Cybersecurity is Everyone's Business

Protect Your Family from Cybercriminals

Like civil defense, cybersecurity is everyone's business and is especially critical for families. Cybersecurity and the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) are a huge part of current civil defense. Protection from cyberattacks is no longer just the business of the government or experts. It is a fundamental responsibility of every American family.

You must know how to defend against social engineering ruses, phishing attacks in all their variations, cell phone calls from cybercriminals, and other cyber threats. More importantly, you must train your children and grandchildren in the tools they need to deflect and defeat these real-world threats to their freedom. Daily, small businesses and average Americans are being fleeced out of money by cybercriminals.

Some cybercriminals operate on their own. Some are employed by their governments like the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) 50 Cent Army “cyber warriors” with tens of thousands of hackers who function as nefarious bots.

.And some cybercriminals act on their own and with their government’s approval to steel money, intellectual property, property like home titles, reputations, and other goods and services from Americans.

The cyber landscape of 2025 will include more sophisticated ransomware, supply chain attacks, and AI-driven threats. Preparing for these shifts now ensures you and your family are protected.

Here, I will analyze what you can do when cybercriminals and hackers strike.

Predator Cybercriminals Prey on Americans Daily

Every day, Americans are fleeced out of millions of dollars by predator cybercriminals, mostly foreigners. What you read in the media of cybercriminals stealing millions from Americans is the tip of the iceberg. The issue is much bigger as most companies, and individual Americans, are so ashamed to have fallen for a grift they do not report it to law enforcement.

And even if they do report it to law enforcement, local law enforcement does not have the resources to investigate it. And national law enforcement knows that most cybercriminals are overseas. The reality is that 99.9% of cybercriminals will never be caught or prosecuted.

You are on your own. So, you need to learn to identify cybercriminals when they attempt to manipulate you to gain access to your credit card, money, bank account, or data.

Official U.S. Government Reports of CCP Cybersecurity Attacks

The U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) released the latest version of its Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) on Feb. 26, 2024. The CSF is designed to support the implementation of the 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy. It defined the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) as “the broadest, most active, and most persistent threat to both government and private sector networks.”

The publication of the new CSF followed the publication of a guidance document by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned that China’s attempts to infiltrate, disrupt, and destroy vital U.S. facilities could endanger American lives. “Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors are seeking to pre-position themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure for a major crisis or conflict with the United States,” the advisory said.

The malware, it said, was devised “to launch destructive cyber-attacks that would jeopardize the physical safety of Americans and impede military readiness.” That warning followed Congressional testimony by senior intelligence leaders that revealed the U.S. intelligence community had eradicated a Chinese botnet from more than 600 routers associated with critical U.S. infrastructure. That infrastructure included water, gas, energy, rail, air, and port traffic control systems.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) described the malware as “the cyberspace equivalent of placing bombs on American bridges, water treatment facilities, and power plants. There is no economic benefit for these actions. There is no intelligence-gathering rationale,” he said.

“The sole purpose is to be ready to destroy American infrastructure, which will inevitably result in mass American casualties. These daily CCP cybersecurity attacks may seem far away, but they can lead to serious manmade disasters for you and your family, so you need to be aware of them.”

These are cybersecurity threats against American infrastructure that support your family’s standard of living and wellbeing. They are a potential Apocalyptic disaster that continuously happens in cyberspace. You pay taxes to support government experts who also employ private sector experts who hopefully do their job and prevent these cyberattacks on our infrastructure from becoming an existential threat.

But there is another level to this cybersecurity attack being waged daily against your family. It constantly probes into your computer and cell phone in hopes of exploiting vulnerabilities whereby they can swindle you out of your life savings. Below are just two examples.

How to Protect Your Data and Money from Cybercriminal Computer Cyberattacks

Your email (and texts) are also windows of opportunity for cybercriminals. There are a variety of these kinds of frauds, but here is one example.

Someone on X contacts you claiming to be a relative of “Elon Musk’ who tells you they appreciate your support for him. Then another and another relative of “Elon Musk” contact you on X with effusive praise and state that “Elon” wants to thank you and here is his contact information, a Telegram account where you can chat with him. They are clear that you should not share this information with anyone.

You go to the Telegram account and the fake “Elon Musk” is also effusive in his praise of your fan support, and he wants to reward you by giving you access to his Bitcoin investment platform for select “fans.” He provides a link where you can set up an account, and then instructs you on how to buy Bitcoin and how to transfer it to his Bitcoin investment platform.

You set up the account and transfer money into it. And what do you know, your investment triples in worth the first day. Against your better judgement, they exploit the principle of imaginary low risk and high reward that makes state lotteries and casinos so profitable, the endorphins kick in, and you transfer more of your hard owned money into your new “investment” account hoping to get something for nothing.

You invest $1,800. You receive daily email updates from cybercriminals that show rapid growth to your initial investment. They tell you not to disclose details to anyone (because you might figure out their swindle or they might be caught by the authorities).

