Your scammer could be a victim too

This episode explores the complex issue of cybercrime, focusing on how victims of human trafficking are coerced into becoming online scammers.

1. Many online scammers are themselves victims of human trafficking.
2. Scammers often operate under duress, facing threats and physical harm.
3. Cybercrime networks are extensive and operate across international borders.
4. Victims are often lured with legitimate job offers before being coerced into scamming.
5. Awareness and vigilance can help prevent falling victim to such scams.

1: Introduction to Cybercrime

Kim Komando introduces the episode's theme, highlighting the complexity of cybercrime where scammers are often victims too. Kim Komando: "When you think that you're talking to Alicia or Robert, it could be somebody on the other end—it's human trafficking, and it's their job to get money."

2: Billy's Story

A detailed account of Billy's journey from a job seeker to a forced scammer, illustrating the deceptive tactics used by traffickers. Kim Komando: "This guy by the name of Billy... he comes from a poor family in Ethiopia... he was human trafficked and you're going to be a scammer."

3: The Dark World of Cybercrime

Exploration of the structure and operation of scam networks, focusing on the physical and psychological pressures on victims. Kim Komando: "If you don't make your quota, they beat you up... they had to do, like, jump like a frog in the hot sun for, like, 12 hours."

1. Verify the authenticity of job offers, especially if they involve relocation.
2. Be wary of unsolicited contacts promising high returns or romantic entanglements.
3. Educate others about the signs of potential online scams.
4. Support organizations working to combat human trafficking.
5. Report suspicious activities to authorities to help dismantle cybercrime networks.

There's a massive cyberfraud industry exploiting people through slavery and kidnappings. If you've got a connected car, your data might be sold for pennies. Plus, we meet Ben Chin, the Candy Crush champ who beat 15 million players to win $500,000!

People

Billy

Companies

Hulong Network

Books

None

Guest Name(s):

None

Content Warnings:

Discussions of human trafficking and physical abuse

Kim Commando
It's better over here.

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Kim Commando
Hey, it's Kim Commando today, your daily podcast to keep you up to date with all things digital and beyond. And I'd love to have you be a part of our podcast. You can make an appointment to speak with me. Just head over to commando.com. and on the top right, there's a button that says email, Kim. Fill that out, and that's it. Do you know there's a big thing happening in Paris right now?

Unknown
Hmm.

What could it possibly.

The Olympics.

Kim Commando
Yes, it's called the Olympics. It's happening in Paris. Have you been to Paris?

Unknown
No.

Kim Commando
Oh, I love Paris.

Unknown
Do you?

Kim Commando
Yes.

Unknown
I mean, watching the Olympics, it makes you want to go.

Kim Commando
No, you definitely need to go to Paris. The food, the ambiance, the culture.

Unknown
It's like fifth on my list. But I'll get there someday.

Kim Commando
Really? Well, you should definitely go. And the reason why I bring this up is that some Olympians, they say, like this guy Britain, Jack Lauer, he says he only makes $36,000 a year as one of the top three divers in the world.

Unknown
Well, there's not a huge demand for diving.

Kim Commando
Yeah, but I mean, some endorsement deals, he should be able to get something.

Unknown
What kind of. Have you ever heard of him before reading this story about him? Exactly.

Kim Commando
Yeah. The only reason why I do know about him is that in order to make some extra money during the Olympics, he fired up an Onlyfans account, a provocative one. Well, let's just say some spicy Speedio shots.

Unknown
Ooh, Speedos.

Kim Commando
Yes, exactly.

Unknown
Speedos.

Kim Commando
Whatever.

Unknown
Yeah, like you care. You don't care once you look at those pictures. What it's called.

Kim Commando
That's why I'm wearing my scarf today.

Unknown
Why?

Kim Commando
Because it's like I'm in, like, the Olympic. The Paris mood.

Unknown
Oh, okay.

Kim Commando
You know, so, like. So, like the diver, he's putting the picks in Olympics.

Unknown
That's good. I like that one.

Kim Commando
Okay.

Unknown
That's really?

Kim Commando
You asked me, you said, why? The scarf?

Unknown
Yes.

Kim Commando
Do you like it?

Unknown
No, but I.

Kim Commando
Why?

Unknown
I don't know. It makes.

It makes you look hoity toity, like to an. Like the email you sent out last week saying the. You had screwed up the time for the King harbor boat race and you thought it was on Saturday. But, dear, it's on. My butler will be fired for telling me the wrong time, so we can't do a live broadcast. This scarf going along with the King.

Kim Commando
Harbor boat is awful. I didn't say it like that. I said that's how I read it. Okay. I said I was on the race committee, right? The Santa Barbara Yacht Club.

Unknown
This sounds like the plot of a movie in the 1980s that we have to beat the rich kids over at the King harbor boat race so we can save old man Johnson's house for the King harbor.

Kim Commando
All right, yeah, that did sound a little hoity tooty, didn't it?

Unknown
And then you throw on the scarf.

Kim Commando
I don't even know why I'm here.

I need to go. I mean, I need this garbage lawn bowling calling me. Well, you know what? There's still hope for this podcast yet.

Unknown
Who won? Who won the boat race?

Kim Commando
You know, I don't know.

Unknown
We had to miss an entire show on Friday, and you don't even know who won the race?

Kim Commando
I was on the race committee. I wasn't in the race.

Unknown
So committee members don't have to pay attention.

