Transcript
Dena Temple Rastin (0:02)
From Recorded Future News and prx, this is Click here. Hey there, it's Dena. A quick note before we start. Today's episode is a little different. Twice a month, we team up with our friends over at 1A for what we call Cyber Monday. Host Jen White and I talk for a bit and then we play part of one of our podcast episodes. And then typically, we take calls from listeners. Today's Cyber Monday is on piano scams. And the first voice you'll hear is from one A's guest host, Elliot Williams. Take a listen.
Elliot Williams (0:50)
You know the phrase if it sounds too good to be true? It probably is. But what if instead of too good, it sounds just plausible enough? Like, say, somebody giving away a piano because they're moving across the country, but asking you to pay a shipping fee or offering a great job and sending you the equipment if you'll cover the delivery cost? Today, as part of our ongoing series Cyber Monday, we're talking about scams. We go beyond the kind that show up in your spam folder or come with flashing red flags. These are quieter, more targeted, and they prey on what makes us human. It's not a digital hack, but an emotional one. As with every Cyber Monday, we're joined now in studio by Dina Temple Rastin. She's the host and managing editor of Click Here. That's a twice weekly tech news podcast from PRX and recorded future news. Dina, welcome back.
Dena Temple Rastin (1:41)
Thank you very much.
Elliot Williams (1:42)
So, Dina, before we get into the story of the two people you profile, Patricia and her son Matthew, walk us into this world a little. What is is a piano scam?
Dena Temple Rastin (1:53)
Well, what's fascinating about piano scams is it's really just a variation on a very old con. Someone offers you something really valuable, in this case a high end piano, and all they ask you for is this small fee to ship it. And it's emotionally disarming just on the face of it, because who doesn't want to believe in a little bit of good luck? Now, there's this cybersecurity firm called proofpoint that says in the first half of last year they had tracked over 125,000 emails connected to precisely this kind of scam. So those are just the ones they caught. So you can imagine how prevalent this.
Elliot Williams (2:29)
Is now, so widespread. Tell us, exactly how widespread do we get a sense as to how these are?
Dena Temple Rastin (2:37)
Well, they're targeting music schools, they're targeting music stores, but they're targeting people at home, too. So the victim we follow in our episode is a mother in Florida. Her name's Patricia. And she just wanted to get a piano for her young son. He had shown this unexpected musical talent and she thought that the playing might help him a little bit emotionally because he'd been diagnosed with a mood regulation disorder. So she goes online, she's looking for something affordable. You can imagine yourself being in her shoes doing this. And then she thought she'd found it, but in fact she was being drawn into this thing that's much more calculated.