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☆ How an Unexpected DM and a Serendipitous Trip Led to Love
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Jenny Block | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Norris Ethan White contacted Bianca Alexis Brunette in July 2014 after she appeared on his Instagram feed out of the blue. We had zero mutual friends, but there were several little elements that made her seem like a good catch. But I think you’re beautiful.”Ms. “I said, ‘Ethan, I hope you’re not catfishing me,’ because I literally don’t know who this man is. He says he is a soccer player, but I also knew nothing about soccer.”

Persons: Norris Ethan White, Bianca Alexis, ”, White, Ethan, “, ‘ Ethan

☆ Why looking for a job can feel like looking for a date
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Job seekers often churn out what can feel like endless applications, going for gigs that might not even exist. And I think with job interviews, how much can you really gauge from a résumé or a cover letter?" Another parallel he sees: Fake job listings that feel like the dating equivalent of catfishing. "I've found getting a job easier than getting a date," one Reddit user posted. "I keep getting spammed on LinkedIn with job offers from recruiters despite setting my status to not looking for a job.

Persons: Grant Waldvogel, It's, Waldvogel, Zer, he's, there's, I've Organizations: Service, Business

☆ FBI: 'Financial sextortion' of teens is a 'rapidly escalating threat.' How parents can protect their kids
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Cavan Images | Cavan | Getty Images"Financial sextortion," a type of cybercrime that targets teens and tweens, is on the rise. "Sextortion is a rapidly escalating threat," FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee in December. Financial sextortion is the fastest-growing crime targeting children in North America and Australia, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute. Wealthy parents are more likely to be lenient about social media use. How to protect your kids from sextortion

Persons: Christopher Wray, Sen, Dick Durbin, Criminals, Tracy Kitten, Kitten, didn't, Oladosu, sextortion Organizations: Getty, FBI, Finance, Network, Research, Yahoo Boys, Meta, Strategy, U.S, YouTube Locations: Cavan, North America, Australia, African, U.S, Nigerian, bitcoin, sextortion

☆ What is catfishing and what can you do if you are catfished?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Sen Nguyen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

In the US, romance scams resulting from catfishing have among the highest reported financial losses of internet crimes as a whole. A 2019 study found that young LGBTQ+ men in rural America experiencing catfishing on dating apps felt angry and fearful. She also emphasized the need to recognize today’s loneliness epidemic, which “leads people to perhaps be more susceptible to catfishing scams,” she said. Catfishing is not explicitly a crime, but the actions that often accompany catfishing, such as extortion for money, gifts or sexual images are crimes in many places. In the US, romance scams resulting from catfishing have among the highest reported financial losses of internet crimes as a whole.

Persons: CNN —, Nev Schulman, “ Megan ”, Schulman, Evita, scammers, Catfishing, Snapchat, ”, Ngo Minh Hieu, Chong, Hieu, Wang, “, It’s, Fangzhou Wang, ” Wang, Maryna, WeChat Organizations: CNN, Cybersmile Foundation, Federation University, Fraud Intelligence, INTERPOL, Research, US Federal Trade Commission, SMS, University of Texas, Arlington, Getty, Facebook, UNICEF Locations: Alaska, Australia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, France, Germany, India, cryptocurrency, Vietnamese, America, catfishing, China, Cybersecurity, Australian

☆ 'Sister Wives' star Meri Brown hard-launches her new boyfriend a year after Kody Brown split
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Esme Mazzeo | Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Sister Wives" star Meri Brown, formerly Kody Brown's first legal wife, has a new boyfriend. AdvertisementTLC's "Sister Wives" star Meri Brown was there from the start of Kody Brown's polygamous family and remained with him through many ups and downs. Meri Brown and Kody Brown. Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Kody Brown, Christine Brown and Robyn Brown Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesIn a season 18 episode of "Sister Wives," Meri discussed her move to Utah with Robyn, remarking that she didn't think Kody would "give a crap" about her moving to Utah. Robyn Brown, Janelle Brown, Meri Brown, and Christine Brown.

