Easy Prey

Cyber criminals are growing in their attack planning. CISA is continuing training their teams to look for vulnerabilities and help out not only the government, but other entities secure their networks and products. Today's guest is Robert Karas. Rob came to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in 2010. He has over 30 years experience in the information security field and significan...

Everyday people are falling victims to scams and fraud. Embarrassment and guilt can prevent people from reporting the incident. Not everyone is aware that there are resources available to help navigate the justice system. Today's guest is Rachel Gibson. Rachel is the Director of the Center of Victim Service Professionals at the National Center for Victims of Crime where she works to further the mi...

It's hard to imagine finding a job, advancing into a second interview, they send you a ticket to their overseas office, only to find out that you're about to be trafficked into a life of forced labor while they threaten your family. But this is happening all around the world today. Today's guest is Matt Friedman. Matt is an international human trafficking expert with more than 35 years of experien...

No one ever wants to find themselves in an active shooter situation. But if you are, it's important to know how to respond. Today's guest is Katherine Schweit. Katherine is an attorney, consultant, and retired FBI special agent who created and led the FBI's Active Shooter Program after the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She joined a White House team working on violence preventio...

With the use of passwords, we're hoping to ensure privacy and security, but sometimes it is at the expense of convenience. As technology changes and biometric databases become more utilized, we need to remember that they may also be hacked.  Today's guests are Philippe Desmarais and Thierry Gagnon. Philippe is a tech entrepreneur who co-founded Kelvin Zero and currently serves as its CEO, overseei...

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 DI...

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...

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...

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 communica...

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...

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...

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...

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 Assoc...

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 w...

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 backg...

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 M...

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...

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 agencie...

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 easil...

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 k...

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,...

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 enf...

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 t...

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...

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 evo...