Meet the AI Fraud Fighters: A Deepfake Granny, Digital Bots and a YouTube Star

True enough. Artificial intelligence is the tool of choice for cybercriminals, who increasingly use it to do their dirty work, building a fleet of bots that don't need to eat or sleep. Large-scale telemarketing calls are being replaced by more targeted AI-driven attacks, as scammers access tools, from deepfakes to voice clones, that look and sound frighteningly realistic. Big shopping events like Amazon Prime Day offer scammers bountiful targets among bargain-hungry consumers.   Read this article to see how the good guys are fighting back.

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How to handle unexpected calls about unclaimed funds

Did you get a call or text saying you’re eligible for thousands of dollars in unclaimed property? Don’t get excited yet. It might be a scammer looking to steal your money or personal information. Here’s how to avoid that scam — and find out if a government agency has money, stocks, or another asset that belongs to you.

When a scammer calls or texts you about unclaimed funds, they might use a real-sounding (but fake) government agency name. To get your attention, they might mention a specific amount you’re (supposedly) entitled to. But this is a phishing scam.

If the caller says time is running out, or the text says they’ve extended the claim period just for you, that’s a scam. If the caller asks for personal information, or an upfront “processing” fee to release the funds, that’s a scam.

The government won’t call or text and ask you to pay them to search for unclaimed funds. And they won’t pressure you to respond right away. Scammers play on your fear of missing out, hoping you’ll respond now and ask questions later.

So, no matter what a call or text says about unclaimed funds:

Don’t click links in unexpected texts. State unclaimed property programs won’t text you with alerts about unclaimed property — but a scammer will.

Check out your state’s .gov website first. Every state has a process to search for unclaimed funds— for free. Go to unclaimed.org/search to find your state’s unclaimed property office.

Report the scam. If you spot a phishing scam like this one, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Then, talk about it with a friend to help them spot the scam too.

My 5-step security checklist for every new Windows 11 PC

This article is just a 'bit' technical but well worth the read.  If you have any questions, please stop by one of the walk-in help sessions and we can assist with the essence of the content.

Windows 11 offers a variety of security settings designed to better safeguard your PC and personal files. But those settings tend to be scattered across different places. That means you need to know where to find them as well as how to activate and adjust them. The goal here is to ensure that your system is as secure as possible. Here are the five things I do when setting upa new Windows PC.

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Is Your Wi-Fi Router Safe From the FCC Ban? Nearly Every Major Brand Is Impacted

 In a bombshell announcement, the Federal Communications Commission will be banning all foreign-made Wi-Fi routers, saying they pose "unacceptable risks" to national security.

The ban doesn't apply to any existing routers that the FCC has already authorized, but will impact any new models “produced in foreign countries.” Router manufacturers can apply for an exemption, but so far, none have been granted "Conditional Approval" on the FCC’s website. 

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Spring clean your digital footprint: Why retirees are scam targets

 Every spring, many of us follow the same routine. We replace the batteries in our smoke detectors, clean out the garage and organize paperwork while reviewing finances. These habits exist for a reason. Regular maintenance helps prevent small risks from turning into bigger problems.

However, there is one area most people rarely check: their digital exposure. Just like a home, your online presence collects clutter over time. If you do not clean it up regularly, it becomes much easier for strangers to find and use your personal information.

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Windows 10 SECURE BOOT certificates will expire in June 2026 - Here's what Microsoft has published, see if it applies to you, see if you're affected, and how to resolve any issues.

 

Windows devices for home users, businesses, and schools with Microsoft-managed updates

Applies To

Original publish date: June 26, 2025

KB ID: 5062711

What’s happening?

To help keep your Windows device secure, Microsoft is updating the certificates used by Secure Boot—a security feature that helps protect your devices from malware during startup. These certificates, originally issued in 2011, are set to expire starting in June 2026. To stay protected, your operating system (OS) needs to receive a new set of certificates before then. 

Why does this matter? 

Secure Boot helps ensure that your device only runs trusted software when it starts up. If the Secure Boot certificates expire, your device will no longer receive future security fixes related to Windows boot manager updates or Secure Boot, which compromises the security of the device.

That is why Microsoft is rolling out new certificates now, well ahead of the June 2026 expiration date. 

Is this applicable for my Windows device? 

If you use a Windows 10 or Windows 11 device that runs Home, Pro or Education edition, and you get updates automatically from Microsoft (like most people do), then yes—this is applicable for your device. 

The good news is that the new 2023 certificates will be delivered to your device through regular Windows Update channels. For most users on supported Windows systems, no action is needed.

When is this happening? 