Persons: Meri Brown, —, Meri, Kody Brown, Kody's, Janelle Brown, Kody, Robyn Brown, Sukanya Krishnan, hadn't, " Meri, Robyn, Christine Brown, Janelle, Robyn Brown Frederick M, Brown, she'd, Jenn Sullivan, Gabe Ginsberg, they've, she's, Amos, He's, I've, we've Organizations: Service, Utah's Zion, Park Locations: Kody, Utah, Flagstaff , Arizona, Flagstaff, Parowan , Utah, Lizzie's, New York City, California, Arizona

☆ AMC's CEO thought he was texting naughty photos to a former ballerina fling. Then everything went haywire.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

This "resentment toward her abusers" may have led her to text Aron — a wealthy, powerful man in the public eye, her lawyers said. "Send me a naughty picture," Blackwood texted, a couple weeks into their flirty exchange. When he asked for photos in return, Blackwood sent him images of an unnamed Russian model that she pulled from Instagram. "Ceo scandal is apparently lucrative," Blackwood texted, posing as Brian. AdvertisementAdvertisement"I was shown some images and I was wondering if you're available to speak," the fake reporter texted Aron.

Persons: Adam Aron's, Mia, Aron, Sakoya Blackwood, Adam Aron, Matthew Belloni, Blackwood, She'd, Evander, —, Aron —, paramour, Koya Blackwood Fews, Lila Cohen, Brian, Blackwood texted, he'd, they'd, Brian —, He'd, Brian didn't, there's, he's, abt, Aron didn't, Blackwood didn't, texted Aron, hadn't, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, fiancée Lauren Sanchez —, Aron hasn't, hasn't, Taylor, unfazed, He's Organizations: of, United States, Court Southern District of, Hollywood, AMC, Evander Childs High School, —, Instagram, Arizona, National Enquirer, ppl, FBI, Twitter, Amazon Locations: Southern, of New York, Court Southern District of New York, Bronx, Jamaica, Russian, York City, California, Sinai, Aron

☆ Movie theater giant AMC's boss Adam Aron revealed as the mystery CEO who fell victim to a catfish blackmail scheme he called an 'elaborate criminal extortion'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A woman was last year indicted after catfishing an anonymous CEO and threatening to release sexually explicit photos. Semafor reported Thursday that the CEO was Adam Aron, boss of movie theater giant AMC. Aron confirmed the report in a post on X, saying he was "the victim of an elaborate criminal extortion." Soon after Semafor reported that Aron was the victim in the case, he confirmed the news in a post on X. The following day, Blackwood then asked him to send sexually explicit photos, and he complied — including sending one of him with another woman — prosecutors said.

Persons: Semafor, Adam Aron, Aron, —, Blackwood, Mia Organizations: AMC, Service, Prosecutors, of New York Locations: Southern

☆ AMC CEO says he was the victim of an extortion plot
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Entertainment, admitted Thursday that he was a “victim of an elaborate criminal extortion” plot. On X, Aron continued that following a “vigorous federal criminal investigation,” the perpetrator was convicted this past summer. He also said that the incident was “entirely a personal matter” and that he informed the AMC’s board of directors, as well as reviewed the events with an independent outside counsel. Aron said that the “matter is closed,” and he remains the CEO of AMC. AMC’s board of directors said in a statement to CNN that it had “determined it was a personal matter, and considers the issue resolved.”

Persons: New York CNN — Adam Aron, “, Aron, Semafor, of New York, Sakoya Blackwood, wasn’t, Thursday’s, Blackwood, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, AMC Entertainment, US, Office, Southern, of, CNN, AMC Locations: New York, of New

☆ Snapchat is working to make its app even safer for teen users
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Snapchat says it’s working to make its app even safer for teen users. The company also launched a series of YouTube videos for parents about the features and an updated website laying out its teen safety and parental control policies. And since then, Snapchat — like other platforms — has rolled out a variety of new teen safety and parental supervision tools. The app’s other existing teen safety measures include prohibiting young users from having public profiles and having teens’ Snap Map location-sharing tool turned off by default. Snapchat will also impose a new strike system for accounts promoting content inappropriate for teens in its Stories and Spotlight sections, where users can share content publicly on the app.

Persons: New York CNN — Snapchat, Snap, Snapchat Organizations: New, New York CNN, YouTube Locations: New York

☆ A.I. can save you hundreds of dollars on professional headshots—but avoid these 2 mistakes, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

These days, professional headshots can range from $25 to $2,500. That can lead to hundreds of dollars in savings for the user who gets their one-time AI headshot. Morrison agrees that the best headshot is the one that is polished yet authentic, whether it's AI-generated or not. Stay away from these two mistakes to make sure you get your AI headshot right:'Never rely solely on AI'Overall, experts agree there is a time and place for AI headshots. She also says not to take an AI headshot at face value.

