Show: The Human Side Of Technology Station: KNCO File: 11:6.mp3 Air date: 2026-11-06 Source: OpenAI whisper-1 · shrunk from 49.4 MB to 12.4 MB --- transcript --- Hello, and welcome to The Human Side of Technology. I'm Melissa Hannebrink, and I'm so happy to have you joining me for the very first episode of my new program here on KNCO. If my name sounds familiar, it might be because you've read my weekly tech column in the union, attended one of my presentations, or perhaps you came to my SCAM Expo at the Grass Valley Vets Hall this summer. Maybe you've been a customer of my business, QuiaTech, or I've actually been to your house to fix your computer. But if we've never met, allow me to introduce myself. I own QuiaTech, a technology company founded in 1983 by my dad, Ben Hannebrink, who many listeners may also know. QuiaTech has been serving Nevada County since 1985, and I've owned the business since 2013 when my dad retired. I was lucky enough to be an Oregon Trail kid, getting to play computer games in the classroom, and because my dad worked in tech, there were computers at home for me to play with too. Around 12 years old, I became fascinated with websites and wanted to know how people built pages and more importantly, how I could build them too. By the time I was a teenager, I was completely hooked. In 1997, I started a website design business for my senior project in high school. Around that time, my dad started sending QuiaTech clients my way who needed something a little different from traditional computer repair. Maybe they wanted to learn how to use a particular program or needed help figuring out how to make their computer do something specific. I'd like to give a little shout out to Dr. Dan Murphy, one of those very first clients. I remember getting to help him set up Microsoft Word macros at his orthodontic practice when I was just 16, and it is so cool that I still get to help him today. Since I got my start as a teen, I've had the opportunity to help thousands of people navigate an increasingly complicated digital world. Back then, computer repair was often about solving a particular problem like installing software, removing a virus, or figuring out why someone's printer wasn't working. I still do all those things, of course, but these days, helping someone with their technology can involve practically every aspect of their life. Their banking, healthcare, communication, entertainment, and financial security may all depend on technology. Someone might come into QuiaTech because they can't access their email, and that led them to discover that their email account is also how they access their medical records, pay their bills, and recover passwords for other accounts. So something that appears to be a relatively small tech problem can suddenly become a very big personal problem. After nearly 30 years of doing this work, I've come to believe that understanding technology is only a little part of my job. Understanding the people who have to live with it and being able to explain it in a way that makes sense to them is just as important. Along with running QuiaTech, I spend quite a bit of my time teaching and speaking to groups about technology. I give presentations to community organizations, businesses, professional groups, and other audiences on subjects ranging from cybersecurity and scam prevention to artificial intelligence and digital privacy. I've worked with banking professionals on recognizing fraud, talked with community groups about protecting themselves online, and helped people just better understand tech that is changing the way we live. Most recently, I taught a three-part continuing education series on scam prevention for legal professionals through the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. And this past summer, I organized the Senior Protection and Scam Prevention Expo here in Grass Valley. We brought together law enforcement, community organizations, and other resources to help people recognize scams and protect themselves. And what that experience reinforced for me is just how hungry people are for trustworthy, understandable information. I think people genuinely want to understand what's happening around them. They want to protect themselves and their families, make informed decisions, and feel confident using technology that's become so deeply woven into their lives, whether they wanted it to be or not. One of the things that I enjoy most about public speaking is that the audience always teaches me something, too. Sometimes the most valuable part of a presentation isn't the information I've prepared, it's the questions people ask. Someone will raise their hand and ask a question, and suddenly other people start piping up, yeah, I want to know that, too. Or someone will share an experience that introduces an entirely different way of thinking about the subject. Before you know it, what began as a presentation has turned into a really interesting conversation. Those are my favorite moments, and they're a big part of why I wanted to do this radio show. You might also know me from my weekly technology column in the Union. Every week, I write about technology and the ways it affects ordinary people's lives. Sometimes I'm explaining something practical like online security or why our devices behave the way they do. But other times I'm exploring bigger questions about artificial intelligence, privacy, the psychology of scams, or the decisions technology companies make that affect all of us. And sometimes, quite frankly, I'm questioning whether the people designing these systems have ever actually tried using them. One of the most rewarding parts of writing that column, though, has been hearing from readers. People contact me with questions, share their experiences, or suggest something that they think deserves more attention, and I genuinely love receiving those messages. It just means so much to me when someone takes the time to tell me how something I've written has affected them or introduces me to an entirely different perspective. Those conversations remind me that technology isn't just a collection of gadgets and software. It's something we're collectively experiencing, often in very different ways. But here's the challenge with writing a newspaper column. I have 850 words or less to introduce a subject, explain what it means and why it matters, and hopefully leave readers with something useful to think about or practical advice