Kim Commando
No, see, here. Okay, let me explain.

Unknown
Sure.

Kim Commando
Okay. Since we're going all out, let's just. Let's just say it what it is. Okay, so there's something that happens when you get a boat, right? Okay. It's called the boat fever.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Okay. That's what happens.

Unknown
Who has boat fever?

Kim Commando
Okay, well, I did have a boat.

Unknown
Oh, okay.

Kim Commando
So, you know, our first boat starter boat was like a 36 foot carver.

Unknown
I don't even know what that means.

Kim Commando
Okay. It's like an suv of the water.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Okay. Not very sexy, but very functional.

Unknown
Gets the job done.

Kim Commando
Okay. Max speed, twelve knots.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Okay.

Unknown
Is that good?

Kim Commando
No, slow. Okay. But, you know, but that's pretty average. Okay, so what happens when you get the boat fever is that as you're walking down the marina, you're like, oh, that's a nice boat.

That's a bigger boat. That's a better boat. Okay, so finally, this is envy.

Unknown
This is boat fever. Sounds like it's a lot of boat envy.

Kim Commando
No, it's not. It's like having an upgrade.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Okay. You're not. I'm not. I wasn't envious. I'm just saying I want that boat.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
So the boat that I kept walking by every time and went to. And I would say to Barry, like, as we were going to the suv, and, like, look at that boat. That's an asthma. It was made in Italy. It's sexy. It's just gorgeous. It's 52ft, has two engines, like diesel engines, not gas engines.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
It has something called the sea keeper on it.

Unknown
Yeah, of course.

Kim Commando
Sea keeper. And go. Instead of your boat going like this sea keeper, you turn out boom.

Unknown
All right.

Now, you're also saying. You don't have to say numbers, but price wise, is it twice the amount, three times the amount of your suv boat, four times the amount, ten times the amount, 20 times the amount?

Kim Commando
No, not ten times ten.

Unknown
Oh, wow. Okay.

Kim Commando
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Unknown
So where are we going with this? You have boat fever. So that means you upgraded.

Kim Commando
Yes, we upgraded to a 52 foot asmuthen.

Unknown
Right. So now you have a fancy boat.

Kim Commando
Okay. So what happens is, is that when the. When you want to be, or when they need to have, like, the boat to be the race committee boat, is that a bigger boat's better because you have the whole race committee on there. Okay. And so. Cause they have to do flags. You know, they have gunshots. And then there's, like, the orange line, the yellow line. I actually look at the orange line to make sure that the yachts don't go past before it goes. So the race committee is, like, the original originating where the race starts. King harbor is by Redondo beach.

So these people, they sailed, like, I don't know, 24 hours.

Unknown
So you weren't racing?

Kim Commando
I was not racing.

Unknown
You were just watching an orange line.

Kim Commando
And I was the race committee boat. Okay. And so on Thursday morning last week, Barry says to me, hey, you know, Kim, we got to get this boat ready for the race.

And I said to him, well, we have all day tomorrow.

And he said, well, what time are you planning to get to the boat? 02:00 a.m. and I said, oh, all day? He's like, no, kid. We have to be there on the boat at 830 in the morning, and the race starts at noon. So that's when I sent the note out to everybody and said, wouldn't necessarily be able to do that.

Unknown
Can I have one last question, and you can start the show?

Kim Commando
Yes.

Unknown
Were you wearing that scarf when you sent the email out?

Kim Commando
No, I was not. But I do have a scarf.

Unknown
Sure.

Kim Commando
That I wear as part of the.

Unknown
Race committee, did you intentionally put the brand of the scarf facing out?

Kim Commando
No, I didn't. Is that. It's a Louis Vuitton.

Unknown
Well, yeah, I wouldn't know that, though.

Kim Commando
Okay.

Unknown
If it was put on any other way. But specifically. Okay, I'm sorry. I said one more question. I apologize.

Kim Commando
So. And as member of the race committee, you have a special uniform, too. You have to wear bright and red pants.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Okay. With a white shirt with a blue jacket with the yacht club scarf on it, like this.

Unknown
Is that the yacht club scarf?

Kim Commando
No, this is a Louis Vuitton.

My God.

Unknown
It's a yacht club.

Kim Commando
Okay. No, I apologize. Paris Olympics. The scarf.

Okay, obviously you're not dressed for the Olympics.

Unknown
King harbor boat race.

Don't even know who won.

Kim Commando
I'll find out.

Unknown
I don't care.

Kim Commando
Now, you know what they were. These were major yachts that were going out. You know the difference between a boat and a yacht?

Unknown
You told us, iceman.

Kim Commando
Thanks, maker. Yeah. A lot of people don't know that Roy Disney's boat was one of the boats I was going.

Unknown
Oh, for, like, Disney.

Kim Commando
Disney, yes. Wow. Yeah.

Unknown
I would let him win just for, like.

Oh, good one, Roy. You got me again.

Kim Commando
Can I get into the 33 club at Disneyland? Just wondering.

All right, so what do you have coming up?

Unknown
We have a story about a imposter on the Internet that got caught with one simple question. Ooh.

Kim Commando
Bum, bum, bum bum bum bum bum bum bum, bum, bum.

I'm hoping that maybe we can afford some sound effects someday.

Unknown
We don't need them. We got you.

Kim Commando
Don't forget to enter to win that $1,000 vacation giveaway. Maybe you can get to go to Paris, and I'll loan you my scarf.

