Scams, misinformation, disinformation, and more

Explore open source intelligence (osint) as data from publicly available sources used to verify information, detect misinformation and scams, and assemble a bigger picture using Maltego and Google advanced operators.

Explore framing techniques used by scammers and disinformation campaigns, learn how word choices and emotional triggers shape decisions, and practice pausing to fact-check and expand the picture.

Spot platform jumping as a red flag where scammers push you to switch to less moderated apps like WhatsApp or Discord, testing your willingness to follow and reveal deceit.

Discover how 'pickers' act as money-moving middlemen in scams, routing payments between victims and scammers, and why red flags like sending funds to different emails and using gift cards matter.

Discover the slang term allay used by Nigerian scammers to gauge victims. Learn how this simple word can help identify scammers and save you time.

Explore how social engineering uses psychological manipulation to prompt action through scarcity, fear, and greed. Pause to analyze emails or messages and identify the attack vector in OSINT investigations.

Explore how belief shapes reality, its powerful forms, and how it can be exploited to influence, gain trust, or mislead in investigations of blogs, news stories, and social media posts.

Learn to recognize phishing, spear phishing, smishing, and vishing by evaluating sender domains, hovering over links, and verifying urgent requests before sharing passwords or clicking attachments.

Explore fishhunter, a Python tool that analyzes phishing emails, compares them to a library of samples, checks header spoofing, runs sentiment and similarity analyses, and exports a sha-256 report.

Master reverse image searches using Google Images, Bing Images, Yandex, Baidu, and TinEye to verify photos, trace their online usage, and spot impersonation in scams.

Discover how GAN-generated and AI-manipulated photos spread misinformation and learn to spot fakes using visual cues, detectors, and photo forensics tools such as metadata analysis and the JPEG chart.

The lecture demonstrates ai-generated video tech using text-to-video and image-to-video tools, notes free-tier access and gmail sign-in, and warns about risks of realistic fakes and misuse.

Discover how photos embed geolocation data like latitude and longitude, and learn to verify locations with reverse image search using geolocation osint while noting that geolocation can be spoofed.

Explore how LinkedIn posts reveal AI-generated resumes and interviews, and apply verification tips—call to verify identity, turn on cameras, and detect glitches and background filters.

Explore how street view and satellite maps from Google, Bing, Michelin, and others enable open source intelligence by inspecting addresses, surroundings, and building details to assess legitimacy and risk.

Explore canary tokens, including grab-a-file links and documents, and see how they reveal IP, location, time zone, and device details, while noting they can be dangerous without expertise.

Explore Social Catfish, a tool for detecting catfish on dating sites and social media by searching usernames, names, emails, phones, addresses, and images, and verifying results to avoid scams.

Learn to use reverse people search tools and public databases to uncover names, addresses, and relatives, using sources like Pipl, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and USA.com.

Scareware uses authority to trigger fear through fake pop-ups, emails, or calls demanding quick payments under penalties. Stay calm, verify through official channels, and resist paying within 24–72 hours.

Explore how misinformation and disinformation spread through satire, parody, and media, using Oscar the modular body as an example. Learn practical fact-checking steps, including Snopes, source verification, and label checks.

Influencers exploit fear and disinformation to push non-toxic air fryer claims, using endorsements and misdirection to sell products, while urging viewers to rely on trusted sources and experts.

Understand the amplification effect as misinformation, disinformation, and other formats spread from one reader to thousands, and learn to verify facts before sharing to prevent harm and hard-to-retract false narratives.

Explore a real romance/friendship scam on Snapchat, identify red flags like inconsistent timing and guilt trips, and learn to verify images with reverse searches and maps.

Learn how sextortion scams, including revenge porn, use email threats tied to data breaches to coerce payment. Avoid paying, know the legality, and contact law enforcement if targeted.

Learn to vet online dating profiles using open source intelligence, from username cross-checks and social media sleuthing to image searches and plagiarism checks, to spot red flags and verify identities.