they can put to work. And there are so many times when I reach the end and I realize I have barely scratched the surface. So that's where this radio program might come in. Sometimes we'll examine the story behind something I've written, look at additional examples, or discuss questions the column raised. Don't worry, this won't simply be repeating the newspaper article on the radio. We'll also explore other interesting subjects, talk about what's happening in the world of technology, and hear from listeners. Speaking of hearing from listeners, I've set up a telephone number where you can leave me a message anytime. You can call me at 530-268-5049 to ask a question, share an experience, or suggest something you'd like me to discuss. When you leave your message, just let me know whether I have your permission to play your actual recording on the show, or whether you want me to just share your story in my own words. You can also choose whether you'd like me to use your name or keep it anonymous. And who knows, if you've got a particularly interesting story, I might even invite you to join me for an interview. Now something I should get out of the way right up front is that while I am a bit of a computer geek, I'm just kind of a big geek in general. Late at night, I'm often researching the origins of some unusual expression, or going down a rabbit hole about discoveries in space or archaeology, or following some random question about psychology or philosophy just to see where it leads. I just love learning. I'm endlessly curious about how things work, why things are the way they are, and what's possible that we haven't even imagined yet. And I'm really hoping I can share some of my curiosity and excitement with you. You do not have to be a technology enthusiast to enjoy this show or get something useful out of it. You don't even have to like technology. You just have to live in the modern world where technology has become a part of nearly everything we do, whether we want it involved or not. And I want to be clear about something else. This will not be a traditional technology show where I spend an hour discussing which computer has the fastest processor, which new gadget has the most impressive specifications, or telling you about products that you must buy. There's plenty of content out there about those topics, and quite frankly, most of the people I meet and help don't need to know it and totally don't care. I really don't even care about the fastest processor. What interests me is how technology affects us as human beings, how it changes our relationships, our independence for good or for bad, our privacy, and even the way we think. And that is why I've called this show The Human Side of Technology. Now, loving technology and being a bit of a computer geek does not mean I love everything technology companies do. Have you ever bought something that should have been incredibly simple only to discover that you needed to download an app, create an account, verify your identity, agree to 15 pages of terms and conditions, and install a software update before you could use it? And have you noticed that things rarely come with instruction manuals anymore, or that so many products don't seem to last as long as they used to? We'll be talking about subjects like the disappearance of instruction manuals and the very real practice called planned obsolescence in future programs, because I think it's reasonable for us to ask why so many ordinary activities have become so complicated. But there is a serious side to all of this complexity. Tech companies have been developing increasingly sophisticated, or should I say complicated, devices and systems without paying enough attention to the people who are expected to actually use them. These systems assume people understand two-factor authentication, have reliable internet access, can interpret confusing messages, and know just what to do when something goes wrong. And when someone struggles, the assumption is too often that the person has failed rather than the technology. I personally see the consequences of that every single day. People come into QIAtech and apologize for not knowing something. They'll say, I'm terrible with technology, or I know this is probably a stupid question, but the one that hurts my heart the most is, I should know how to do this. And they say it with genuine shame in their voice. Some of the most intelligent, capable, and accomplished people I have ever met have been completely baffled by a computer problem. I've been baffled by computer problems. I'm a computer technician, and sometimes figuring out what's gone wrong is the entire job. That doesn't mean any of us are incapable. It means we're dealing with something unfamiliar or maybe something that wasn't well-designed in the first place. So I think we all need to be a little kinder to ourselves and to one another when it comes to technology. This is especially important in a community like Nevada County, where we have a substantial population of older adults. I see technology becoming an increasing factor in whether people can continue living independently. Think about what it takes to manage your life today. You might need an online account to communicate with your doctor, an app to manage your banking, a smartphone to verify your identity, and an email address just to receive important information. If you're someone who's comfortable with technology, those things are great conveniences. But if you're someone who struggles with technology, they become barriers. And that creates a difficult situation for people who are perfectly capable of living independently, but increasingly unable to navigate the technology systems required to do so. We'll talk about digital independence and more after the break. This is Melissa Hanebrink, and you're listening to the Human Side of Technology. Most pests hide in the shadows, just out of sight. But even as they go unnoticed, they can still put our health at risk. Often drawn to food, moisture, and clutter, pests can spread dangerous bacteria, trigger allergies, and also transmit diseases. In our homes, our workplaces, and even outdoors, pests are a serious health and safety threat. Knowing what to look for can help protect your health. Learn more at pestworld.org, a public service message from the National Pest Management Association. Talking about guns with others might not always feel comfortable, but it could save a