Summary
The conversation covers two main themes: online privacy protection for children and the use of deepfake technology in financial sextortion scams. The first theme discusses two bills, the Social Media Privacy Protection Act and the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act, which aim to enhance privacy and transparency on social media platforms. The second theme explores the tactics used by the Yahoo Boys, a group known for orchestrating financial sextortion scams, including the use of real-time face tracking and deepfake technology. The conversation emphasizes the need for greater accountability in the tech industry and proactive measures to protect against online scams.
Topics: Do Social Media Companies Protect Children, how romance scams work on social media, latest news on protecting children online, latest news on online privacy protection, who are the yahoo boys, online privacy protection, how do social media companies protect children, latest deepfake news, romance scams, dating scams, latest crypto news, crypto scams, data collection, deepfake technology, financial sextortion scams, Yahoo Boys, online child safety, and cybersecurity.
Takeaways
- The Social Media Privacy Protection Act and the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act aim to enhance privacy and transparency on social media platforms, particularly for children and teens.
- The use of deepfake technology in financial sextortion scams poses a significant threat, as it makes it difficult for victims to discern scams and can lead to emotional and financial distress.
- Business leaders and parents need to stay informed about evolving threats and take proactive steps to safeguard their communities, including investing in cybersecurity measures and educating employees and children about online scams.
- The legislation and efforts by tech companies to combat online scams signal a shift toward greater accountability in the tech industry and a safer online environment for the next generation.
Chapters
- 00:00 Enhancing Online Privacy Protection for Children and Teens
- 04:26 The Threat of Deepfake Technology in Financial Sextortion Scams
- 16:44 The Need for Greater Accountability in the Tech Industry
- 20:02 Proactive Measures to Safeguard Against Online Scams
Cyber Crime Junkies (00:06.21)
What's the role, accountability and duty owed by social media companies for the safety of their users? Are your children safe online? Have you wondered what steps are being taken to protect their privacy and mental health on social media? In today's cyber flashpoint,
In today's cyber flash point, we're discussing a pivotal moment in the fight to safeguard our children's online experiences and bringing you examples of the reasons why new laws are being passed and addressing some of the newest cyber crime threats from predator groups like the Yahoo Boys aiming for U .S. children online.
The US Senate has just passed two groundbreaking bills aimed at ensuring the safety and privacy of children and teens on social media platforms. We're going to explore the explosion of growth and the attacks brought about by the cybercrime gangs like the Yahoo Boys and the challenges large platforms like Metta have faced in trying to get their handle around this. This is today's CYBER FLASH POINT
Cyber Crime Junkies (01:28.674)
Welcome everybody. I'm your host, David Mauro And in today's CYBER FLASH POINT we're going to be discussing the role of social media companies and any duties that they may or may not have in protecting children and children's mental health online. There's a couple different bills that have recently been passed in the last couple of days that we want to bring to your attention. The first bill is the Kids Online Safety
also known as KOSA K -O -S -A. It now introduces a legal duty of care mandate for social media companies. The industry is going to change drastically in the execution and implementation of this if it all comes to be as planned. The legislation requires these platforms now to prioritize the safety of minors.
focusing on secure design, which is right in line with CISA's Secure by Design platform and initiatives and new stringent regulations against social media companies. This includes default settings that protect minors information and the disabling of additive features that contribute to issues such as suicide and disordered eating.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, co -sponsor of the bill, made a powerful comparison stating, quote, "Big tech, we no longer trust you to make decisions for us. Car manufacturers are required to install seatbelts and airbags. The same has to be true of social media companies," end quote.