The new certificate updates will continue gradually through June 2026. Microsoft is starting with Home and Pro edition systems first to ensure a smooth and safe transition. 

Where can I learn more about Secure Boot and the certificate update? 

See the article Secure boot to learn more about its technical details. To stay up to date on the certificate update rollout, check the release notes for Windows updates available on the Windows 11, version 24H2 update history and Windows 10 update history pages. 

What do I need to do? 

On supported Windows systems, in many cases, no action is needed. Just make sure that: 

• Your device is running a supported version of Windows 10 or Windows 11

  • Find Information About Your Windows Device

  • Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. To continue to receive Security Updates, including for Secure Boot, you can sign up for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) Program, see Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) Program.

  • To check to see if your device is running a supported version of Windows 11, see here.

• Windows updates are not paused.

• Secure Boot is enabled (it usually is by default on newer systems).

To check if Secure Boot is turned on: 

1. Press Windows + R, type msinfo32, and then press Enter.

2. In the System Information window, look for Secure Boot State.

3. If it says On, you’re good to go!

If Secure Boot is currently disabled, please consult your device manufacturer for information about when your device firmware will be updated to include the latest Secure Boot configuration from Microsoft. We recommend checking this before making any changes to your Secure Boot settings. For more information, please see Windows 11 and Secure Boot. 

Troubleshooting

Unfortunately, in a few cases, your device might not start, or you might experience a BitLocker recovery situation when receiving the new certificates. We can help you recover from these situations.

• If your device will not start after receiving the new certificates, you might need to disable Secure Boot. To do this, see the Disabling Secure Boot section.

• If you encounter a BitLocker recovery situation after receiving the new certificates, see the BitLocker recovery section.

Disabling Secure Boot

Secure Boot helps to make sure that your device starts (boots) using only firmware that is trusted by the manufacturer. You can usually disable Secure Boot through the device firmware (BIOS) menus, but the way you disable it varies by device manufacturer.

Note If you have trouble disabling Secure Boot, we recommend that you contact your device manufacturer for help.

The following are general steps to disable Secure Boot:

1. Open the System BIOS menu by doing one of the following:

   • You can often access this menu by pressing a key while your device is starting, such as F1, F2, F12, or Esc.

   • From Windows, hold the Shift key while selecting Restart. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > UEFI Firmware Settings.

2. Find the Secure Boot setting in the BIOS menu. If possible, set it to Disabled. This option is usually in either the Security tab, the Boot tab, or the Authentication tab.

3. Save changes and then exit. The device should restart.

For more information, see Disable Secure Boot.

BitLocker recovery

To recovery from this situation, enter the BitLocker Recovery Key. On the BitLocker recovery screen, type the 48-digit recovery key (hyphens are optional). If correct, your device will start into Windows.

For more information, see the following resources:

BitLocker overview

BitLocker recovery overview

BitLocker recovery process

Find your BitLocker recovery key

Get recovery key for Windows

How to fix BitLocker recovery key if device is not linked to MS account

How scammers are using the Iran conflict to try to steal your money and information.

 With global attention focused on the conflict in Iran, it’s no surprise scammers have already added that situation to their story lines. Some recent reports to the FTC about imposter, romance, and fake charity scams include an Iran twist. The details change, but the scammer’s goal is always to trick you into paying or sharing your personal information. Here are some examples of these scams — and how to protect yourself.

• Scammers contact you unexpectedly about a fraudulent charge. The call or text appears to come from your bank or a company you know. They say they’ve detected charges from Iran on your account (a lie). They transfer you to someone who says they work for a government agency like the FTC (that’s another scammer) who convinces you to share your bank account information. But the truth is government agencies will never ask you to share financial information. Learn more at ftc.gov/imposters.
• Scammers pretending to be a friend or love interest in the military ask for money. Perhaps you’ve been chatting for a while with someone you met online. Now they tell you they’re deployed to Iran. Suddenly you get an urgent request to send them money — maybe because they can’t access their bank account or they have a medical emergency. But that’s when you know you’re likely dealing with a romance scam.
• Scammers create fake charities that sound and look official. They might claim to help people displaced or affected by the conflict in Iran and pressure you to donate in cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers. Before you donate, go to ftc.gov/charity to learn how to research, what questions to ask, and how to spot a charity scam.

Apple Warns Older iPhones Vulnerable to Coruna, DarkSword Exploit Kit Attacks.

Apple is urging users who are still running an outdated version of iOS to update their iPhones to secure against web-based attacks carried out via powerful exploit kits like Coruna and DarkSword.

These attacks employ malicious web content to target out-of-date versions of iOS, triggering an infection chain that leads to the theft of sensitive data.

