#How to Protect Against Deepfakes

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

The Scary Effects of Deep Fakes in Our Lives

Dear Subscribers, In this post we want to share an interactive podcast and an insightful article which we curated on Medium and Substack for your information. The story is titled Why Deep Fakes Stop Thought Leaders Like Me from Creating YouTube Videos Here is the link to the interactive podcast about deep fakes: Why Deepfakes Are So Dangerous and What We Can Do to Lower Risks Here is the…

[txttletale]

Just wanna warn you, sag and wga are anti ai

being against netflix or WB using AI to write scripts or generate deepfaked actors is good. 'anti ai' and 'pro ai' are not two coherent positions--everything must be examined in its context. saying 'our union doesn't want studios to implement AI writing processes and then credit the AI instead of the human writers who work on it' is different to silly arguments about how we need new copyright protections because DALL-E is 'stealing your style'

[classicanalyzer]

Andor Season 2 Arc 2 Thoughts

"Upon my life and honor...For the peace and bounty of all things...My Full allegiance...A galaxy of worlds...A galaxy assembled...An Empire!" Oathkeeper

Andor Season 2's episode "Ever Been to Ghorman?", "I Have Friends Everywhere" and "What a Festive Evening" continue the hype train of Season 2. We get to explore the world of Ghorman further, which has not been explored other than a massacre on the world acting as the catalyst for the formation of the Rebel Alliance.

Cassian and Bix's relationship is sweet yet sad to see. Cassian wants to protect Bix, but he sometimes overprotects Bix and makes decisions where he'll do anything to protect her.

Bix's road to recovery is tough to see. It's clear the last three years' worth of trauma still affects her despite the healing she's able to undergo. It gets so bad to the point she takes drugs to try to sleep at night.

Everything about Saw Gerrera in this arc gives me chills. I can't tell if he did actually shoot an Imperial spy or is just paranoid, or both. You really can't tell at this point.

The Partisan base being on D'Qar is really fitting. It fits with how the Resistance was seen as an extremist organization by the New Republic, just like the Partisans.

Saw Gerrera inhaling the Rhydonium really showcases Saw's descent into madness by showing how the various gases he inhaled throughout his life are starting to affect him. At this point, the Geonosis poison is the last straw on Saw's health. The heavy implication that the labor camp story took place before the CW Onderon Arc is really horrifying. It's even more incredible that Saw in the CW Onderon Arc looks sane despite all of that, tho it would explain why he's so eager to take the fight to the Separatists.

Wilmon's journey to becoming a Partisan really showcases how he's been holding back all this anger. Luthen probably told him that holding back anger to focus on the bigger picture is necessary, but based on what we see, Wilmon's desire for revenge to hit the Empire back fits more with the Partisans than with Luthen's rebel group.

"Remember this. Remember this moment! This perfect night. You think I'm crazy? Yes, I am. Revolution is not for the sane. Look at us. Unloved. Hunted. Cannon fodder. We'll all be dead before the Republic is back and yet... here we are. Where are you, boy? You're here! You're not with Luthen. You're here! You're right here, and you're ready to fight! We're the rhydo, kid. We're the fuel. We're the thing that explodes when there's too much friction in the air. Let it in, boy! That's freedom calling! Let it in. Let it run! Let it run wild!" Saw Gerrera

The Oathkeeper swearing in the new Imperial Senators is incredibly chilling. At this point, the Imperial Senate feels more like a cult than an actual institution designed to help the people of the galaxy. You can see how Mothma is getting really sick and angry of the Imperial Senate's inability to help people and the Senators' own fears of doing anything that might offend the Emperor and the Empire. Mothma's and Krennic's debate is just great and a sign of the upcoming Mothma's speech against the Emperor.

Bail Organa recast was expected, and I do like that they recast rather than do a deepfake. I really hope we get to see Bail interact with Luthen.

I really love Kleya and how she's been given more focus in this season.

We can also see how Luthen's operations do not fit well with the growing rebel movement, as he and Kleya are getting overwhelmed with the amount of information on rebel activity.

I will say Syril actually makes for a good spy. Who would've known? I wonder if by the next arc, he'll grow more comfortable with the Ghorman Rebels or will still be a fanatically loyal Imperial. Either way, the Ghorman Massacre will change him if he survives the event.

The ISB operations feel so disturbing as they treat all the increasing arrests like it's an average office day. We also see how the ISB is clearly failing at doing that, as the number of arrests is too high for them.

Ghorman is such a vibrant planet, and we get to learn so much of its culture after getting a tease in the first episode. Similar to Ferrix, we spend a lot of time understanding the social dynamics, culture, businesses, and politics of the world.

I really love how the EU version of the Ghorman Massacre is still Canon. It also gives more reason for the Ghorman protests, as they know firsthand, before their shipping lanes were cut, about Imperial injustice towards them.

The Ghorman language and Ghorman Front parallels with France and the French Resistance.

While I understand Cassian's point about the Ghorman rebels not being experienced, and we know the Imperials want the rebels to act, I do agree with Carro Rylanz and the Ghorman Rebels that to do nothing is still playing into the Imperial hands. At this point, I support the rebels that even if the situation is a trap of sorts, we might as well do something and prepare for further Imperial responses.

Vel and Cinta finally got back together...and Cinta died in a freak accident from one of the trigger happy Ghorman rebels. I feel this is a bury the gays trope moment. Vel does have a great speech, both as an eulogy for Cinta and a scathing "you suck" speech to the triggy happy rebel who brought a weapon when he wasn’t supposed to.

Bix getting her revenge on Gorst is pure catharsis and karma. Cassian and Bix truly make a great spy couple.

The next arc is the Ghorman Massacre and Mothma's speech against the Emperor...we're getting closer to Rebels S3-S4 and Rogue One.

There's one thing left to say: all roads lead to Scarif and Yavin IV.

"Are you crying? Are you? Look at me. Look at me! There's no place to hide. Look at me. I'm not going to say 'remember this,' because I don't have to. This is on you now. This is like skin. You're taking her with you wherever you go for the rest of your useless life. Don't you look away from me. She was a warrior. She was everything that you have daydreamed about. She was a blooded, fearless warrior whose loss will be mourned in ways that you will never understand. She was a miracle. And you...To die like this because of you...Some whining, simpering, foolish child. Don't you dare cry. You'll make up for this forever." Vel Sartha

[mariacallous]

As national legislation on deepfake pornography crawls its way through Congress, states across the country are trying to take matters into their own hands. Thirty-nine states have introduced a hodgepodge of laws designed to deter the creation of nonconsensual deepfakes and punish those who make and share them.

