Staying safe online requires you to be an active participant. You need to do your own research and not rely entirely on other people’s tools, some of which are intended to actually take advantage of you. Today’s guest is Patrick McNamara. Patrick holds a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity from University of Maryland Global along with multiple certifications. He operates the cyber awareness site DIYSecurityTips.com and is currently a cybersecurity engineer for a software company. Show Notes: [0:5...
Oct 11, 2023•46 min•Ep. 189
Everyone is being targeted by organized crime to separate you from your money. If you’ve been scammed, don’t allow embarrassment to keep you from reporting it. Your story could keep someone else from going through the same thing. Today’s guest is Ryan Kelly. Ryan is a stand-up comedian who hunts scammers with his master’s degree in Homeland Security. Show Notes: [0:45] - Ryan shares his background and how he wound up hunting scammers. [2:12] - Just a few months ago, Ryan himself was scammed. [3:...
Oct 04, 2023•44 min•Ep. 188
Romance scammers are patient and willing to take their time to win over their target. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about how you can help out and make a difference to reduce the impact of romance scams. 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...
Sep 27, 2023•32 min•Ep. 187
Scammers try to take advantage of human politeness. Utilizing critical thinking and slowing down conversations with someone who claims to be an authority like a government agency or bank could be what prevents us from making a financial mistake. Today’s guest is Giles Mason. Giles is the Director of Campaigns at UK Finance. He is responsible for planning and delivering the organization’s communication activities to promote campaigns on behalf of the banking and finance industry. Show Notes: [0:5...
Sep 20, 2023•29 min•Ep. 186
The burden is on consumers to question the validity of online offers because privacy laws and standards are not yet well regulated. Consumer Reports is fighting to make changes in this arena. Today’s guest is Marta Tellado. Marta is President and CEO of Consumer Reports, the independent non-profit that works side by side with consumers to create a fair and just marketplace. She is a market driven leader with a passion for innovation, public-service, philanthropy, and helping organizations maximi...
Sep 13, 2023•35 min•Ep. 185
Scammers have used our systems against us, like shipping, rental cars, and rental homes. They’ve learned how to stay off the radar and, in order to stop money laundering, we need to address fraud one step at a time. Today’s guest is Pierogi. Pierogi protects the innocent and vulnerable from internet scammers through his channel Scammer Payback. He exposes these criminals and helps victims through his technology and cybersecurity knowledge. Show Notes: [1:07] - Pierogi shares his background and h...
Sep 06, 2023•59 min•Ep. 184
We’ve heard the polarizing narrative, “Either you’re with me or you’re my enemy.” Using this polarizing statement can allow people to fall prey to being manipulated. Today’s guest is Sander van der Linden. Dr. van der Linden is a professor of Social Psychology and Society and the Director of Cambridge Social Decision Making Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He is ranked among the top 1% of highly cited social scientists worldwide and has published over 150 resea...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 183
Scammers, like magicians, use distractions and illusions to keep you from realizing what is really going on. They may choose to have you focus on something that is urgent hoping that you’ll make mistakes that you normally wouldn’t. Today’s guests are Chris Chabris and Dan Simons. Dr. Chabris is a Cognitive Scientist who has taught at Union College in Harvard University and is a fellow of The Association for Psychological Science. His research focuses on decision-making, attention, intelligence, ...
Aug 23, 2023•48 min•Ep. 182
Our home IoT devices are constantly being probed for weaknesses so that they can be compromised and used for broader nefarious purposes like cyber warfare. The Ukrainians may be considered some of the best in the world when it comes to defending against cyber warfare because they have been regularly attacked and have been defending their systems for years. Today’s guest is Mikko Hypponen. He has written for The New York Times, Wired, and Scientific American and has lectured at universities like ...
Aug 16, 2023•38 min•Ep. 181
Our non-verbal communication is as much or more important than what we verbally communicate. We may display mannerisms that our gut instincts pick up as just off, but a trained FBI Behavioral Analysis can pick up on these signs faster than you might expect. Today’s guest is Robin Dreeke. Robin is an accomplished executive coach, bestselling author, and professional speaker with an impressive background. As a Marine Corps officer and retired FBI Special Agent, he served as Chief of the Counterint...
Aug 09, 2023•43 min•Ep. 180
Many people have ended up in an MLM because they wanted to help a friend out. But it is important to understand the red flags of how they can motivate and manipulate. Today’s guest is Roberta Blevins. Roberta is an anti-MLM advocate who starred in the Amazon Prime documentary Lula Rich and speaks out on social media against MLMs, scams, frauds, and cults and is the host of the podcast Life After MLM. Show Notes: [0:45] - Roberta shares her background and what she does now. [2:20] - In 2015, Robe...
