Episodes

  • Elon Musk Deepfake Scam Dupes Couple, Cyber Threats Surge: Stay Vigilant

    Elon Musk Deepfake Scam Dupes Couple, Cyber Threats Surge: Stay Vigilant
    Dec 15 2025
    Hey listeners, Scotty here, your go-to scam buster with a techie twist on the latest cyber chaos hitting the wires. Picture this: I'm scrolling my feeds on December 15th, and bam—Florida's got a Leesburg couple, George Hendricks and his wife, down 45 grand after deepfake Elon Musk videos suckered them into a fake Tesla giveaway. George joins a Facebook group, gets a WhatsApp ping saying he won 100k and a car, then a personalized AI vid of Musk swearing, "Trust me with your whole heart." Boom—shipping fees, bogus investments, drained accounts. ClickOrlando reports the scammers used a 30-second Musk clip to whip up that fake in minutes, per ThreatLocker's Kieran Human. Pro tip: Watch for stiff necks and no-breathing in those vids—AI's getting slicker, but not perfect yet.

    Flip to Australia's Gold Coast, where builder Matthew Stringer wakes up to some "tradie" poser claiming to be his nephew, hijacking his license to rip off homeowners. ABC News says one victim lost 12k on a retaining wall that never happened. Queensland cops just issued an arrest warrant—do your due diligence, folks; verify licenses on official sites before handing over cash.

    Stateside, WVU Police are blasting alerts on sextortion hitting students—strangers snag compromising pics via apps or games, then demand crypto or they'll blast 'em everywhere. Chief Sherry St. Clair says never send nudes to unknowns, block and report to cops pronto. Turn off cams when idle, skip shady links—they pack malware that hijacks your mic.

    Holiday heat's on too: Better Business Bureau lists 12 nasties like fake puppy ads and charity pleas, while Leander, Texas locals get "deputy" calls demanding Bitcoin bail. DC's Attorney General Brian Schwalb warns gift card drains are spiking—scammers snag codes from racks or your emails. And don't sleep on AI job scams; World Economic Forum notes fraudsters deepfake into remote IT gigs, botting their way to insider access.

    Listeners, stay sharp: Verify everything twice, use two-factor everywhere, and if it smells fishy, ghost 'em. Check sources like official police sites, never click unsolicited links. You've got the power—don't let these pixel pirates win.

    Thanks for tuning in, smash that subscribe for more scam-smashing tips. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.

    For more http://www.quietplease.ai

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    This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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    3 mins
  • Scam Alert: Protecting Yourself from Holiday Fraud Surge

    Scam Alert: Protecting Yourself from Holiday Fraud Surge
    Dec 14 2025
    I’m Scotty, your friendly neighborhood scam hunter, and today we’re diving straight into the freshest cons clogging your feeds and inbox.

    Right now, scammers are feasting on holiday chaos. WHYY in Philadelphia reports that in just the first six months of this year, people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware lost hundreds of millions of dollars to fraud, much of it from fake shopping sites that look exactly like the real thing. One shopper thought she was buying charms from the jewelry brand Pandora after a link came from a family member. The site spun, the purchase never finished, but her bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, suddenly saw thousands of dollars in bogus charges. The “store” was a clone, likely spun up with AI.

    AARP’s Fraud Watch Network says more than 80% of Americans have run into holiday-related scams online. That includes bogus shopping sites, fake social media ads, and “card declined, try again” tricks that exist solely to harvest your payment details. The Independent in the UK is warning about a surge in smishing, those text-message phishing attacks, plus malicious QR codes slapped on menus, parking meters, and posters that silently redirect you to credential-stealing pages.

    And it’s not just anonymous bots. Modern Ghana reports that a notorious romance scammer known as Abu Trica is being extradited to the United States on charges such as conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. His kind of operation uses fake love, fake crises, and very real bank transfers. In Florida, the Daytona Beach News-Journal just covered a Massachusetts man accused of running a Seabreeze High School travel scam, allegedly taking money from students, parents, and teachers for trips that never happened.

