After being scammed, embarrassment can prevent people from getting the help they need, but in order to destigmatize the painful mistake, more people need to report incidents and understand that it happens to even the most technically savvy. Today’s guest is Rory Innes. Rory has spent his entire career in cybersecurity and has worked for leading global cybersecurity companies in a range of senior management positions. Rory spotted the huge gap in support for victims of cybercrime and online harm ...
Mar 15, 2023•48 min•Ep. 159
Scamming is a multi-billion dollar industry that is creative and evolving. The National Consumer Protection Week is geared toward education and the National Slam the Scam Day focuses specifically on government imposter scams. Today’s guest is Anthony “AJ” Monaco. AJ currently serves as a special agent in charge of the major case unit at the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. His unit investigates complex fraud cases with a particular emphasis on Social Security Administr...
Mar 08, 2023•45 min•Ep. 158
Have you ever Googled yourself to see what information is available about you? Knowing how to remove some of your private information or negate the impact of a negative review can make a big difference to your personal or professional reputation. Today’s guest is Darren Dunner. Darren is a digital marketing and SEO guru with a track record of results-driven leadership. As Net Reputation’s VP of Reputation Management Operations, he provides expert insight and mentorship needed to consistently pro...
Mar 01, 2023•37 min•Ep. 157
Taking a proactive approach versus a reactive approach to cybersecurity makes a big difference for the stress levels of employees and customers. The daily conversations that take place with management can change the impact of a ransomware attack remarkably. Today’s guest is Robert Anderson Jr. Robert is a national security expert, author, and business leader dedicated to helping companies improve cybersecurity and reduce business risk. As Chairman and CEO of Cyber Defense Labs, he brings decades...
Feb 22, 2023•49 min•Ep. 156
Scammers are creatively trying to deceive and manipulate Amazon customers by getting them to do activities outside the Amazon ecosystem through texts, emails, and phone calls. Hopefully by looking at how the top scams are implemented, we can create more awareness and prevent loss. Today's guest is Abigail Bishop. Abigail is the Head of External Relations for Scam Prevention at Amazon, where she leads the organization’s outreach work to protect customers from falling victim to scams globally. Sho...
Feb 15, 2023•42 min•Ep. 155
We like to think that we’re too smart to be taken advantage of by a scammer, but some are willing to invest a tremendous amount of time and effort for a payout. Many do not come forward because of the fear, shame, and victim-blaming, but that’s not true with today’s guest. Today’s guest is Ayleen Charlotte. Ayleen was one of the women featured in the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler. She made a radical choice between victimhood or becoming a beacon of female empowerment. After what became...
Feb 08, 2023•40 min•Ep. 154
Pending legislation mandating cybersecurity representation at the top levels of an organization in a relatively young field and understanding that field are testing the bounds of practical cybersecurity leadership. Today’s guests are Richard Brinson and Rachel Briggs. Richard is an experienced executive, board advisor, and global top 100 Chief Informations Security Officer. He has been providing strategic guidance to many of the world’s largest global organizations for over 20 years with core ex...
Feb 01, 2023•48 min•Ep. 153
Millions have been impacted by data breaches. Many of us know how fraudsters work and how they utilize this information. But our parents and children become victims because of their fear or urgency inflicted by the scammers. Today’s guest is Mike Cook. Mike is an entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience working and serving in the financial services, wireless, cable/satellite, and auto financial industries. He has built several data breach applications in compliance, manual verification, and...
Jan 25, 2023•49 min•Ep. 152
With AI having the ability to search the internet and write a paper, create an image, or even a video having someone say what they didn’t say, we can no longer use the phrase that seeing is believing. Today’s guest is Peter Sisson. As a serial entrepreneur with a master’s in AI from Stanford, Peter is working to fight fake news, fake reviews, and fake products. Misinformation and polarization have exploded since Peter began his career in Silicon Valley more than 20 years ago and his latest compa...
Jan 18, 2023•43 min•Ep. 151
Thank you for tuning in to our 150th episode! I started the Easy Prey Podcast with the goal of helping listeners learn to avoid being an easy target for scammers and fraudsters, both online and in the real world. Since the first episode on March 18, 2020, I’ve had the honor of interviewing some of the most influential people in their fields. We’ve talked about topics ranging from personal safety, self-defense, social engineering, and romance scams, to phishing, cybercrime, and everything in betw...
