This past Saturday brought me great relief as the student participation on bonus quizzes matched past semesters.
Two Saturdays ago, the first trio of students took the classroom stage as they kicked off A3 Slideshow Presentation.
Three Saturdays ago, I gave my first lecture LD2: Hardware, Troubleshoot, Social Engineering, Purchasing Rationale.
Four Saturdays ago, I demonstrated LD1: Email Inbox Rules (Order Driven) to help students declutter their CSN Student Email account and direct future email traffic into designated email folders.
The past month saw most students getting acclimated to IS101. Some go above and beyond what is required. These are the students that have either earned highest score or volunteered to be the first to present their slideshow:
Casina had the best performance on Bonus Quiz 2 – Self-Reliance and Self-Responsibility.
A'marian and Earl earned the highest score on Bonus Quiz 3 – File E. & A. and Special Characters in File Name.
Earl and Sonia conquered Impromptu Bonus Challenge 1.
Alicia seized Impromptu Bonus Challenge 2.
Earl, Casina, and Naxaly jumped at the opportunity to lead in A3 Slideshow Presentation.
Andrew earned the highest score on Bonus Quiz 4 – Display, Shift/Ctrl, Boot-up, Binary, IPOS Life Cycle.
Earl and Audrey earned the highest score on Bonus Quiz 5 – Social Engineering & Purchasing Rationale.
Six (6) students have presented their A3 in the past two class sessions:
Earl diligently researched and educated the class on Pit Bulls: Origin, History, Facts & Myths. The very first student presenter each semester always hold a shining spot in my mind.
Casina bubbly shared her Self-Care routines and healthy lifestyle habits on spirituality, hygiene, and cuisine balancing being healthy with indulgence. Cheeseburger egg rolls? I want to try.
Naxaly spotlighted her favorite movie La La Land. Her brilliant use of color-grading to match the movie's color-grading and her logical flow made polishing her slideshow easy for me.
A'marian impressed upon us why Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the best Marvel movie ever: character over action; themes of identity, belonging, redemption and healing. I'm curious about this movie.
Alicia smitten the crowd with Sanrio, its characters, and "kawaii" (cute) culture. I know she will have a blast at “Sanrio Puroland” when she visits. I didn't know Hello Kitty is the same age as me.
Audrey sparked curiosity from the audience and startled me a little with her obsession with Hatsune Miku, the vocaloid. Hatsu = first, ne = sound, miku = future. I'll have to check out the music.
Seven (7) of the eight (8) students from the leading half the class are mentioned above.
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One topic in my lecture LD2: Hardware, Troubleshoot, Social Engineering, Purchasing Rationale was social engineering.
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Fake apartment ad scams growing on social media (4 min 41 sec)
By NBC News on September 24, 2025
How to rescue your number from a ‘Google Voice’ scam (1 min 57 sec)
By CBS4 Indy on July 21, 2023
Home listing scam: How scammers use public records against you (2 min 29 sec)
By WSPA 7News on March 5, 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) was mentioned in my previous blog post. When AI and social engineering meet...
How to protect yourself from deepfake and other A.I. scams (4 min 46 sec)
By FOX 32 Chicago on August 6, 2025
@My students of IS101-3210, Fall 2025:
Be sure to watch all four videos above. In your comment to this blog post,
(i) Please provide your thoughts and/or share experience you encountered for each of four videos/scenarios.
(ii) How do you think you adapted and performed in IS101? Will you do anything different going forward in the semester?
(iii) How are you preparing for the upcoming MO-110 Word certification exam?
(iv) Anything else you would like to share with the world?
(i) "Fake Apartment ad scams growing on social media" The scammers are getting creative. I had never heard of this scam before, but I will continue to be cautious about trusting social media for business purposes. "How to rescue your number from a ‘Google Voice’ scam" I was always skeptical when people asked for personal information over the phone. I never give out codes or my personal information. "Home listing scam: How scammers use public records against you" I didn’t hear about this scam until arriving in Nevada. My realtor informed me that these scams were taking place, and I ensured I filled out the correct paperwork to avoid this scam in the future. "How to protect yourself from deepfake and other A.I scams" I’ve never personally experienced deepfake A.I. scams, but I don’t believe it's hard to differentiate between what’s real and what’s fake.
ReplyDelete(ii) I think I adapted and performed very well in IS101. My professor has instilled many lessons and ideas that I’ll be able to apply not only in future classes but in life.
(iii) I’m preparing for my first MOS certification exam by constantly redoing labs and practice exams to ensure I’m following the proper steps.
(iv) “If you come across any trait of meanness or stupidity… you must be careful not to let it annoy or distress you, but to look upon it merely as an addition to your knowledge - a new fact to be considered in studying the character of humanity. Your attitude towards it will be that of the mineralogist who stumbles upon a very characteristic specimen of a mineral.”
