<p>With the holiday season come holiday scams – and honestly, just more scammer activity across the board, in general. People are busy and buying lots of stuff, and it’s a time when we’re more vulnerable to schemes to take our money and infect our devices. Today we’ll talk about a few current scams going around and give some solid advice to avoid becoming a victim.</p>
<p>In the news: FCC scraps cybersecurity rules for telcos; WhatsApp flaw exposed 3.5B phone numbers; ClickFix scam update; Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers for ‘suspicious’ travel patterns; a tricky Apple Support scam; USPS and EZ-Pass scams; a cool new tool for monitoring your home network for rogue devices; state and local cyber grant program to be renewed; airlines shut down program that sold your flight records; CA court ends electricity surveillance program; also, a few more holiday gift ideas!</p>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Article Links</h1>
<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Despite Chinese hacks, Trump’s FCC votes to scrap cybersecurity rules for phone and internet companies<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/21/despite-chinese-hacks-trumps-fcc-votes-to-scrap-cybersecurity-rules-for-phone-and-internet-companies/"> https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/21/despite-chinese-hacks-trumps-fcc-votes-to-scrap-cybersecurity-rules-for-phone-and-internet-companies/</a></li>
<li>A Simple WhatsApp Security Flaw Exposed 3.5 Billion Phone Numbers<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/a-simple-whatsapp-security-flaw-exposed-billions-phone-numbers/"> https://www.wired.com/story/a-simple-whatsapp-security-flaw-exposed-billions-phone-numbers/</a></li>
<li>ClickFix may be the biggest security threat your family has never heard of<a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/clickfix-may-be-the-biggest-security-threat-your-family-has-never-heard-of/"> https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/clickfix-may-be-the-biggest-security-threat-your-family-has-never-heard-of/</a></li>
<li>Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with ‘suspicious’ travel patterns<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-patrol-surveillance-drivers-ice-trump-9f5d05469ce8c629d6fecf32d32098cd"> https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-patrol-surveillance-drivers-ice-trump-9f5d05469ce8c629d6fecf32d32098cd</a></li>
<li>‘It made my blood run cold’: scammers are targeting Apple users with this devilishly clever trick – here’s how to stay safe<a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/watch-out-apple-fans-this-scary-scam-is-stealing-personal-accounts-with-real-apple-support-tickets"> https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/watch-out-apple-fans-this-scary-scam-is-stealing-personal-accounts-with-real-apple-support-tickets</a></li>
<li>Scam USPS and E-Z Pass Texts and Websites – Schneier on Security<a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/11/scam-usps-and-e-z-pass-texts-and-websites.html"> https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/11/scam-usps-and-e-z-pass-texts-and-websites.html</a></li>
<li>Your IP Address Might Be Someone Else’s Problem (And Here’s How to Find Out)<a href="https://www.greynoise.io/blog/your-ip-address-might-be-someone-elses-problem"> https://www.greynoise.io/blog/your-ip-address-might-be-someone-elses-problem</a></li>
<li>Full renewal of state and local cyber grants program passes in House<a href="https://therecord.media/state-local-cyber-grants-program-house-passage"> https://therecord.media/state-local-cyber-grants-program-house-passage</a></li>
<li>Airlines Will Shut Down Program That Sold Your Flights Records to Government<a href="https://www.404media.co/airlines-will-shut-down-program-that-sold-your-flights-records-to-government/"> https://www.404media.co/airlines-will-shut-down-program-that-sold-your-flights-records-to-government/</a></li>
<li>Victory! Court Ends Dragnet Electricity Surveillance Program in Sacramento<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/victory-court-end-dragnet-electricity-surveillance-program-sacramento"> https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/victory-court-end-dragnet-electricity-surveillance-program-sacramento</a></li>
<li>Best & Worst Gift Guide: <a href="https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/best-worst-gifts-2025/">https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/best-worst-gifts-2025/</a> </li>
<li>All my gift guides: <a href="https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/category/best-worst-gifts/">https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/category/best-worst-gifts/</a> </li>
</ol>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Further Info</h1>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>EasyOptOuts 25% discount: </strong><a href="https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/dragon-hacks-opt-out/"><strong>https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/dragon-hacks-opt-out/</strong></a><strong> </strong></li>
<li><strong>Consumer Reports $10 off: </strong><a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/fdsd/"><strong>https://www.consumerreports.org/fdsd/</strong></a><strong> </strong></li>
<li>eBay AI settings: <a href="https://accountsettings.ebay.com/ai-preferences"> https://accountsettings.ebay.com/ai-preferences</a></li>
<li>My book: <a href="https://fdsd.me/book">https://fdsd.me/book</a> </li>
<li>My newsletter: <a href="https://fdsd.me/newsletter">https://fdsd.me/newsletter</a> </li>
<li>Support our mission! <a href="https://fdsd.me/support">https://fdsd.me/support</a> </li>
<li>Give the gift of privacy and security: <a href="https://fdsd.me/coupons">https://fdsd.me/coupons</a> </li>
<li>Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! <a href="https://fdsd.me/merch">https://fdsd.me/merch</a> </li>
</ul>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Table of Contents</h1>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>0:00:08: Intro</li>
<li>0:01:34: Quick tidbits</li>
<li>0:05:10: News preview</li>
<li>0:07:02: FCC scraps cybersecurity rules for telcos</li>
<li>0:11:02: WhatsApp Flaw Exposed 3.5B Phone Numbers</li>
<li>0:17:47: ClickFix scam</li>
<li>0:24:53: CBP is monitoring US drivers for ‘suspicious’ travel patterns</li>
<li>0:32:12: Clever Apple Support scam</li>
<li>0:38:05: More scams to watch for</li>
<li>0:40:19: Your IP Address Might Be Someone Else’s Problem</li>
<li>0:47:15: State and local cyber grant program to be renewed</li>
<li>0:49:13: Airlines Shut Down Program That Sold Your Flights Records</li>
<li>0:51:40: CA Court Ends Electricity Surveillance Program</li>
<li>0:55:27: Tip of the Week</li>
<li>1:03:53: Looking ahead</li>
<li>1:06:22: Patron podcast previews</li>
<li>1:07:42: Looking more ahead</li>
</ul>