Earlier this year, Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, herself a victim of nonconsensual deepfakes, introduced the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act, or Defiance Act. If passed, the bill would allow victims of deepfake pornography to sue as long as they could prove the deepfakes had been made without their consent. In June, Republican senator Ted Cruz introduced the Take It Down Act, which would require platforms to remove both revenge porn and nonconsensual deepfake porn.

Though there’s bilateral support for many of these measures, federal legislation can take years to make it through both houses of Congress before being signed into law. But state legislatures and local politicians can move faster—and they’re trying to.

Last month, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu’s office announced a lawsuit against 16 of the most visited websites that allow users to create AI-generated pornography. “Generative AI has enormous promise, but as with all new technologies, there are unintended consequences and criminals seeking to exploit the new technology. We have to be very clear that this is not innovation—this is sexual abuse,” Chiu said in a statement released by his office at the time.

The suit was just the latest attempt to try to curtail the ever-growing issue of nonconsensual deepfake pornography.

“I think there's a misconception that it's just celebrities that are being affected by this,” says Ilana Beller, organizing manager at Public Citizen, which has been tracking nonconsensual deepfake legislation and shared their findings with WIRED. “It's a lot of everyday people who are having this experience.”

Data from Public Citizen shows that 23 states have passed some form of nonconsensual deepfake law. “This is such a pervasive issue, and so state legislators are seeing this as a problem,” says Beller. “I also think that legislators are interested in passing AI legislation right now because we are seeing how fast the technology is developing.”

Last year, WIRED reported that deepfake pornography is only increasing, and researchers estimate that 90 percent of deepfake videos are of porn, the vast majority of which is nonconsensual porn of women. But despite how pervasive the issue is, Kaylee Williams, a researcher at Columbia University who has been tracking nonconsensual deepfake legislation, says she has seen legislators more focused on political deepfakes.

“More states are interested in protecting electoral integrity in that way than they are in dealing with the intimate image question,” she says.

Matthew Bierlein, a Republican state representative in Michigan, who cosponsored the state’s package of nonconsensual deepfake bills, says that he initially came to the issue after exploring legislation on political deepfakes. “Our plan was to make [political deepfakes] a campaign finance violation if you didn’t put disclaimers on them to notify the public.” Through his work on political deepfakes, Bierlein says, he began working with Democratic representative Penelope Tsernoglou, who helped spearhead the nonconsensual deepfake bills.

At the time in January, nonconsensual deepfakes of Taylor Swift had just gone viral, and the subject was widely covered in the news. “We thought that the opportunity was the right time to be able to do something,” Beirlein says. And Beirlein says that he felt Michigan was in the position to be a regional leader in the Midwest, because, unlike some of its neighbors, it has a full-time legislature with well-paid staffers (most states don’t). “We understand that it's a bigger issue than just a Michigan issue. But a lot of things can start at the state level,” he says. “If we get this done, then maybe Ohio adopts this in their legislative session, maybe Indiana adopts something similar, or Illinois, and that can make enforcement easier.”

But what the penalties for creating and sharing nonconsensual deepfakes are—and who is protected—can vary widely from state to state. “The US landscape is just wildly inconsistent on this issue,” says Williams. “I think there's been this misconception lately that all these laws are being passed all over the country. I think what people are seeing is that there have been a lot of laws proposed.”

Some states allow for civil and criminal cases to be brought against perpetrators, while others might only provide for one of the two. Laws like the one that recently took effect in Mississippi, for instance, focus on minors. Over the past year or so, there have been a spate of instances of middle and high schoolers using generative AI to make explicit images and videos of classmates, particularly girls. Other laws focus on adults, with legislators essentially updating existing laws banning revenge porn.

Unlike laws that focus on nonconsensual deepfakes of minors, on which Williams says there is a broad consensus that there they are an “inherent moral wrong,” legislation around what is “ethical” when it comes to nonconsensual deepfakes of adults is “squishier.” In many cases, laws and proposed legislation require proving intent, that the goal of the person making and sharing the nonconsensual deepfake was to harm its subject.

But online, says Sara Jodka, an attorney who specializes in privacy and cybersecurity, this patchwork of state-based legislation can be particularly difficult. “If you can't find a person behind an IP address, how can you prove who the person is, let alone show their intent?”

Williams also notes that in the case of nonconsensual deepfakes of celebrities or other public figures, many of the creators don’t necessarily see themselves as doing harm. “They’ll say, ‘This is fan content,’ that they admire this person and are attracted to them,” she says.

State laws, Jobka says, while a good start, are likely to have limited power to actually deal with the issue, and only a federal law against nonconsensual deepfakes would allow for the kind of interstate investigations and prosecutions that could really force justice and accountability. “States don't really have a lot of ability to track down across state lines internationally,” she says. “So it's going to be very rare, and it's going to be very specific scenarios where the laws are going to be able to even be enforced.”

But Michigan’s Bierlein says that many state representatives are not content to wait for the federal government to address the issue. Bierlein expressed particular concern about the role nonconsensual deepfakes could play in sextortion scams, which the FBI says have been on the rise. In 2023, a Michigan teen died by suicide after scammers threatened to post his (real) intimate photos online. “Things move really slow on a federal level, and if we waited for them to do something, we could be waiting a lot longer,” he says.

[merrysithmas]

the more chatgpt combs the idiots of humanity into its fetid drainpipe and scrapes for the diamonds of human creativity like some kind of a grotesque Gollum, the more i think of Bond's line to Q in Skyfall in the National Gallery

"-Or not pulled."

and it's like yeah, true, one day people aren't going to have practical experience in almost anything

but like secondly, this is why a film about Q would be so relevant today. they didn't follow through on the theme from Skyfall with the rest of the Craig Bond films, but going off their convo in the National Gallery the inevitability of time occurred: Q essentially "replaced" Bond (Bond died in NTTD), and the younger generation of Britain, represented by Q, took over without its stalwart steward Bond to mind the gates. The new ideas and changing world that Bond (and Dench's M) were rueful about took precedence.

