This isn’t a ripped-from-the-headlines new Netflix series. This really happened in a quiet neighborhood called Litchfield Park that’s about a 20-minute drive from Phoenix.

Christina Chapman, 50, looked like your average middle-aged suburban woman. But inside her humble home? A secret cyber ops center built to help North Korean IT workers buy equipment and tools for their military by infiltrating hundreds of U.S. companies. 

WOMAN LEARNS FATE AFTER DOJ GUILTY PLEA ADMITTING SHE HELPED NORTH KOREAN TECH WORKERS INFILTRATE US COMPANIES

Christina Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, Ariz., set up a massive cyber operation that helped North Korean actors infiltrate U.S. companies. (Department of Justice)

That picture above was just a small part of her setup.

North Korean workers aren’t browsing LinkedIn or applying at Google, Amazon and Meta. They can’t. Sanctions block them from working for American companies, at least legally. So what do they do? 

They steal real Americans’ identities, including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and more. Then, they use them to pose as remote IT workers, slipping into U.S. companies under anyone’s radar.

But when companies send out laptops and phones to their “remote new hires”? Those devices can’t exactly be shipped to Pyongyang.

Enter Christina

Over the course of three years, Christina turned her suburban home into a covert operations hub for North Korea’s elite cybercriminals.

She received more than 100 laptops and smartphones shipped from companies all across the U.S. These weren’t no-name startups. We’re talking major American banks, top-tier tech firms and at least one U.S. government contractor. 

All thought they were hiring remote U.S.-based workers. They had no idea they were actually onboarding North Korean operatives.

Once the gear arrived, Chapman connected the devices to VPNs, remote desktop tools like AnyDesk and Chrome Remote Desktop, and even rigged up voice-changing software. 

The goal? To make it seem like the North Koreans were logging in from inside the United States. Chapman also shipped 49 laptops and other devices supplied by U.S. companies to locations overseas, including multiple shipments to a city in China on the border with North Korea.

NORTH KOREA LASHES OUT AFTER TRUMP DOJ EXPOSES MASSIVE IT INFILTRATION SCHEME

Chapman’s fake employees “showed up” from halfway around the world every day, siphoning American cash and technology directly into the Kim regime. (Department of Justice)

Follow the money

These fake employees “showed up” every day, submitting code, answering emails, taking meetings, all from halfway around the world. In reality, they were siphoning U.S. tech and cash straight into Kim Jong Un’s regime.

When HR teams requested video verification, Chapman didn’t blink. 

She jumped on camera herself, sometimes in costume, pretending to be the person in the résumé. She ran the whole operation like a talent agency for cybercriminals, staging fake job interviews, coaching the operatives on what to say and even laundering their salaries through U.S. banks.

Her take? At least $800,000, paid as “service fees.”

The total haul for North Korea? Over $17 million in stolen salaries, according to the FBI, which called the scheme a national security threat. Chapman called it “helping her friends.” Really.

KIM JONG UN’S YOUNG DAUGHTER BEING GROOMED TO LEAD REGIME AFTER MILITARY PARADE VISIT IN CHINA: EXPERT

North Korea netted over $17 million in stolen salaries, courtesy Chapman’s scheme. (REUTERS/Edgar Su)

Eventually, the scam began to unravel. Investigators noticed odd patterns like dozens and dozens of remote hires all listing the same Arizona address, or company systems being accessed from countries the workers supposedly had never visited.

Chapman was arrested and sentenced in July 2025 to 102 months in federal prison.

And the wildest part? She did it all from her living room. Talk about working from home! 

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When someone stops breathing, the clock starts ticking. First responders often need to get air into the lungs fast, and one of the most reliable ways is to slide a tube into the windpipe. This process, called intubation, keeps the airway open so that oxygen can flow again.

Here’s the catch: intubation is incredibly hard. Even trained doctors can struggle, and every extra second puts the patient at greater risk. Now, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have designed a soft robotic device that could change how first responders handle these emergencies. It helps guide the breathing tube into place quickly, safely, and with far less training than traditional methods.