life. Here's a way to start a conversation. Your family is going over to your neighbor's home for dinner for the first time. How would you ask if there are any unlocked guns in the home? Hey. Hey, we're so excited for it tonight. Before we come over, may I ask a few questions? Yeah, of course. Do you have any pets? Yes, we have a dog. Great. Do you have a pool outside? Nope, just a big old backyard. Nice. Another question, are there any unlocked guns in the home? Our guns are stored securely, locked in a safe that the kids can't access. Awesome. Yeah. Now, let's just talk about what we can bring for dessert. Learn how to have the conversation at agree2agree.org, a public service announcement brought to you by the Ad Council. Hi, I'm Pat Dyer. There are some things that never go out of style. Beautiful craftsmanship, quality that lasts, and creating something that's truly one-of-a-kind. That's what Utopian Stone has always been about. Whether you're looking for the perfect gift, custom-designed jewelry, a stunning gemstone, or expert jewelry repair, you'll find it right here at Utopian Stone. And because we believe every piece should be as unique as the person who wears it, we still live by the words that have guided us from the beginning. We design what we make and we make what we sell. Today, tradition continues with my son, Mark, and his wife, Denise, and master goldsmith, Chad, carrying forward the same commitment to creativity, craftsmanship, and personal service you've come to expect from Utopian Stone. We invite you to stop by our beautiful store at the corner of Pine and Broad Street in historic Nevada City and discover what's new. Utopian Stone, designed with purpose, crafted with passion, and always made to last. Learn more at utopianstone.com. Welcome back to the human side of technology. Before the break, we were talking about how dependent we are on technology these days. It affects how we keep in touch, manage appointments, and services, and get help when we need it. Society spends a ton of time talking about helping people age in place, but I think digital independence needs to become a much bigger part of that conversation. And while older adults may face particular challenges, I can assure you that technology can be confusing and frustrating at any age. So, what are we going to talk about on this show? Well, quite a few things, actually. One subject you're going to hear me talk about frequently is scams. Through QIA Tech, I've seen firsthand how devastating scams can be, and I spend a great deal of time teaching people how to recognize and avoid them. But I'm also fascinated by the psychology behind them. How do criminals establish trust, manipulate emotions, and persuade perfectly intelligent people to do things they would normally never consider doing? And why does shame prevent so many victims from reporting what happened or seeking help? We'll talk about scams, explain how they work, and talk about ways to protect ourselves. And I promise that my goal is never to frighten you, but always to help you feel more confident and empowered. We're also going to talk about artificial intelligence, which seems to produce a new frightening headline every single day, right alongside headlines that promise it's going to revolutionize our human experience. We'll also explore fascinating developments in science, medical technology, accessibility, transportation, and all the other ways technology is changing our world right in front of our eyes. But sometimes we might explore something simply because it's fascinating. Maybe it's an extraordinary scientific discovery, a technology that sounds like science fiction, or something so strange that we can't help wondering how it could possibly work. There won't always be a problem to solve or a warning to share. Sometimes it'll just be something fascinating that's worth talking about, and I'll make sure we explore it in plain English without requiring a science or technology degree to follow along. Some of those discoveries will be inspiring. Others might be unsettling or raise questions we haven't even thought to ask yet. And occasionally, I suspect we might just need to spend a little time screaming into the void about some of the things technology companies do that drive us crazy. You know, those maddening problems we can't fix ourselves, but it feels good to discover that other people are shouting at the sky right along with us. But one of the most important things I want to do with this program is answer your questions. Maybe you're wondering why your phone keeps asking you to sign in, or why every business seems to want you to download another app. Or perhaps you've been hearing about pass keys and VPNs and would just like somebody to explain in plain English what those are and whether you actually need them. Those are all perfectly reasonable questions, and if you've been wondering about something, I can pretty much guarantee you're not the only one. I'd also love to hear about your experiences with scams. Maybe you've encountered an unusual scam or you've been a victim yourself and want to share what happened. While some people feel embarrassed after being deceived, others find it really helpful to tell their story, especially if doing so might prevent others from suffering the same fate. And I want to be really clear about something. If you've suffered a scam, you have nothing to be ashamed of, and we're going to talk about why that is too. But what we talk about doesn't all have to be problems. Maybe you've discovered a useful feature on your phone, tried a cool new product you want to tell other people about, or had something so strange happen that you just have to share it. Or maybe you've come across a fascinating discovery that just made you say, wow, and I want to hear about those things too. I don't want this show to just be me talking at you for an hour. I want this to be a community conversation. Ultimately, what I want to accomplish with the human side of technology is fairly simple. I want to help people understand the technological world we're living in, make complicated subjects approachable, and encourage your curiosity. I want you to come away with something useful, something interesting to think about, or maybe have one of those wonderful moments when you discover something you never imagined was possible. Technology really can improve our lives in extraordinary ways. It can help us stay connected, overcome