Go to winfromkim.com dot. Once again, that's winfromkim.com. dot. Winfromkim.com.

you have to do your thing.

Unknown
We do, like, comment, subscribe. We are growing this channel on YouTube, and that's thanks to you. But we want to get it even bigger so we can make sure we're here every single Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And maybe next time. We have so many subscribers, Kim will say, well, the King harbor boat race doesn't even matter. Cause I have to be there for my people on YouTube. No, please, if you could drop a comment like the video, we really appreciate it. It helps the algorithm, and more people can find us.

Kim Commando
Now, do you play candy crushed?

Unknown
I have before. Of course. Everyone's played candy.

Kim Commando
We've got the candy crush all stars champion.

Unknown
I read this. Joining us, 15 million people he beat.

Kim Commando
That's crazy.

Unknown
15 million.

Kim Commando
That's crazy. So we're talking to him, too.

But before we get to all of that, I have kind of a very interesting story. Not kind of very interesting story to talk about because it's starting to come of light that these pig butchering scams, romance scam.

Unknown
You gotta explain what that is, the pig butchering.

Kim Commando
Well, you explain what that is, where.

Unknown
Someone will say, hey, come invest in some crypto, and I'll give me some of your money. And I make sure, I promise you, I will get your return.

Kim Commando
Like a 20% return.

Unknown
Yeah. And so you give them $1,000.02 days later, you have 2000, and you're like, wow, this guy knows what he's doing. This person knows what they're doing. And what they're. All they're doing is it's either a.

Kim Commando
Fake website, it's all simulations.

Unknown
All simulations. None of it's real. And then you give over a lot of money, because if 1000 becomes two, imagine what 15,000 would become. And they steal all of your money.

Kim Commando
So you become a pig. Oink, oink. And then they butcher you. And so there's a growing number of stories that's coming out about these scammers, about who are these scammers? Where are they coming from?

Who's really behind it? And so this story I read in the Wall street journal, and I'm going to be looking down because I want to make sure that I get all the notes correct.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Okay. This guy by the name of Billy, he comes from a poor family in Ethiopia, okay? He's the second of seven children.

And he worked really hard after school because he said, you know what? I have to get out of Ethiopia.

So he studies computer science and he gets a master's degree, not in Ethiopia, but from an automation engineering at a university in Shenzhou, China. So he figures out, this is a smart guy, figures out how to get from Ethiopia with a computer science degree to a university in China to get his masters in automation engineering.

He's fluent in Amherc, which is the language of Ethiopia. He's fluent in English, and he's fluent in Mandarin.

Unknown
Wow.

Kim Commando
Okay. This is a smart guy.

Unknown
Very.

Kim Commando
Okay.

So he goes to Thailand for vacation.

He loves Thailand. The beaches, it's affordable.

He goes back to Ethiopia and he's looking for a job.

So he gets a call from Hulong network that offers him a job, fintech company in Thailand.

He does video interviews, they do background checks. Everything's all checking out.

They do an interview with him in China, in Mandarin, passes it, does an interview in English, passes it, and then he gets a letter, an offer letter from his company.

Offer him. Offering him fifteen hundred dollars a month salary in Thailand.

That's a lot of money in Thailand, okay? It is. It's a lot of money.

So he arrives in Bangkok, they meet him at the airport.

They give him a couple hundred bucks and say, you know what? We're not quite ready for you to come to work, so why don't you, like, stay at a hotel? They put him, like, a four star hotel. Why don't you stay here and look around for a place to live? Don't sign any leases or anything, but just, you know, have a. Have. Just relax.

So two days later, a driver picks him up, and two other gentlemen that have, were also hired by this fintech company in Thailand.

They go on an eight hour car ride because they say, we want to take you to one of our facilities so you can see the servers and see everything that's going on.

And then the driver says, you know what? You need to give us your passports, because I need to show it to some of the authorities.

And then that's when he realizes that he's crossing the border in this car with two other guys.

So he gets to this compound in Laos, and they say, you know that job we told you about?

That's not a job.

You are now. You are human trafficked and you're going to be a scammer.

He's like, what?

I'm not going to be a scammer. I'm not going to do this.

He refused to work, refused to eat, refused to do everything.

On the third day, the guards beat him so badly, they almost broke his legs, and he couldn't stand.

Then he said, okay, I'll do the job.

And. But his. But as he says, his heart wasn't really in it, so he wasn't very good at it. So the captors sell him to another scamming human trafficking outfit in Miramar.

Transform over there.

He said that about 100 people worked for this company.

Half were chinese, a third were ethiopian, and then the rest were from Uganda.

He was given a PDF file.

Then he was told to memorize it. And they're going to be tests.

Now. Remember how educated this guy is.

Unknown
Sure.

Kim Commando
Okay.

The PDF had photos and the backstory of a fake Persona that he was supposed to be using online. It was a Singaporean jet setter by the name of Alicia, and he was supposed to be Alicia and in this PDF, explained each step of the scam. Number one, learn everything you can about your victim. Ask about their family, their job, where they live.

Size up how much money they have. See how vulnerable they are.

Next time, ask about their hobbies. Pretend that you like the same things.

Suggest to them that, wow, wouldn't it be great if we could meet and have all these great times together?

Next, chat about past relationships.

Then confess that you've had a few drinks and you're starting to fall in love with this person, and you're starting to really, really like them by this. They're ready to start talking business.