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The second bill is called the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA, C -O -P -P -A 2 .0. And that aims to ban targeted advertising to minors and unauthorized data collection. That's really, really important, right? This act allows parents and children to demand the DELETION of their information from social media platforms, providing an ERASER
for digital content. Think about the implications of that. It also seeks to enhance the transparency of social media algorithms to better understand their impact on young users. Chris Perry, who's the executive director of the digital media research nonprofit called Children and Screens, emphasized the significance of these measures. Quote, "it's
to make these products safer and expand our understanding of children's digital lives." Unquote. While tech giants like Microsoft and Snap have expressed support for these bills, others like Meta have raised concerns. Meta suggested that app stores should require parental consent for downloads by users under 16. Congress,
was debating back and forth, the general consensus, it seems, is that they don't know how they would enforce that. The administration has thrown its weight behind these new bills, urging Congress to act swiftly and send them to the president for approval. So why does this matter? Well, think of it as a business leader. This legislation signals a major seismic shift toward greater accountability in the tech industry.
Companies are going to need to invest in safer, more transparent practices, potentially reshaping the landscape of digital marketing and data management. For parents, these bills offer a promise of enhanced protection and control over children's online presence. Addressing these concerns, this has been going on for a long time, right? And these bills now address these long standing concerns about privacy.
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and mental health impacts. So as we await the final steps in this kind of legislative journey, remember, like from Saturday morning TV, if you're old enough, back in the day, I'm just a bill, only a bill, right? I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill, and now it has to go through. Well, that's where we're at. But it's getting to the point where it's going right to the president for signature now. So we're going to keep you posted on this. But one thing is clear.
The social media role in our lives is changing and accountability is coming. So cue the lawyers because the lawyers are going to be impacting and driving the execution of this to keep these companies in check. And these bills mark a significant step toward a safer online environment for the next generation. Now to understand why this is being driven, there's a whole host of stories that are horror stories we've had.
several people on to talk about parenting in today's tech world. If you can check out those episodes, one with Titania Jordan, that's a really good one. She works with bark and but also look at our next story, which is going to start right now in the cyber flashpoint.
Cyber Crime Junkies (04:00.298)
So to find out why a good clear example of why these initiatives are being driven by Congress right now, in an alarming revelation, and after many parent groups, privacy advocates, family members, members of Congress and public awareness associations have raised alarms, changes have now been proposed by some large social media tech companies to combat
and hopefully reduce the impact of financial sextortion scams, financial sextortion scams that originate generally from Nigeria, primarily orchestrated by a group infamously by a group infamously known as the Yahoo Boys.
Financial sextortion scams originating generally from Nigeria, but also in some other countries. And they're mostly orchestrated by this famous group called the Yahoo Boys. And they've been causing significant distress globally, running a lot of these scams. We're going to get into exactly how they do it. These cyber criminals, they target vulnerable individuals, manipulating them through sophisticated schemes.
that blend romance and blackmail, and they leverage the latest in AI applications and deepfake. The Yahoo Boys employ a range of tactics to ensnare their victims. Initially, they establish trust and rapport through online dating platforms or through social media platforms. Once a relationship is formed, they coerce their victims
into sharing intimate photos or videos. This is where the extortion begins. Victims are threatened with the release of these private materials until a ransom is paid. This cruel manipulation not only devastates the victims emotionally, but also drains them financially. There have been story after story of people that have been driven to suicide and we've reported on it on this show. If you go back to prior episodes,
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love links in the show notes that sometimes they happen within 24 hours 48 hours of when this occurs. The relationship had been building and then the extortion comes in and it's harsh and people are afraid to bring up children are afraid to bring this up to their parents to bring this up to their friends and definitely to bring it to the attention of teachers. One thing that the groups
always suggest is as a parent today, let kids know that it's okay, absolutely to come to you to talk about it and that it will be a judgment free, punishment free zone. You have to do it that way they say, otherwise, you're never going to know until it's too late. So let's get back to the Yahoo boys. Yahoo boys are
continuously evolving their methods. A recent report highlights their use of real time face tracking technology to deceive their victims, making their scams even more convincing and harder to detect. These criminals exploit financial vulnerabilities by enticing individuals with promises of quick profits through fake investments or money transfer schemes. And one of the most alarming advancements in their tactics
is the use of deep fake technology. Deep fakes are a sophisticated form of artificial intelligence that create hyper realistic, but entirely fabricated videos. And they're used in real time. It's not a pre done video, right? It's something that is live in something that is very, very deceiving. And
Advancement in the way that they have increased in the last few months is absolutely shocking. The technology leverages machine learning algorithms to superimpose faces onto bodies or to alter speech and facial expressions, producing videos that are nearly indistinguishable from real ones. The implications of deepfakes are vast and concerning, particularly when used in scams.