Now we have monsters made of the tech that was supposed to save us and bring equity - because tech isn't a pure medium. It is made by imperfect men and thus is imperfect.

It would be gratifying in today's world of shitty generative AI, predatory online monitoring, disinformation, deepfake video and audio, unchecked data collection by websites and apps, unrelenting ads, subscriptions, and international election interference - that someone like Q would reflect on the unfurling of his generation's (ours) hopes and dreams.

He would be a great modern Agent protagonist to go up against toxic tech and the unjust surveillance that goes both unaddressed and used with flagrant abandon by governments, corporations, and individuals towards the generation population.

And that, of course, would tie back into his fateful convo with Bond and the humility Q gained as he got older and reflected on the world - and how to protect people, ironically by resurrecting concepts from the derided Old World to save the New.

[prettystylinson]

look, regulating harmful content is important, obviously. but banning all porn, no matter the context or consent? that just feels like a massive distraction from way more urgent problems. instead of cracking down on adult content made by and for consenting adults, maybe lawmakers should focus on things like child exploitation, revenge porn, trafficking, and actual online abuse.

porn isn’t inherently dangerous. the real issues come from lack of regulation, exploitation, and people not knowing how to consume it responsibly. banning it across the board doesn’t solve those problems—it just hurts sex workers, strips away personal freedoms, and wastes legal resources on the wrong targets. feels more like a moral panic than real protection. we need nuance, not knee-jerk bans.

it’s 100% valid to talk about the downsides of porn—like how it can mess with mental health, relationships, and promote really unrealistic or harmful ideas about sex and consent. people aren’t wrong for being concerned about how easy access to it can shape how young people understand intimacy and gender roles. those are real convos worth having.

but even if you’re someone who thinks porn should be banned or super heavily regulated, it’s kind of wild to pretend like that’s the most pressing issue right now. we’re dealing with massive crises—healthcare, education gaps, poverty, climate change, violence against marginalized communities. putting a full ban on porn at the top of the priority list just feels kinda disconnected from the reality most people are living. if we actually addressed those deeper systemic problems, it’d probably make a way bigger difference overall.

the whole “men are just mad their porn is getting taken away” take is honestly so lazy and misses the point. like hi, i’m a woman, i watch porn, and i’m not embarrassed about it. this isn’t about some panic over not being able to get off—it’s about what this kind of bill represents.

turning it into a joke about dudes losing access to porn ignores the bigger stuff: censorship, bodily autonomy, and the scary precedent it sets for controlling what people are allowed to consume privately. plus, it totally erases the fact that it’s not just men engaging with adult content—there are tons of women, queer folks, and sex-positive people who do too, and who understand the difference between ethical content and actual harm. this convo deserves more nuance.

a more realistic and helpful approach would be regulating what content is being made and making sure it’s safe, ethical, and consensual. like—why not focus on making platforms more accountable for verifying the age and consent of performers? why not enforce stricter moderation so revenge porn, child exploitation, and deepfakes are actually removed and prosecuted?

tech exists to flag and remove harmful content—use that. support legislation that protects performers, punishes non-consensual distribution, and gives people more control over their own image. maybe even push for better sex ed so people know the difference between fantasy and reality.

banning everything isn’t the answer—it just pushes it underground, makes it more dangerous, and honestly does nothing to address the real issues.

[haggishlyhagging]

The concept of technological neutrality is outdated and must be re-examined. The idea that technology can exist in a vacuum, free from the bias and intent of its creator, is becoming irrelevant as the boundaries between technology and society disappear. The more technology blends with our personal lives, the less the distinction matters; artificial intelligence and streaming pornography are not the equivalent of technology that is, say, a spoon, or a book. We continue to lump many human creations under this term while technology becomes more interactive and enables profound human rights abuses. Moreover, abusive behavior that takes place online is intertwined with notions of "free speech," meaning that the existence of the medium placed between the perpetrator and victim transforms abuse into the self-expression of the abuser. Digital sexual abuse and projected rape then become classified as "free speech" simply because they are published online, and the theft of women's images to profit from their dehumanization becomes a protected right in the eyes of the law.

It is important to consider how many of our modern technologies we take for granted were advanced by men seeking to sexually exploit women, including streaming video, deepfake technology, and certain aspects of the internet. Therefore, it should not be surprising that men eagerly use these tools to further their subjugation of women and children and profit from their rape, both physical and mental. As Andrea Dworkin explained:

When your rape is entertainment, your worthlessness is absolute. You have reached the nadir of social worthlessness. The civil impact of pornography on women is staggering. One lives inside a nightmare of sexual abuse that is both actual and potential, and you have the great joy of knowing that your nightmare is someone else's freedom and someone else's fun.

It will not be enough to continue to challenge emerging technologies as each human rights violation against women emerges. If we assume that approach, we will always be on the defensive, and we can't possibly keep up. We must 1) challenge the long-held idea of the neutrality of technology and 2) continue to work within our circles to change minds about the nature of women's reality and resist the commodification of women wherever we see it. We have truth on our side, whereas the images in pornography and shared elsewhere online are based in lies.

The men who are spreading these lies, profiting from digital sexual abuse, encouraging and participating in rape as a form of entertainment, are not separate from the technology they wield to do so: men are wielding emerging media to terrorize women. That such technology is considered to have a fundamental right to exist, whereas women do not have a fundamental right to safety, dignity, or bodily integrity is a violation and a hypocrisy that must be confronted.

-Genevieve Gluck, “Creative Control: Woman as Intellectual Property” in Spinning And Weaving: Radical Feminism for the 21st Century

[feckcops]

Joan Is Awful: Black Mirror episode is every striking actor’s worst nightmare

“A sticking point of the near-inevitable Sag-Aftra strike is the potential that AI could soon render all screen actors obsolete. A union member this week told Deadline: ‘Actors see Black Mirror’s Joan Is Awful as a documentary of the future, with their likenesses sold off and used any way producers and studios want. We want a solid pathway. The studios countered with ‘trust us’ – we don’t.’ ...

“If a studio has the kit, not to mention the balls, to deepfake Tom Hanks into a movie he didn’t agree to star in, then it has the potential to upend the entire industry as we know it. It’s one thing to have your work taken from you, but it’s another to have your entire likeness swiped.