And when they're starting ready to talk business, that's when you have to hand them off and share the details with somebody else that's on the team. You're given six mobile phones with WhatsApp and Telegram, a laptop loaded with photos and videos of Alicia, and random pictures like cars and pets and food.

Billy said that he handled 15 to 20 cases every day for 16 months.

Unknown
Oh, my gosh.

Kim Commando
Okay. Until he had enough money to pay the ransom, $7,000, to get him out.

The other day in our newsletter, I talked about a 38 year old man in China who was a part time actor.

And they said, hey, you know what? Come to Cambodia or something like that for a gig. He goes to Cambodia. He's a scammer.

He's human trafficked as a scammer.

And the Wall Street Journal said there are hundreds of thousands of people in Asia, mostly. Mostly Asia and Cambodia, Thailand, that are now recruited as scammers, most of them from gangs in China or other places around the world.

So when you think about the calls we get on the show, the stories that you read, it's human trafficking.

Unknown
And they just let him walk. After 16 months, he paid the ransom. They don't care that he's gonna tell the story.

Kim Commando
Look at somebody else. Or they did tell. They told a story. And he. And what happens is that there are dormitories where these people live. I mean, they live in dormitories. And they showed this Wall Street Journal story. If you can see it, it's fascinating.

They showed a picture in, like, I don't know, four years ago of this intersection in Miramar where it was just. Just farmland.

And now it probably houses 20,000 people, and it's all so that they can scam.

Unknown
But they must think they're bulletproof if they just let him walk out after paying the 7000. I mean, he knows where they are. He knows how they're operating they don't care because they're bulletproof.

Kim Commando
And this is Miramardeh. And this is Cambodia. This is chinese gangs. But I just wanted to bring this up to everybody that. So when you think that you're talking to Alicia.

Unknown
Right.

Kim Commando
Or Robert. I mean, that it could be somebody on the other end. It's human trafficking, and it's their job to get 15. What do you say? 15 to 20 cases every day?

Every single day. And he's working 18 hours a day.

And if you don't make your quota, they beat you up.

One of the, one of the things that I read was that he said that for people who didn't make their quota is that they had to do, like, jump like a frog in the hot sun for, like, 12 hours.

Unknown
Torture.

Kim Commando
Yeah.

Yeah. And I know we like to talk about, like, you know, fun stuff here, but. But I, I just, you know, I just, I just wanted to give this backstory because I don't know if a lot of people read the Wall Street Journal, realize that this is happening, and it doesn't mean that you should give them money or else they're going to get beaten. It means that you just need to be aware that if somebody contacts you out of the blue, promises you money in crypto or I love you and I want to marry you, that it's, it's, it's, it's gangs. It could be the mexican cartel. It could be anybody, right?

Unknown
The next time you hear a story that someone lost a hundred thousand dollars to a scammer, there's so many victims in that story. It's not just the person who's losing the hundred thousand dollars.

Kim Commando
So we're going to totally shift gears right now, and we're going to talk about candy crush because, um, I'm not very good at it.

Unknown
No.

Kim Commando
No. I don't think. I don't know if I. I'm not really even good at angry birds.

Unknown
You don't focus.

You, you make one move, this is. And you put it away and you try and buy another, bigger boat.

Kim Commando
That's what it's called. It is called the boat fever.

People say, you got the boat fever, Kim. I'm like, I know I got the boat fever.

Unknown
Hospitalize me.

It's better over here.

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Kim Commando
Hey, it's Kim commando. Today it's your podcast where we talk about all things digital, right?

Unknown
Yes.

Kim Commando
Make sure you enter to win that $1,000 vacation gift card, because maybe you can go to Paris, and after the Olympics.

So fun.

Unknown
It does make you want to go to Paris, though, watching the Olympics.

Kim Commando
Yes.

Unknown
Beautiful place, you know?

Kim Commando
So last time I was in Paris, I had a little jet lag, so I thought to myself, I'm gonna get a cup of coffee.

And so I went into cafe, and I said, I like coffee to go.

And they gave me a cup of coffee. There was no top on it.

And I said, oh, I need a top on this.

And they said, you Americans, you go, go, go, go.

You sit. This is what I mean. This guy said, here, let me get you a chair.

Unknown
And you sat. Did you sit down? Did you listen to him?

Kim Commando
And he says, here, sit down. And here, this is what we do in Paris. You watch and have a croissant and just watch. Just watch. I'm like, all right, maybe I'm missing something.

Unknown
Did you miss anything?

Kim Commando
No, I sat down, and I looked. I looked around, went, okay, fun times.

Unknown
Bunch french people.

Kim Commando
Mm hmm.

Unknown
Oh, there's a baguette.

Kim Commando
All right, so I'm not. Okay, let me back up. If I'm going to play a game, it's normally on an airplane, okay. Where I have thoroughly run out of anything to do, and there's no wi fi.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Okay. So, like, on my way to and from Hawaii a couple weeks ago, I loaded it up. Okay. I mean, I loaded up candy crushed, like, some type of, like, word puzzle game, right? Angry birds. Sat there for, like, ten minutes, like, you know, and I went, well, I think I'm just gonna go to sleep. Forget it. Okay.

Unknown
Have you ever told the Berry candy crush story?

Kim Commando
Which one's that?

Unknown
Candy crush, like, first comes out, and everybody's planned. Like, when Candy crush first came out, you didn't know anyone who wasn't even at least trying it?

