Defrauding Big Tech
Endless Thread27 Syys 2024

Defrauding Big Tech

They were scammers. But they weren't going to scam just anyone. They were going to scam Big Tech. And they almost got away with it.

Earlier this month, federal prosecutors accused a North Carolina man of stealing royalty payments from music streaming platforms for seven years. He allegedly used artificial intelligence to create songs by fake bands and then play those songs to get paid.

The incident resembles a scheme between 2013 and 2015 when a Lithuanian man bilked Google and Facebook out of more than $100 million before getting caught.

Endless Thread's Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell bring two stories of grifts gone wrong.

*****

Credits: This episode was produced and co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski. It was edited by our managing producer, Samata Joshi.

Jaksot(436)

Recess Therapy's Julian Shapiro-Barnum is skeptical of kids becoming social media stars

Recess Therapy's Julian Shapiro-Barnum is skeptical of kids becoming social media stars

The point of Julian Shapiro-Barnum's Recess Therapy, a video series where he interviews kids about life's bigger questions, was never to make the kids social media superstars. But that's exactly what ...

9 Helmi 202423min

Half a million eyes are on TikTok's "tunnel girl"

Half a million eyes are on TikTok's "tunnel girl"

In 2022, a TikTok creator who identifies herself as "Kala" began digging. What followed was an increasingly viral series of TikToks chronicling the efforts of Kala, who some on the internet dubbed "tu...

2 Helmi 202427min

The schism at the end of the tunnel

The schism at the end of the tunnel

The discovery of a secret tunnel attached to a Brooklyn synagogue earlier this month quickly went viral, fueling antisemitic conspiracy theories that long predate the internet. Endless Thread host Ben...

26 Tammi 202422min

Encore: The Faker

Encore: The Faker

Earlier this week, the New Hampshire Attorney General's office announced that it was investigating some suspicious robocalls urging residents not to vote in the state primary elections. The voice appe...

24 Tammi 202439min

Where's the Beef?

Where's the Beef?

What if vegetables are poison? What if, instead, humans evolved to consume an animal-based diet of steak, liver, brain, testicles, eggs, butter, and milk? Shirtless influencers on TikTok and Instagra...

19 Tammi 202453min

The Minnesota Timberwolves score NBA fandom in Brazil, but there's a kink

The Minnesota Timberwolves score NBA fandom in Brazil, but there's a kink

Rodrigo Barbosa runs social media for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves Brazilian fan club. He's fluent in Brazil's particularly zany brand of internet humor. But when one his weirdest tweets went vira...

12 Tammi 202431min

This episode is a sign from the universe

This episode is a sign from the universe

Manifestation, astrology, tarot — during tumultuous times, people are more likely to look for answers from the universe, and social media has caught on. People are manifesting their luck with the mant...

5 Tammi 202423min

Encore: Today You, Tomorrow Me

Encore: Today You, Tomorrow Me

As we approach the new year, we revisit a story with a timeless message. Ten years ago, a man was stuck on the side of the road for hours with a blown-out tire. Just as he was about to give up, somet...

29 Joulu 202322min