“The issue is already creeping in from the peripheries. The latest Indiana Jones movie makes extensive use of de-ageing technology, made by grabbing every available image of Harrison Ford 40 years ago and feeding it into an algorithm. Peter Cushing has been semi-convincingly brought back to life for Star Wars prequels, something he is unlikely to have given permission for unless the Disney execs are particularly skilled at the ouija board. ITV’s recent sketch show Deep Fake Neighbour Wars took millions of images of Tom Holland and Nicki Minaj, and slapped them across the faces of young performers so adeptly that it would be very easy to be fooled into thinking that you were watching the real celebrities in action.

“Unsurprisingly, Sag-Aftra members want this sort of thing to be regulated, asking for their new labour contract to include terms about when AI likenesses can be used, how to protect against misuse, and how much money they can expect from having their likenesses used by AI.”

[peachjagiya]

hi peach...

i don't know if you've heard about the scandals with deepfake porn in sk, which is really just a tip of the iceberg of many things. the state of things are horrible for women. the male population are pretty much horrible, and i know that is a generalizing statement but the statistics agree. womens position in korean society is seriously not good. and i don't want to make this about myself. but i don't know how i can continue to support bts. yes, on one hand, there is nothing that shows that these men are like that, and most things show that they are good people. and i would never even think these things about them if it werent for the things i have read. but they are also very protected, and are meant to be portrayed in positive light. i just mean, even though i feel that i can trust them, i also can't? but i don't want to judge them for things they haven't done. i don't know why i am sending this to you, i know you probably don't have the answers. but i like reading your blog and i am especially invested in tk even though i like all of bangtan. i know that we know very little. it just scares me. i know that i have to accept that we can not know for sure, but how do i continue to support them then? but my life would feel so empty without them, i don't think i could stop supporting them either because my heart does not believe these things about them. i just don't know how to justify it to myself when i read about these women suffering, i want to help and support them and if supporting male idols isn't then... i don't know. i know i probably shouldn't invest so much in these artists that i don't know, but i can't help it... if something ever came out about them, i don't think i could take it.. what are your thoughts on this, and maybe your followers too? thank you

<3

I am so sorry this has affected you this way. I think your concerns are valid - ultimately we shouldn't be placing any person we don't personally know on a pedestal, man nor woman.

The first thing my wife said to me when I said I was getting Tae tattooed on my arm was "What if he turns out to be a bad person?" and I did have a think about it. Like all I actually know him is what I value in him. That stuff isn't for nothing. I think it's very human to gravitate towards traits in people that feel familiar, help you feel seen, make you feel good, give you that dopamine. But you do need to consider there's always a possibility.

(In the end I decided to go ahead with tattoo anyway. It's not photorealistic, it's a photoshoot that represents something I've been into a lot longer than BTS, etc)

The advice I have is make their humanity your baseline. My baby army observation is that we're not very good at treating these guys like humans even when they haven't done anything wrong. We expect perfection, we expect they share their whole brain with us, we expect a lot from them that is highly unreasonable to expect.

Accepting they're human as a baseline means you're less surprised when they behave like humans who make mistakes, who are flawed and imperfect, who probably have darkness in them like everyone does. And if they should have committed a crime you find abhorrent, you're not losing the idol love of your life.. you're cutting loose a human.

Of course this is easier said than done. I fully admit BTS, especially TKK, are a huge source of dopamine for my depressed ass. If I had to cut them off for any reason, it would suck! I would be so sad. That feeling is ok too.

Think about JK R0wling. Nearly every single queer I know personally was once a Harry Potter OBSESSIVE. I know about eight lesbians with a Deathly Hallows tattoo. And she has let our community down. She has gone all in on a hate campaign against us to the point where I have gently held my gender questioning child, with a non-binary mama, by the shoulders in a shop and explained softly that I would never be buying him Harry Potter pyjamas he wanted because "the person who created this is an open and active bully." And do you know what? It's fine. My son is fine. I am fine.

If I said to the much younger Peach who idolised her that one day the sight of her would make us feel sick, much younger Peach would have been devastated and disbelieving. But you know what? It has been remarkably easy to get over it. My life is actually missing nothing as a result of getting rid of a deeply abhorrent author who was once my world.

All eight lesbians have got or are in the process of getting them covered or removed. And they're fine too.

So that's what if they HAD done something.

But the thing to remember... is that they haven't. And it's still ok to enjoy them right now! This Yoongi situation probably hasn't helped because I think I'm feeling overanxious about stuff like this too. You can only act on facts though. Half the criticism they receive online is just people making stuff up.

The Nth room stuff was wrapped up in 2020. They weren't on lists then. The new Telegram stuff is an ongoing investigation. They have not been arrested. This doesn't mean there's no way BTS have ever been involved. It just means based on the facts, we have nothing untoward to go on.

If "protected" is an indicator of maybe there's shady dealings going on, then every film, every piece of music, every TV show, every book has a connection to shady stuff. Art exists to get us through hard times, not to make things worse. That's why it sucks so much when artists DO let us down. Because they take away a piece of something we need to be happy. Music, art, film, literature.

You can't live like that, anon. You're doing the right thing by educating yourself, by believing victims, by being appalled by this. I know many people who simply don't become so affected by this stuff that they even think about it beyond the article they read and a few more who would laugh it off. You are on the right side of history. Think what your care means to people who've been abused. In a world where people do not listen to women, you're saying you hear them and you see them. That does actually mean something.

But please protect your spirit - you need to be able to sing, and look at pictures and watch films. You're not doing the wrong thing to still enjoy things right now when the world is in the dumpster. There's nothing to suggest BTS have been involved... so stick with facts.

Anxiety is ruling our collective mind at the moment, I think, and though she's helpful in small doses, Anxiety is a bitch in big doses. Letting Joy take control is not naivete. It's strength.

I don't know who you are but I am sending you so much love, anon.

