Libsyn Directory

[Ep. 17] Deepfake romance scam cost her mother $80,000 and her home

Release Date: 02/04/2026

[Ep. 17] Deepfake romance scam cost her mother $80,000 and her home

Beyond Connected

his episode is a warning for every family living in the age of AI. An elderly Southern California woman named Abigail was targeted by a ruthless cyber scammer using deepfake video and impersonation tactics. The scam was so convincing that she believed she was in a real relationship with Steve Burton from General Hospital. What happened next is heartbreaking. Abigail was manipulated into sending money again and again until more than $81,000 was gone. Then the scam escalated even further. She was pressured into selling her paid off home, leaving her evicted and devastated. ...

[Ep. 16] Phone transfers, Facebook verification, antivirus, and dark web alerts

Beyond Connected

We’ve been getting some fantastic messages ever since we opened our call line a couple months back, so this week we’re doing a voicemail box special! We cover a great variety of topics here: How do I transfer my photos and data to my new phone and I have no access to my old phone? How often should I upgrade my phone? Does skipping upgrades affect my safety? Facebook wants to confirm my identity with a video selfie. Is this a scam? I’m not technologically literate at all. How do I get antivirus on all of my devices? I've been told by Aura that all my info is on the...

[Ep. 15] 10 wild new tech innovations you’ll see in 2026

Beyond Connected

Many tech companies like to start off the year with exciting new product announcements, and 2026 is no different. Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I was absolutely blown away by the latest and greatest in the tech world. This week on the show, I wanted to break down my favorite picks, including a crazy futuristic new TV, a robotic vacuum that can actually climb stairs, LG’s dazzling new play in the humanoid household chore robot race, and lots I also want to highlight a dangerous new scam involving verification codes. Has a stranger reached out asking you to...

[Ep. 14] How AI is revolutionizing trucking

Beyond Connected

Trucking is a tough job. Driving 10+ hours a day by yourself through long stretches of empty highways. Being away from your family and friends for weeks at a time. It’s no wonder that the trucking industry is facing some of the worst turnover rates in any sector. To make matters worse, trucking companies are struggling to find new recruits more than ever before. Now, I know this is certainly a hot-button topic. And I know there are plenty of truckers out there who love what they do. But the future of this industry seems rocky to say the least, and that’s why I find myself increasingly...

[Ep. 13] Crypto scammers took this man’s entire life savings

Beyond Connected

Many folks think they’d never fall for a malicious financial scam, but the reality is that these bad actors are becoming more and more adept at emotionally manipulating their victims. On this week’s episode, I sat down with Joe Allen, a disabled man out of Connecticut who fell victim to a vicious cryptocurrency investment scam. Stuck at home and out of work, Joe got a text message offering him exclusive access to a crypto investment opportunity. It’s likely that these scammers knew Joe was in a vulnerable position and knew they could target him relentlessly until they got every last bit...

[Ep. 12] Got new smart devices? Here’s how to protect them

Beyond Connected

Happy holidays from the CyberGuy team! If you’re a regular listener of the podcast and/or reader of our newsletter, chances are you got some fancy new tech gadgets for the holidays! It can be easy to get wrapped up in all of the fun new features and entertaining apps these devices have to offer, but it’s also crucial to utilize privacy and security settings. A lot of new phones, computers, and TVs will track and share your sensitive information by default, and it’s up to you to protect yourself from cyber threats. If you follow these simple steps, you’ll be ready and all set in a...

[Ep. 11] AI Toys Exposed: What parents need to know

Beyond Connected

Wouldn’t your niece or nephew like a cuddly teddy bear that could also tell them a bedtime story? That’s the idea behind a flood of new AI toys. Powered by ChatGPT, they can have full conversations with your loved ones. So what’s the issue? Well as Researcher R.J. Cross explains, there are quite a few issues. In her study with the Public Research Interest Group, she found that these toys would describe sexual and violent information in detail with enough prompting. The longer the conversation, the deeper the rabbit hole would go. And that’s not all – the developers behind this tech...

