Hacker News with Generative AI: Scams

Myanmar scam centres: Thousands who have been freed are now stuck in camps (bbc.com)
"I swear to God I need help," said the man quietly on the other end of the line.

Myanmar, Scams, Human Rights, Crime, Social Issues

7 points by speckx 8 hours ago | 0 comments

1M Third-Party Android Devices Have a Secret Backdoor for Scammers (wired.com)
New research shows at least a million inexpensive Android devices—from TV streaming boxes to car infotainment systems—are compromised to allow bad actors to commit ad fraud and other cybercrime.

Cybersecurity, Android, Scams

6 points by Brajeshwar 1 day ago | 1 comments

Github scam investigation: Thousands of “mods” and “cracks” stealing data (timsh.org)
While looking through the articles on a "social engineering" themed forum I discovered a relatively new scam scheme that shocked me.People create thousands of GitHub repositories with all sorts of things - from Roblox and Fortnite mods to "cracked" FL Studio and Photoshop.

Security, Scams, GitHub, Software, Data Security

385 points by timsh 7 days ago | 159 comments

The False Promise of Digital Public Squares Was Always a Scam (joanwestenberg.com)
The Ancient Greek agora was a place where students and citizens could freely gather, give speeches, engage in debate, and challenge each other.

Social Media, Scams, Philosophy, Ancient Greece

16 points by cratermoon 11 days ago | 11 comments

Android 16 will fight scammers by blocking certain features during phone calls (androidauthority.com)
To combat these scammers, Google is working on a new security feature for Android 16 that blocks you from changing certain sensitive settings during phone calls.

Android, Security, Scams

6 points by healsdata 20 days ago | 1 comments

Italian entrepreneurs got scammed by AI voice faking defense minister (lastampa.it)

Artificial Intelligence, Italy, Business, Scams

7 points by lormayna 26 days ago | 3 comments

Shwe Kokko is accused of being a city built on scams (bbc.co.uk)
The tall, shiny buildings which rise out of the cornfields on the Myanmar side of the Moei river are a sight so jarring you find yourself blinking to be sure you haven't imagined it.

Myanmar, Scams, Urban Development, International Relations

217 points by inm 28 days ago | 94 comments

Ask HN: Is Godaddy Running a Scam? (ycombinator.com)
Recently, I was trying to a buy a domain for which we had bid in Godaddy. We bid the suggested price in Godaddy. Our bid was rejected buy the owner.

Domain Names, Web Hosting, Scams

80 points by bitlad 28 days ago | 57 comments

Robocallers posing as FCC staff blocked after robocalling real FCC staff (arstechnica.com)
Robocallers posing as employees of the Federal Communications Commission made the mistake of trying to scam real employees of the FCC, the FCC announced yesterday.

Scams, Telecommunications, Government, Technology

14 points by nobody9999 29 days ago | 2 comments

FCC Proposes Nearly $4.5M Fine for Apparently Illegal Robocall Scheme (docs.fcc.gov)

Telecommunications, Law Enforcement, Scams

18 points by impish9208 30 days ago | 3 comments

The 'AI granny' driving scammers up the wall (theguardian.com)
An elderly grandmother who chats about knitting patterns, recipes for scones and the blackness of the night sky to anyone who will listen has become an unlikely tool in combatting scammers.

Artificial Intelligence, Scams, Seniors, Cybersecurity, News

7 points by occamschainsaw 30 days ago | 2 comments

Fake CBC ads have flooded X with sketchy headlines. We looked for the source (cbc.ca)
Ads featuring fake CBC articles have inundated the social media platform X in recent weeks. The ads are designed to lure Canadians into a sophisticated scam that uses Russian internet infrastructure, CBC News has found.

Social Media, Misinformation, Scams, Canada

19 points by jaredwiener 38 days ago | 3 comments

Ask HN: How to protect yourself from coding challenge scam? (ycombinator.com)
These past months, I've seen several social media posts about people getting scammed during coding challenges or take-home tests.

Coding Challenges, Scams, Security, Hiring, Technology

11 points by azophy_2 40 days ago | 4 comments

Trump-crossposting X account advertises fake memecoins that make $1.25M (web3isgoinggreat.com)

Cryptocurrency, Social Media, Scams, Politics

8 points by LorenDB 42 days ago | 0 comments

FTC Sends $5M in Refunds to Consumers Harmed by Bogus Credit Repair Scheme (ftc.gov)

Consumer Protection, Law, Scams, FTC

3 points by impish9208 44 days ago | 0 comments

AI Brad Pitt dupes French woman out of €830k (bbc.co.uk)
A French woman who was conned out of €830,000 (£700,000; $850,000) by scammers posing as actor Brad Pitt has faced a huge wave of mockery, leading French broadcaster TF1 to withdraw a programme about her.