Persons: Slack, Marissa Morrison, Amanda Augustine, Morrison, Amit Bhatia, Bhatia, Augustine Organizations: CNBC

☆ New York woman sentenced in 'catfish' extortion bid of CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

At her sentencing Wednesday, Blackwood was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release for the attempted shakedown, which spanned six months in 2022. A New York woman was sentenced to time already served in jail for cyberstalking in a case where she was accused of " catfishing " a mystery high-profile CEO of a publicly traded corporation. Prosecutors in a court filing said Blackwood tried to extort the victim by threatening to "falsely tell the world" that the man "has sex with a minor." Blackwood also ramped up pressure on the victim in late April 2022 by "using Twitter to tweet veiled threats at the Victim," prosecutors wrote. "For many months, the defendant kept the Victim suffering from the constant fear that his life would be ruined.

Persons: Furman, Blackwood, Jess Furman, Sakoya Blackwood, —, Blackwood's, Michael Tremonte, Tremonte, Ms Organizations: US Marshals Service, Manhattan Federal, Manhattan U.S, Bronx, Prosecutors, Harvard, CNBC Locations: Manhattan, United States, Jamaica, New York, Brooklyn, cyberstalking

☆ The No. 1 red flag a company is offering ‘fake flexibility,’ says CEO: ‘It's easy to be noncommittal’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Some companies are "catfishing" job candidates with false promises of remote work and flexible hours to lure talent in a stubbornly tight labor market. Johnson-Jones has noticed more companies offering what she calls "fake flexibility" in recent months. Most policies, Johnson-Jones explains, fall short of offering employees true flexibility: adaptable work schedules, remote or hybrid options without caveats. "The term 'flexible work' is actually quite problematic because it's very vague, so it's easy to be noncommittal about what kind of arrangement, exactly, you're offering," she tells CNBC Make It. Here, Johnson-Jones shares tips for spotting fake flexibility when you're on the job hunt, and the 3 biggest red flags to watch out for:

Persons: Michael Page, Molly Johnson, Jones, Johnson Organizations: Flexa, CNBC

☆ The makers of Dispo are quietly building a new dating app that uses AI to spark romance — but David Dobrik isn't involved
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The team behind photo-sharing app Dispo is building a new dating app called Teaser AI. Spotted on the Apple App Store, Teaser AI will incorporate AI into online dating. The team behind David Dobrik's photo-sharing app, Dispo, is up to something new: a dating app. Teaser AI, with the tagline "less talk, more action," is an unreleased dating app that will — you guessed it — incorporate AI into online dating. The app also pledges to "ward off catfishing and creeps" by verifying profiles, according to the app store listing.

☆ How the boom in sports documentaries on streaming is opening up a new path for athletes as content creators
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Elaine Low | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A boom in sports documentaries has offered athletes more ways to be on screen and build their brands. Players and their agents are looking for hits like Netflix Formula 1 doc series "Drive to Survive." Being featured in a sports doc can dramatically raise an athlete's profile, giving them more fans and more branding power. Netflix's "Drive to Survive" was credited with doing wonders for F1 fandom, particularly stateside, where American interest has historically been scarce. "These people can go on the air and broadcast their own content and they can capture and keep their own content," said Octagon VP of content and development Jason Weichelt.

☆ How athletes are cashing in on 'the Netflix effect' as sports documentaries boom at Apple TV+, Amazon, and more streamers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Elaine Low | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A boom in sports documentaries has offered athletes more ways to be on screen and build their brands. Players and their agents are looking for hits like Netflix Formula 1 doc series "Drive to Survive." Apple TV+, HBO, and Amazon are all competing for sports docs that bring viewers into athletes' lives. Being featured in a sports doc can dramatically raise an athlete's profile, giving them more fans and more branding power. Netflix's "Drive to Survive" was credited with doing wonders for F1 fandom, particularly stateside, where American interest has historically been scarce.

☆ Mystery deepens as friends reveal accused 'catfisher' visited longtime girlfriend in days before killing a teen's family
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

Efforts to reach Edwards’ family have been unsuccessful. Neither Gates nor the second friend knew about the trip ahead of time, a move Gates described as unusual. The second friend said he learned of it from Edwards' father after Edwards didn't let him know he was heading home. In a text message with the second close friend, the girlfriend described Edwards' trip as "spontaneous" and said everything had gone well, the second friend said. He wanted to move back to southwestern Virginia, where he could be closer to friends and family, Gates said.

