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Wiretapping the Secret Service can be easy and fun | Bryan Seely | TEDxKirkland

TEDx Talks · 4.3M views · 2015-05-04 · 17:46

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Overview

Bryan Seely tells how he used fake Google Maps business listings to intercept phone calls meant for the Secret Service and FBI. He then turned himself in, and the talk explains the verification gaps that made it possible.

On Hacker News

Referenced as a concrete example of how weak Google Maps listing verification enables phone fraud and impersonation.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2018–2024

Topics

Security & hackingPrivacy, surveillance & cybercrime
Search by tags
wiretappingfake listingsgoogle mapssocial engineeringsecurity

What people said

Scion9066 · 2024-05 · Reference

It's not just ads or banks, here's a talk from someone who used fake Google Maps listings to intercept phone calls between law enforcement: Wiretapping the Secret Service Can Be Easy and Fun | Bryan Seely | TEDxKirkland [VIDEO]

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relic · 2019-06 · Reference

I happened on a YouTube video of a TedX talk where a guy is really into this Google Maps scam. He got to the point where he was able to impersonate the US Secret Service and recorded a bunch of phone calls. The Secret Service told google to fix their maps issue, but he said they just disabled some features and reactived them without change a few weeks later. [VIDEO]

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adiian · 2018-11 · Reference

In 2014 Bryan Seely wiretapped FBI and Secret Service exploiting the Google maps (lack of) verification process. According to his tedtalk, Google was not to eager to fix the problem and it seems things didn't change much since then. [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by TEDx Talks, played through YouTube.

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