    Here’s what listeners need to lock in right now. First, never tap the deal in the email or the “your package is delayed” text. Go directly to the retailer’s or shipper’s official site or app yourself. Muddy River News and AARP both highlight fake shipping alerts and porch pirate scams where the text is the real theft, not the missing box. Second, anyone asking you to pay by gift card, crypto, or wire is waving a giant red skull-and-crossbones. The Ohio Department of Commerce and the FBI keep repeating this because it works: legitimate government agencies and utilities do not demand payment in gift cards. Third, use credit cards or trusted digital wallets like Apple Pay, turn on transaction alerts, and do not save card details on random sites.

    Slow down, verify the URL, and treat urgency as a warning label, not a to-do list. Scammers weaponize speed; your best defense is pause and check.

    Thanks for tuning in, listeners, and don’t forget to subscribe for more scam-proofing with Scotty. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

    For more http://www.quietplease.ai

    Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

    This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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    3 mins
  • Explosive AI Scams Target Holiday Shoppers: Protect Your Wallet

    Explosive AI Scams Target Holiday Shoppers: Protect Your Wallet
    Dec 12 2025
    Name’s Scotty. Let’s jack straight into the feed.

    Right now, scammers are having a holiday party with your data. ABC7 Chicago reports that AI-fueled scams are exploding: fake retail sites one letter off from real brands, deepfake celebrity ads on social media, and bogus “too good to be true” holiday deals. McAfee’s experts say one in five Americans gets hit during the holidays, usually after clicking an ad, paying through a sketchy money app, or giving card details to a fake checkout page. If you’re typing your card into a site you reached from an ad, not from your own bookmark, you’re basically handing it to the scammer.

    Law enforcement is busy too. The Singapore Police Force just announced charges against two men, a Malaysian and a Singaporean, who allegedly acted as cash mules in a government official impersonation scam. The victim got a video call from someone dressed as a Singapore Police officer and was told her identity was misused. She was ordered to hand over more than seven thousand dollars in cash, then buy over fifty‑three thousand in gold and surrender it “for investigation.” Officers arrested one suspect as he tried to leave Singapore and seized cash, phones, and a fake investment staff pass. Same playbook we’re seeing worldwide: they weaponize fear of authority and rush you into handing over money or valuables.

    In the US, WISH-TV in Indiana reports a 22‑year‑old California man was arrested after pretending to be an FBI agent and scamming a Grant County resident out of two hundred thirty‑one thousand dollars. West Virginia MetroNews says deputies in Mercer County caught Li Wei, a 30‑year‑old with a California license, allegedly picking up a box of money from a woman’s home after a similar law-enforcement scam call. Different states, same pattern: fake badge, fake urgency, real losses.

    Tech-wise, the FBI and sites like Scamicide are warning about AI‑powered virtual kidnapping. You get a call, you hear what sounds exactly like your child or partner screaming, and a voice demands wired money or crypto. With voice cloning and deepfake video, scammers can synthesize your loved one from public social media clips in minutes. The only firewall here is your brain: hang up, call the supposed victim on another line, use a pre-agreed family safe word, and never wire money on the basis of a single terrifying call.

    The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance is still the gold standard: don’t give personal or financial info to anyone who contacts you first; don’t pay by gift card, crypto, or wire when someone insists on it; and don’t tap links in unsolicited texts or emails claiming to be banks, delivery services, or government agencies. Go to the official site or app yourself. The FBI’s account takeover alerts this year back that up: criminals are draining bank accounts just by tricking you into sharing one-time passcodes over phone or text.

    To stay safe in this mess: slow down, verify on a second channel, lock down your social media, use strong passwords and multi‑factor authentication, and remember that real law enforcement and real banks do not collect payment through gift cards, crypto ATMs, or random couriers at your door.

    Thanks for tuning in, listeners. Stay sharp, stay patched, and don’t let anyone social-engineer your wallet. Be sure to subscribe for more scam intel.

    This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

    For more http://www.quietplease.ai

    Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

    This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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    4 mins
  • AI-Powered Scams Surge This Holiday Season: Protect Yourself from Fake Deliveries, Prize Alerts, and More

    AI-Powered Scams Surge This Holiday Season: Protect Yourself from Fake Deliveries, Prize Alerts, and More
    Dec 10 2025
    So picture this. You’re scrolling through your phone, minding your own business, when a text pops up. Your package is delayed, click here to fix it. Or maybe it’s a prize alert, you’ve won a free iPhone, just pay shipping. Sounds familiar? Yeah, that’s the new holiday soundtrack, and it’s all AI-powered scams. McAfee’s latest survey shows fake prize alerts and package delivery problems are the top lures this season, followed by refund notices, subscription renewals, and loyalty point reminders. And here’s the kicker—these messages don’t look like they’re written by someone who failed English 101. They’re polished, personalized, and scary convincing because AI is crafting them.