Jan 11, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 150
Many people are comfortable sharing data in an environment that they believe to be a safe space. But not everyone considers where that health data goes after it has been collected. Today’s guest is Katie Lips. Katie is an author and entrepreneur who helps consumers to understand the value of their data and protect themselves online. She is currently creating a data-centric health app with her extensive experience. Show Notes: [0:51] - Katie shares her broad and diverse career in technology. [2:0...
Jan 04, 2023•39 min•Ep. 149
Virtual networks with anonymous accounts allow cybercrime gangs the ability to work together without even knowing who they work with. This could be how the good guys infiltrate these networks. Today’s guest is Peter Taylor. Peter is a former police detective and Director of Fraud Management for major UK companies. Ten years ago he set up his own consultancy and has established a reputation as “The Fraud Guy” specializing in research, training, and investigation around organized crime. Show Notes...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 148
We understand that hackers look for weaknesses in networks to manipulate or take data, but understanding the ways that vehicles can also be accessed either remotely or physically can be a bit surprising. Today’s guest is Derrick Thiecke. Derrick works as an Embedded Systems Security Tester in the automotive industry where he found himself after spending over a decade in the corporate IT world. When Derrick isn’t data dumping ROM chips, scouring through vehicle log data, or fuzzing CAN networks, ...
Dec 21, 2022•41 min•Ep. 147
Scammers are brilliant at targeting the vulnerable and then often using the fear of exposure to extort even more out of them. Education about these manipulators isn’t enough. Can we do more to make a global impact knowing that less than 0.1% of scammers are ever prosecuted? Today’s guest is Jorij Abraham. Jorij Abraham is the Managing Director of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance with a mission of preventing consumers worldwide from getting scammed. He is also the General Manager at ScamAdvisor.com,...
Dec 14, 2022•31 min•Ep. 146
Utilizing hacking skills cannot only make it easier to work with management, but helps translate technical information for non-technical staff. Today’s guest is Alyssa Miller. Alyssa is a lifelong hacker and cybersecurity leader. She is the CISO for Epiq Global and has over 16 years experience in security. She is an internationally recognized speaker, author, and researcher. She has also been featured in Tribe of Hackers blue team, Cybercrime magazine, and many other media. Show Notes: [1:06] - ...
Dec 07, 2022•50 min•Ep. 145
Online dating has become more complicated than ever. Learning how to verify that the person you’re talking to is actually the person in the dating profile can save you from heartbreak and financial loss. Today’s guests are Kathy Waters and Bryan Denny. Kathy Waters is an expert advocate and an educator on the subject of online romance scams. Kathy is co-founder, along with retired Colonel Bryan Denny, of the non-profit organization Advocating Against Romance Scammers. Both have been working for ...
Nov 30, 2022•36 min•Ep. 144
Every time you pay a bill, data is sent to a credit reporting agency. Errors can be made. It’s important to know where to look to see if your credit information is correct, stolen, or purchased. Today’s guest is Steve Baker. Steve is chairman of the Privacy Rights Institute. He is a lawyer and previously served as a leader at the FTC for over 27 years addressing consumer fraud in areas like telemarketing and spamming. Steve now writes The Baker Fraud Report, a free weekly newsletter covering con...
Nov 23, 2022•37 min•Ep. 143
Consumer Reports is known for the research and comparisons of products and services, but they also offer a free personalized security and privacy planner. Today’s guest is Amira Dhalla. Amira is the Director of Impact Partnerships and Programs at Consumer Reports focusing on digital privacy and security. Amira works on projects that improve the cybersecurity and privacy products and tools on the marketplace while also tackling topics like discriminatory technologies, deceptive design, trust, and...
Nov 16, 2022•33 min•Ep. 142
Criminals and trained to hone in on people who are vulnerable. Listen on to learn how you can protect the people you care about and what signs to look out for. Today’s guest is Louise Baxter. Lou graduated with a law degree and worked for Sussex Trading Standards. She took over as the chair of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute's consumer power alliance and is the CTSI’s lead officer of education. She got frustrated by the system in relation to support of scam victims and started what is ...
Nov 09, 2022•40 min•Ep. 141
Once a data breach has taken place, your data can be sold and resold and resold again. It’s important to know how to proactively protect your personal information. Today’s guest is Kevin Roundy. Dr. Roundy received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin where he developed tools by which malware can be analyzed both with detailed statistical analysis techniques and dynamic instrumentation. He has collaboratively developed threat detection tools and has offered several research publications an...
