a scammer claiming to have information on his doing drugs at his old work place.
No cameras, no crew—just code.
This week, our hosts Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of the T-Minus Space Daily show) are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with some follow-up from a listener on class action settlements: they’re a class action attorney and shared that the best way to verify a notice is to contact the law firm listed in the court documents—plus, unclaimed funds don’t go to the attorneys, but are redistributed to claimants. Maria's story is on a listener dealing with phishing calendar invites that auto-add to their calendar—she shares tips like avoiding the “decline” button, adjusting settings to prevent automatic invite processing, and contacting email admins to help block these pesky requests. Joe's got the story on a film made almost entirely with AI tools like Google Veo and Runway—while the results are stunning, the process was chaotic, proving that human creativity, direction, and a lot of trial and error are still essential behind the scenes. Our cluck of the day is from listener Clayton, who writes in with a scam email sharing a fake job about a virtual interview.
This week, our three hosts Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of the T-Minus Space Daily show) are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with a bit of follow up, one from listener Aaron, who shares some safety tips for chickens, and from listener Shannon, who writes in with a new fashion statement. Maria’s got the story on how Trump’s sweeping new tariffs are creating the “perfect storm” for scams, as cybercriminals exploit consumer confusion with fake fee requests, shady links, and urgent messages—three red flags experts say to watch for. Joe shares the story of a new FBI warning about an AI-driven phone scam targeting iPhone and Android users, where scammers impersonate senior U.S. officials through fake texts and voice messages to steal personal information via malicious links. Dave shares the story of a classic Hollywood pitch deck scam, where fake agents from bogus production companies like "Hollywood Talent Agency" and "Writer’s Edge Production" lure authors into paying for useless film services with promises of big-screen adaptations. We have our new Cluck of the Day, and this week, Jonathan Webster shares a classic scam attempt: a fake PayPal invoice PDF designed to trick recipients into calling a fraudulent support number or paying a bogus charge.
This week, our three hosts Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of the T-Minus Space Daily show) are sharing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. Listener Jim notes that money launderers and couriers mentioned in recent episodes are often scam victims themselves, unknowingly processing fraudulent payments or delivering items, sometimes with tragic consequences like an innocent Uber driver being shot. Dave shares two close calls with scams this week: one where a bank employee saved a 75-year-old customer from losing $9,000 to a Facebook crypto scam, and another where a scammer impersonating “Officer Shane Kitchens” nearly tricked his mom into sending $3,500 for fake bail and ankle monitor fees after a family member was arrested. Joe's got three short stories this week—one is on how someone tried scamming his wife, another about a DoorDash driver who admitted to stealing $2.5 million in a delivery scam, and the last on a warning to billions of Gmail users to remain vigilant over a terrifying new phishing scheme. Maria sits down with Alex Hall, Trust and Safety Architect at Sift, to discuss the rise of job scams. Our catch of the day comes from Jonathan who writes in with a fake PayPal invoice.
The band is finally back together.
And....we're back! This week, our three hosts Dave Bittner, Joe Carrigan, and Maria Varmazis (also host of the T-Minus Space Daily show) are all back to share the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. The team shares three bits of follow-up and then breaks into their stories. Joe starts off sharing some stories about influencer fakery on fake private jet sets and a scam taking advantage of the RealID requirements coming into effect. Maria talks about "Scam Survivor Day" (it's a real thing). She also talks about a former Facebooker's tell-all "Careless People." Dave shares a story about fake Social Security statements. Our Catch of Day comes from Richard about a truck win.