💜

[jiminjeonging]

Man, the hypocrisy of K-Pop stans truly is nauseating. https://x.com/tallyspies/status/1889751764779323692?s=46 Here we have that one insufferable account who does nothing but criticize and complain about everything aespa does and engage in fan wars, always very worried about super important things like making these tweets calling out shippers and saying their outfits suck or that the concerts are boring or whatever, having the gall to compare you to a male fan and making a big deal out of nothing. Funnily enough, not so long ago the Karina Protect account posted about some disgusting weirdo who quite literally had his whole account dedicated to videos of himself jacking off to female idols PCs, with many of them being done on JM's PCs. I've NEVER seen any of these people who are constantly on shippers' ass RTing or talking about this type of stuff, much less about the freaks posting deepfakes or even the nasty akgaes slut shaming and degrading them to the max, because we're all very aware that they don't really care about supposedly "inappropriate" and "sexualizing" tweets, and they just want an excuse to go all out on their homophobia. https://x.com/serperiwhore/status/1889538048683360638?s=46 And here we have a tweet with almost 60k likes quite literally asking who is the true "alpha" among these male idols based on bulge pictures, and despite a few people asking them to delete specifically the Jeno one, the majority are freely comparing, fantasizing and truly sexualizing these men in a way that no GG stan could ever dare to do, because they'd be promptly canceled, harassed and probably ran off their fandom for being "disgusting freaks." Let's also not forget that the whole collective of K-Pop Twitter was sending death threats and cyberbullying that girl sanairl just because she was openly unsupportive of that whole PR debacle of 0227 to the point she had to move accs and rebrand. Unsurprisingly, that "fan" of yours who's one of the biggest wock enjoyers is finding this amusing and calling you weird too: https://x.com/mjnjeong/status/1889774548192473454 So... the bottom line is that I'm so fucking tired of this. Sorry for the rant, Nat, but for real, it's hard not to get angry at these people and their faux morality that is ultimately rooted in both misogyny and homophobia (and in the last example, rooted in having their delulu perception of MJ confronted and challenged). Don't let these assholes discourage you, because if anything, all of this is just more reason for GG shippers (and especially JMJers, of course) to get freakier and more annoying. Rest assured we stand with you, queen. Thanks for doing God's work and giving us good content that also doubles down in triggering bigots and hypocrites.

you really said everything i wanted to say ppl are always so dramatic and do too much against jmjers gg shippers and its very trying i dont even know how many weird asks i got and had to block them too but they still keep on going like someone just wished for me to get raped but im the freak one right?? i think im gonna take a break and just focus on writing fics im so tired of this fandom

[beardedmrbean]

An Irving Independent School District administrator resigned this week after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for his firing.

In a social media post, Abbott called for both "criminal and civil investigations" against Irving ISD after a video surfaced that allegedly showed Reny Lizardo, the executive director of Campus Operations for Irving ISD, speaking to an undercover investigator for Accuracy in Media, a nonprofit conservative watchdog group.

The video appeared to show Lizardo asking the woman, who claimed to be a mom, if she can legally change the gender on her child's birth certificate so the male child can participate in female sports.

"I don't know enough about it, is that possible?" Lizardo is heard on the video. "If you can get that done and you turn us a birth certificate that says this gender... that's the gender we go with."

At another point he appeared to say, "It's not illegal if you don't get caught, right?"  

"Mr. Lizardo was more than happy to coach her on how to circumvent the law," said Adam Guillette, the president of Accuracy in Media. "Then said, 'If we get sued, we'll just say this conversation never happened.'"

Guillette said the video was recorded in December. He said he returned to Irving ISD two weeks after that looking for answers.

"He denied everything, and I told him I had the video," Guillette said. "We also brought a mobile billboard playing the video on a loop and parked it at the entrance to their district building. And he denied it all and asked me if he was being interviewed."

Guillette alleged Lizardo then took him to someone in the district communications department.

"He said, 'I can't say anything until I've seen the video,'" Guillette said. "I offered to show it to him on a tablet or he could see it outside on the mobile billboard. He said he was too busy for that and took my information and never got back to me."

Guillette said he has not heard from Irving ISD since that day.  

"Many people will come out saying this was selective editing. This is a fake video," Guillete said. "I'm not technically gifted enough to create deepfake videos of obscure Texas government employees. In addition, if it was fake, how come they haven't denied it?"

Irving ISD released this statement to CBS News Texas, saying in part:

"...the videos were obtained under false pretenses ... the message conveyed in the video, as presented, does not reflect the views nor policies of the district. ...while the matter continues to be under investigation, the individual identified in the video has tendered his resignation."

*see Irving ISD's full statement below.

Prior to that statement, the governor's office doubled down in a statement to CBS News Texas, saying, "Biological boys have no business competing against biological girls, and Governor Abbott has made it clear that we must protect the integrity of girl's sports. This school administrator should be fired, and he and Irving ISD should be investigated for violations of state law."

CBS News Texas also reached out to Lizardo but we have not heard back.

Title IX protections for LGBTQ students and Texas law

Title IX recently expanded to protect transgender students from discrimination in educational programs and activities; however, Texas did not adopt that policy change.

The landmark 50-year-old law prohibits education entities that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of sex. 

The Biden administration attempted to expand Title IX's protections to LGBTQ students last year and broaden the definition of "hostile-environment harassment" to include harassment based on gender identity. Under the expanded protections, a school would be found in violation of Title IX if it prohibited transgender students from using restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration over the changes to the law, as did several Texas school districts. Paxton argued that Texas would be "harmed" if the changes took place.

"Texas educational institutions rely on federal funding and will be irreparably harmed if they lose their funding because of their reliance on 50 years of Title IX practice and legal precedent interpreting 'on the basis of sex' to mean biological sex, not 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity,'" the lawsuit states.  

Abbott also condemned the changes to Title IX, sending a letter to Biden claiming the revision "forces schools to treat biological men as women." Abbott also directed the Texas colleges and universities to ignore the revisions to Title IX.

In 2021, Abbott signed into law legislation that banned trans women and girls in K-12 schools from participating in sports teams aligned with their gender identities, and in 2023 legislation that bans trans athletes from participating in collegiate sports teams that match their gender identities. In 2023, Abbott also signed a law banning gender-affirming care for trans youth in Texas.

The changes to Title IX took effect Aug. 1 but in less than half of the states. Federal judges temporarily blocked it in 26 states as a result of legal challenges.

Irving ISD full statement

"In Irving ISD, we are committed to upholding the requirements of state and federal laws, especially as it pertains to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students, and we will cooperate with any investigation initiated by relevant authorities.