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and also misinformation campaigns, which we're seeing a lot of because it is an election year. But here's what the Yahoo boys do. The Yahoo boys are notorious for their adaptability and innovation in cybercrime. Initially, these fraudsters relied on simple email scams where they would pose as wealthy individuals or officials needing assistance to transfer large sums of money. But over time,
As internet users became more aware of those old tactics, the Yahoo boys adapted by moving to social media platforms and online dating sites. Here they can craft more personalized and convincing stories to lure their victims. The introduction of real time face tracking technology marked a significant advancement in their scamming arsenal. The technology allows scammers to engage in live video chats with their victims.
live video chats. They use digital masks that map their facial movements onto a different face. This makes it incredibly difficult for victims to discern that they're even being deceived as the person on the other end appears to be genuine and it's a live video. In one documented case, a victim believed they were speaking with a potential romantic partner through video calls.
The scammer used real time face tracking to convincingly mimic a different individual. That led the victim then to share sensitive information and eventually tens of thousands of dollars. The psychological manipulation that they used is profound. They exploit the victim's emotions and they destroy trust. And the trust that gets destroyed here is twofold. It's not only
that they beat themselves up mentally and emotionally because they didn't see this. But it's also that they questioned everything after this, even stuff that is true. And it gets to the realm of those blurred lines between what is real and what is not. Deepfakes take this deception now to a whole new level. The AI generated videos can be used to impersonate
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from ordinary individuals to high profile figures, which we've seen, right? In the context of scams, deepfakes can create videos of supposed victims or authoritative figures, which add another layer of credibility to a lot of their fraudulent schemes. For instance, a scammer could use deepfake video of a victim pleading for help, asking for money to be transferred urgently to avoid some dire consequence.
Alternatively, deepfakes can be used to create videos of CEOs or financial advisors providing seemingly trustworthy investment advice, leading victims to part with their money. The creation of deepfakes involves several steps. First, there's a large data set of videos and images of the target individual that gets collected. That's easy to find online. And when you're going after one person, it's easy to find on social media.
The data set is then used to train, right, a neural network, right, to learn the person's specific idiosyncrasies, their facial features, their movements, their syntax, the way they pause, the way they speak, et cetera. Once it's trained, the network can generate new videos of the person, placing them in different contexts and making them say things they never actually said.
The realism of these videos is enhanced by advanced techniques that refine facial expressions, lip syncing, and lighting. The threat posed by deepfakes is not just limited to individual scams. They have potential to disrupt social and political stability by spreading misinformation. A deepfake video of a political leader making inflammatory statements has already shown to be disruptive.
past six months. We've seen it. Facebook now, Metta, right, has been at the forefront of trying to combat deepfakes. One of their strategies involves the use of AI and machine learning to detect and remove deepfake videos from their platforms. They've developed tools that analyze videos for signs of manipulation, such as inconsistencies in facial movements or unnatural lighting.
Cyber Crime Junkies (13:29.834)
In addition to technological solutions, Meta has launched a new, pretty extensive awareness campaign to educate users about the dangers of these online scams and how to protect themselves. The campaigns feature educational videos and resources that teach users to recognize common scamming techniques and the red flags of potential
Meta collaborates with organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Stop Scams UK group to provide additional support and resources for scam victims. A crucial aspect of Meta's efforts is the emphasis on preventative measures. For example, they introduced privacy settings that default younger users.
to more secure options, reducing their visibility to potential scammers in the first place, meaning the algorithm doesn't feed them over to the predators. They also block suspicious adults from messaging minors and continuously update algorithms to identify and thwart new scam tactics. mean, financial extortion and sextortion, it's a borderless crime. It's fueled by groups like the Yahoo Boys.
which are loosely organized, but very bold and very apparent online. They're all over TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. And while they're trying their best to remove a lot of these, at least meta seems to be, the new laws that they have in place will require a new legal duty, which will initiate a lot more effort.
