[HN Gopher] Seraph Secure: anti-scam software co-founded by Kitboga
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Seraph Secure: anti-scam software co-founded by Kitboga
Author : MontagFTB
Score : 56 points
Date : 2023-12-01 19:55 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.seraphsecure.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.seraphsecure.com)
| theogravity wrote:
| It's really amazing Kitboga has built something like this - he
| knows this space extremely well and has the knowledge to
| understand what it takes to protect people from getting scammed.
|
| The $2 / mo pricing is beyond reasonable if you're trying to
| protect your grandparents or non-tech savvy parents from getting
| scammed.
| janice1999 wrote:
| They've even made the scanning tool free and runnable from a
| USB drive. Very much appreciated.
| timthelion wrote:
| Is this somehow related to kitboga? I don't see any indication
| that it is...
| easton wrote:
| He's in the video on the page giving a demo.
| MontagFTB wrote:
| He is using his live stream today to announce Seraph, and has
| stated multiple times that he is very closely tied to it.
| admax88qqq wrote:
| Call me a skeptic, but saying you're "very closely tied"
| sounds to me like he's getting paid to be their
| spokesperson and nothing more. It's not like he said he's a
| cofounder, investor, executive, designer, or any other real
| role in the company, he's just "very closely tied"
|
| Honestly doesn't feel like much more than a celebrity
| endorsement.
| ignoramous wrote:
| > _knows this space extremely well_
|
| If nothing else, they sure do know the VC space: _Using AI
| powered technology, fake virus pop-ups are identified and a
| warning message will be displayed._ https://archive.is/5uG3f
| willcipriano wrote:
| > 1 in 4 Americans are scam victims
|
| Adding to my list of facts that suggest democracy isn't a great
| idea.
| skyyler wrote:
| Can you propose an alternative?
| willcipriano wrote:
| Republicanism.
|
| https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/republicanism/
|
| Rather than one big democracy, you have dozens. New York,
| California and Texas get to do whatever they want but they
| don't get to tell each other how to live. Then people like me
| can move somewhere with low taxes that leaves you alone and
| those who want it can move Uncle Sam into their guest
| bedroom. We will all get together if someone invades. Like a
| weaker EU.
| omginternets wrote:
| The United States of America is a republic, my friend.
| ronsor wrote:
| Not to mention we already tried this "weaker EU" model
| and it failed horribly.
| viraptor wrote:
| > they don't get to tell each other how to live
|
| > We will all get together if someone invades.
|
| Do you see a problem coming up here? "Why should we protect
| X if they don't do things the way we do?" (This sentiment
| already exists in the US today, it would just get more
| common)
| konfusinomicon wrote:
| id love to peek into the alternate timeline where America
| still won the revolutionary war, but stayed not united.
| what kind of empires and alliances would have formed? what
| wars would have been fought? would technological
| advancements have stayed regional or even come to fruition
| at all? what would the borders in the Americas even look
| like?
| mcpackieh wrote:
| Yes, if only we made you dictator and subjected ourselves to
| your capricious whims, you would surely rule over us
| benevolently and somehow stop the foreign scammers from conning
| our grandmothers. Sounds like a great plan!
| omginternets wrote:
| Come now, the charitable interpretation is that the OP is not
| considering dictatorship as the alternative to democracy.
| mcpackieh wrote:
| What then? A non-democratic republic, e.g. a dictatorship
| of a committee? A monarchy, which is little more than a
| dictatorship crossed with religion/tradition?
| omginternets wrote:
| Ask him? I'd encourage you not to make it a loaded
| question, though.
| ronsor wrote:
| Sure, it's not great, but the alternatives are typically so
| terrible that democracy is perfect in comparison.
| marcus0x62 wrote:
| Studies show that 10 out of every 10 dictatorships are absolute
| trash.
| lebean wrote:
| If by democracy, you mean unlimited majority rule, you'd be
| right regardless of how susceptible the population is to scams.