physical limitations, learn new skills, and accomplish things that would have been unimaginable not very long ago. But reaping those benefits requires more than simply developing increasingly sophisticated technology. It requires understanding the people who use it and ourselves. And I think that's a conversation worth having. So that's a little about me and a little about what I hope we'll accomplish together. I'm so excited to be here on KNCO and I hope you'll join me every Friday at 10. Now with introductions out of the way, I want to move into a subject that I've been thinking about quite a bit lately. It began with something that happened to one of our clients at Quietech. Someone called her pretending to be one of our employees. And when she questioned the unfamiliar telephone numbers he was calling from, he didn't give up. He called a third time and this time her telephone displayed Quietech's actual company name and telephone number, but the call was not from us. And that experience raises a fascinating question about the world we're living in. When technology can make something look authentic, sound authentic, and even appear to come from someone we know, how do we decide what to believe? Trust is becoming harder and harder to navigate as scammers find more and more, let's just call it creative ways to make things look legitimate. I hear about all kinds of scam methods through my work, but sometimes a scam attempt can hit close to home in ways you would never expect. So I want to tell you a story about something that happened recently at my business, Quietech. I've spent years teaching people how to recognize scams, helping victims recover, and explaining the tricks criminals use to convince us they're someone they're not. And then somebody decided to impersonate my company. Now that's a new one. One of our clients received a telephone call from someone claiming to be James from Quietech. He told her that she had a contract with us that needed to be renewed. And there were a few problems with all of that. First, we don't have anyone named James working at Quietech. Second, this client didn't have a contract to renew. And third, nobody from our office had called her. But here's where this gets interesting. When the scammer initially called, the telephone number on her caller ID was not ours. Our client noticed that and she questioned the caller about it. If he was really calling from Quietech, why wasn't he calling from Quietech's telephone number? Now you'd think that might be the end of it. The scammer had been challenged. His story was not holding up and surely he would move on to somebody else, right? Nope. He called again. And eventually he called a third time, but this time something had changed. Her caller ID displayed Quietech's actual business name and our actual phone number. Think about that for a moment. She questioned whether he was legitimate because the telephone number didn't match. So he simply changed what appeared on her telephone. Fortunately, our client knew exactly what to do. She hung up and called our office herself to find out what was going on. And I'm very delighted to report that she did precisely what I've been teaching people to do for years. But I have to admit, there is definitely some irony in discovering that somebody was using my company's identity to scam one of the very people I worked so hard to protect. So you might be wondering how somebody can make a telephone call appear to come from a business they're not associated with. It's called caller ID spoofing. And here's the part that surprises people. The scammer did not have to hack our computers. He didn't need access to our customer database and he didn't have to break into our telephone system. Caller ID information can be manipulated so the number displayed on your telephone isn't necessarily the number the person is actually calling from. In other words, your telephone can tell you who's calling, but that doesn't mean it's telling you the truth. And this isn't some brand new trick invented by AI. Caller ID spoofing has been around for years. In fact, there's a perfectly legitimate reason this technology exists. Think about a business with several employees and multiple telephone lines. When someone calls you from that business, you probably don't want to see a different telephone number depending on which employee happens to be calling. You want to see the business's main telephone number so you know who's calling and can easily call them back. We actually do this at QuiaTech. No matter which telephone line we call from, our outgoing caller ID displays our main business number. And that's completely legal and legitimate. The problem isn't that caller ID information can be changed. The problem is when someone uses that capability to impersonate another person or business to deceive you. Telephone providers have systems to help authenticate calling numbers, but those protections are not universal, obviously. After I emailed our clients warning them about what happened, one person wrote back, would have never thought about you folks getting scammed. And that response made me realize something. People naturally assume that if somebody is impersonating a business, the business must have been hacked. But that's not necessarily true. Think about how much information about a business is publicly available. Its name, telephone number, address, logo, and website. A criminal can use that information to impersonate a business without ever gaining access to its systems. But caller ID is really just one example of a much bigger problem. Think about how we decide whether something is real. We recognize a familiar telephone number. We hear a voice we know. We see a company logo. We look at a photograph or watch a video. For most of our lives, these have been reasonable things to rely on. And now, well, we have technology that can imitate almost all of them. And AI adds a whole nother dimension. Today, it's possible to generate remarkably realistic voices from recordings of real people. Imagine getting a telephone call from someone who sounds exactly like your grandson saying he's been in an accident and urgently needs money. Your first instinct is not going to be to analyze the technical characteristics of his voice. Your first instinct is going to be concerned for your grandson. That is what makes these scams so effective. We can generate photographs of people who don't exist, create realistic