What's interesting is that Meta for their part points out that, especially in particular targeting the Yahoo boys, that they've removed around 63 ,000 different Instagram accounts in Nigeria, attempting to target people with financial sextortion scams, including a coordinated network of around 2 ,500 accounts, all that were kind of connected.
Cyber Crime Junkies (15:46.856)
up through the Yahoo Boys. They've also removed a set of Facebook accounts, Facebook pages and Facebook groups that were all run by the Yahoo Boys. So these guys have been running these online pages that have been accessible to everybody for years. Meta now is taking initial steps, attempting to kind of organize and stop
the Yahoo Boys from recruiting and to train new scammers because online they had how to videos of how to create the deep fake, how to create a sextortion claim, how to do romance scams and wealthier individuals, how they do pig puttering attacks and things like that. So when we think about what the implications are for us, what are they? Well, it's kind of profound for business.
leaders and parents alike. For business leaders, especially those in the sectors like health care, where data privacy is paramount, the risk of data breaches and financial fraud is obviously a significant concern. A successful scam though involving deepfake technology can lead to exposure of sensitive information, financial loss, severe reputational harm and lots of compliance headaches. What we're seeing with deepfakes now is
being used as a exponential boost in social engineering attempts, meaning, for example, a phishing email is sent or a specific targeted email is sent like a business email compromise, right? Saying like you're one of the leaders in an organization and copying some coworkers, etc. And people are getting
pretty smart and pretty sophisticated now to recognize that not all the time, but a lot of times they are. But now it's followed up with a teams meeting invite or a zoom calendar invite, where then the leader gets on a live video conference where you can ask questions, find out all of
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red flags you thought happened and get your answers. And there might be two or three people in leadership on that. And we've seen in a couple of different examples, which we've talked about in this show that those are deep faked that the only real person that's showing their real face and voice is the target that everybody else sits in another country, but they are impersonating leadership of your own organization.
For parents now, the digital safety of the children remains a pressing issue. Children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable to online scams due to their lack of experience and the trusting nature of being a child and certain online interactions. Parents need to have open conversations with their children, like we mentioned, about the risks of sharing personal information online and the importance of verifying the identities of the people.
they interact with. Using parental control tools and monitoring online activities can help parents keep their children safe. Encouraging children to report any and all suspicious interactions and educating them about the signs of scams like this can empower them to navigate the online world a little bit more safely. The evolution of scamming techniques
by groups like the Yahoo Boys, particularly the use of real time face tracking and deep fake technology. It represents a significant new threat in these modern times. mean, think about it. They're sophisticated. These methods make it increasingly difficult for victims to discern scams, leading to emotional distress as well as financial distress.
proactive measures taken by Metta and Congress now, as well as the other supporting organizations involved to combat these threats, it's crucial. And the aim is to protect users and maintain trust on the digital platforms, because it undercuts the validity of them as
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Business leaders and parents alike have to stay informed about these evolving threats and take proactive steps to safeguard their communities by investing in cybersecurity layers, different layers of different services. That is absolutely key. And the forefront being ongoing job embedded education, educating employees, educating children, educating elderly relatives.
leveraging available tools and resources, we can all create a safer digital environment and reduce the impact of malicious activities and stop groups like the Yahoo Boys. more information and resources on protecting yourself from online scams, check out our site, cybercrimetruckies .com. We have a whole host in the take home resources. You can download, there's a whole host of information.
on organizations that you can reach out to find information for sex, torsion, fears, any of the online scams. We have all of those links and all of those resources. They're all not no cost and they are all available at our site, cybercrimejokies .com under the take home resources portion. We thank you for listening to this cyber flash point and we will keep you posted.
once this gets signed into law. Next episode starts right now. Thanks for listening. And if you could, if it's not too much to ask, please just click subscribe to our YouTube channel or leave us a five star review on Apple podcasts, because it all is what the algorithm is all about. And that's our only ask of you. We don't sell your data. We don't ever misuse or
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