Kim Commando
Yes, I know this one.

Unknown
And Barry's playing it, and he's loving it, and he's having a blast.

And then about a couple of weeks later, your accountant walks in and says, there's some weird charges, like $200 worth of charges on your credit card, and you go into bearings, and what are all these charges? And he's like, I don't know. And they figure it out. He's been buying lives on candy crush, and he just goes, that was real money.

No idea.

Kim Commando
It's like, you know, he's, like, the smartest guy I know. I mean, you know, he really is. He's brilliant. But sometimes he does that stuff, and I'm like, everybody does, you know?

Unknown
But he must be really playing to get to, like, $200 worth of Candy crush.

Kim Commando
He did buy some others. He. I forget what game he was playing, and he bought, like, $50 or something.

I don't know. A couple of months ago, I go, you're, like, over 70. What are you doing?

Unknown
I wanted to get to level five.

Kim Commando
All right, so let's talk about Ben Chen, okay? He's from Ohio. Gosh, you know, 250 million people around the world play candy crush, man.

Unknown
We're one of them.

Kim Commando
Okay? 15 to 18 million in a tournament, and Ben is the winner.

Unknown
Yes.

Kim Commando
The champion. He won a half a million bucks.

Unknown
Just by playing candy crush.

Kim Commando
Yes. All right, let's talk to Ben.

There he is.

Unknown
Hello.

Ben Chin
Hello.

Kim Commando
Oh, my gosh. Ben, you're my idol.

Ben Chin
So thank you very much. I appreciate that.

Kim Commando
So, um, you know, everybody's got to ask you this question. I know. We're going to start at the beginning. Why candy crush?

Ben Chin
Well, you see, I actually stumbled upon this tournament on accident.

Unknown
Okay.

Ben Chin
Okay. So I. Candy crush has always been my time. Killer game. I just, you know, every once in a while, maybe, you know, playing a little bit before I go to bed at night, you know, just kind of, you know, playing here and there.

After, like, a two week hiatus of not playing the game, I loaded it up one night before bed, and I got a notification saying, hey, we have a tournament that's ongoing and there's a million dollar prize pool. I was about to have a major surgery two weeks after that, and I was going to be stuck at home for two months. So I figured, perfect. Why not? Why not?

So I ended up getting involved that way. And I started off, I was a little skeptical at first because I'd never heard of anything like this before, and. But I figured, hey, like I said, I'm going to be stuck at home for two months, not being able to do much. So I'll give it a shot and see what happens. And I ended up placing first place in each stage of the tournament all the way up until the end. And at the very end of it all, I got a notification saying, congratulations. You earned a chance to compete in Los Angeles for the million dollar prize pool.

Kim Commando
Whoa.

Ben Chin
And, yeah, I was like, oh, awesome.

Unknown
That's.

Ben Chin
That's great. And I didn't hear anything for months. I was kind of, like, on the fence, like, oh, man. Like, I hope. I hope I didn't do all this for nothing, you know? And then they eventually reached out and they flew myself and my best friend out to California, and we compete, or I competed against nine of the best players in the world, and it was an absolutely incredible experience, and I ended up winning it all, and you all take it first place.

Unknown
So let's talk about the structure of the tournament, because 15 million people played. Obviously, you didn't play all 15 million at once. How many people were in your first group?

Ben Chin
Oh, man.

To be honest, I didn't. For most of the stages, I didn't, like, swipe down the leaderboard to see how many players on the top.

Unknown
You were number one. Why?

Ben Chin
Well, yeah, because there were time limits for each stage of the tournament.

Kim Commando
That's what I was going to ask.

Ben Chin
I don't want to waste any unnecessary seconds taking a look at everyone's scores. I just wanted to keep on playing and keep building my own score and keep on, you know, extending my lead if I had one.

Unknown
So it was the highest score in a certain amount of time, and that determined who won the round or the heat or whatever.

Ben Chin
Yes. So, at the very beginning to qualify for the tournament, it was the top ten people that in the qualifiers that go on to the first knockout stage.

From there you go, the top five in the first knockouts move on to the second knockouts, then from there it's top three. And then in the final knockouts, there were three rounds, and you had to place first place in all three rounds.

Kim Commando
This was a big deal. I mean. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so, so when you're sitting there at home for that two months playing candy crush, I mean, did you develop, like, any type of specific strategies, like cherries over oranges or.

Ben Chin
Yes.

So, throughout the course of tournament, I had.

Yeah, I had several different strategies that I employed, and it really depended on what kind of level I was coming across. Is it better to complete the level as quickly as possible, or is it better to stay on a level as long as possible to maximize how many points you get? And there are all of these different factors, you know, have a play, and even after you complete a level, you're going to have a couple screens that come up with different events going on, different, you know, prompts that come up that you have to close out before you can start the next level. So it's like I was, you know, memorizing what events were going on, where the prompts were. So I'm already tapping on the screen before it even comes up.

Unknown
Wow.

Ben Chin
That way, the millisecond it comes up, it clears a. So it's. There was. There was a bunch of different stuff that I did throughout the course of the tournament.

Unknown
Now, on your personal game and your personal time, what level are you on right now?

Ben Chin
I'm on level 8300 ish.

Unknown
I'm on, like, 33.

Kim Commando
I went to.

Ben Chin
I'm only halfway to the end of the game. There's like, 16,000 levels in game.

