00:00You clicked it. You panicked. Maybe you even entered your password. Don't worry, we've all
00:06been there. Today, we're tackling the biggest scams happening right now, and more importantly,
00:12how to dodge them like a pro. Scams are basically emotional landmines. They're designed to make us
00:17panic, rush, give us a sense of emergency, or maybe get way too excited about that opportunity
00:22that almost seems too good to be true. And the kicker? New tech like AI deepfakes make scams
00:28even more convincing. Last year alone, people lost nearly $12.5 billion to scams. That's
00:35billion with a B. But don't worry, after this episode of Data Breach 101, you'll know exactly
00:42what to watch for. So what are the scams you're most likely to run into online these days?
00:47Let's go through them rapid fire style. You must settle the balance within the next 12 hours to
00:54avoid severe penalties. Pay now with a link to complete payment. This one is good. It's
01:00threatening. It's realistic. But if you look closely, random number, strange URL, nothing too
01:05specific. I'm a recruiter, and we're currently looking for a part-time assistant to join the
01:11team. You can work remotely on the job, and the job only takes one hour per day, and you'll get paid
01:16up to $1,300. Guarantee you, you reach out to this WhatsApp number. They'll ask you for your bank
01:22information to pay you. Real jobs don't ask for sensitive info like this before you've even
01:28interviewed. Hey, Dad, I was just in an accident, and I need you to send me some money. I will send
01:33you a link to pay with. Imagine getting a frantic call from your loved one, only it's not them. AI can
01:41out fake voices and videos so well, it's scary. Rule of thumb, if the urgent request feels weird,
01:47double check through another channel. Don't be afraid to sound a little insensitive in order to
01:52validate that the loved one calling you in an emergency is who they say they are and actually
01:57needs what they're asking for. Send me your email address right now so I can send you payment. If you're
02:03trying to sell products in an open marketplace, beware of interested buyers demanding your personal
02:09information such as your phone number, email or financials. Big Zelle and PayPal scams are rampant
02:16these days. Use services that offer seller protection or insist on cash in person at the time of the
02:22exchange. Stay suspicious and trust your gut. Okay, now that we know some of the most common scams to be
02:29on the lookout for, let's play a quick round of Is It A Scam? We have limited your account due to
02:37suspicious activity. Click here to restore access. Is it real or is it a scam? Fake! Hover over the link,
02:48it doesn't even go to paypal.com. Always check the URL before you click. You get a DM from your friend.
02:55They say they're stuck overseas. They lost their wallet and they need you to wire them $500 ASAP.
03:02A real friend who needs your help? Or a bad actor with a knack for impersonations?
03:10Fake. Most likely. This is a classic scam called a stranded traveler scam. Even if losing a wallet in
03:18Prague is totally something that would happen to your bestie, always double check with them using another
03:23method. Don't just reply to the DM. Last question, be sure to sound off on how you're doing so far in
03:29the comments. So, you get a voicemail saying the IRS is filing a lawsuit against you and if you don't
03:35go back immediately, there will be legal consequences. Is jail time on the table or are you being targeted?
03:45Fake. Big time. The IRS and other government agencies do not call you out of the blue threatening
03:52lawsuits. They don't text you, they don't demand payment over the phone, and they definitely don't
03:57sound like a robot on 2% battery life. Thanks for playing.
04:05Before we move on to our scam spotting survival tips, we've partnered with Jen for this
04:10Data Breach 101 series. Let's hear what their experts have to say about the state of scams today.
04:16Every day a new type of scam is popping up and likely you are actually hearing some stories from
04:22your people around you. First of all, whenever you receive anything online, you have to actually
04:28really stop for a second and think. This is like I think the most important one. And then you have to
04:33verify who you're talking to. I think the most interesting one are actually the deepfake scams.
04:39With AI, a lot of data is out there. People tend to share much more and when they share much more,
04:45basically the attackers will be compromising that and creating very personalized deepfake scams.
04:51And it's becoming much more difficult to spot them and it's so much more successful. We are hearing a
04:57lot of like cases already where you're getting like a call, like in the past you would get this
05:02hi mom scam messages, which is like, okay mom something happened my phone broke and you know like
05:08I need you to send me a message right now or bring me money or whatever. But right now we have like more
05:12sophisticated version of it which your son or your daughter is calling you on the phone with their
05:17voice completely like very realistic and it's becoming much more difficult for you to spot whether
05:24this is scam or not. To be able to actually fight against scams, detection is not enough. So actually in
05:30scam anti-scam community there are three very important pillars. One of them is actually a pillar that
05:37is focusing on pre-scam so education and awareness plays a very important role here. And the second
05:44pillar of course is detection and we talked about it but the third pillar is actually support. Still
05:48might want to have a support to figure out how to actually act when the scam happens or if the scam was
05:55a little bit more emotionally damaging you might want to actually get support emotionally to recover from it.
06:01We are actually trying to identify the vulnerable populations, people whose data is breached so we
06:07can actually inform them that the scam can happen and at the same time try to actually delete their
06:13data as much as possible so the scam doesn't happen to them. People will need to be really vigilant,
06:20try to like always think like a couple times before they make any online decisions and well be well aware of
06:27scams and try to protect themselves as much as possible. Layla, thank you for those awesome tips.
06:33Okay, how do you actually spot a scam when it lands in your inbox or your texts? You just need to remember
06:40one word, slams. S, sender. Check who's really sending that message. Scam emails often come from weird
06:48addresses like this one or random Gmail accounts pretending to be a company. L, links. Hover before you
06:55click. If the link looks off like not an official website, it's spelled weird or filled with random
07:01numbers, do not touch it. A, attachments. Be super suspicious of unexpected attachments. Even if they
07:08look harmless like PDFs, they could be hiding malware. M, message. Read the message carefully.
07:15Typos, bad grammar, super dramatic urgency like act now or lose everything. Scammers love that energy.
07:23S, suspicious elements. This is your catch-all. Anything that just feels off like wrong logos,
07:31generic greetings like dear customer, fake urgency, weird payment requests. Trust your gut. If something
07:38slams you in the face, slow down. It just might be a scam trying to slip past you. Even if you spot
07:44all of the red flags, know what to look out for, and keep your safety tools in mind, mistakes will still
07:51happen. Scammers are getting smarter every single day. So if you ever think you might have fallen for
07:56one, don't panic. In Episode 2 of Data Breach 101, we'll go over your game plan of what to do if you
08:03got scammed. If you found this video helpful, subscribe, and let's help each other out in the comments.
08:09Tell us about the scams you've been seeing online lately. That does it for me. But just remember,
08:14stay smart, stay skeptical, and stay tuned.
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