There is only one problem. It’s all a sophisticated scam. Once the cyber thieves decided they have enough of your money, the account disappears overseas, you have lost your savings, and they move onto the next victim. This, or countless variations of this fraud, happens every day.

You can report the cybertheft to the company from whom you purchased the Bitcoin, to local law enforcement or even the FBI (ic3.gov), but you will not see your money again.

But it does not end there. Shortly after this swindle, the “Real Elon Musk” contacts you via X, providing another Telegram account to call him. If you do, he informs you that the people who just stole your money cloned his investment platform. He regrets that, wants you to invest in his actual investment platform, and for $500 he can locate the cybercriminals who fleeced you out of your savings. And he wants you to invest in his “real” Bitcoin investment platform.

Again, this is just one example of sophisticated cyber frauds that are going around to fleece Americans out of their hard-earned income.

How to Protect Your Data and Money from Cybercriminal Cell Phone Calls

There are variations on this attack, but it goes something like this. Unexpectedly, you get a call from a number you don’t recognize. It is not from family or friends or anyone you know. On the other end, someone identifies themselves as a representative from Microsoft and says your computer has been hacked and they need to take over your system to help protect your data. They will bait with something clever like, "I am calling from your bank because there has been unusual activity on your account."

Or you get a call from your bank that a cybercriminal is draining your bank account, and he patches you through to an “FBI agent” who confirms it. Then they inform you that you need to go to your bank withdraw the remaining funds, and to safeguard your remaining funds, you must transfer them via Bitcoin back to your bank via an account number they will provide to avoid the “cybercriminals” who have hacked your account to preserve your remaining funds.

Or you get a call, and a cybercriminal claims they are the police, and your grandchild needs $1,000 bail or they will spend the night in jail.

When you get these calls, hang up.

They are trained. They are skilled. They are clever. They are devious. They will manipulate you.

Do not allow them to have access to you or your thoughts. Practice Zero Trust. Only answer your cell phone if you know the number or the person calling. If you do not recognize the number, do not answer. If the person calling is legitimate, they will leave a message. Dishonest cybercriminals will not leave a message. They will simply move on to the next victim.

Check your Bank Accounts for Unusual Activity

The most common tactic for cybercriminals fraud is that they will gain access to your credit card or checking account and try to run a $9.99 or some other small amount to see if it clears. If it does, they return and clean out your account.

I had this happen 3 months in a row with 3 different debit cards. The cybercriminal would try to put through small $9.99 charges on my debit card. When I noticed them as they were for gaming sites and I do not game, I contacted my bank and got a new card. But the cybercriminal was able to access the next 2 cards.

How?

Neither I nor my bank could find out. But this is a common scam and one you can prevent by closely monitoring your checking, savings, debit and credit accounts for unusual charges or activity. Your bank can identify certain unusual activities, but not all.

You are on your own when it comes to these cybersecurity frauds, and you must prepare yourself and your family.

Beware of Cybersecurity Fraud Tag Teams

Cybercriminals practice a very sophisticated tag team methodology. Here is another scheme they use to defraud hundreds of millions from Americans every year.

One foreign cybercriminal calls and states that you have been identified as spending money on child pornography by the FBI due to charges on your bank account. When you laugh at them and say that is impossible, they will ask you to hold and claim a representative of your bank is on the other line and they will patch you through to them.

Another criminal will come on the line and state he is a representative from your bank and that there are, indeed, payments on your account paying for child porn.

He will identify your bank and explain that he needs to take control of your computer and review your account for unusual activity. Then another criminal will come on and announce that he wants to collaborate with you to keep the remaining amount in your account safe. The criminal will ask you to withdraw it to protect it and go to a crypto ATM to transfer it back to the bank.

There are variations on this scenario, but it is a technique they use to convince honest Americans to empty their bank accounts. Hang up before they get to the team tag.

Backup your Family Data

It is vital that you back up your critical family data. The reason small business go out of business after a natural or manmade disaster is no longer the event itself but the loss of data. Because small businesses lose their business records they cannot get up and running after a disaster.

Use an EMP hardened thumb drive. After disasters, most small businesses go out of business due to the destruction of their data...not the event. Keep an EMP-hardened thumb on your key ring. Use it to back up your business and family data. As a bonus, these thumb drives come pre-loaded with the TACDA emergency resource essentials.

Cyberattacks and Frauds will Only Increase and You must be Ready

You must be aware of cybercriminal threats and attacks. They are endless. Once a cybercriminal steals your data or money, they will not be identified or prosecuted as they are safe overseas. So, learn what you need to do to protect yourself.

There are multiple resources to help you learn what to do. Here are a few.

1. New Cybersecurity Framework Underscores Governance, Expands to Al Organizations, Andrew Thornebrooke, 2/26/2024.

2. Scammers Convinced her she was an FBI Asset, the Scam Drained her Bank Account, The Washington Post, Michelle Singletary, December 2, 2024,

3. Scott E. Augenbaum's Welcome to the CyberSecure Mindset Challenge

4. Enough is Enough: Protecting an Age of Innocence

5. Fighting Back Against Ransomware in 5 Steps