"For example, if you're using an older version of iOS and were to click a malicious link or visit a compromised website, the data on your iPhone might be at risk of being stolen," Apple said in a support document.

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You're being tracked online - 9 easy ways to stop the surveillance.

 

• There's a trade-off between convenience and privacy, but you can reduce online tracking. 
• VPNs, browser choice, and anti-tracking software can all reduce the risk of monitoring. 
• There are also solutions for removing your data that's already available online.

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Watch out for tax-season robocalls pushing fake “relief programs”

 While Americans are sorting through paperwork to get their taxes filed in time, scammers are working overtime to grab a piece of the action.

As tax season ramps up, so does scam activity. Our telemetry shows a spike in robocalls impersonating tax resolution firms, tax relief agencies, and vaguely named “assistance centers.” These calls are designed to create urgency, fear, and confusion in the hope of pushing recipients to call back before they have time to think critically.

These robocalls typically try to collect personal information, pressure victims into paying fake tax debts, or funnel them into questionable tax-relief services.

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The Hidden Tax Burden of Cybercrime: Why Victims Are Paying Twice

 When someone’s money is stolen during a scam, the harm doesn’t stop at the theft itself. The tax system can unintentionally compound a victim’s financial loss. For many victims of cybercrime, including identity theft and scams, tax laws still treat stolen funds or coerced withdrawals as income, leading to unexpected tax bills, reduced benefits, and intense stress in an already overwhelming situation. This unfair consequence affects tens of thousands of people nationwide and often hits those on fixed incomes the hardest.

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Is that security alert a scam? How to tell the real from fake.

 Your smartphone vibrates and an email pops up: “Unusual login activity detected on your account.” For many users, this is a moment of panic. Are you experiencing a real hacker attack? Has your email account been hacked? Or is the message itself the actual attack?

Security warnings from Google, Microsoft, Amazon or your bank are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they are an important early warning system for nipping identity theft in the bud. On the other hand, cybercriminals like to exploit this moment of shock to lure you to manipulated login pages with fake alerts.

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The ‘See who viewed your profile’ Facebook scam is back. Don’t click it!

 One of the things many Facebook users have long wanted is a feature that shows who has visited and viewed their profiles. Now, a Facebook post is promising exactly that—but it’s a scam.

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FBI says even in an AI-powered world, security basics still matter

 Artificial intelligence may be enhancing cyber threats, but the defensive approach to those AI-amplified attacks remains the same, a top FBI official said Tuesday.  “We have seen actors both criminal and nation-state, they’re absolutely using AI to their advantage,” said Jason Bilnoski, deputy assistant director at the FBI’s cyber division. “But the way attacks unfold have not changed. Cyberattacks still follow basic steps. It just becomes an incredible speed now.”

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MSN VIDEO - Ex-CIA officer reveals five signs your phone's been hacked.

 A quick video from MSN and a former CIA official on the leading indicators that a cell phone might be 'hacked' and what can be done about it.

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MSN VIDEO - Scammer Tactics for Fraud and Identity Theft

Current fraud tactics criminals are using to steal money and identity.  Compelling video.

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While MFA is good, SIM swapping is its Achilles heel.....(SIM swapping explained)

For years, organizations have treated mobile phone numbers as trusted identity anchors. They are used to reset passwords, deliver one-time passcodes, and verify user identity. That trust is now fundamentally misplaced. SIM swap attacks have exposed a structural weakness in how identity is verified, recovered, and monitored across consumer and enterprise systems.

In a SIM swap attack, criminals persuade a mobile carrier representative — often through social engineering or insider collusion — to transfer a victim’s phone number to a SIM card under the attacker’s control. Once reassigned, the attacker effectively takes over the victim’s mobile identity. They can intercept SMS-based one-time passcodes (OTP) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) prompts, initiate password resets, and bypass recovery safeguards. With control of the number, they can access email, banking platforms, cryptocurrency wallets, cloud services, and social media.

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That random call saying “you’ve won a prize” is a scam...

 If you get a call saying “you’ve won a prize,” you might be thinking, why not claim it? Unfortunately, it’s likely a scam to steal your money — especially if it’s for a contest you didn’t enter. So how can you spot and avoid a prize scam?

Here’s how these scams often go. You get a call out of the blue saying you’ve won something — maybe a new car, a laptop, or money. The caller might even claim they’re with a well-known sweepstakes company like Publishers Clearing House, hoping to seem legitimate. (They’re not.) Before you can claim your prize, they say you need to pay “taxes,” “shipping and handling charges,” or “processing fees.” (You don’t.) Bottom line: if they say there’s a charge to get your prize, it’s a scam. If you pay, you’ll end up losing money instead of winning anything.

