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This week, hosts of N2K CyberWire Maria Varmazis and Dave Bittner alongside Joe Carrigan are discussing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with some follow up from Robert, who wonders why he’s never received a scam call in nearly 20 years of having the same Swedish phone number. Maria covers ACATS fraud, a little-known scam that can move stocks and retirement assets into fraudulent brokerage accounts without the victim realizing it. Dave shares his experience of nearly falling for a social engineering scam disguised as a podcast interview, where the scammers used convincing prep and a fake meeting link to try to get him to install malware. Joe shares the story of a Maryland woman who was nearly fooled by scammers posing as Wells Fargo and San Francisco police, using detailed personal information and threats of arrest to make the scam feel real. Our Catch of the Day comes from Reddit, where one person takes matters into their own hands after a scammer targets their daughter.
Resources and links to stories:
- Several Big Brokerages Leave Customer Accounts Open to Theft, Senators Say
- Fidelity Money Transfer Lockdown: Block Fraudulent ACAT Transfer Brokerage Scams
- Protect Your Brokerage Accounts From ACATS Transfer Fraud
- Maryland woman says Wells Fargo, San Francisco police scam nearly fooled her with fake fraud case
- Person almost scammed my daughter so I decided to get in one fun and found their location
Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.