We are aware of the unauthorized video footage circulating on social media of an individual connected with Irving ISD. The videos were obtained under false pretenses by an individual who posed as a concerned parent and additional individuals who posed as family friends of the employee pictured. The individuals also held themselves out as members of the media, but were not credentialed as such, constituting a breach of security.

In addition, the footage has been edited and is an incomplete representation of the entire conversation, making it difficult to properly assess its probative value. Nevertheless, we want to reiterate that Irving ISD complies with all state and federal laws and all employees are expected to adhere to any and all legal and ethical standards. The message conveyed in the video, as presented, does not reflect the views nor policies of the district.

Individual employees do not speak on behalf of the district. The individual identified was acting outside of his role as it relates to legal and regulatory expertise. While the matter continues to be under investigation, the individual identified in the video has tendered his resignation. The resignation was accepted upon receipt in accordance with district policy.

While the subject matter at issue has not been presented to the district to this point, we have received an overwhelming number of inquiries nonetheless. In response, we can also confirm that all Irving ISD student-athletes are participating in their sport in accordance with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Irving ISD is unwavering in our commitment to the safety and well-being of all of our students and staff. We remain focused on our primary function to maintain educational excellence and foster the full potential of our students."

[bandzboy]

I work in IT and also did my thesis on AI, only now in the masters degree we got a subject on the ethics of AI, which (fortunately) is mandatory, but I was so disillusioned when the first discussion on deepfake and its exploitation started none of the male students saw this as an acceptable justification why deepfake should be heavily regulated and forbidden for individual use a distribution. And their explanation? "Because it is fake after all, what is the harm?". I was so grateful to our professor who grilled the guy who said it for like 10 minutes asking what if someone did that of him. At the end many others took the subject and him (the professor) more serious.

But that really makes me think about the solutions for that problem. Because usually I'm not an "eye for an eye" kind of person, but when it's about distribution of artificial pornography especially of that kind I really want to doxx those perpetrators and just give them a taste of their own medicine, also making such horrible humiliation rooms for them so others will be deterred. I know in practice that is probably impossible and would require a lot of group effort but I just want those people who did stuff so nonchalantly understand what it's like. Because I deeply believe that anyone can be rehabilitated. Of course doing it by doxxing and creating deepfakes of the perpetrators is kind of against that but I really don't know how else those people can be broadly and efficiently corrected in their behaviour (meaning without wasting so much time single talking to each of them and convincing them to stop).

What are your thoughts on that? Do you think if possible there should be a vigilante like response to that or rather rely on (inter)national media pressure to get the governments to pass useful laws AND implement them?

first of all, thank you for sending this question. second of all, i am glad your professor grilled that guy because truly i remember when ai started to become more popular and i remember seeing a lot of feminists and women online say that this could eventually become dangerous and become a tool to harass women even further and with all of these deepfake ai cases happening around the world it's proving just that. taking someone's likeness to generate something should not be allowed or you shouldn't get away with it without consequences and this is a hill that i am gonna die on because i hate the fact that it's something that is becoming more and more utilized to do things like this and since there aren't any regulations or laws around ai, people just get away with doing the worst possible things like deepfakes of sexual nature.

honestly, i feel there will be time that governments will have to do something about this since this is becoming an issue, especially towards women and it's being talked about more and more as of recent so i would like to believe something will be made but it's obviously taking a lot of time for anything to happen. so i mean... i do believe that people who do these heinous acts should be exposed and shamed publicly since, like you said, feel so comfortable doing this to others surely they would like to be exposed to do world right? (sarcasm)

but anyways, i believe there may eventually be a law of some kind around ai and deepfakes of this kind. still, the truth is people, especially women, have to do everything they can to protect themselves even if it means going to such lengths to expose whoever did it and also keep this subject alive and look out for each other which is also important. we live in a deeply misogynistic society and make up ways to oppress women even further and truly i don't blame women for doing something radical to protect themselves for the time being

[jcmarchi]

Deepfake misuse & deepfake detection (before it’s too late) - CyberTalk

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/deepfake-misuse-deepfake-detection-before-its-too-late-cybertalk/

Deepfake misuse & deepfake detection (before it’s too late) - CyberTalk

Micki Boland is a global cyber security warrior and evangelist with Check Point’s Office of the CTO. Micki has over 20 years in ICT, cyber security, emerging technology, and innovation. Micki’s focus is helping customers, system integrators, and service providers reduce risk through the adoption of emerging cyber security technologies. Micki is an ISC2 CISSP and holds a Master of Science in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA with a global security concentration from East Carolina University.

In this dynamic and insightful interview, Check Point expert Micki Boland discusses how deepfakes are evolving, why that matters for organizations, and how organizations can take action to protect themselves. Discover on-point analyses that could reshape your decisions, improving cyber security and business outcomes. Don’t miss this.

Can you explain how deepfake technology works? 

Deepfakes involve simulated video, audio, and images to be delivered as content via online news, mobile applications, and through social media platforms. Deepfake videos are created with Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN), a type of Artificial Neural Network that uses Deep Learning to create synthetic content.

GANs sound cool, but technical. Could you break down how they operate?

GAN are a class of machine learning systems that have two neural network models; a generator and discriminator which game each other. Training data in the form of video, still images, and audio is fed to the generator, which then seeks to recreate it. The discriminator then tries to discern the training data from the recreated data produced by the generator.

The two artificial intelligence engines repeatedly game each other, getting iteratively better. The result is convincing, high quality synthetic video, images, or audio. A good example of GAN at work is NVIDIA GAN. Navigate to the website https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/ and you will see a composite image of a human face that was created by the NVIDIA GAN using faces on the internet. Refreshing the internet browser yields a new synthetic image of a human that does not exist.

What are some notable examples of deepfake tech’s misuse?

Most people are not even aware of deepfake technologies, although these have now been infamously utilized to conduct major financial fraud. Politicians have also used the technology against their political adversaries. Early in the war between Russia and Ukraine, Russia created and disseminated a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy advising Ukrainian soldiers to “lay down their arms” and surrender to Russia.

How was the crisis involving the Zelenskyy deepfake video managed?