videos of people who do exist saying things they never said, and manufacture messages that look like communications from real businesses. Not every fake is convincing and not every scammer is using sophisticated technology. But the old signals we relied on are becoming less and less dependable. A familiar telephone number does not prove who's calling. A familiar voice does not prove who's speaking. And a photograph no longer proves that something really happened. That's a pretty remarkable change in how we experience the world. Here's where the human side of technology becomes especially interesting to me. Human beings naturally trust things that are familiar, and that's generally a good thing. Imagine trying to get through your day if you had to investigate every person you spoke to, every business you visited, and every piece of information you encountered. We couldn't function. But that natural tendency to trust is also something scammers know exactly how to exploit. And that's where things get complicated, especially when something feels familiar. We'll explore more about that when we return to the human side of technology on KNCO. Heads up, NID customers. A new way to manage your water account is coming this January, and it's designed to make your life a little easier. Say hello to NID's new customer portal. Pay your bill, check your usage, update your settings, even manage multiple accounts, all in one simple online place from any device you choose. Public workshops will be held in January to help you get set up and comfortable. More details are coming soon. Visit nidwater.com for updates. This from the KNCO B&C ACE Home and Garden Center Weather Center. ACE is the place. Here is your forecast on KNCO News Talk 830. Mostly sunny with today's high in the upper 60s and a light wind. It'll be clear and cool tonight, Arlo mid to upper 40s. Then sunny, a little bit warmer on Saturday with a high 69. Saturday night, a clear sky, Arlo mid to upper 40s. Dry weather ahead Sunday, sunny and a high in the upper 60s. For weather anytime, click on the weather center at knco.com. I'm meteorologist Dan Holliday on KNCO News Talk 830. Welcome back to the Human Side of Technology. I'm Melissa Hanebrink. Before the break, we were talking about how naturally we rely on familiarity when deciding who and what to trust. And while technology has made it easier for people to exploit that trust, it's important to remember why we trust in the first place. Trust allows us to have relationships, conduct business and participate in society without constantly questioning everything. And unfortunately, scammers understand that. They know familiarity makes us comfortable. They know authority makes us pay attention and fear and or urgency because they often use both against us can cause us to react before thinking. And that is why so many scams involve an emergency. Think about the things that you've seen. Your bank account has been compromised. Your computer has a virus. Your grandchild is in jail. Your power is about to be disconnected. The scammer wants you to feel something strongly enough that you act immediately. And I want to emphasize something here. Again, falling for a convincing scam does not mean someone is stupid, careless or lacking common sense. It means somebody deliberately manipulated your normal human behavior. The very qualities that make us good people like trust, compassion and the desire to help someone we love can be used against us. That's why I feel so strongly about removing the embarrassment surrounding scams. When people are ashamed of what happened, they often don't tell anyone and then we lose the opportunity to warn others. Now, I want to introduce something that may become a reoccurring feature on this show. I'm going to call it screaming into the void because sometimes technology presents us with situations so frustrating, so absurd and so completely outside of our control that all we can do is throw our hands up in the air and say, are you kidding me? And caller ID spoofing is a pretty good candidate. Here's what bothers me about this. We've developed systems that allow people to communicate instantly from virtually anywhere in the world. That's extraordinary technology. But somehow we've also created a situation where a person calling you can pretend to be somebody else and you are expected to figure out whether they're telling the truth. Why? Why should an ordinary person have to become a detective just to answer the phone? Why should somebody try to manage their bank account or help a family member have to investigate whether the communication they're receiving is legitimate? And what about people who don't know caller ID can be manipulated? Are we really expecting everyone to understand telephone networks, AI and cybersecurity just to participate safely in modern life? I don't think that's reasonable. While telephone providers have implemented some protections against caller ID spoofing and there are regulations intended to address the problem, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but scammers don't follow the regulations. I think there's clearly still some work to be done. I believe technology providers have a responsibility to make these systems safer for us. While we can educate consumers and we absolutely should do that, education cannot be the entire solution. We shouldn't have to teach people to compensate for every weakness in the technology that they depend on. So that's my scream into the void for today. And I suspect some of you might be nodding along right now. So after all that, you might be thinking, well, Melissa, if I can't trust the telephone number, the voice, the email or the photograph, what can I trust? And that's a fair question. I don't want you to go through life suspicious of everyone and everything. That would be exhausting and frankly, pretty miserable. Instead, I want you to develop one very simple habit. When somebody contacts you unexpectedly and asks you to do something important, verify who they are independently. That's it. That's the entire habit. You don't have to understand caller ID spoofing or artificial intelligence. You don't need to do anything. Fancy. You just need to recognize when it's time to check. So let's say somebody calls claiming to be from your bank. Hang up and call the telephone number printed on your bank card or go over to your local branch and talk to a person in person. If you receive an