Dose of Paranoia - May 3. 2025
It gets worse before it gets worse
InfoSec/Scam Stuff
If it seems too good to be true… - A warning from the FTC about “monthly bill discount” scams - fraudsters are taking advantage of economic uncertainty to defraud consumers by pretending to be representatives of phone, utility, and other companies which bill monthly. They offer “discounts” on monthly payments if you make up front payments - you can see where this is going. These scams depend on victims being pressured to act quickly to “lock in” (non existent) discounts - a classic fraud technique. Here is an example of a robocall using this scam to target Comcast customers.
A few decades ago, the thought of buying a car or a tractor online seemed silly. No one would make such a large purchase without face to face contact! But things have changed, and scammers are using AI to take advantage of this new channel. This story may seem like it only applies to my farmer readers, but it should be a wake up call to us all. Just because a business seems to have a robust, convincing web presence does not mean that it is legit.
Oh, for fucks sake - Apparently, US businesses are just not getting the message about paper checks and fraud. More businesses are using paper checks now than were in 2023. Let me be clear about this - paper checks are a gift to scammers and fraudsters and are an unacceptable and stupid security risk. Fortunately, you as an individual have many better options to make payments - using electronic payments like ACH and bank payment apps are much less prone to fraud. If you are still using paper checks, please, please, please stop. Every time someone writes a paper check, God kills a kitten. And a dirtbag scammer smiles.
Scam of the century - This one affects us all and needs to get more coverage. Donald Trump and his family are using crypto to turn the White House into a personal cash register and have increased their net worth by $2.9B over the past 6 months while the rest of us are paying $8 for a dozen eggs. And companies have noticed and see $TRUMP coin as a way to bribe Donald and affect trade policy. Governments have noticed this “opportunity” as well, resulting in “foreign policy for sale.” If you voted for this guy, well, fuck you - you are part of why the US is rapidly becoming a banana republic, just with crappier weather.
Tech Stuff
Raining on the AI parade? - According to a study from Denmark, the “AI revolution” brought to us by Chat-GPT and its brethren is not such a revolution after all, saying that "AI chatbots have had no significant impact on earnings or recorded hours in any occupation" and that “when we look at the economic outcomes, it really has not moved the needle." Of course, the study was done in 2023 and 2024 and AI has developed quite rapidly since those dinosaur days. Something worth reading to balance all of the AI hype we are surrounded with every day. On the other hand, the CEO of Microsoft claims that nearly 30% of the code written by the firm is now AI generated. The jury is clearly still out.
Uncanny teacher - Apparently, you can now learn to write from Agatha Christie, who shuffled off this mortal coil in 1976, thanks to AI and the BBC Maestro online learning service. This uncanny and unsettling thing was actually put together with the permission of Christie’s estate. Fortunately, the actual content of the course is NOT AI generated but was written by an academic who researched what the famous author had to say about writing. It’s just the creepy Agatha Christie “teacher” who is an AI. This whole thing seems gimmicky and creepy to me, but I think we will be seeing a lot more of this going forward and not all of it will be as innocuous as this.
Fun Stuff
You know, maybe America does “need a space age president…” Gabe certainly seems like he is more grounded in reality than the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and rule by the Amalgamated Flying Saucer Clubs of America couldn’t be worse than MAGA/DOGE…. I’m sold. Unfortunately, the current “space candidate” (Goodspaceguy) seems to have gone full MAGA. Hopefully he (and our current leaders) will get what they deserve if only in the evil Spock with a goatee mirror universe…
Have a good day (scientifically) - Researchers in Canada and Switzerland have been studying what activities will (scientifically) lead to having a good day. According to science, the top 5 activities you can take part in to have a nice day are:
Time with family
Socializing and communicating
Travel related to eating and drinking
Working
Travel related to socializing, relaxing and leisure
Public Service Message - Here’s another reason to donate blood - apparently, the more you donate, the healthier your corpuscles will be. The Red Cross really needs blood right now, and donation is quick and easy - get started here.