The deepfake quality was poor and it was immediately identified as a deepfake video attributable to Russia. However, the technology is becoming so convincing and so real that soon it will be impossible for the regular human being to discern GenAI at work. And detection technologies, while have a tremendous amount of funding and support by big technology corporations, are lagging way behind.

What are some lesser-known uses of deepfake technology and what risks do they pose to organizations, if any?

Hollywood is using deepfake technologies in motion picture creation to recreate actor personas. One such example is Bruce Willis, who sold his persona to be used in movies without his acting due to his debilitating health issues. Voicefake technology (another type of deepfake) enabled an autistic college valedictorian to address her class at her graduation.

Yet, deepfakes pose a significant threat. Deepfakes are used to lure people to “click bait” for launching malware (bots, ransomware, malware), and to conduct financial fraud through CEO and CFO impersonation. More recently, deepfakes have been used by nation-state adversaries to infiltrate organizations via impersonation or fake jobs interviews over Zoom.

How are law enforcement agencies addressing the challenges posed by deepfake technology?

Europol has really been a leader in identifying GenAI and deepfake as a major issue. Europol supports the global law enforcement community in the Europol Innovation Lab, which aims to develop innovative solutions for EU Member States’ operational work. Already in Europe, there are laws against deepfake usage for non-consensual pornography and cyber criminal gangs’ use of deepfakes in financial fraud.

What should organizations consider when adopting Generative AI technologies, as these technologies have such incredible power and potential?

Every organization is seeking to adopt GenAI to help improve customer satisfaction, deliver new and innovative services, reduce administrative overhead and costs, scale rapidly, do more with less and do it more efficiently. In consideration of adopting GenAI, organizations should first understand the risks, rewards, and tradeoffs associated with adopting this technology. Additionally, organizations must be concerned with privacy and data protection, as well as potential copyright challenges.

What role do frameworks and guidelines, such as those from NIST and OWASP, play in the responsible adoption of AI technologies?

On January 26th, 2023, NIST released its forty-two page Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0) and AI Risk Management Playbook (NIST 2023). For any organization, this is a good place to start.

The primary goal of the NIST AI Risk Management Framework is to help organizations create AI-focused risk management programs, leading to the responsible development and adoption of AI platforms and systems.

The NIST AI Risk Management Framework will help any organization align organizational goals for and use cases for AI. Most importantly, this risk management framework is human centered. It includes social responsibility information, sustainability information and helps organizations closely focus on the potential or unintended consequences and impact of AI use.

Another immense help for organizations that wish to further understand risk associated with GenAI Large Language Model adoption is the OWASP Top 10 LLM Risks list. OWASP released version 1.1 on October 16th, 2023. Through this list, organizations can better understand risks such as inject and data poisoning. These risks are especially critical to know about when bringing an LLM in house.

As organizations adopt GenAI, they need a solid framework through which to assess, monitor, and identify GenAI-centric attacks. MITRE has recently introduced ATLAS, a robust framework developed specifically for artificial intelligence and aligned to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

For more of Check Point expert Micki Boland’s insights into deepfakes, please see CyberTalk.org’s past coverage. Lastly, to receive cyber security thought leadership articles, groundbreaking research and emerging threat analyses each week, subscribe to the CyberTalk.org newsletter.

[mariacallous]

If anyone can rally up a base, it’s Taylor Swift.

When sexually explicit, likely AI-generated, fake images of Swift circulated on social media this week, it galvanized her fans. Swifties found phrases and hashtags related to the images and flooded them with videos and photos of Swift performing. “Protect Taylor Swift” went viral, trending as Swifties spoke out against not just the Swift deepfakes, but all nonconsensual, explicit images made of women.

Swift, arguably the most famous woman in the world right now, has become the high-profile victim of an all-too-frequent form of harassment. She has yet to comment on the photos publicly, but her status gives her power to wield in a situation where so many women have been left with little recourse. Deepfake porn is becoming more common as generative artificial intelligence gets better: 113,000 deepfake videos were uploaded to the most popular porn websites in the first nine months of 2023, a significant increase to the 73,000 videos uploaded throughout 2022. In 2019, research from a startup found that 96 percent of deepfakes on the internet were pornographic.

The content is easy to find on search engines and social media, and has affected other female celebrities and teenagers. Yet, many people don’t understand the full extent of the problem or its impact. Swift, and the media mania around her, has the potential to change that.

“It does feel like this could be one of those trigger events” that could lead to legal and societal changes around nonconsensual deepfakes, says Sam Gregory, executive director of Witness, a nonprofit organization focused on using images and videos for protecting human rights. But Gregory says people still don’t understand how common deepfake porn is, and how harmful and violating it can be to victims.

If anything, this deepfake disaster is reminiscent of the 2014 iCloud leak that led to nude photos of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton spreading online, prompting calls for greater protections on people's digital identities. Apple ultimately ramped up security features.

A handful of states have laws around nonconsensual deepfakes, and there are moves to ban it on the federal level, too. Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-New York) has introduced a bill in Congress that would make it illegal to create and share deepfake porn without a person’s consent. Another House bill from Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-New York) seeks to give legal recourse to victims of deepfake porn. Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-New Jersey), who in November introduced a bill that would require the labeling of AI content, used the viral Swift moment to draw attention to his efforts: “Whether the victim is Taylor Swift or any young person across our country—we need to establish safeguards to combat this alarming trend,” Kean said in a statement.

This isn’t the first time that Swift or Swifties have tried to hold platforms and people accountable. In 2017, Swift won a lawsuit she brought against a radio DJ who she claimed groped her during a meet-and-greet. She was awarded $1—the amount she sued for, and what her attorney Douglas Baldridge called a symbolic sum “the value of which is immeasurable to all women in this situation.”

Last fall, tens of thousands of people registered to vote after the superstar posted a link to Vote.org on Instagram. And in 2022, her fan base, so enraged after waiting hours to buy tickets to the Eras Tour only to be beaten out by bots, reignited conversation around antitrust issues with Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s mega-merger. A cringy Senate hearing followed, and an investigation into Live Nation’s agreements with venues and artists is ongoing.