- Arthur Schopenhauer
(i) "Fake apartment ad scams growing on social media" It's scary to think about how malicious people can be with AI. The people committing the scam do not even receive backlash either because they are impersonating an apartment owner. "How to rescue your number from a ‘Google Voice’ scam" It is good to know that there are means to recover from scams and trickery. A very notable example is your smart phone device alerting you when a phone call is likely a scam. "Home listing scam: How scammers use public records against you" The tricky part is that these scams are so convincing that it would be difficult to tell otherwise. That's what makes these scams so dangerous. "How to protect yourself from deepfake and other A.I. scams" As AI keeps evolving, the harder it will become to detect these deepfakes. I believe AI needs some ethical frame working or even tighter regulation in order to be used ethically.
ReplyDelete(ii) I believe I've done relatively well in IS101. I am towards the higher end of on track students. I will say that I could be better at being proactive in regards to this class, like turning assignments in ahead of time. Moving forward, I will continue to learn and have fun, but at the same time get assignments turned in proactively.
(iii) I am preparing for the upcoming MO-110 Word certificate exam by getting 100% in the practice form A and B in a timely fashion. Luckily for me, I quite enjoy the Lab Sim activities and find learning new ways to navigate Microsoft applications fun.
(iv) I will pass the Microsoft Word certificate exam.
(i) I don’t have any personal experience with any of the videos, but I know people who have been scammed in similar ways. It’s popular for a lot of people to use a CPN which is fraudulent. I feel like that contributes to how easy it is to get public information.
ReplyDelete(ii) Since I’ve been in this class, I have developed more skills for Microsoft Word as well as better email structure. I know by the end of the course I will be more knowledgeable of other services like Excel. These are helpful skills that can be applied to the workplace.
(iii) I am preparing for this upcoming exam by completing the practice test and memorizing where to find certain features and tools in Word.
(iv) It’s ironic how some of the videos talked about rental scams as I’m in the process of moving. I know how to spot scams though, so I’m not worried.
(i) "Fake apartment ad scams growing on social media," I have personally not been susceptible to this scam. However, I am already aware of scams like these on TikTok because it is not uncommon for scammers to do this on TikTok. As well as just to concept of reposting content is very common, so finding the original is not that hard to find. Most of the time, commenters will already be in the comments of TikTok pointing you to the original video poster.
ReplyDelete"How to rescue your number from a ‘Google Voice’ scam," I have personally not been susceptible to this scam. I have never even heard of this specific scam to begin with. But from just a brief look, it is no different than the general, "don't share your account information with people," type of thing.
"Home listing scam: How scammers use public records against you," I personally do not think this scam have happened to me. However, if the scam has happened with my records, I do not know. Also at the same time, I do not own or rent anything so that type of notification is not readily available to me. Also, I am not a realtor. If I did own or rent, I do not think I would fall for it.
"How to protect yourself from deepfake and other A.I. scams," I personally have not been attacked with this scam using my picture/video. Since the rise of AI/deepfakes, it has been extremely easy to tell when something is AI/deepfake. AI pictures have a certain quality to it that you can discern it is AI or was AI in the instance someone edits the AI picture to pass it off as authentic. AI/Deepfake videos are easy to discern because of the obvious non-human behaviors the video shows: mismatch in tone of voice to facial expressions and lip movements, constant changing of human facial features, and multiples of the same body part. Another instance that makes AI/deepfake videos easy to discern is the sound quality of the voice or audio in general not matching the environment. AI/deepfakes often has a ghost effect to the movements in the videos. The ghost effect I am referring to is similar to the video effect that is called ghosting/ghost trail.
(ii) Compared to the beginning of the class, I have a better understanding of how to use Microsoft Word to the full potential. I did not adapt my change in my procrastination of completing coursework. I am hoping to be able to fix that habit of mine by using a 52-week planner.
(iii) I am preparing for this upcoming exam by revisiting the sections I did not understand and taking the practice tests.
(iv) Markiplier got married! I watched him a lot growing up. I listen to the podcast, "Distractible," he has with his friends when I am doing chores or at work--only when I am allowed to. For context that do not know who he is, he is a youtuber that makes mostly horror gaming content.
(i) The apartment scam is certainly stressful for real estate agents because of their career reputation and integrity. They could be fired or attacked for something that they didn't do. I was also not aware that apartment scams had become so big. The phone number scam seems like an easy one to avoid since Google took precautions. It should be known to most people that verification codes should never be shared. Regarding the real estate scam, it's great that they have fraud alerts in place; people should sign up for that. The deepfake video is worrying, especially since AI is expanding rapidly. When AI improves, it could affect people negatively in significant ways.
ReplyDelete(ii) I think I did not start off so great. I will make an effort to improve in the future by keeping better track of tasks in my notebook and setting up specific time slots for assignments.
(iii) I prepared for the MO-110 Word certification exam by using course resources. I studied for hours, and I took the practice exam multiple times.
(iv) How much longer will we go without restrictions on AI, and when will it start affecting our own lives?