    Just last week in Mountain Home, Arkansas, a joint operation with the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI took down three suspected money mules. One guy, Melvin K. Colvin from Everett, Washington, showed up claiming to be an FBI agent sent by a scammer in Jamaica to collect $250,000 from an 86-year-old man who was actually a decoy. Another, Samar Nawaz from New Jersey, was sent by an India-based scammer to pick up $60,000 in bait money from a 95-year-old decoy. And a third, Fardin Hossain Talah from Brooklyn, walked right into a trap accepting a box of movie prop cash and $500 real dollars. All three are now facing felony charges, and honestly, good.

    But here’s what you need to know. Scammers are using AI to generate fake product listings with perfect-looking images of luxury items or hard-to-find toys at prices that should make your spider sense tingle. They’re cloning real charity websites or creating fake ones with AI-generated videos and sob stories. And they’re building fake retail sites in minutes using AI website builders, complete with slightly misspelled URLs that are easy to miss. Norton researchers are seeing hundreds of these malicious sites pop up every single day.

    Phishing is still the main doorway, but now it’s smarter. If you get a text or email about a delivery problem, refund, or prize, don’t click the link. Go directly to the retailer or carrier’s app or website. Turn on multi-factor authentication everywhere, use strong unique passwords, and avoid public Wi-Fi for shopping or banking. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it is. Stick with trusted retailers, watch for bait-and-switch scams, and never give out your Social Security number or bank details over text or email.

    And remember, no legitimate law enforcement agency is going to call you about jury duty and demand payment in cryptocurrency. That Branch County woman in Michigan learned that the hard way, losing thousands at a Bitcoin kiosk after being told she’d be arrested if she didn’t pay. If you get that call, hang up. Period.

    Stay sharp, stay skeptical, and stay safe out there. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

    For more http://www.quietplease.ai

    Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

    This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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    3 mins
  • Headline: Unmasking the AI-Driven Holiday Scam Surge: Stay Vigilant This Season

    Headline: Unmasking the AI-Driven Holiday Scam Surge: Stay Vigilant This Season
    Dec 8 2025
    Hey listeners, Scotty here, your friendly neighborhood scam nerd, and today we’re diving straight into the freshest con jobs lighting up the headlines.

    Let’s start with the holiday chaos. Moonlock reports that the FBI and experts like former operative Eric O’Neill are warning this season’s scams are supercharged by AI. Scammers are spinning up thousands of fake online stores, complete with legit-looking logos, flawless grammar, and “too good to be true” Black Friday-style deals. You click, you pay, you get… nothing, except your card details siphoned into the fraud economy. UK Cyber Defence recently flagged over 2,000 fake holiday-themed shopping sites doing exactly this. If the price looks magic and the store is new, ephemeral, or only reachable through a sketchy ad, assume it’s a mirage.

    On the human side of horror, Malwarebytes highlights an FBI warning about virtual kidnapping scams. Crooks harvest your Facebook photos, then call a family member claiming they’ve kidnapped you, sending your own pictures as “proof of life.” Pair that with AI voice cloning and suddenly Mom is hearing a panicked version of “you” begging for money. Rule zero: if you get a ransom call, hang up and independently contact the supposed victim and the real police. Do not negotiate with copy‑paste criminals.

    Scam centers are getting real-world heat too. Asia Times reports Thailand just seized over 300 million dollars tied to online scam hubs funneling money from operations in Cambodia and Myanmar, including “pig butchering” crypto-investment schemes that fatten victims with fake profits, then wipe them out. Locally, the Times of India covered police in Sitapur busting a crypto syndicate accused of laundering nearly 12 crore rupees through rented bank accounts. Translation: if someone wants to “borrow” your bank account for easy money, you’re not an investor, you’re a money mule.