email about an account problem, close the email and go directly to the company's website or app if you're comfortable with apps instead of clicking a link in the email. If someone calls claiming to be a family member urgently needing money, hang up and contact that person using a telephone number you already know. And if somebody ever calls claiming to be from QIA Tech and you're not really sure it's us, hang up and call us directly at our office. I promise we won't be offended. In fact, we'll be very pleased that you trusted your gut and you checked. And I want to point out something very important about our client who got the spoofed call. She did not stop trusting QIA Tech. She questioned whether the person calling actually represented QIA Tech. And there's a big difference between those two things. We don't need to abandon trust. We just need to recognize that familiarity isn't always proof of authenticity. I would love to hear from all of you about this. Have you ever received a suspicious call that appeared to come from a business you recognized? Have you ever questioned a caller and had them suddenly change their story? Or have you encountered a particularly unusual scam that other people should know about? You can call my listener line anytime, 24 hours a day at 530-268-5049. That's 530-268-5049. Leave me a question, tell me a story, or share something about technology that's driving you bonkers. You can leave your name or remain anonymous. And with your permission, I may even share your message on a future episode. I'd especially like to hear from people who've experienced a scam firsthand. Your experience might help somebody else recognize the same situation before it's too late. And if you've been a victim of a scam, please don't let embarrassment keep you from talking about it or asking for help. I think the larger lesson here is that technology is changing faster than many of the habits that we've developed to navigate the world. We're still learning how to adjust. And that's one of the very reasons I wanted to create this show. Not just to explain how technology works, but to explore what it means for the people who have to live with it. Because ultimately, the question isn't whether we can trust technology. It's how we can continue to trust one another in a world where technology makes deception easier. And I think that's a conversation worth having. That question of trust comes up in so many ordinary moments. We see a name we recognize, a message that sounds routine, or a request that seems easy to just take care of. And because we're busy living our lives, we may respond the way we would if we knew the message was genuine. That isn't carelessness. It's how ordinary communication works. The harder question is how to pause when something feels familiar, but we don't actually know who sent it. We've looked at that problem with a phone call. It can show up in other ways too. And sometimes the message that catches us off guard is one we're already expecting to receive. Well, we talked a whole bunch about scam phone calls, but let's talk about text messaging. Have you ever received one that says your package couldn't be delivered or there's a problem with your address? Maybe it says the delivery company needs you to confirm it. Maybe there's a small fee to reschedule delivery, or maybe the message simply says your package is waiting and invite you to tap a link to find out more. And maybe you really are expecting a package. That's what makes this one so effective. You might have ordered something online. Someone in your household might have ordered something. You might have a gift on the way or a delivery you've been waiting for. The message arrives at just the right moment, or at least close enough that your brain fills in the rest. You don't think a stranger is trying to steal my information. You think, oh good, I better check on my package. The message may look official. It may use the name of a delivery company that you recognize, include a tracking number or use a logo and colors you are familiar with. It may even arrive in the same message thread as other delivery notifications before it. But none of those things prove who sent it. Scammers can make a message look familiar and they can send it whether or not you're expecting a delivery. They're discounting on the fact that most of us receive enough packages that the message could make sense. This kind of text message scam is often called smishing. That's phishing by text message. Yeah, the name's a little silly, but the consequences are serious. The link may take you to a fake website designed to look like a real delivery company site. It might ask for your name and address, a credit card number to pay that small delivery fee, and maybe even have you log in with a password. Sometimes the request sounds minor, like paying that small fee or confirming a delivery preference. But the page may be collecting information the scammer can use later. And if the page asks you to sign in, be especially careful. A fake page might imitate a store, a delivery company or another service you use. If you enter your password, the scammer may be able to try it on the real site. If you reuse that password on other accounts like many people do, that could be a risk too. Here's the practical rule to follow. Never use the link in an unexpected delivery text. If you really are expecting a package, that's great. Open the delivery company's official website or app and type in the tracking number from the store where you made the purchase. You can also often check the order directly through the store's website or app where you made the purchase. The important part is to start from a place that you chose yourself, rather than from a link someone else chose for you and sent to you unexpectedly. If the message says you need to pay a fee or provide personal information before your package can be delivered, pause and check the company's official website or give them a call. If you know how to forward a text message, you can forward a suspicious one to 7726, which spells spam. If you don't know how, that's okay too. You can use your phone's report junk option if you see one, or you can just delete the message and disregard it. The most important thing is to not tap the link or reply in any way, even though you might just want to reply and say, I know you're a scammer, never reply. And remember, this isn't a test of whether you're smart. The