Kim Commando
You know what? That's crazy. Okay, so 16,000. You're gonna have to find a new game soon.

Unknown
I don't think he's going to clear.

Kim Commando
8000 levels tonight, but, you know, going at a pretty good clip. Now, what is your. What does your family think about the big win?

Ben Chin
So, I mean, they're. They're absolutely thrilled.

Honestly, I'm pretty sure my mom and sister worried more about the tournament than I did.

They were definitely, you know, on edge the entire way through, and my mom really wanted to be out there, you know, and see it all in person, support me, but she let my best friend have my. My plus one spot, so she was. As far as I know, she was definitely, you know, they were all rooting for me, but they were definitely nervous, you know, through the whole stage.

Unknown
So what was the finals like? How was the competition in the finals?

Ben Chin
It was absolutely incredible. Like, the. The way that they set it all up. They set it up like a, like a full on game show. So we were. We were put up in a hotel in West Hollywood, and in, like, one of the event centers in the hotel, they built up this incredible stage.

Absolutely incredible. It seriously looked like a game show.

Kim Commando
Wow.

Ben Chin
And they had WWE superstar Brie Garcia as our host for the tournament as well. And that was absolutely amazing. She was super, super nice. And the way that they did the tournament itself, we all had a warm up round. So there was just solely just warm up. No points, no eliminations, no anything.

Then we go into rounds one and two. The way that they scored it was very similar to the early on stages of the tournament. So it's, however, many of the all stars candies that you crushed was your point total. If you completed the level within three minutes, you got a 250 point bonus as well. And that was only for rounds one and two.

Unknown
Did you know that going in so you could prep for that? Okay.

Ben Chin
Yeah, they, they briefed us all ahead of time just to make sure that everyone is on an even playing field.

Um, after rounds one or after round one, there was no eliminations or anything. It was just however many points you had, however many boosters you used, that's, that's what you had going into the next round. At the end of round two, the bottom six players get eliminated, so only the top four move on.

Unknown
Okay.

Ben Chin
And then once you get to that stage, it's the head to head battles. So for that, it was first place versus third place and then second place versus fourth place at the end of round two. And they had a little bit of a differentiation between the, how would they were played. So instead of you completing the level and getting, like a bonus 250 points, they designed the levels so you were not able to complete them. So it's just however many points you get is what you get.

Unknown
Okay, so you weren't playing on your phone, you were playing on their device, you weren't playing on your own phone?

Ben Chin
Yes, they, they gave us all devices to, to play on for the tournament, so that way there was no risk of anyone cheating or, you know, anything else.

Kim Commando
So, so, so the other people that you were playing with, are they, were they all about your age? I mean, or was there like this outlier, like, 90 year old guy who's just kicking butt?

Ben Chin
No, I think. I'm pretty sure I was the youngest in the tournament when the tournament happened, I was 23, and I think that the next closest in age was like, early thirties, late twenties.

The oldest in the tournament, I believe, was probably late fifties, early sixties.

So I'm not, I'm not quite sure.

So it's quite a wide variety. Quite a wide variety of ages, for sure.

Unknown
Now that your champion are there. Candy crush groupies. Is this going to be able to lead to any, you know, people being attracted to you because you're a champion?

Kim Commando
Snicker bars.

Ben Chin
Hey, that's, that's what I'm hoping for. If anyone wants to sponsor me, I.

Unknown
Am all for it.

Ben Chin
I'm actually restarting content creation myself, you know, especially after the recent, you know, the tournament and everything. So I'm actually today I'm going to be live streaming some video games on a website called Twitch, and I'm going to be restarting content creation on Instagram, TikTok, you know, Snapchat, you name it. And I'm hoping to kind of bring this all up into something else. It's good.

Kim Commando
That's great.

Ben Chin
So we'll see what happens.

Kim Commando
Let's see what happens. The Candy crush king. You should be the candy crush king.

Unknown
What's your TikTok handle?

Ben Chin
So right now, my TikTok handle is Ben Chin official.

Unknown
Okay.

Ben Chin
My twitch is probably going to be the main thing that I'm going to be focusing on, and that is just fiercer. Chin. F I e R. C e R. C h I n. Cool.

Kim Commando
That's awesome. Hey, Ben, thanks for being here.

Unknown
Congratulations.

Kim Commando
Congratulations. Yeah.

Ben Chin
Thank you guys so much for having me. This was good. This was great. I had a lot of fun.

Kim Commando
Awesome.

Unknown
Who needs to talk to an olympian gold medalist? We got the best candy crush player.

Kim Commando
In the world right there. Ben Chin, does it cost money to play candy crush?

Unknown
Yeah, you can play for free. You don't have to pay. You can. You get free lives and all that stuff. If you want to play more and more and more, or get boosters and skip levels stuff, then you can play.

Kim Commando
I got a small toffee.

Like Taffy, but toffee?

Unknown
Yeah, just like that. Just like a fee.

Kim Commando
Yes.

Oh, now you get it.

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Kim Commando
Hey, it's Kim Commando. Today it's your great podcast about all things digital. Just a reminder, this is nothing. The Kim commando show. No, no.

Unknown
It's Kim Commando today.

Kim Commando
That's right. Not the show.

Unknown
No. These are two totally different empire and entities.

Kim Commando
The show is on, well, you know, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of stations with millions and millions and millions of listeners.

Unknown
Right.