    Meanwhile, Meta told the Global Anti-Scam Summit it removed 134 million scam ads this year and nuked nearly 12 million scam-linked accounts across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. They’re using facial recognition to spot celebrity-endorsement scam ads, but remember: if you see a famous face pitching miracle crypto returns, assume it’s a deepfake until verified from the celebrity’s real channels.

    Here’s how you stay hard to hack: only shop via known, bookmarked sites or official apps; never tap payment links from text or DMs. Trust Wallet’s security team stresses basic opsec for crypto: unique passwords, offline seed phrase, and never, ever sharing keys or signing transactions you don’t understand. And across everything, follow the Neowin mantra: Stop, Think, Verify. Pressure plus urgency equals scam.

    Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you stay one patch ahead of the predators. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

    For more http://www.quietplease.ai

    Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

    This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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    3 mins
  • Beware the Rising Tide of Scams: Scotty's Foolproof Tips to Stay Protected

    Beware the Rising Tide of Scams: Scotty's Foolproof Tips to Stay Protected
    Dec 5 2025
    Hey listeners, Scotty here, your friendly neighborhood scam hunter, coming to you from the front lines where criminals are getting way too creative for anyone’s comfort. Let’s jack straight into what’s happening right now, because the bad guys are busy and you do not have time for a long intro.

    Law enforcement across the U.S. is reporting a spike in phone scams where criminals pretend to be cops, deputies, or federal agents, and they’re not just bluffing, they’re rehearsed. Picture this: in Spokane County, Washington, a young woman in her 20s gets a call from someone claiming to be with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, complete with a fake badge number and fake warrants for missing jury duty. Terrified, she’s instructed to “pay a bond” by dumping 7,000 dollars into a Bitcoin ATM. That’s not justice, that’s a ransomware plot with a human voice.

    The same playbook is popping up in places like Alexandria, Virginia and Bolingbrook, Illinois, with scammers spoofing real police or government phone numbers so caller ID looks legit. They say you missed court, skipped jury duty, or have some mysterious fine, then demand immediate payment via Bitcoin, gift cards, or mobile wallets while threatening arrest or jail time if you hesitate. Here’s the rule: the moment someone mentions “law enforcement” and “pay right now or you’re going to jail,” you hang up like the phone is on fire and call the real agency using a number you look up yourself.

    While those calls are hitting phones, the internet side is equally nasty. Holiday shopping is turning into hacker hunting season, with fake shopping sites, bogus charity pages, and payment pages that look like your favorite retailer but exist only to steal your card or banking login. Add in romance scams, grandparent scams where someone pretends to be a grandchild in trouble, and tech support scams spoofing companies like Microsoft or your bank, and you’ve got a full-blown social engineering circus. The unifying theme is urgency: “act now,” “click now,” “pay now,” or something terrible happens. Real businesses and real agencies rarely operate on panic mode.

    So here’s your defensive toolkit, Scotty-style. First, if anyone asks for payment in cryptocurrency, gift cards, or by wiring funds to a stranger, treat it as a confirmed scam. Second, never trust contact that comes to you; trust only contact you initiate using a verified phone number or website. Third, lock down your digital life with strong, unique passwords and multifactor authentication so even if they phish one password, they don’t own your entire existence. Finally, slow down. Scammers live in the gap between your fear and your next breath. Take that breath, verify the story with someone you trust, and you’ll dodge most of what’s flying around right now.

    Thanks for tuning in, listeners, and if this helped you armor up against the scammers, make sure you subscribe so Scotty can keep watching the wires for you. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

    For more http://www.quietplease.ai

    Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

    This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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    3 mins
  • Urgent Warning: Soaring AI-Powered Scams Threaten Holiday Shoppers

    Urgent Warning: Soaring AI-Powered Scams Threaten Holiday Shoppers
    Dec 3 2025
    Hey listeners, Scotty here, and boy do I have some wild stuff to break down for you today because the scam world is absolutely exploding right now, especially with the holidays in full swing.

    Let me kick things off with something that just went down in Singapore. A twenty-nine-year-old guy got arrested on December first for running a massive Pokemon trading card scam on a platform called Carousell. This dude advertised pre-orders for limited edition cards, people sent him money via bank transfer, and then surprise surprise, the cards never showed up. He'd claim they were delayed and then ghost everyone. When the dust settled, police connected him to at least one hundred and eleven cases with losses totaling eighty thousand dollars. Singapore's taking this seriously too because they just passed new legislation that mandates caning for scammers, up to twenty-four strokes. Yeah, you read that right.