Nov 02, 2022•37 min•Ep. 140
Online predators can pretend to be anyone, any age, anywhere. We need to educate and empower our children to stay safe on their devices and not become victims. Today’s guest is Titania Jordan. Titania is the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Parent Officer at Bark Technologies, an online safety company that helps keep kids safe online and in real life. Titania has contributed pieces to the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Huffington Post, Fox Business, Daily Mail, USA Today, Vogue, and more. Her fir...
Oct 26, 2022•41 min•Ep. 139
Taking online quizzes can be fun and entertaining. Clicking on links in emails and DMs is just plain convenient. Unfortunately, both of these can put your identity at risk for theft. Today’s guest is Patrick Glennon. Patrick has over 20 years of experience in banking and consumer identity protection with roles at companies including JP Morgan Chase, Core Logic, Arthur Anderson, and eBates. He has built software and infrastructure teams from the ground up, managed not only data center cloud migra...
Oct 19, 2022•35 min•Ep. 138
It is fascinating to see an investigation using dark web technology showing how criminal syndicates work and the process stolen equipment goes through. Today’s guest is Anthony van der Meer. Anthony is a Dutch investigative journalist and filmmaker. As a filmmaker, he has been focusing on the dark side of the digital world since 2015. For his investigations, he dives deep into the world of cyber criminals by infiltrating using OSINT and ethical hacking. He was recently a speaker at the Global On...
Oct 12, 2022•45 min•Ep. 137
We’ve all heard of dating scams, but realizing that most of them are part of larger criminal organizations working 24/7 to manipulate and defraud you can be a bit shocking. Today’s guest is Jane Lee. Jane is a Trust and Safety Architect at Sift who specializes in malicious websites, spam, misinformation, account content abuse, and payment risk. Prior to joining Sift, she was on the fraud teams at Facebook and Square and also spent some time as a private investigator. Show Notes: [1:08] - Part of...
Oct 05, 2022•46 min•Ep. 136
Many believe that cybersecurity is for high tech professionals only. It’s important to know that employees at every level can accidentally open the door to your network. Today’s guest is Roy Zur. Roy is the founder and CEO of Thrive DX for Enterprise which is a global education company committed to transforming lives through digital skills training and solutions as well as addressing the human factor of cybersecurity training. Roy is a 15 year veteran of the Israeli Defense Force where he served...
Sep 28, 2022•41 min•Ep. 135
Talking to our aging parents about their finances can be a tough conversation. But there are ways to educate and protect our parents from being taken advantage of by scammers, charities, and other organizations without being seen as controlling or overstepping. Today’s guest is Cameron Huddleston. Cameron is an author, speaker, and award-winning financial journalist. She’s the Director of Education and Content at Careful, the first service built to protect and monitor aging adults’ daily finance...
Sep 21, 2022•34 min•Ep. 134
On this podcast, we talk a lot about identifying and avoiding online fraud. But in this episode, our guest is going to share his experiences tracking down the individuals, syndicates, and criminal organizations behind pet scams, how they utilize freelancers, and how they launder their ill gotten gains. Today’s guest is Jack Whittaker. Jack is a Criminology PhD candidate with a specialization in published literature on online fraud. In addition, he has a proven track record of doing media intervi...
Sep 14, 2022•56 min•Ep. 133
Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, and other payment apps are convenient for sending money to family and friends. But are they really safe to be using? Today’s guest is Michelle Couch-Friedman. Michelle is the founder and CEO of Consumer Rescue. She is an experienced consumer reporter, advocate, mediator, author, and licensed psychotherapist. Michelle has also been a columnist, contributing editor, and former executive director for Elliott Advocacy, a non-profit organization dedicated to consumer advocacy. ...
Sep 07, 2022•48 min•Ep. 132
With financial payment platforms used more regularly to exchange cash between individuals, scammers have become more creative in using them to defraud users. Today’s guest is John Breyault. John is the National Consumers League Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud. As the director of Fraud.org, John is a nationally recognized expert in fraud, with more than 17 years of experience in educating consumers in advocating for stronger consumer protections at the federal, stat...
Aug 31, 2022•43 min•Ep. 131
Predators look to take advantage of people during the roughest situations of life. A perpetrator of insurance fraud makes a career out of milking the system thinking it's a victimless crime. Today’s guest is Officer Tony Royall. Officer Royall started in the Virginia Department of State Police in 1986. He worked in Accident Reproduction and then became an agent in Narcotics. Officer Royall has now been working in Insurance Fraud for the past 22 years. Show Notes: [0:47] - Officer Royall shares h...
Aug 24, 2022•32 min•Ep. 130