Kim Commando
Happy listeners. And for the first time ever, you can get the Camcommando show as a podcast. So wherever you get your podcast, just search for commando. With a k, of course.

All right, so, broom. Broom Ferrari.

Unknown
There's an executive over a Ferrari sitting.

Kim Commando
On his desk in Maranello, Italy. I've been there.

Unknown
Thanks. We knew. Look at the scarf.

Kim Commando
That's Paris.

Okay.

Unknown
And he gets a WhatsApp message from the CEO of Ferrari saying, we need to talk.

But it was something different about this WhatsApp message because it was a different profile picture and a different number.

Kim Commando
Okay.

Unknown
So he immediately gets on, says, hey, what's up? What's going on? Why are you calling me and contacting me from a different number? He's like, because this, the CEO responds, this is a big deal. We're half, we're about to acquire two different companies and it's not going to be good with regulators here in our country and in China. So I want to make sure it's just you and I talking on a totally different channel, okay? And he's like, suspicious. This is weird.

But the CEO is like, listen, I will call you in a little bit and we can talk about it.

Kim Commando
Ooh.

Unknown
Oh, okay. Well, he's going to call me then I'll know if it's him or not. A couple hours later, phone rings. The executive answers, and it sounds just like him. It sounds like just the CEO of Ferrari right there on the phone.

But the cadence is a little different. The timing's a little off. So he's still a little suspicious. And he's like, hey, don't feel bad, but I just want to make sure we're safe here. I just need to confirm your identity. And the CEO on the other side's like, what are you talking about? We got to talk about this. This is important. It's going to make us a lot of money. He's like, just tell me again, what's the book you recommended to me last week?

And the call goes silent.

And then the call hangs up.

Kim Commando
Wow.

Unknown
It was a scammer. It was someone who was impersonating the voice. They had. They got all the information of the other executives within the company and they were contacting people as the CEO to get banking and money information for this acquisition they were going to make that was 100% fake. And they just were impersonating. They weren't even using technology.

They were just impersonating the voice. Yes.

Kim Commando
So that was, this was not an AI.

Unknown
No, it was just someone that did a real, according to the executive who hasn't been, who's, who's protecting their protective identity because they don't want everyone else on the Internet trying to WhatsApp him.

He sounded just like him, but he figured, what if I, what can I ask him that only he would know? Oh, last week he recommended a book to me. I'll ask him to tell me the recommendation again. And they hung up and went away.

Kim Commando
You know what? Put that on your list, too. You should go to Maranello, Italy. Okay. Because that's where the Ferrari factory is.

And I have been there.

Unknown
Have you?

Kim Commando
I have.

But what's interesting about the Ferrari factory is that in the entrance of where the factory is, is that. That's where Enzo's office was. And it still is.

And you take a tour all around the factory, and you can see, like, all the different Ferraris in different stages.

And then there's a track where you can actually race a Ferrari.

Unknown
Oh, wow.

Kim Commando
Okay. But what I thought was really interesting, so when you're on the factory tour, they hand out stickers and you're like. It says Ferrari. And you're like, oh, do I put this here? Right, the name tag, what is that? No, it's for you to cover up.

Unknown
Your phone, your camera, because they don't want you filming.

Kim Commando
Can't take any pictures. But I always thought, like, you know, you could always just take that little thing off. Yeah, well, yeah, but I didn't do that.

Unknown
No. If you're in there buying a Ferrari, I don't think that. Or this was open to the public tour. Or is this when you went and got my ores?

Kim Commando
Oh, no, no, no. This opened a public. Oh, okay. Yeah.

Unknown
Then maybe someone might want to film.

Kim Commando
But it was really cool. You should go.

Unknown
Sure. How about this weekend?

Kim Commando
Well, and they do have a clearance rack in the gift shop because that's where I get my priority.

Unknown
That's where I would go.

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Kim Commando
Hey, it's Kim commando today. So we need you to do something for us, okay? If you laughed just one time, if you learned just one thing, okay, then you owe us a one thing. That means you tell one person about Kim commando today. That's all. Just one person. You know, I saw a stat. I put it in the newsletter. You wouldn't know because you don't get the newsletter.

Unknown
True.

Kim Commando
But, you know, there are 450,000 podcasts that get updated on a schedule.

Unknown
Okay?

Kim Commando
So you've got way more than I.

Unknown
Thought it would be.

Kim Commando
Okay. So, yeah, you have over two and a half million podcasts something like that. But 450,000 actually. Get updated. Okay, this is a number that is just crazy to me. The top 25 podcasts account for 50% of all podcast listeners.

Unknown
Wow. Out of the 400,000 that are actually someone's working at and actually doing, the.

Kim Commando
Top 25 account for 50%.

Unknown
Oh, not 25%. 25 single podcasts.

Kim Commando
Yes.

Unknown
Oh, my.

Kim Commando
The top 25 podcasts account for 50% of all listeners.

Unknown
That's all we got to do. We just got to break into that top 25.

Kim Commando
Come on. We can do it. We can do it. Call me. Call me daddy. I don't care.

Maybe I need to. Maybe you need. Maybe we need a crime.

Unknown
Yeah.

Kim Commando
Something to happen. A crime.

Unknown
You need a scandal?

Kim Commando
Not a scandal. A crime like true crime, or you.

Unknown
Want to do a true crime? I thought you meant on this show there needed to be a crime.

Kim Commando
Yeah, there needs to be. Not me.

Unknown
You want me to stab me or something?