Artificial Intelligence, Scams, Celebrity, France

70 points by monkeydust 50 days ago | 127 comments

Apple's new AI feature rewords scam messages to make them look more legit (crikey.com.au)
Apple’s new artificial intelligence features are rephrasing scam messages and emails to iPhone and Mac users to make them look more legitimate and then flagging them as a priority, raising concerns that it will lead to more people falling for them.

Artificial Intelligence, Security, Apple, Mobile Devices, Scams

93 points by jrflowers 57 days ago | 55 comments

The latest fake literary agencies (writerbeware.blog)
Fake agencies mentioned in this post:

Writing, Scams, Publishing, Literary Agents

106 points by Tomte 59 days ago | 41 comments

The Psychology of Phishing: Why Smart People Fall for Scams (techsplicer.com)
Do you know that feeling of dread when you realize you’ve clicked on a suspicious link? I know it perfectly.

Psychology, Security, Phishing, Scams

6 points by splicercy 61 days ago | 3 comments

Over 3.1M fake "stars" on GitHub projects used to boost rankings (bleepingcomputer.com)
GitHub has a problem with inauthentic "stars" used to artificially inflate the popularity of scam and malware distribution repositories, helping them reach more unsuspecting users.

GitHub, Security, Malware, Scams, Social Engineering

4 points by elsewhen 65 days ago | 0 comments

Over 3.1M fake "stars" on GitHub projects used to boost rankings (bleepingcomputer.com)
GitHub has a problem with inauthentic "stars" used to artificially inflate the popularity of scam and malware distribution repositories, helping them reach more unsuspecting users.

GitHub, Security, Software Development, Malware, Scams

7 points by gpi 65 days ago | 1 comments

How Mayor Guo Turned Her Town Into a Hub for ‘Pig Butchering’ Scammers (msn.com)

Crime, China, Scams

13 points by mzs 72 days ago | 2 comments

Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam [video] (youtube.com)

Social Media, Influencers, Marketing, Scams, Video

253 points by jadyoyster 75 days ago | 86 comments

Tracking Down the Bulgarian Marketplace Scams (sy1.sh)
This is rather an unusual article that I would be publishing. I usually don’t do threat hunting or any amount of hunting outside work, but this one got personal.

Scams, Cybersecurity, Bulgaria, Online Marketplaces

136 points by syl5x 77 days ago | 43 comments

Interpol wants everyone to stop saying 'pig butchering' (theregister.com)
Interpol wants to put an end to the online scam known as "pig butchering" – through linguistic policing, rather than law enforcement.

Cybercrime, Scams, Language, Law Enforcement, International Cooperation

51 points by LinuxBender 78 days ago | 70 comments

How to lose a fortune with one bad click (krebsonsecurity.com)
Adam Griffin is still in disbelief over how quickly he was robbed of nearly $500,000 in cryptocurrencies. A scammer called using a real Google phone number to warn his Gmail account was being hacked, sent email security alerts directly from google.com, and ultimately seized control over the account by convincing him to click “yes” to a Google prompt on his mobile device.

Cybersecurity, Scams, Cryptocurrencies

361 points by todsacerdoti 79 days ago | 368 comments

Interpol wants everyone to stop saying 'pig butchering' (theregister.com)
Interpol wants to put an end to the online scam known as "pig butchering" – through linguistic policing, rather than law enforcement.

Scams, Cybersecurity, Linguistics, Law Enforcement

9 points by defrost 79 days ago | 3 comments

Scammers using AI-generated videos of doctors to peddle harmful health advice (abc.net.au)
Health professionals are being impersonated in deepfake videos promoting dietary supplements for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Health, Artificial Intelligence, Scams, Deepfakes

10 points by Brajeshwar 86 days ago | 0 comments

The FBI now recommends choosing a secret password to thwart AI voice clones (arstechnica.com)
On Tuesday, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation advised Americans to share a secret word or phrase with their family members to protect against AI-powered voice-cloning scams, as criminals increasingly use voice synthesis to impersonate loved ones in crisis.