[Ep. 10] Top 10 Inventions of 2025

Beyond Connected

2025 was an incredibly diverse and exciting year for technological innovation, so for this week’s episode I wanted to highlight 10 of my favorite inventions. Whether you’re an aspiring tennis player looking for a high-tech way to level up your game or a water sports enthusiast looking for the next cool boat to hitch to your dock, sports tech innovation is at an all-time high. And if you’re into sustainability, Glacier’s recycling robot and Karapod’s air-to-water-to-coffee machine are huge leaps forward. What about technology that might be able to harness lightning to power your...

[Ep. 9] The humanoid robot that is too real to believe

Beyond Connected

A couple of big stories caught my eye this week and I wanted to focus on them for this week’s show. For starters, a new report from NordPass revealed the 10 most commonly used passwords today and it was frankly a little crazy to see that so many people are still using such basic passwords! I break down how to create unique, complicated passwords for all of your accounts without losing your marbles in the process. The second big story was the unveiling of XPENG’s new humanoid robot, IRON. This robot is so unbelievably life-like that many viewers thought it was a stunt at first....

[Ep. 8] 5 holiday scams to look out for this season

Beyond Connected

It’s sad to say, but the holiday season is an incredibly active time for scammers and fraudsters out there. More people are buying products online and sending and receiving packages than at any other time of the year, and that means that your vulnerability is multiplied. In this week’s episode, I walk you through some easy steps to avoid popular holiday season scams, including gift card fraud, fake gift exchanges, package delivery ploys, fake charity donation traps, and fake online shopping sites. At the top of the show, I wanted to highlight a super new development in solar energy...

More Episodes

his episode is a warning for every family living in the age of AI.

An elderly Southern California woman named Abigail was targeted by a ruthless cyber scammer using deepfake video and impersonation tactics. The scam was so convincing that she believed she was in a real relationship with Steve Burton from General Hospital. What happened next is heartbreaking. Abigail was manipulated into sending money again and again until more than $81,000 was gone. Then the scam escalated even further. She was pressured into selling her paid off home, leaving her evicted and devastated.

Abigail’s daughter Vivian joins us to share the story step by step, including the biggest red flags, how scammers isolate victims from family, why these cyber scams are so hard to spot in real time, and how AI deepfakes are changing the scam game forever. If you think you or your loved ones could never fall for something like this, think again. These criminals are using advanced technology, social engineering, and psychological manipulation to target vulnerable people and steal everything.

We also kick off the episode with a look at the future of transportation and technology, including Uber’s new robotaxi fleet and what it means for self driving cars across the United States.

If you care about technology, cybersecurity, online scams, data privacy, identity theft, and staying safe from AI powered fraud, this episode is a must watch.

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms.

Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

(0:30) - Intro

(3:30) - Uber Robotaxis

(7:00) - The Victim's Daughter Vivian

(8:03) - How Vivian Discovered Scam

(9:15) - How Scammers Groom Victims

(9:47) - Discovering the Scam Cont'd

(11:11) - Scammer Used Deepfake Video

(12:29) - Scammer Used Romance Angle

(13:31) - Red Flag #1

(14:36) - Lonely People Targeted

(15:15) - The Plot Thickens

(17:08) - Reaching out to LAPD

(19:02) - Scammer Stole Victim's Home

(21:41) - Sleazy Realtor Took Advantage

(23:54) - Eviction Coming

(23:59) - Vivian Gets Legal Advice

(24:29) - Vivian Hires Attorney

(25:20) - Vivian Hires New Attorney

(26:24) - Vivian Hires 3rd Attorney

(27:02) - Power of Attorney

(28:40) - Parents Evicted

(29:18) - Court Battle Continues

(30:37) - Anybody Can Be Scammed

(31:18) - Vivian's Advice

(32:47) - Warning Signs

(33:25) - Delete Your Data

(33:51) - Get Antivirus

(34:28) - Dark Side of Tech

(35:33) - Prevent AI Phishing

TOPICS