    But here's what's really terrifying and what you need to know about right now. According to Microsoft's latest research, AI-powered phishing attacks have surged by twelve hundred and sixty-five percent. Last year Christmas phishing emails jumped three hundred and fourteen percent, and now AI's making these scams practically indistinguishable from the real deal. Nearly forty-six percent of Americans say they've already encountered an AI scam while shopping this season.

    The holidays bring this perfect storm where scammers use urgency as their main weapon. Limited time deals, fake package alerts, fake charity requests, job scams promising easy money from home, you name it. And they're using AI to write emails so perfectly that you'd swear it came from Amazon or your bank. One wrong click and you're handing over credentials or worse, installing malware.

    Here's the thing though, listeners. Almost every single scam follows the same playbook and that's actually your superpower. Scammers create pressure. They rush you. So the moment something makes you feel panicked, slow down. Check the sender's email address for typos. Don't click links in unexpected messages. Go directly to official websites or apps you already know and trust. If a deal seems too good to be true, it absolutely is. And please, for the love of all that's holy, never ever pay for anything with gift cards because that money evaporates into the digital void with zero protection.

    Use credit cards instead of debit cards because they've got fraud protection. Enable two-factor authentication on all your accounts. Keep your passwords strong and unique. And if something feels off, trust your gut and verify through another channel before clicking anything.

    Thanks so much for tuning in, listeners. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next breakdown. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

    For more http://www.quietplease.ai

    Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

    This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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    3 mins
  • Shocking Online Shopping Scams Exploding Ahead of 2025 Holiday Season

    Shocking Online Shopping Scams Exploding Ahead of 2025 Holiday Season
    Dec 1 2025
    Hey listeners, Scotty here, and let me tell you, the scam world is absolutely on fire right now as we head into the final shopping month of 2025.

    First up, let's talk about what's happening in real time. The FBI is sounding the alarm about holiday shopping scams exploding across the country. We're seeing everything from non-delivery schemes where you pay for goods that never show up, to fake charities cleaning out people's wallets. But here's where it gets really interesting with the AI angle. Over in New York, shoppers are being warned that scammers are using artificial intelligence to create entire fake online storefronts that look almost identical to legitimate brands. We're talking fake product images, deepfake reviews, and websites with URLs that differ by just one character from the real deal. New Yorkers lost over seventeen million dollars to online shopping scams last year alone, and authorities are seeing this trend accelerate dramatically.

    Now let's get into some serious criminal activity. A seventy-three-year-old Malaysian woman was just arrested in Singapore for running a government impersonation scam where she posed as an official from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. She collected cash and gold bars worth approximately two hundred thousand dollars from victims. Police recovered the goods and are reminding everyone never to hand money or valuables to unknown persons, no matter what authority they claim to represent.

    Back in Missouri, things are getting desperate. Clay County residents have lost three million dollars in just two years to cryptocurrency ATM scams. Scammers call claiming to be from the sheriff's office, tell victims they have warrants for missing jury duty, and pressure them to withdraw cash and convert it to Bitcoin. One sixty-seven-year-old woman lost fourteen thousand dollars this way. The thing about crypto is it's nearly impossible to trace or reverse, which is exactly why criminals love these machines.

    And then there's Maurice Amare Wynn, a twenty-three-year-old currently on fifteen years probation after his April arrest for organized fraud. He's already back at it, targeting churches, colleges, and hospitals with promises of large donations to gain access to banking information. He previously stole over three hundred thousand dollars in products using false identities.

    Here's what you actually need to do. Never click suspicious links from social media. Inspect gift cards for tampering before buying. Check website URLs carefully and look for that locked padlock icon. If a deal seems too good to be true, it absolutely is. Use credit cards instead of debit cards for online purchases because the fraud protection is way better.

    Stay sharp out there, listeners. These scammers are getting smarter by the day, but so can you. Thanks for tuning in, and please subscribe for more updates on what's really happening in the cyber world.

    This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

    For more http://www.quietplease.ai

    Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

    This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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    3 mins