My relationship status is “compromised.”

This episode of Hacking Humans dives into three high-impact social engineering scams that exploit human psychology and digital trust. The first story unpacks 'sugar baby scams'—romance frauds where victims are lured with promises of financial support in exchange for companionship, only to be tricked into sending money via gift cards after fake payments are sent. The second story centers on a Michigan small business owner whose Facebook business account was hacked, drained of ad funds, and permanently banned by Meta’s AI moderation system after attackers uploaded child sexual exploitation material to 'salt the earth' and prevent recovery. The victim faced an impossible appeals process with no human oversight, highlighting systemic failures in corporate accountability. The third story reveals a rental scam on Facebook Marketplace, where a fake landlord used a compromised account to collect $1,400 in rent and security deposits, then instructed victims to break into a property—only for a legitimate property manager to confirm the scam after the family moved in, leaving them homeless. The episode underscores how digital trust is weaponized, and how small businesses and individuals are left vulnerable when platforms prioritize automation over human review. Despite the grim realities, the hosts emphasize proactive defense: treat social media like critical infrastructure, use burner cards for ads, verify all payments through official channels, and never send money via Cash App or Bitcoin for rentals.