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Why breathing tubes are so tough to place

Our bodies are built to keep food and foreign objects out of the lungs. A small flap called the epiglottis blocks the windpipe during swallowing, and the path into the trachea is narrow and curved. To get around these obstacles, current tools are rigid. Medics have to lift the epiglottis with a metal scope and carefully angle the tube forward. If it slips into the esophagus instead, oxygen goes to the stomach instead of the lungs. “Traditional tools must be stiff so you can push them, and they only turn by pressing on sensitive tissue,” explained Elliot Hawkes, professor of mechanical engineering at UCSB.

DANGEROUS HEART CONDITIONS DETECTED IN SECONDS WITH AI STETHOSCOPE

Even trained doctors can struggle with intubation. (Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

How the soft robot works

The new system, called the soft robotic intubation system (SRIS), takes a gentler approach. First, a curved guide sits at the back of the throat. Then a soft inflatable tube slowly unrolls from the inside out as it advances. Instead of being forced in, it naturally follows the right path into the windpipe. This reduces friction, lowers the risk of injury and adapts to different body shapes automatically. “This growing paradigm naturally accounts for minor variations in anatomy,” said lead author David Haggerty, a recent UCSB Ph.D. graduate.

What the tests show

The results are eye-opening:

• Experts had a 100% success rate.
• Paramedics and EMTs reached a 96% success rate with just five minutes of training.
• Non-experts placed the tube in an average of 21 seconds, less than half the time needed with advanced video laryngoscopes.

Why this device could save more lives

Millions of emergency intubations happen in the U.S. each year. Many take place in chaotic, low-light or stressful situations where current tools don’t always work. A device that makes the process easier could be a lifesaver for:

• Paramedics at accident scenes
• Military medics in combat zones
• Doctors in hospitals with limited equipment

AI VIDEO TECH FAST-TRACKS HUMANOID ROBOT TRAINING

In trials, both experts and non-experts achieved faster and more successful intubations using the new airway management system — advancing emergency response efficiency. (Kurt Knutsson)

The UCSB team is now preparing for clinical trials and FDA approval.

HOW MICRO-ROBOTS MAY SOON TREAT YOUR SINUS INFECTIONS

What this means for you

If this device lives up to its early promise, it could mean that more patients survive emergencies where breathing stops. For families, it means a higher chance that first responders can keep loved ones alive until they reach the hospital. For medics, it offers a safer, faster tool when seconds truly matter.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Breathing is life, yet securing an airway is one of the toughest jobs in emergency care. This soft robotic system may help turn a high-risk procedure into something more predictable and safe. While more testing is still ahead, the early data shows how robotics could make a lifesaving difference for patients everywhere.

Medical staff participate in hands-on training to practice emergency response and resuscitation techniques using a lifelike simulation mannequin. (Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

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Grieving the loss of a loved one is hard enough, and families are lucky if they’re able to prepare in advance for the worst. What most families aren’t prepared for, though, are the predatory calls and letters that begin just weeks after filing probate paperwork—the records necessary to officially manage the estate and assets of the decedent. 

Digital scams take advantage of families during this time. They rely on probate records in particular, as they contain sensitive information and are a part of the public record. Fraudsters pose as attorneys, debt collectors and estate service providers, each demanding the immediate payment of made-up fees. This is also known as the “inheritance trap.” It’s a growing kind of cybercrime where scammers exploit public probate records to target grieving families when they’re at their most vulnerable.

HOW SCAMMERS TARGET YOU EVEN WITHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA

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The probate system’s problem with privacy

Probate is a normal, legal process of settling a deceased person’s estate, and in most state jurisdictions, these filings become part of the public record. While transparency serves legitimate purposes, it creates an opportunity for scammers. Probate documents typically include:

• Names and addresses of heirs and beneficiaries
• Detailed asset inventories and estate values
• Property descriptions and locations
• Names of executors and personal representatives
• Court dates and filing information.

Digital inheritance scams take advantage of grieving families by relying on probate records. (uchar/Getty Images)

These records are accessible to anyone, often through online databases that make bulk scraping simple. Criminals systematically monitor probate filings, building target lists of families who are emotionally vulnerable and potentially receiving significant inheritances.