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The Scam May Be AI, But The Loss Is Real

Scammers take every opportunity to trick you into believing their lies are legitimate offers, wins, and even emergency requests from friends and family. Now, with the prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI), scammers are using this new method to personalize their tricks and cons to make them appear even more real, legitimate, and believable — from AI-generated photos and voice clones that mimic a real person to wording that builds a relationship with a victim over weeks. But a fake is still a fake. As in any other scam, these fakes are created to separate you from your hard-earned money or property.

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The number that unlocks your entire life (and it’s not your SSN)

Your phone number is tied to your bank, your email, your health portal and every two-factor code you receive. Criminals can steal it with one phone call. Here’s how to lock it down.

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Beware of Email SCAMS based on the US / Iran crisis

Whenever global tensions escalate, scammers are close by, adapting their pitches.

As headlines about the Israel/US-Iran conflict spread across news platforms, inboxes quietly began filling with something else: offers of multi-million-dollar donations, secret political funds, stranded military fortunes, and urgent investment opportunities tied to the war.

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Fake LastPass support email threads try to steal vault passwords

Password management software provider LastPass is warning users of a phishing campaign targeting its users with fake unauthorized account access alerts.

The emails impersonate a LastPass representative by spoofing the display name and use subject lines crafted to mimic forwarded internal conversations between attackers and the company’s customer support team about a request to change the account’s primary email address.

The email chains are forwarded to the target in an attempt to prompt them to respond to the suspicious activity with urgency and click on links named “report suspicious activity,” “disconnect and lock vault,” and “revoke device.

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How to report Medicare Fraud and Abuse

 

Medicare fraud and abuse can happen anywhere. It’s important that you protect your Medicare card, number, and other personal information, and check your Medicare claims regularly.

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Some travel tips on how to protect your cell phone when going through an airport & WHY it's a good idea to have a shredder

 From the MSN-TRAVEL PAGE -  "THE ANXIOUS ADULT" - An advice column updated frequently with some common sense tips and articles about how to stay save in today's Internet Connected Society.

1.  Some tips about how to protect your cell phone when traveling through airports.

2.  Important documents that you have that should be SHREDDED and never just 'thrown away'.

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These 3 email headers prove a message is fake — here's how to check.

 Fraud is prevalent in our society, and if you're not careful, you may approve a wire transfer just because the email looks legitimate. Bad actors have perfected the art of making the logos crisp, matching the sender name with your vendors', and giving just the right amount of urgency to a subject line. In the end, they may fool even the smartest among us.

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FBI shuts down 3 India-based call centers posing as Social Security, tied to $50M stolen from Americans. Here’s how they worked

 A collaborative effort by the FBI, local police and Indian authorities has shut down a huge scam call center operation in India that saw Americans lose nearly $50 million.

The FBI Baltimore Field Office, Montgomery County Police Department and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office announced that a coordinated investigation traced scams reported by Montgomery County, Maryland, residents to “extensive international scam call center operations in India that had been targeting Americans since 2022,” according to a news release (1).

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MSN Video - How to spot potential Fraud schemes

 

Current fraud schemes targeting everyday people and how to recognize them before losing money

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Thursday March 5th - National SLAM THE SCAM DAY!

 

On March 5, 2026, during National Consumer Protection Week, the Social Security Administration (SSA) and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will lead National Slam the Scam Day. Take part by using tools from SSA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to recognize imposters — including Social Security-related scams — and stop scammers from stealing your money and personal information. Help Us Slam the Scam! Learn about common tactics and how to recognize the signs. For example: An unexpected problem or offer of a prize or government benefit increase. Pressure to act immediately. Request for unusual payments like cryptocurrency, gift cards, gold bars, cash, or wire transfers, even with the promise of keeping your money safe. Spread the word. Visit ssa.gov/scam for more information that could help you and others stay safe. Report suspicious activity. Report Social Security-related issues to SSA OIG (oig.ssa.gov/report) and other concerns to the FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov). Report a Social Security Scam

Why scammers call you and say nothing - and how to respond safely.

Have you ever answered a call from an unknown number only to be greeted with silence? Sometimes, no one responds at all. Other times, there's a short delay before someone finally greets you. You may think the person on the other end is just confused or distracted, or possibly got the wrong number. But that's not the case, at least not with a scam call.

There's a reason scam callers don't respond when you answer.

The goal is simply to confirm that your number is active and spammable.

To deal with a call, hang up and use spam filtering to block them.

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Is Microsoft really spying on you with Windows telemetry?

Some Windows customers are convinced that Microsoft's diagnostic data collection for Windows is a secret spy network. I've been investigating this topic for a decade. Here's what you need to know.

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