☆ Authorities blame 'human error' for hiring of ex-trooper accused of 'catfishing' teen and killing her family
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Authorities in Virginia said Wednesday that “human error” led to the hiring of a former state trooper accused of killing a California family after he "catfished” their teenage relative. In a statement, Virginia State Police said an administrative review found "human error resulted in an incomplete database query" during the hiring process for Austin Edwards, 28. “The department is also proactively auditing existing personnel records and practices.”The statement added that Edwards didn't disclose anything that would have disqualified him from the job. NBC News has not confirmed the details of the report, and Wednesday’s police statement didn't address the matter. Virginia State Police previously said a background check found no “indicators of concern” when Edwards was hired.

☆ Ex-trooper bought home, blacked out windows, weeks before allegedly killing family of teen he catfished, seller says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Property records from Smyth County, Virginia, list Austin Lee Edwards as the owner of the home on Allison Gap Road. “It still doesn’t feel real," Gordon told NBC affiliate WCYB of Bristol, Virginia. A fire that authorities believe was intentionally set broke out at their home and Edwards allegedly drove off with the teen. Gordon said Edwards told him that he moved to the area because he'd grown up in the region and wanted to return. The last time Gordon said he saw Edwards was Tuesday, Nov. 22, three days before the Wineks were killed.

☆ Ex-Virginia trooper posed as teen for ‘sextortion’ in catfishing of girl whose family he killed, police say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

"Sextortion" drove an ex-Virginia trooper’s catfishing of a teen girl and killing of her mother and grandparents in Southern California last week, police said at a news conference Wednesday. “This is yet another horrific reminder of the predators existing online who prey on our children,” Gonzalez said. A spokesperson for the Riverside Police Department did not immediately respond to follow-up inquiries from NBC News. Police are also are investigating what Edwards' intention was with the girl following the fire and murders, officials said. When deputies with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department caught up to Edwards, the suspect fired gunshots at them, before being fatally shot by at least one deputy, police said.

☆ Virginia law enforcement worker killed in shootout with deputies after murdering family of teen he catfished, police say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Virginia law enforcement worker has been killed in a shootout with deputies in California after he allegedly murdered the mother and grandparents of a teenage girl he catfished online, before trying to escape with the teen, police said on Sunday. The Riverside Fire Department arrived at the residence to find a fire on the first floor. The teen was unharmed and was placed into protective custody of the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, police said. Police said it was believed Edwards had developed an online relationship with the teen and was able to obtain her personal information. It was not immediately clear what roles Edwards held with either the Virginia State Police or the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

☆ Over a decade after founding Grindr, Joel Simkhai wants a do-over
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

When Joel Simkhai left Grindr five years ago, he had a lot of time to think. Simkhai, a gay man and tech entrepreneur, helped launch the groundbreaking gay hookup and dating app in 2009. As recently as this year, the average daily time spent on Grindr per user was about an hour, according to The Guardian. The results of an online survey of nearly 100 Grindr users published in 2017 in the peer-reviewed journal Behavioral Medicine showed obese users reported significantly greater feelings of body dissatisfaction. But racist, discriminatory and exclusionist tropes — or euphemisms for them — continue to pervade a number of LGBTQ hookup and dating apps.

☆ I’ve been following a woman around the internet. Turns out she was created by artificial intelligence.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Evan Ratliff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Even in their first efforts, the GAN images were quickly on par with those made by any other, less intelligent software. You can find the results on the Generated Photos site, where you can filter by ethnicity, age, sex, eye color, and other attributes. Generated Photos' GANs tend to match conventional beauty standards, a product of the models that have been fed to the software. I'm not sure anyone would be surprised to find fake images accompanying testimonials on an Estonian bitcoin exchange or an online CBD seller. Are they real people deploying fake images, or fake people deploying fake images?

☆ Woman accused of catfishing mystery CEO and threatening to release sexually explicit pics allegedly used 'multiple identities to target wealthy men'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-02 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Blackwood allegedly catfished the CEO of a publicly trade company as part of an extortion ploy. She is accused of threatening to release explicit images and conversations in exchange for money. Sakoya Blackwood allegedly "used multiple online identities to target wealthy and high-profile men" starting in March 2022 at least, according to the DOJ and court documents. According to the DOJ, Blackwood "engaged in a campaign of harassment" against the CEO, which involved "sending numerous intimidating and threatening text messages." In addition to the CEO, several other affluent men were part of the catfishing and extortion scheme, the DOJ claimed.

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