REMOVE YOUR DATA TO PROTECT YOUR RETIREMENT FROM SCAMMERS

How to spot a probate scam

There are four common types of inheritance traps that use probate records as sources for their fraudulent claims:

The fake fee scam: Just like the DMV notice scam that claims the recipient has unpaid toll fees, scammers use probate data to pose as attorneys or court officials, claiming heirs owe fees to release inheritance funds. They create urgency with threats of legal action or frozen assets, demanding payment via wire transfer or gift cards.

The fake debt collector: Fraudsters send texts or make AI-generated voice calls, claiming that the deceased person owed debts that have to be settled immediately. They often have enough information from probate records to sound legitimate, pressuring families to pay non-existent debts.

The fake estate service: Scams that offer seemingly helpful services like “property appraisals,” “finding hidden assets,” or “estate clean-out services” can look like they offer reasonable deals. Some take payment and disappear—others perform unnecessary services that families never requested.

Cyberguy lays out ways to avoid inheritance scams. (Cyberguy.com)

The “advanced fee” gift: Anyone who promises to expedite probate proceedings or secure larger inheritances for an upfront fee is probably in it to win it (for themselves). Some cases even involve disgruntled family members acting out of greed. These are not your run-of-the-mill remote scammers from a foreign country; these can be local “facilitators” who have no actual authority and simply pocket the money. If someone claims you have an inheritance coming, but they need “a fee to unlock it” or they promise to “handle your probate case” for a small upfront fee, you guessed it—nothing ever comes from it.

Why probate scams work

Grief is a beacon for fraudsters. With grief comes diminished critical thinking from even the hardiest of privacy diehards. Scammers deliberately strike during this window when defenses are low. A scammer who can reference your personal information, family information or property details doesn’t sound like a criminal, they sound like a legitimate professional. Scams often use the weapon of urgency—you have to purportedly act fast to avoid asset seizures, legal penalties or missed deadlines. When something demands immediate action, victims feel compelled to respond before verifying claims or consulting attorneys, which is exactly what fraudsters count on.

HOW TO HAND OFF DATA PRIVACY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR OLDER ADULTS TO A TRUSTED LOVED ONE

How to protect yourself against the inheritance trap

The good news is that with awareness and a few smart steps, you can lower your risk of falling victim to inheritance scams.

1) Verify, verify, verify

Never send money or give information to an unsolicited contact about an estate. If someone claims you owe fees or have obligations, independently verify their identity or company. Contact the probate court directly using publicly listed numbers, not information provided by the caller. Ask your estate attorney about any claims before making payments.

2) Limit information sharing

In most jurisdictions, you can’t prevent a probate filing from going public. But you can minimize additional data exposure by not sharing anything on social media and limiting contact to only key parties that you trust with financial information.

3) Use personal data removal services

Data removal services specialize in removing personal information from data broker sites that scammers use to supplement probate data. Personal information combined with probate records create the perfect setup for inheritance traps—scammers can make super-convincing, alarmist content that can bypass your intuition about scams, especially during times of grief.

Illustration of a cybercriminal. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet.  By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

5 STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCES FROM FAMILY SCAMS

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

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4) Let them leave a voicemail

Legitimate attorneys and court officials will leave detailed messages and provide callback numbers you can verify independently by searching online. Unknown callers without legit numbers are likely scams. 

5) Ask about your bank’s fraud detection

Set up appropriate fraud alerts and prevention methods with the bank or estate holder, especially if the estate holds a significant value that would be a golden opportunity for thieves. 

Scammers use convincing calls and messages to pressure people into paying fake debts, authorities warn. (Cyberguy.com)

6) Report inheritance scams immediately

You can report potential probate scams to your probate court. They can issue a special order to protect assets, require executors to adopt formal procedures or even remove an executor for fraudulent behavior. You can also go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov to file a complaint. 

7) Share what you know

Ensure elderly relatives or those less familiar with scam tactics understand these risks. Scammers often target multiple heirs, seeking the most vulnerable respondent. 

Kurt’s key takeaway

The probate system creates a privacy trade-off. You can’t prevent much of this information from entering the public record, but you can control how you respond, and how much personal data is out there. Any probate topics should come through official court channels, and never an unsolicited phone call, email or text message. When in doubt, verify with your probate court, and always consult your estate attorney. With a little vigilance and a bit of data cleanup, you can ensure that the probate process doesn’t put you in harm’s way, during the time when you’re at your most vulnerable.

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