Episodes

It is time to talk about “phishing” because a friend recently fell for a phishing scheme. The email, which appeared to come from his cable company, claimed that the method of payment was rejected. And while we are at it, let’s talk about “smishing”, a social engineering attack using fake text messages to trick people into sending money to cybercriminals, sharing sensitive information, or downloading malware. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood T...

What would you do if you overheard a phone conversation that sounded like the person was being scammed? Last year, I accompanied my mother to an appointment at her doctor’s office. I overheard a gentleman sitting across me making a phone call. He was speaking loud enough that it was hard to ignore the conversation. After less than a minute, I jumped up out of my chair and told the man he was being scammed. Sometimes we have to intervene to protect others. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast liv...

What would you do if a friend sent you an email asking if you would be willing to buy them a gift card? For most of us, our default reaction would be to say yes and help out our friend. Because most of us are generally nice folks, we are prone to be the victim of an email gift card scam. This scam recently happened to my mom and this week we talk about how it works. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio (www.k4hd.com) part of Talk 4 Rad...

Recently, I was about to start a fraud prevention presentation when my mom called to tell me she was having some computer issues. I drove over to her place. Upon arrival, her computer had a pop-up on the screen that made her computer inoperable. The pop-up was making a siren noise with a voice telling her not to shut down the computer. My mom did everything right. She closed the door to her office and called her “phone a friend” which happens to be me. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live T...

This week, we will share top five telltale signs you are being scammed. • Someone you don’t know is calling you incessantly and creating a sense of panic. • Someone is telling you not to talk to anyone else. • If you are at your bank withdrawing cash...

Last week Brian Watson talked about phone scams and it is okay to hang up. Something we hear a lot is - I do not answer the phone unless I know who it is as scammers do not leave voicemails. Or do they? We are starting to hear from people that scammers are in fact leaving voicemails now and wanting you to call back. Of course they always give you the number to call. Tune in to learn more about how scammers have evolved with phone scams. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM P...

We discussed this four months ago and it is worth revisiting, our Anatomy of a Scam Infographic where we discuss the three parts of a scam. We have some examples of scams that we will break down using the Anatomy of a Scam. Tune in to see if you can find the different parts of these scams. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio (www.k4hd.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Let’...

I like to show a photo of a yellow rotary dial phone circa 1980. I ask my audience to raise their hand if they ever had a similar phone. After I show the photo of the phone, I always ask “what did we do when that phone rang?” The standard response is always “we answered it.” People my age and older were not only conditioned to answer the phone, we were expected to be polite. Hanging up on someone was unheard of. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywo...

Pig Butchering Romance Scams Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio...

Data breaches give scammers a chance to orchestrate social engineering attacks against unsuspecting victims. The data can be purchased in bulk, and is then used by scammers as a token of credibility to gain trust. Several different types of scams typically pop up after the breach, some are more sophisticated than others. It pays to know what to expect. Dr. Martina Dove article: https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/data-breaches-opportunistic-scammers-what-you-should-watch-for Let’s Tal...

We all make mistakes, and last week I made a mistake with sharing my screen. So, here is a redo on how to determine the safety of a website. Last week you saw my notes for the episode and today you will see how I use R.O.S.E.'s website to show you what to look for and some online sources you can use to determine the safety of websites. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio ( www.k4hd.com ) part of Talk 4 Radio ( www.talk4radio.com ...

Last week we discussed a few of the scams that had a profound effect in 2024 on the 60+ year old population in the United States. The type of crime that had the most impact on this population, with almost 195,000 victims, is phishing/spoofing. In this episode we talk about safe websites safe by looking at Microsoft Defender Web protection and how to check if a website is malicious/scam or safe/legit. We have used our website as an example to show you what to look for with these tools. Let’s Ta...

The last two weeks we talked about the 2024 FBI IC3 report and the related statistics in addition to how scams have evolved over the years. In this episode we are going to dive into the top two scams with the most amount of losses in 2024 for older adults - investment and tech support scams. Listen in to learn more about these two scams and how to protect yourself. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio ( www.k4hd.com ) part of Talk 4...

Scams have changed so much over the past 20 years. Scammers are no longer lone wolves, but part of organized criminal gangs that will take everything you have. They are truly ruthless financial predators. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live...

The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center 2024 annual report is out. The statistics are not good and going in the wrong direction. Losses increased by 33% in the United States and 43% increase in losses with the 60+ year old population. Tune in while...

New FBI Public Service Announcement on April 18, 20205. Criminal scammers are impersonating the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) employees. Almost all the reports filed reflect that the scammer claims to have recovered the victim's lost funds...

Today is tax day! Do you have your IRS IP Pin? Do you know what an IRS IP Pin is? Joyce will discuss her experience with tax related identity theft when someone filed a tax return in her name and social security number. A six digit IP Pin could have...

We all use USB cables for charging and data transfer. How do you know if the USB cable you have is good or does it have malicious hacker hardware? Tune in to learn the signs that a USB cable has malicious hacker hardware, how to protect yourself,...

Lynn is back for Antivirus, Malware, and EDR - Part 2 - How Artificial Intelligence Affects These Protections. Tune in to learn how AI can affect these protection tools. These cyber-criminals are working overtime to bypass these protections. Tune in...

Antivirus, malware and EDR are not just for your desktop. It is important to have this on all of your devices, including your mobile phone. How easy is it to accidentally click on a malicious link on your mobile phone? Very easy! Joyce and Lynndel...

Joyce talks with Dr. Martina Dove about Pig Butchering Scam and persuasive psychological techniques. Learn how scammers conversations elicit commitment and consistency by using social norms and visceral influence to their advantage. Dr. Martina Dove...

How many text messages do you get in a day? We are all busy with life and text messages add to this. We are deep into work, your phone pings, we immediately look at the text. The message seems official and has a sense of urgency. We click on the...

Are you on social media? Scammers are on social media too hijacking and cloning accounts wanting to be your friend. Sometimes it is hard to tell if the friend request is a real account or a scammer's account. In this episode we talk about different...

Has someone filed a tax return in your name? What a mess! Joyce talks about her current experience with a fraudulent tax return filed in her name and social security number. The process she is going through and how long it could take to resolve. What...