(i) "Fake Apartment Ad Scams Growing on Social Media" I’ve definitely started seeing these more when I began looking for apartments online; however, the best advice is still if it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't. So moving forward, I will always be cautious when choosing what websites I use when searching for homes. "How to rescue your number from a ‘Google Voice’ scam." This is a really great example of social engineering by scammers, so I always avoid handing out my personal information or other people's information. "Home listing scam: How scammers use public records against you." I've never really heard of this being done before. I'm thankful I've never seen it done before, so I will be sure to do my due diligence before signing paperwork that important. "How to protect yourself from deepfake and other AI scams." Although I have never been a victim of this type of scam because AI is still a bit noticeable, I do worry in the near future how much more difficult it will be to distinguish AI from reality.
ReplyDelete(ii) I definitely feel that I underperformed based on what I know I was capable of doing. Moving forward beyond this semester, I will apply the skills we have learned in IS101 to my future classes.
(iii) I have been practicing for the certification exams by doing the practice forms and repeating the labs I need to practice more on.
(iv) I will find out the gender of my baby soon! I'm very excited about that.
(i) Fake apartment ad scams growing on social media:
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought that apartment scams would be a thing. I've stumbled upon numerous "cheap" apartments but have never had a second thoughts on if they could maybe be a scam.
How to rescue your number from a ‘Google Voice’ scam:
I'm amazed by how easy it is for a scammer to use your phone number for scamming. I am not surprised but rather concerned for everyone's cybersecurity.
Home listing scam: How scammers use public records against you:
Wow, I have never heard of a scheme like this one. The scammers went above and beyond! That man needs to learn to identify email spoofing.
How to protect yourself from deepfake and other A.I. scams:
A.I. has not done any good for us ever since it was invented and introduced to us. It's only harming the environments and humans. I'm not surprised people are using it to pretend to be someone they are not, this is especially targeting the older audience.
(ii) I think I could have done better when it comes to my performance in IS101. Moving forward, I will try my best to aim for success in this classroom and continue to do my work.
(iii) I haven't quite finished all the modules yet, meaning I won't be able to take the MO-110 Word certification exam. I am hoping that by the end of next week I will be able to take it. By doing so, I will reviewing labs and practice exams.
(iv) Your parents/guardians were right when they said it was that damn phone.
(i)“Fake apartment ad scams growing on social media” this video was very interesting because I love to see videos of listings and have never really thought that they could be scams. “How to rescue your number from a ‘Google Voice’ scam” presents a scary topic but I never really give my phone number away and if it is not a number, I know calling I don’t pick up. If it’s important they would leave a voicemail. “Home listing scam: How scammers use public records against you” this video shows how easy all of our information is to find online. “How to protect yourself from deepfake and other A.I. scams” this video I feel is more relevant in recent weeks as AI is evolving so fast, we went from videos clearly being AI to now having to take a closer look.
ReplyDelete(ii) I think that at first, I was doing great but then life got in the way, and I dropped the ball! I wish I would have spent more time on this class compared to my others.
(iii) I prepared by doing the practice exams! I got a good score!
(iv) Hope everyone had a good semester!!
(I) For the fake apartments, I also almost got scammed. There was an ad for an apartment for $1,200. It was too good to be true. I contacted the seller and they weren’t even speaking about the property just wanted the money which gave it away hence I did not go through with it.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on the Google Voice scam is rather straight forward. I think a lot of people should really take 2-Factor Authentication as well as other ways while taking caution when a phone number you don’t recognize calls you.
I’ve been advising my family members to never reveal their face on the internet. My parents posted my face on Facebook as a child and from then on, I did my best to not have my face anywhere online as well as my own voice. I use voice changer when talking with people online even on public phone lines at my job, I change my voice. It’s crucial to avoid positing your face and voice to avoid AI using your own identity to do something with malicious intent.
On the “How Scammers use public records against you”, I think everyone should really start step up their verification method and deep dive, ask questions, even ask someone whose experience in identifying scammers to prevent such scams.
(II) I think I adapted well and performed exceptionally well in IS101 and going forward, I think I will try and develop a liking to Microsoft Excel.
(III) Constantly doing LabSim lessons and live projects and even watching outside videos that goes beyond what the LabSim teaches me.
(IV) It was a rocky ride of a semester but it all will end well.
(i) All four videos were eye-opening because they show how creative scammers have become, especially on social media. The fake apartment scam reminds me how important is to verify listings and never send money without checking the property. The Google Voice scam showed how quickly someone can gain access to your number if you are not careful. The home listing scam using public record was surprising because it shows how scammers use information that is already online against people. The video of the deepfake and AI was the most shocking, because AI technology can now imitate voices and faces well enough to fool people.
ReplyDelete(ii) Throughout the course, I feel that I never got the chance to be more organized with the assignments. Good thing, once I start something, I act like a bus without breaks and with your help, I believe I can still find a way to finish this class properly. I pushed myself to keep going no matter what, I think that was me adapting. I would love to manage my time in a better way so I won't have to rush at the end.
(iii) To get ready for the exam, I plan to work as much as I can on the pre-exams to keep as much information as I can on my brain, basically to keep the skills fresh before starting.
(iv) Cybersecurity is more important than ever. Scams are getting more advanced, so staying informed and cautious can protect us and our people around us.