message is designed to feel ordinary. It shows up in a place where we're used to receiving updates, and it gives us a reason to act quickly. A good scam doesn't need to fool you forever. It only needs to get you to tap once. So if a package text makes you pause, that pause is useful. You don't have to decide whether the text is real by examining the logo or studying the phone number. Just go around the link, open the app or website yourself, and check the delivery from there. But what if you did tap the link? And what if the page asks you to sign in? Isn't two-factor authentication supposed to protect you even if someone gets your password? Well, that's where the second half of this scam story begins. After the break, we'll explore how scammers can get around that extra layer of security and what you can do to protect yourself. We'll be right back with more of the Human Side of Technology on KNCO. Hey, Nevada County, why pay full price when you don't have to? With the KNCO Shopping Show, get discounted gift certificates to your favorite local businesses. And now you can shop anytime at knco.com. No waiting for the radio show. Check out our daily deal right on the homepage. Plus, sign up for free emails and get our deal of the week. The KNCO Shopping Show. Shop local, spend less, save big. We're back. Before the break, we were talking about package delivery texts and how convincing they can be. Now I want to explain a security feature you may have heard of, or you may even be using but not know what it's called or why it exists. It's called two-factor authentication, or 2FA for short. You might also hear it called multi-factor authentication, or MFA. The idea is that signing in takes more than one step. First, you enter your password, then the website asks for something else to confirm it's really you. That could be a code sent to your phone or email, a number from what's called an authenticator app, or a pop-up notification on your phone asking you to approve the sign-in. That extra check matters because a password by itself may not be enough to keep someone out. If a criminal learns or guesses your password, the second step can stop them from signing in. It's a really valuable layer of protection and it's much safer than relying on a password alone. In fact, turning on two-factor authentication, even though it's a pain in the butt, is a way that you can make your accounts much safer from hackers. But the second step only helps if you know why you're being asked to use it. A client told me recently that she kept getting sign-in requests on her phone. One came through, then another, over and over and over again, and she wasn't trying to sign in, so she didn't understand why the requests kept popping up. Finally, she got frustrated and tapped yes just to make it stop. And that is exactly the moment the scammer was waiting for. The person was trying to get into the account and already had the password. Once she tapped yes out of irritation, the scammer was in. So if your phone keeps asking you to approve a sign-in that you didn't ask for, never tap yes just to make it stop popping up. Don't assume it's a glitch and don't let the repeated requests wear you down. If you weren't trying to sign in, deny the request or ignore it. Then go to the website or app yourself and change your password because the scammer likely knows it, and you should check your account settings while you're at it. The same rule applies to a two-factor code you receive via email or text. Never give a security code to someone who calls, texts, or emails you. And don't type a code into a page that opened from an unexpected message. Even if the code itself is real, that doesn't prove that the page asking for it is real. Scammers make up fake pages all the time. The code may be for your actual account, but the story you're being told about why you need it could be completely false. So just remember, approve a sign-in only when you started that sign-in yourself using the real app or website. If you didn't start it, stop right there. And if the message has already pulled you in, there are still steps you can take. Sometimes a technology problem can feel like a runaway train. Your first instinct may be to click around and fix everything as fast as you can. Instead, I want you to pause, take a breath, and give yourself a moment to regroup. So if you already clicked the link, first, don't panic. Clicking a link by itself does not automatically mean someone has taken over your computer, your phone, or your account. Think about what happened after you clicked. Did you enter a password? Did you enter credit card details? Did you give the page a verification code? Did you approve a sign-in notification? So those are all very different situations, and the next step depends on what you shared. If you did enter a password, go directly to the real site using its app or website and change it there. If you use the same password anywhere else, like many people do, change that password for other accounts too. If you're worried someone may have signed in, check the account's security settings and sign out of other sessions if the service gives you that option. That just means what devices have that account logged into it. If you entered credit card information, call your bank or card issuer right away using the number on the card or go into your bank. Explain that you may have entered the information on a fraudulent website and ask what they recommend. And then keep an eye on that account for unfamiliar charges, and in fact, I think it's a good idea to always keep an eye on all your accounts. And if you entered a verification code or approved a sign-in, secure the account as soon as possible through the official app or website. Change the password, review the account's recovery information, and contact the company if you can't get back in. Please don't let embarrassment keep you from taking action. Scammers design these situations to feel routine, urgent, and believable. People who are careful and intelligent get caught by them all the time. If you entered something, the useful question is not, how could I have been so foolish? The useful question is, what information did I give them and what do I need to do now to secure my account? The bigger lesson is that messages can imitate familiar businesses and even a real security code can be pulled into a scam if we're tricked into handing it over. When a message creates urgency, take a