| But I suspect you don't mean that.
| 0xdeadbeefbabe wrote:
| This complaint demonstrates the greatness of democracy, doesn't
| it?
| 1000thVisitor wrote:
| Are there public domain lists that follow this pattern, that i
| could use to the same effect?
|
| > The domain is "young" * Has a low reputation * Has unsecured
| connections * The user has mistyped a common website URL
| Semaphor wrote:
| Does anyone know if they plan a localized (specifically: German)
| version? If this actually works well, I'd be interested in
| getting this for my dad, he's older and not always clear since
| his aneurysm.
| MontagFTB wrote:
| In the stream today I recall Kit saying something about how
| they would like to localize it at some point. He didn't give
| any ETAs for the feature, though.
| AussieWog93 wrote:
| Are PC-based scams really all that common these days?
|
| All the ones I get are things like fake package deliveries or
| nonexistent tax debts, which I don't see this as protecting
| against.
|
| Thinking about it, though, I wonder if there would be a market
| for a more premium service where all calls/texts from unknown
| numbers are routed through a call centre in the Philippines and
| the spam/scams are filtered out.
| specialp wrote:
| This sounds like it is a good first step and I appreciate someone
| is trying to tackle a problem that bilks people out of billions a
| year. Another thing that would help is hitting at the sources of
| revenue for these criminals. My mother was bilked of Amazon gift
| cards after she was told she had her identity stolen by Indian
| scammers and had to provide restitution. She was panicked that
| her identity was stolen and called me. The first thing I said was
| did they request gift cards? And of course that answer was yes.
| This was after she sent them $1500 and they wanted more.
|
| Perhaps there should be some warning that is required before a
| gift card purchase that warns the purchaser of scams. I know some
| stores are doing this now when they see someone buying a bunch of
| gift cards, and sometimes preventing victimization. But perhaps
| legislation is needed here due to the scale of loss. I am not in
| favor of a nanny state, but sometimes people need to be told
| things.
| tallytarik wrote:
| Kitboga has shown in his videos where a victim will be at the
| store, and will either see a sign that warns about gift card
| scams, or is specifically told by the cashier, and still buys
| them.
|
| Why? Because often the scammer already has remote access to
| their computer and has threatened to lock it permanently, or
| take over their bank account, or whatever else. Maybe they've
| already used the infamous Inspect Element to 'zero' their bank
| account. Scam or not, the victim believes that they've already
| lost.
|
| You would need a cashier to have, essentially, Kitboga-level
| knowledge of current scams so they could accurately explain why
| the victim shouldn't buy the cards, explain that their bank
| account is actually safe, and also ideally provide instructions
| on how to the scammer off their computer. That probably goes
| beyond the scope of most cashiers.
| gnicholas wrote:
| My guess is that stores that sell gift cards would not favor
| the passage of regulations that could endanger the profit
| they are currently making on gift cards. For them, this is
| basically free money, and may contribute meaningfully to
| their profitability. Grocery stores have very low margins,
| and have to deal with spoilage and expend labor restocking
| perishable goods every day. Gift cards are a breeze, by
| comparison. They don't go bad, or take up much space.
| admax88qqq wrote:
| Is making gift cards more difficult to buy really going to
| put a dent in people getting scammed?
| Scoundreller wrote:
| I sometimes challenge myself and see how long I can keep scam
| callers _on the line_.
|
| Don't hang up! "Just hangup" is a government conspiracy to
| increase scammers effectiveness.
|
| I've found the strategy of just responding "yes" to every
| question to be a good balance between time wasted and expended
| cognitive effort. Obviously, you'll want to be careful to not
| engage in any contract, but when they're calling to reduce the
| interest rate on my visa/mastercard or amex _debit_ card
| (uhhhhhh), it works.
|
| An old example:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfOQsOOyRmw&pp=ygUNc2NhbSBjY...
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(page generated 2023-12-01 23:00 UTC)