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Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Creators Beware: Inside the Podcasting Scam Trying to Take Over Social Accounts
When Amardeep Singh Dhanjal — better known by his 2.1 million TikTok followers as Magic Singh — first saw an email asking if he'd be interested in being interviewed for 'The Bill Simmons Podcast,' he was excited. It was a request that made sense. After all, he had signed with U.S.-based management company Entertainment Lab a couple of months ago and appeared on the CW's 'Penn & Teller: Fool Us' earlier this year. 'They wanted to interview me and talk about magic, my career, what I'm up to with my socials and the shows I've been doing,' Magic, as he requested to be called, told TheWrap. 'They were getting me all hyped up.' More from TheWrap 'Squid Game' Ratings Dominate: Season 3 of Netflix's Hit Series Is Even Bigger Than You Think It's Not Just IP: Scarlett Johansson's Box Office Win Proves Movie Stars Still Matter Creators Beware: Inside the Podcasting Scam Trying to Take Over Social Accounts 'Superman's' Box Office Quandary: Just How Big Will It Open? But what started as a fun PR opportunity quickly spiraled into 24 hours of anxiety as Magic found himself the victim of a scammer who's been posing as a booking agent for famous American podcasts. Thanks to two-factor authentication and his team, Magic was lucky. He was able to disconnect before any real harm was caused. But cybercrime hitting online media creators is on the rise. In 2024, the FBI reported that cybercriminals and online scammers stole a record $16.6 billion, nearly 33% more than in 2023. In the podcasting world, it's becoming a well-known headache, with an insider at a major podcasting brand telling TheWrap that there has been a sharp increase in these kinds of scams in the past 12 to 18 months. A scam that successfully takes over a creator's social media account can be devastating. Years of content, follower growth and audience trust — all of which are vital to securing brand sponsorships — can be demolished within seconds. And when you're talking about a social account that's monetized, as is the case with Magic's Facebook profile, the loss is even more immediate. In an industry full of entrepreneurs, many of whom are solely responsible for their creator empires, Magic's story is a cautionary tale. 'You spent X amount of years building up so many followers, and you're monetizing off of it or you're getting brand deals or you use it as a platform to advertise for your work,' he said. 'Could you imagine if that was gone in seconds?' This harrowing realization is why Magic and Entertainment Lab were so eager to share his story with the media. 'If this is happening constantly, we need to protect everyone. That's people's livelihoods,' he added. The email to Magic was as innocuous as it was complimentary. 'William Dave' started by politely introducing himself as a manager for 'The Bill Simmons Podcast' and recapping some key details from Magic's career, such as his acceptance into the prestigious magic society known as The Magic Circle. It also included a thorough email signature complete with a headshot of 'William,' a Los Angeles zip code and a link to The Ringer's website. The email was passed to Magic through his management company Entertainment Lab, making it seem more legitimate. 'They were very cheeky because what they did is they went through the management to get to me,' Magic said. At first glance, the email seemed like a well-researched and polite press request, nearly identical to thousands of others sent to celebrities and creators every day. But with the benefit of hindsight, certain elements stand out. For one, the message is eerily similar to what's produced when ChatGPT is asked 'Who is Magic Singh?' This is in line with data reported by the Identity Theft Resource Center, which found that using AI in digital scams has been on the rise. The email also describes 'The Bill Simmons Podcast' as 'a virtual series streamed exclusively on Facebook' though the real podcast is available on all major podcasting platforms. That's a detail only fans or industry insiders would likely catch. Another suspicious element is the email address itself, which is instead of using @ format that the news organization typically uses. The Ringer did not respond to TheWrap's request for comment. After Magic agreed to be on the podcast, he was asked to hop on a test call a day before the interview to test out the audio and video — a request that is, again, not out of the ordinary. When that test call took place on Facebook rather than Zoom or Microsoft Teams, Magic started to become a bit suspicious, but he shook it off. After all, he was a creator with a substantial following. Maybe The Ringer wanted to take advantage of his audience through a Facebook Live stream. 'It looked legit,' Magic said. Magic logged onto the meeting using his phone, a choice that was made out of convenience but that may have helped protect him. His hackles were raised again when the tech guy he was talking to didn't have his camera switched on and his name was simply listed as 'podcast.' Magic again brushed it off as an oddity. As a reporter who's appeared on podcasts and participated in interviews myself, not seeing a member of the tech team on camera isn't unusual nor are odd naming conventions. But when the member of the tech team tried to make sure the interview was part of Magic's Facebook Events, the red flags started waving in earnest. 