Tate's Online Safety: Privacy & Security for All, a Podcast

I wanted to share the video of my first Substack Live in case you missed it. Here are some key takeaways:* [11:02] Scams haven’t changed much, because they still work. The whole ecosystem puts the responsibility on you to protect yourself and recover yourself. That’s good for the platforms, the banks, and an under-resourced government, and bad for everyone else.* [12:54] The burglary vs. scam test. If someone steals $1,000 in cash from your house, the police show up and insurance pays you back. If you lose $100,000 to a scam, there is NOBODY to call.* [13:39] Bad actors use AI for productivity too. They can send more messages, faster and cheaper. They can also mine your data to build personalized attacks that impersonate the people around you.* [15:42] The $1.5 trillion math. I start from the Reuters report that about 10% of Meta’s revenue (~$16B) came from scam ads. Add the FTC data showing only 3% of scams come from ads, and you get a global scam economy of roughly $1.5 trillion. (The FBI’s $20.9B figure at [14:56] is at least 10x too low.)* [19:49] If they own your phone, they own your life. Your email, messages, contacts, banking, photos, and documents all live on one device. Lock it down physically (passcode plus biometrics) and digitally (keep your software updated).* [21:36] To a bank, you ARE your fingerprint. Rinzin points out that biometrics beat a 4-digit PIN that someone can watch you type or record with smart glasses. But you can change a password tomorrow, and you can never change your face or iris.* [26:02] Passkeys are strong, so bad actors go after account recovery. They pivot to the weakest way in: SMS codes, security questions, or “give us your Social Security Number.”* [32:22] Who’s liable when your AI agent spends your money? Banks like Ally are already warning customers not to give agents access. That opens the door to first-party fraud (“my agent went rogue, give me my money back”).* [34:11] AI agents go off script because we can’t anticipate every constraint. It isn’t malice. Tell an agent “make me $100,000” without the right guardrails, and it might open a brokerage account or try something you never intended.* [40:04] Everything about your body is an identifier. That includes the height of your ear, your gait, your voice, your DNA (newborn screening data in New York is kept until age 18), and even how your body disrupts Wi-Fi signals. The best fix is regulation that removes the business incentive to buy and sell this data [44:08]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onlinesafety.substack.com/subscribe

For the written form of this post, go to https://open.substack.com/pub/onlinesafety/p/remove-your-info-from-databrokers This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onlinesafety.substack.com/subscribe

For the written version of this podcast, click this link: https://open.substack.com/pub/onlinesafety/p/physical-security-of-your-deviceStay Safe!Tate This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onlinesafety.substack.com/subscribe

This is the podcast version of this post: https://open.substack.com/pub/onlinesafety/p/blur-house-from-google-street-viewStay Safe!Tate This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onlinesafety.substack.com/subscribe

Tate's Online Safety: Privacy and Security for All Podcast provides expert advice on privacy and security in short, easy-to-digest episodes (This is an episode about privacy-enhancing tools that you should definitely check out.View this podcast at: https://onlinesafety.substack.com/p/5-free-privacy-tools-podcast* See how your browser tracks you — by EFF: https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/* Get customized tips with Security Planner by Consumer Reports: https://securityplanner.consumerreports.org/* Stop website tracking with Privacy Badger by EFF:https://privacybadger.org/* Messaging E2E Encryption with Signal:https://signal.org/* Blur sensitive parts of photos before sharing them online with PrivacyBlur:https://privacyblur.app/* Remove your sensitive personal information from data brokers with Kanary:https://www.kanary.com/* Protect your iPhone with Iverify: https://www.iverify.io/consumer This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onlinesafety.substack.com/subscribe