Aug 02, 2023•48 min•Ep. 179
A scalpel in the hand of a surgeon can be an amazing instrument. But the same tool in the hand of a person choosing to do harm is dangerous. The knowledge on how to read someone’s behavior is the same thing, either beneficial or detrimental, based on the person’s intentions. Today’s guest is Chase Hughes. Chase is a retired US Navy Chief and is the leading military and intelligence behavior expert with 20 years of creating the most advanced behavior skill courses and tactics available worldwide....
Jul 26, 2023•43 min•Ep. 178
It can be difficult to quantify the impact of good CISO or IT professionals. Protecting the network, infrastructure, and data is a constant effort and they’ve got to get it right 100% of the time. But the criminals breaking in only need to get it right once. Today’s guest is Raj Samani. Raj is the Chief Scientist for the cyber security firm Rapid7. He has assisted multiple law enforcement agencies in cybercrime cases and is a special advisor to the European Cybercrime Centre in The Hague. Raj ha...
Jul 19, 2023•46 min•Ep. 177
Today’s guest is Bryan Seely, a world famous cyber security expert, ethical hacker, author, keynote speaker, and former US Marine. He is known for intercepting calls to the US Secret Service and FBI. We chat about why and how he did it and surprisingly why he didn’t go to jail. Show Notes: [0:48] - Bryan shares his background, what he does now, and what he is famous for. [2:10] - To show how easily hacked and manipulated Google Maps was, Bryan changed the names of locations which didn’t get thei...
Jul 12, 2023•42 min•Ep. 176
The cyber security circle of information will always have some human involvement and raising awareness in how systems were designed, developed, used, and abused is critical. Today’s guest is Dr. Jessica Barker. Jessica is an award winning leader in the human side of cyber security and has delivered face to face awareness sessions to over 50,000 people. She is a best selling author, international keynote speaker, media commentator, and serves on numerous boards, including the UK government’s Cybe...
Jul 05, 2023•39 min•Ep. 175
With the appearance of health taking focus in today’s culture, many are persuaded to try extreme trends to achieve quick weight and health results. Conventional healthcare may not always have the answers we’re looking for but it’s important to not let our fears and concerns be exploited for someone else’s profit. Today’s guest is Christy Harrison. Christy and a Registered Dietician Nutritionist, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, and a journalist who has been covering food, nutrition, and hea...
Jun 28, 2023•52 min•Ep. 174
In this episode, we look at two sides of the Nigerian scam: The emotional, psychological, and financial damage done by scammers and the scammers we often look at as bad people doing bad things. But in some cultures, this is seen as an acceptable career option. Today’s guest is Ronnie Tokazowski. Ronnie has been fighting Nigerian fraud for the last seven years and has collaborated with both law enforcement and the private sector. He runs a mailing list which collaborates with victims in identifyi...
Jun 21, 2023•50 min•Ep. 173
Recovering from identity crimes can be daunting and take a toll on your entire life, not just financially and emotionally. Once someone gains access to one of your accounts, they can work to manipulate your friends and relatives as well. Today’s guest is Eva Velasquez. Eva is the President and CEO of The Identity Theft Resource Center. She previously served as the Vice President of Operation for the San Diego Better Business Bureau and for 21 years at the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. Sh...
Jun 14, 2023•50 min•Ep. 172
You may be shocked to know that master manipulators utilize special tactics to impact human behavior and emotions by more than just instilling a sense of urgency. The art of persuasion can be used for both good and evil. Today’s guest is Chris Hadnagy. Chris is the author of five books on the topic of social engineering. He is a professor of social engineering at the University of Arizona as well as the CEO of Social Engineer LLC, the Innocent Lives Foundation, and the Institute for Social Engin...
Jun 07, 2023•42 min•Ep. 171
Phishing emails are constantly evolving to take advantage of current trends, news, and holidays. Typically poor grammar or the time an email was sent could help you identify if it is authentic. But with AI, these obvious signs may soon disappear. Today’s guest is Kiri Addison. Kiri is the Detection and Efficacy Product Manager at Mimecast, working on security products to defend against new and evolving threats. Previously she was head of data science for threat intelligence and has worked in the...
