In this episode, Mark and John discuss multiple failures at Facebook and its family of apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram, including the global outage and whistleblower testimony before Congress. We also highlight a potential seldom-reported risk for YOU if you use Facebook or Google to automatically log into other apps or accounts.

Mark then shares how he was almost scammed in a sophisticated multichannel phishing/hacking effort to gain remote access to one of his bank accounts, in this case at Citibank. (OK, not really "almost" scammed - but these guys were good!). The ultimate irony is that the automated fraud alert call with Citibank caller ID, the live call center with multiple contacts, and the fake website and phone trees all provided a much "better" – and seemingly more authentic – experience than when Mark called the real Citibank to report this attempt and to ensure that his accounts were safe. In fact, at the end of an hour on the phone with Citibank, their customer service team was ultimately unable to provide any assistance. Their suggestion was to wait until business hours and then go to the local branch. Really?!

So consider this podcast our Public Service Announcement to keep you safer and more secure online, and with your financial institutions.

And remember, if you ever receive a fraud-alert call telling you someone has just tried to charge/access your account to the tune of $1,498 from somewhere in Indonesia, you heard it here first!

The Other "F" Word Podcast - Episode #9: https://bit.ly/OtherFWordPodcast-Ep9

Playlist: The Other "F" Word: https://bit.ly/Playlist-TheOtherFWordPodcastOnYT

About The Other "F" Word Podcast:

We keep our podcast episodes brief, fun, and pithy; promise to disagree regularly with one another in pursuit of "truth;" and will offer up plenty of calls-to-action and insights to accelerate innovation, entrepreneurship, teamwork, and the types of aha moments that inspire positive change in general.

New episodes come out about once a month, and more (or less) frequently when the feeling and events move us.

For more on us, see...

- our book: www.theotherfwordbook.com

- John: www.johndanner.com

- Mark: www.markcoopersmith.com