Assault.

Kim Commando
I can't get hurt.

Unknown
Of course not. I could stain your scarf.

Kim Commando
I mean, that would not work.

Unknown
You know, earlier, before, a couple months ago, we talked about on the show where car companies are tracking all. Everything you're doing in your car.

Kim Commando
Correct.

Unknown
And they're collecting all this data.

Kim Commando
Of course they are.

Unknown
And then where does your mind go? Well, of course they're selling it. And they are. The US Senate is looking in to see whether or not they should. Are going to mandate all car companies to get explicit permission from customers. Customers to sell their data. And if they do, it could change the way it works. But if they do do it, and car companies are forced to do this, they're not going to be missing out on a lot, because as a part of this report, they went to the car companies and asked, what are you selling, who are you selling it to and how much are you selling it for? And when you hear these numbers, you're going to be thumbstruck. Honda, they have information on 97,000 cars.

Kim Commando
Okay?

Unknown
They have sold all that information for $26,000.

Kim Commando
That's not a lot of money.

Unknown
Over four years.

Kim Commando
That's still really a little bit of money.

Unknown
That's like $6,500 a year for Honda.

Ben Chin
Yes.

Kim Commando
Okay. That's. That's dumb.

Unknown
General Motors, now they have information on a lot more cars. 1.7 million cars they've only sold for a million dollars over the last six years.

Chevy or, excuse me, Ford would not release their amount they've sold it for. They have information on the most 8 million drivers. And they've sold the information on all 8 million, but it averages out to, like, twenty cents a car.

So you're ticking off all your customers by going behind their back to take all this data so you can sell it for nothing.

Kim Commando
Do you think that. That they're saying, like, it's nothing so that this way they can get it through faster and easier? I mean, because if they. If we, I mean, if we said, oh, you know, they're making tens of millions of dollars, right. That would be a different story than they're making $0.20, right?

Unknown
I don't know what the reason is. I'm like, first of all, when I read this, I was like, well, they're definitely lying. They wouldn't go through. I mean, the guy they're paying annually to put all this money, these information together to bundle up to be able to sell it, your 26,000 over four years isn't even paying for that. You're losing money.

Kim Commando
There's something wrong with this. Yes, I agree. This is new math.

Unknown
They're lying to the Senate is what they're doing.

Kim Commando
This is not.

Somebody's nose is growing.

Unknown
But also, they've been doing this for four to six years. I mean, this is not a new thing. They've been doing this forever. And they're not making any money if they're telling.

Kim Commando
All right, maybe they make the $0.20, like, just one time that they sell it, but then they sell it to, I don't know, all these different other.

Unknown
Companies, but how many entities are going to need that information?

Kim Commando
Tons. There's like 45,000.

Unknown
But for Honda, that 26,000 is the total take over the last four years.

Kim Commando
Somebody's not telling the truth.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Because, you know, I'm not a big business, but if that was my model, I would say, forget it.

Unknown
But look at all the technology they put in the cards to gather this information, transfer this information, then once it's transferred, collect it and put it together to be sold, and then the effort it takes to sell it. And you're getting $6,500 a year for that.

Kim Commando
No, that doesn't make sense.

Unknown
It doesn't add up.

Kim Commando
No, that doesn't. It doesn't add up. Not at all.

Unknown
They're lying to the Senate.

Kim Commando
I think they are. I mean, you know, I wouldn't lie.

Unknown
No, of course not.

Kim Commando
I need to go to the King hobby yard.

Unknown
Wrap it up. Wrap it up.

Kim Commando
Wait, ascot?

Unknown
Is that an ascot?

Kim Commando
No, it's just a scarf.

Unknown
Oh, yeah. An ascot's the thing you put here, right?

Kim Commando
Yeah.

Unknown
See? Oh, it's off.

Kim Commando
You want to know how to. You know how to do one of these?

Unknown
No, I don't know how to put.

Kim Commando
It on a scarf. I could do it for you.

Unknown
I probably would look pretty stupid.

Kim Commando
Yeah, you would. You want to try?

Unknown
Sure.

Kim Commando
Okay, so here's what you do. You take it like this.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
And put it around your neck.

Unknown
Well, my neck's gonna be too thick.

Kim Commando
Okay, then just do it one time.

Unknown
Okay.

Kim Commando
Okay. I have a petite.

Unknown
You do?

Kim Commando
So you put that around and then you put it through like that. You ready? Don't screw it up. This is expensive. It's a Louis Vuitton.

Unknown
I won't.

Kim Commando
Okay. Like $4,000 being thrown.

Unknown
All right.

Kim Commando
No, it's not that much like this.

Unknown
And then go. How? Through the hole?

Kim Commando
Yeah, through the middle. Oh, you got a big fat neck.

Unknown
I told you.

Kim Commando
Oh, there you go. Now.

Now let's talk about the Olympics.

Unknown
Mm hmm.

Did you hear this E. Coli in the river sign? They can't do the swimming.

They're gonna have to cancel the Olympics. Where's my butler?

Kim Commando
This looks stupid on you.

Unknown
Yeah, looks much better on you. You know, I don't know how to tie a tie either.

Kim Commando
You don't?

Unknown
No.

Kim Commando
Just go on YouTube.

Unknown
Yeah, I mean, I can, but I don't need to wear ties.

Kim Commando
Don't get it all sweaty.

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Ben Chin
Entertainment is strictly prohibited.

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