'He goes, 'Do you see The Ringer podcast?' And I go, 'No, there's nothing there,'' he recalled. Then the tech team member asked Magic to go through his Meta Business Suite manager, which is where he runs his Facebook account and business. His page, which has 151,000 followers, is monetized. 'They wanted to have access to the accounts,' he said. The tech guy then asked Magic to share his screen, which Magic made sure was devoid of any sensitive information like passwords. When the event still wouldn't appear for Magic, the tech guy asked him to generate a link — likely an ownership link — through his account then copy and paste that link into a browser. 'I did that, boom, and then an error popped up,' Magic said. His phone then started buzzing repeatedly. Later, Magic learned that his friend, who's also a business associate with access to Magic's social channels, was calling and texting him repeatedly after he noticed a rush of suspicious activity to Magic's accounts. When Magic hung up on the scammer to figure out what his friend wanted, he still believed he was being interviewed by The Ringer. He told the scammer he would call him back. In the minutes between Magic hanging up and talking to his business associate, the scammer tried to change control of Magic's Facebook account. Fortunately, his business associate was able to restore everything back to normal. Magic then had to anxiously wait 24 hours until the link he sent to the scammers expired. He checked his account 'every half hour' during that time save for between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. GMT when the scammer tried to change ownership of his page again. 'I was tense for 24 hours,' Magic said. Looking back on the experience, Magic credits his team, two-factor authentication and luck as the reasons why his account was spared. If he would have used his laptop to call the scammers, there was a chance that he would've quickly approved the pop-up asking to hand control of his Facebook profiles over to a criminal. That extra complication from the phone saved him from disaster. He also praised Entertainment Lab for quickly contacting the local police department about the scam. One of Magic's U.K.-based friends wasn't so lucky. The friend was contacted by a scammer who posed as a booking agent offering roughly $4,000 to appear on 'The Tony Robbins Podcast.' 'His account got fully hacked,' Magic said. 'He's got a massive following as well. They got hold of his Facebook, his Instagram, his WhatsApp — everything was gone.' Thankfully, the friend was able to recover his accounts after talking to Meta. The exact type of scam Magic almost fell for has been increasing. A report from the Identity Theft Resource Center found that impersonation scams grew 148% this year compared to last. More than half the time, those schemes involve scammers impersonating a business. For this article, TheWrap reviewed several emails from other scammers claiming to be employed by influential podcasters. Host of 'Let's Be Honest' Kristin Cavallari came up repeatedly, but Jillian Michaels' 'Keeping It Real,' Mel Robbins' 'The Mel Robbins Podcast' and Chelsea Handler's 'Dear Chelsea' also appeared. Many of these emails followed the same format that Magic described, asking their victim to appear on a Facebook or Instagram-exclusive episode. Others were more transparent, promising thousands of dollars in compensation to presumably gain access to their target's bank account. Like Magic's, these emails seem flattering and well-researched at first glance, only giving away their nefarious intentions through odd email domains and physical addresses that only contain cities and zip codes. Prior to this experience, Magic didn't think of himself as the type of person who would fall for an online scam, crediting the prestige around The Ringer and Bill Simmons as a major reason why the ploy worked. 'It literally has to do with the gravitas of these people. I'm sure there are some decent podcasts here in the U.K., but then the minute you throw an American name like that, it's just, 'Oh, yeah, of course. I'll do whatever,' Magic said. 'You'll jump at the opportunity.' He also doesn't fully understand what the end goal is for these scammers but he thinks it has to do with selling accounts with substantial followers. 'It's mad. It's a business for these people to take people's accounts, because what they're going to do, they're going to take your account, wipe everything clean, yet they've got X number of people that's on the account,' he explained. 'They can just make a new channel and then sell it to someone for whatever amount of money they want. So I guess that's what their intention was.' Magic does recall some specific details about the man he spoke to. He remembers hearing background noise that in retrospect makes him think the person was talking to him from a call center. He also believes the man had an accent. 'I don't know if it was a European accent,' he said. 'There was an American twang to his accent at the same time.' More than anything else, the experience has left Magic confused and wary. 'We always say that our details are encrypted to a certain degree. But how much access do we have? How much access do other people have to such sensitive information?' Magic asked. 'But it's nice to know that we can share this story with other people so it doesn't happen to anyone else.' The post Creators Beware: Inside the Podcasting Scam Trying to Take Over Social Accounts appeared first on TheWrap.