moment and go around the link. Open the app yourself, find the company's official website yourself, make the company prove the message is real. If you've received a package delivery text that made you stop and wonder, you can leave me a voicemail at 530-268-5049. You don't have to share your name. Please don't include passwords or other private information. And I'd love to hear what the message said and what made it seem believable. So that's the package text. Familiar, convincing, and easy to check safely once you know how to go around the link. We've heard how a familiar caller ID or delivery message can be imitated and how a scammer may try to use a real sign-in code to get into an account. But understanding how these schemes work is only part of the story. What does it do to us when we start wondering whether every caller message is real? We've spent this first show talking about what happens when someone uses technology to mislead us. I want to end by talking about something less technical. What it feels like to live with the suspicion that everyone is trying to mislead us. A message arrives and we wonder if it's real. The phone rings and we wonder who's really calling. A familiar company sends an email and we're left trying to decide whether it deserves our attention. It's exhausting. Technology is supposed to help us do things. It helps us keep in touch, pay a bill, find a doctor, order things we need, and get directions to places we've never been. But when every interaction comes with a question mark, technology can start to feel like one more responsibility that we have to manage. I've heard people say, you just have to be careful out there. Of course we do, but the entire burden shouldn't fall on each person every time in every interaction. I'm guessing no one who's listening to this show designed caller ID, email, or the systems that let someone send a message that looks as though it came from a familiar business. We're just trying to answer the phone, keep track of our appointments, and figure out which notifications matter. Then if something goes wrong, people are often told they should have known better. That feels like the wrong place to put the blame. These situations can also shake our confidence in ourselves. Someone may think, how did I not notice? Or how can I even trust my own judgment? I want to say this plainly. Being deceived does not mean you're foolish. It means someone gave you information intended to lead you in the wrong direction. There's a huge difference. And the qualities scammers exploit, such as wanting to help, not wanting to miss something important, or believing a person who sounds convincing, aren't character flaws. They're part of being human. I don't think the answer is to become suspicious of everyone. Most people we meet are still just trying to do their jobs, help a customer, deliver a package, or get through their day. But companies and institutions also have a responsibility. If they want people to trust their messages, they should make those messages clear and consistent. If a system makes it easy for someone to impersonate a business, that system deserves scrutiny too. And when someone makes a mistake, the response should be to help them recover. Shame doesn't make anyone safer. It just makes people less likely to speak up when they need help. I think companies need to recognize that people aren't going to trust a message simply because it has their logo on it. They need to help people understand what communication from that company normally looks like and make it easier to get help when something goes wrong. Like offering a phone number a person can call. I also don't want to get used to the idea that confusion is just part of using technology. We hear things like, well, that's how the system works, or you have to keep up with the changes. But systems are made by people, and people are making choices about how those systems work. Some choices make technology easier for us to use. Other choices make people do extra work, remember extra rules, and take responsibility when something goes wrong. We can ask who benefits from those choices and who ends up carrying the burden. That's part of the reason I wanted to make this show. I don't want to talk only about what can go wrong with technology. There is a lot about it that I find useful, fascinating, and sometimes astonishing. But I also want room to talk about the frustration, the uncertainty, and the moments when the technology seems to expect us to adapt to it without asking whether it's working well for us. We can appreciate what technology makes possible and still question how it affects people. Those two things can be true at the same time. At the beginning of this show, I asked, what can we trust anymore? I don't think the answer is that we have to distrust everyone. But a familiar name, caller ID, or logo is no longer enough to establish who we're dealing with. Trust has to be earned through verification. Today, I talked about a call that appeared to come from QuietTech and a message about a package. They were different situations, but they both show how easily something can look or sound or feel familiar. That feeling of familiarity isn't proof. Verification is the step that gives us a better reason to trust what we're seeing or hearing. When something unexpected asks you to act, especially if it involves signing into an account, giving someone access to your computer, or sending any kind of money, pause and verify it through a route you already know is legitimate. We don't have to memorize every scam or become experts at spotting every fake. We can just build one simple habit. Check the claim before we rely on it. That lets us keep using technology while making trust something we establish rather than something we assume. I'd love to hear what you think. If you have a question about technology or a story about something that confused or surprised you, leave me a message at 530-268-5049. You can give your name or leave it out. Never include passwords or account numbers. I may use a short part of your message on the show, so share only what you're comfortable having me play. Again, that number is 530-268-5049. I'm Melissa Hanebrink, and this has been the Human Side of Technology. Thanks for listening to my first show. I hope you'll join me next week for another conversation about the technology changing everyday life and what it means for the world. --- end of transcript ---