May 31, 2023•33 min•Ep. 170
Age appropriate conversations need to be taking place with children on how technology is being used to groom them. Unfortunately, many are already addicted to the dopamine fix and their relationships with a device can numb them to being preyed upon. Today’s guest is John Pizzuro. John serves as CEO of Raven, a lobbying and advocacy group that focuses on protecting children from exploitation. John was a former commander of the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children task force and has created...
May 24, 2023•43 min•Ep. 169
AI creates opportunities as well as challenges. We may need to become more skeptical about what we see and hear knowing that images and words can be generated without transparency of its creation. Today’s guest is Paul Valente. Paul is the CEO and co-founder of VISO Trust, a former CISO of Restoration Hardware, Lending Club, and ASAPP with over 20 years of technology, financial services, ecommerce, and information security innovation. Paul holds several industry designations, including Certified...
May 17, 2023•37 min•Ep. 168
If you experience any high pressure tactics or urgency that someone needs you to make a financial decision fast, take a pause and realize that you might be talking to a scammer. Today’s guest is Professor Marti DeLiema. Marti is an Assistant Professor and Gerontologist at the University of Minnesota. Her work focuses on identifying the extent and cost of financial fraud in the US as well as factors related to financial victimization of the aging. Show Notes: [0:48] - Marti shares her background ...
May 10, 2023•33 min•Ep. 167
Identities are under attack and with few ways to either validate or authenticate, it’s difficult to know whether a company or person you are communicating with is fake or not. Today’s guest is Mike Kiser. Mike Kiser is currently the Director of Strategy and Standards at SailPoint. He speaks regularly at events such as The European Identity Conference and The RSA Conference. He is a member of several standards groups and has presented identity related research at Black Hat and DevCon. Show Notes:...
May 03, 2023•44 min•Ep. 166
With all of the AI advances and the metaverse, people will face the decision on how to embrace the technology because it will become unavoidable. Today’s guest is Dr. Mark van Rijmenam. Mark is The Digital Speaker. He is a leading strategic futurist who thinks about how technology changes organizations, society, and the metaverse. Mark is an international keynote speaker, five time author, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Datafloq and the author of the book Step Into the Metaverse . His mi...
Apr 26, 2023•43 min•Ep. 165
Business opportunities can entice you to believe that you can make large amounts of money in a short period of time. It’s important to verify proof of their claims before joining and knowing how to research this can save you time and money. Today’s guest is Jeff Lerner. Jeff is a five time Inc. 5000 CEO with over $100 million in sales. In 2019, he founded Entre Institute, the world’s first institute of higher learning for entrepreneurs which is now one of the fastest growing education and techno...
Apr 19, 2023•43 min•Ep. 164
If AI knows your data patterns, it can help keep families safe online by preventing cyber security incidents from happening rather than just reacting once they do. Today’s guest is Hari Ravichandran. As an engineer by trade and entrepreneur by nature, Hari has a track record of founding successful businesses in technology and security. After a painful personal experience with identity theft, Hari founded Aura, a way to simplify digital security for consumers. He has since grown Aura into a busin...
Apr 12, 2023•43 min•Ep. 163
Cyberattacks can happen to an individual computer or an entire network. It’s vital to have well-tested plans in place before ransomware rears its ugly head. Today’s guest is Steve Orrin. Steve is Intel’s Federal CTO and Senior Principal Engineer. He leads public sector solutions architecture, strategy, and engagement and has held technology leadership positions at Intel. Steve was previously CTO, CSO, and co-founder of several successful security startups and is a recognized expert and frequent ...
Apr 05, 2023•44 min•Ep. 162
We are all being targeted by imposters on social media, websites, and dating sites. Once a person has been scammed, your information can be added to a database where criminals can purchase your data and then offer you “recovery assistance” from that scam. Today’s guest is Nick Smart. Nick has 18 years experience as a professional Intelligence and Security Analyst working for government agencies and private companies as well as experience as a compliance officer. Show Notes: [0:57] - Nick describ...
Mar 29, 2023•49 min•Ep. 161
There’s one common desire that allows you to be taken advantage of or to be manipulated that leaves you wanting to kick yourself for not doing one simple thing to prevent it. Today’s guest is Mark Edward. Mark is a professional mentalist who has specialized in magic of the mind for over 35 years. He travels internationally as a skeptical activist using his skills as a mentalist to teach and promote critical thinking. Show Notes: [1:01] - Mark shares his interesting background in magic and as a m...
Mar 22, 2023•51 min•Ep. 160
