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What the Hack?

What the Hack?

DeleteMe 255 episodes Latest May 26, 2026

"What the Hack?" is an award-winning true cybercrime podcast that shares memorable stories and offers practical advice on staying safe online. Produced by DeleteMe, a privacy service, the podcast aims to help listeners make themselves harder to find and harder to hit by cybercriminals.

Episodes

Episode 255: How Kindness Works in The Scammer's Playbook Jun 9, 2026 2584 She said her name was Clara Harper from Chase Bank. She argued with a police officer. She needed gift cards. Brian Ward shares the three times his 85-year-old father got scammed — and why the most unsettling thing wasn't the con. It was how reasonable it all sounded.Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 254: Even If You're Not Online, You're Online Jun 2, 2026 3062 Craig doesn't have Facebook. He's not a gamer. He builds things, fixes things, grows things, has an assortment of antique chainsaws. So why is his name, age, address, and phone number sitting on a website right now available to anyone who knows his name?Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 253: When the Bait Bites Back May 26, 2026 2806 A former military guy goes viral, but not in the way he'd hoped. With fake profiles popping up by the dozen using his photos to scam lonelyhearts out of money, Ethan Merritt did what we all fantasize about from time to time: he scammed the scammer.Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 252: Surveillance In America, Pt 4: No Warrant Required May 19, 2026 2822 The ACLU's Nate Freed Wessler won Carpenter v. United States and changed how the Fourth Amendment applies to your phone. But data brokers found a workaround — and the IRS, the Pentagon, and ICE all bought in. Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 251: Surveillance In America, Pt 3: Just Say No May 12, 2026 3182 Suveillance-for-profit bros say they can eliminate crime in America, but what about the Fourth Amendment? This week: a 1950s numbers racket and some real talk with Jason Koebler, Benn Jordan, GainSec, and the ACLU's Nate Freed Wessler. Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 250: Becky Holmes and the Future of Fraud May 5, 2026 2986 Online fraud isn't just getting smarter, it's getting personal. Becky Holmes, author of "The Future of Fraud," traces con artists from ancient Rome to AI-powered scam compounds, and asks a question for our post-breach reality: Is Trust dead? Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 249: The End of the Constitution Had to Start Somewhere Apr 27, 2026 2747 Sen. Ron Wyden, the longest-serving member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the ACLU’s Kia Hamadanchy and Marcy Wheeler explain why the deadline to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA may be the most important privacy vote in a generation—and what you can do about it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Episode 248: Open Source Intelligence and the Death of Obscurity Apr 21, 2026 2959 Data as duh-duh. It's all is out there—indexed, sold, and weaponized. Open source intelligence turns public records into a hacker's playground, your LinkedIn profile is dangerous, but you can still claw back a little privacy before it's gone for good. Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 247: Ghost Murmur and the Real Assault on Privacy Apr 14, 2026 2870 The whisper: A downed U.S. pilot was located by tracking his heartbeat from 40 miles away. Real, or fake news to rattle Iran? Benn Jordan and physicist Chad Orzel help us separate the science fiction from the real threats we all face right now. Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 246: Trafficked: Part Three, Asian Scam Compounds Apr 7, 2026 3099 You’ve heard how the compounds work. This week we go inside one—through the eyes of Small Q, an Ugandan musician who was trafficked in and got out—also: Erin West of Operation Shamrock on the bigger picture.  Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 245: A Professional Noticer of Things Mar 31, 2026 2909 Christopher Anderson has spent thirty years in high-stakes situations—war zones, sinking boats, the current White House. What he’s learned about the information people don’t know they’re giving away is the privacy lesson you need to hear.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 244: Inside Tracy Chou's Block Party for Social Media Mar 24, 2026 3026 One of Time Magazine’s Women of the Year and a vocal advocate for diversity in tech, Tracy Chou built Block Party after discovering firsthand that the platforms have no real incentive to protect you from the people who want to harm you.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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