Swift and her fans could advocate for legal changes at the federal level to pass. But their outrage could do something else: lead platforms to take notice. “When you have a really massive group of users saying this content is unacceptable in this very high-profile way, the power there is about what it says to the platform about what users will and won’t tolerate,” says Cailin O’Connor, a professor of philosophy at University of California, Irvine and coauthor of The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread. X did not respond to a request for comment on the images and its moderation efforts regarding deepfake porn. Elon Musk bought the site in 2022 and quickly gutted its moderation teams. Advertisers have also dropped off recently after Musk’s apparent endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

It’s not clear whether Swift will take on this issue. A representative for Swift did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Harassment of female celebrities is frequent and often brushed aside, but deepfakes are harming them and others without the same power. This could be a moment for Swift to use her powerful platform—or at least for her fans to push the issue before the public.

[xaltius]

Top Phishing Scams and How to Protect Against Them in 2025

It's June 2025, and while the digital world continues to advance at breakneck speed, so too do the tactics of cybercriminals. Phishing, the art of tricking individuals into revealing sensitive information or performing malicious actions, remains the single most common entry point for cyberattacks. Gone are the days of easily spotted typos and poorly designed emails; today's phishing attempts are sophisticated, personalized, and disturbingly effective, often powered by advanced technologies like AI.

The New Faces of Deception: Top Phishing Scams in 2025

Phishing isn't just about email anymore. Attackers are diversifying their channels and leveraging cutting-edge technology.

AI-Driven Voice Cloning Scams (Vishing/Deepfake Audio): This is perhaps the most alarming trend. Cybercriminals are using AI to clone voices with uncanny accuracy. You might receive an urgent call from what sounds exactly like your CEO, a family member, or a close colleague, demanding an immediate wire transfer or urgent action. These deepfake audio attacks are incredibly hard to detect without extreme caution.

The Lure: Emotional manipulation, urgency, and the apparent authenticity of a trusted voice.

Sophisticated Multi-Channel Phishing (Smishing, Quishing, and Beyond):

Smishing (SMS Phishing): Text messages impersonating banks, parcel delivery services (e.g., "Your package has a pending fee, click here to resolve"), or even government agencies are highly common. Links often lead to fake login pages.

Quishing (QR Code Phishing): As QR codes become ubiquitous, scammers embed malicious QR codes into emails, posters, physical flyers, or even seemingly legitimate documents. Scanning them can lead to phishing sites or malware downloads.

Social Media & Collaboration Platform Phishing: Attacks aren't confined to email or SMS. Scammers are actively using platforms like WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Slack, and Microsoft Teams to impersonate colleagues, IT support, or trusted brands to gain your trust and steal credentials or information.

AI-Generated Phishing Emails with Flawless Grammar and Personalization: The days of phishing emails being betrayed by obvious grammatical errors are largely over. Generative AI enables cybercriminals to craft highly convincing, personalized emails that mimic legitimate communications with alarming accuracy. They might analyze your public social media profiles or past communications to make the email seem even more credible.

The Lure: Perfect language, contextually relevant content, and precise impersonation of known entities.

Credential Phishing for Cloud Services: With almost everyone using cloud platforms like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or various SaaS applications, credential theft remains a primary goal. Attackers create extremely realistic fake login pages for these services, hoping you'll enter your username and password, giving them direct access to your accounts.

The Lure: Mimicking trusted login portals for services you use daily.

MFA Fatigue Attacks: Attackers repeatedly send multi-factor authentication (MFA) push notifications to your device at odd hours, hoping you'll eventually approve one out of frustration or exhaustion. Once approved, they gain access.

The Lure: Annoyance and the human tendency to want to stop repeated notifications.

Employment Scams & Headhunter Phishing: Targeting job seekers, these scams offer fake job opportunities via email or social media. They might ask for personal information early in the process or demand fees for "training" or "background checks."

The Lure: The excitement of a new opportunity and the desire for employment.

Your Shield in 2025: How to Protect Yourself

The key to defense in 2025 is a combination of skepticism, smart tech habits, and continuous awareness.

Verify Before You Click, Respond, or Act:

Always Confirm Requests: If you receive an urgent request (especially financial or sensitive data-related) via email, text, or even a call, do not act on it within that channel. Verify it independently using a known, trusted method (e.g., call the person back on their known phone number, use an official company communication channel you trust).

Inspect URLs Carefully: Before clicking a link, hover over it (on desktop) or long-press (on mobile) to reveal the actual URL. Look for subtle misspellings, extra words, or unusual domains. Even if it has "HTTPS," the site itself could be malicious.

Question Unexpected Communications: If you weren't expecting an email, text, or call, be immediately suspicious. Does it match the sender's usual behavior? Is the timing strange?

Enable and Harden Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA):

Use MFA Everywhere: Enable MFA on all your important accounts (email, banking, social media, cloud services).

Prioritize Phishing-Resistant MFA: Where possible, opt for app-based authenticators (like Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator) or physical security keys (like YubiKey) over SMS-based MFA, which can be vulnerable to SIM-swapping. MFA is a critical barrier, even if your password is stolen.

Think Context, Not Just Grammar:

Be Skeptical of AI-Generated Content: Assume that flawless grammar and perfect branding can still be a scam. Focus on the context of the message. Is it asking for something unusual? Is it trying to create panic or urgency?

Don't Fall for Urgency/Threats: Scammers thrive on emotional manipulation. Messages that threaten immediate account closure, legal action, or massive fines are almost always scams.

Keep All Software Updated:

Patch Relentlessly: Ensure your operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux), web browsers, antivirus software, and all applications are always updated to the latest versions. Updates often include critical security patches against known vulnerabilities.

Invest in Robust Security Software:

Use reputable antivirus and anti-malware solutions with real-time scanning capabilities.

Consider advanced email security solutions that use AI to detect sophisticated phishing attempts before they reach your inbox.

Regular Security Awareness Training (for everyone!):

Organizations should conduct frequent, interactive security awareness training sessions and phishing simulations. This helps build "muscle memory" for identifying and reporting suspicious activity.

Report Suspected Phishing:

If you spot a phishing attempt, report it to your IT department (if at work), your email provider, or relevant authorities. You can report cybercrimes. This helps others and contributes to tracking malicious actors.

Phishing will continue to be a dominant threat in 2025 and beyond. By understanding the latest tactics and adopting a proactive, skeptical mindset, you can significantly reduce your risk of becoming a victim. Stay informed, stay vigilant, and stay safe online!