Fox News
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Biff Wiff, 'I Think You Should Leave' and 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' actor, dies
Biff Wiff, the character actor who was best known for his roles on the Netflix sketch comedy series "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson" and the Academy Award-winning movie "Everything Everywhere All At Once," has died. Wiff's death was confirmed by his management company Entertainment Lab in a post that was shared to Instagram Friday. "It is with heavy hearts that we inform you of the passing of our beloved client and actor, Biff Wiff. Biff was an amazing person inside and out, and his loving energy could be felt by all. We are sending our heartfelt sympathies to his family & loved ones at this time. @biffwiff," the caption read. The post featured photos of Wiff including a snap of him with his "Self-Reliance" co-star Jake Johnson and an image in which he was pictured with Robinson that was taken while they were filming their fan-loved "Shirt Brothers" sketch. In the skit, the two both show up wearing identical shirts at a children's fall concert with Wiff deeming Robinson his "shirt brother." Robinson paid tribute to Wiff on his Instagram Story, re-posting Entertainment Lab's post along with a string of broken heart emojis. He also shared a clip from the "Shirt Brothers" sketch, which aired in season three of "I Think You Should Leave." Biff played the roles of Santa Claus and Detective Crashmore in earlier seasons of the show. Ahead of the series' season three premiere in , friends of Wiff revealed that he was hospitalized as he battled a recurring cancer and started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the actor's treatment. On the page, Wiff was quoted as saying, "I'm not sure how to respond. I'm back in the hospital again dealing with side effects of the cancer I was diagnosed with late last year and have no idea when or if I will recover." On his own Instagram page, Wiff shared updates on his cancer journey and also frequently posted about his acting work. In his final post, which was shared on Monday, Wiff uploaded clips of commentary and behind the scenes footage from "Everything Everywhere All At Once," in which he had a supporting role. In the caption, he expressed his gratitude to the film's directors and writers Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan for casting him and thanked the movie's production company A24 for sending him the clips. Wiff also wrote that the movie's stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis were "so nice," adding "everyone was great." "Thanks again Daniels. Thanks for letting me be a part of your beautiful vision," he concluded. "Love all my fans, friends, and family. You guys are the absolute best. Take care everyone." Wiff made his acting debut in 1986 with a guest role in a 1986 episode of the "Gidget" sequel series "The New Gidget." He went on to appear in dozens of TV shows including "Moonlighting," "L.A. Law," "Roseanne," "Roswell," "Crossing Jordan," "Dragnet" "Reba," "True Jackson VP," "iCarly," "The Mentalist," "Desperate Housewives," "Pretty Little Liars," "Silicon Valley," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "NCIS," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Westworld," "Speechless," "Fresh off the Boat," "Grace & Frankie," "Goliath," "9-1-1" and "Jury Duty." The actor had a guest role in a 1989 episode of the original "Night Court" TV series and then appeared in four episodes of the "Night Court" revival show from 2023 to 2024. His final on-screen appearance was in the upcoming movie "Hot Cheetos for Layla." Last week, Wiff shared a clip from the film on his Instagram page, writing, "Hi friends. I hope everyone is recovering from the fires and everything else in this crazy world." "I'm still on my trip down memory lane. Life has been good to me," he continued. "This is a small movie I worked on called Hot Cheetos for Layla. I want to thank the brother directors Danny and Ismael Castro for thinking of me. Big fans of I Think You Should Leave!"Danny @flemingfinn and I have become friends over the years. Thanks for everything Danny, you're a good kid, and Taylor says you really are a gem. Best of luck with #hotcheetosforlayla." "Enjoy a scene from the movie! It was a crazy one as usual," he added.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Biff Wiff, ‘I Think You Should Leave' Actor, Dies
Biff Wiff, a character actor best known for his multiple guest turns on the Netflix sketch comedy series 'I Think You Should Leave,' has died following an extended battle with cancer, his management firm Entertainment Lab confirmed Friday on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Entertainment Lab (@ More from Variety 'It is with heavy hearts that we inform you of the passing of our beloved client and actor, Biff Wiff,' the post read. 'Biff was an amazing person inside and out, and his loving energy could be felt by all. We are sending our heartfelt sympathies to his family & loved ones at this time.' 'I Think You Should Leave' creator and star Tim Robinson reshared the post to his Instagram Stories. He also shared a clip from a fan-favorite 'ITYSL' sketch in which he starred with Wiff entitled 'Shirt Brothers.' Wiff's decades-long career began with a guest turn on the 'Gidget' sequel series 'The New Gidget,' and included early roles in shows like the original 'Night Court,' 'Roseanne' and 'Crossing Jordan.' From children's programs like 'True Jackson, VP,' and 'iCarly,' to procedurals like 'NCIS,' 'Rizzoli & Isles,' and 'The Mentalist,' Wiff's roles spanned many genres, though he displayed a continued affinity for comedy. He appeared in 'Desperate Housewives,' 'Silicon Valley,' 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' 'Brooklyn 99,' 'Fresh Off the Boat,' 'Grace and Frankie,' 'Pen15' and 'Jury Duty,' before coming full circle with a four-episode stint on the 'Night Court' reboot. Wiff was best known to fans for playing multiple roles in Robinson's 'I Think You Should Leave.' In addition to his television work, Wiff had a supporting role in 2023 best picture winner 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.' Best of Variety Newborns & Nuptials: Hollywood Wedding and Baby News
