Easy Prey

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...

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...

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 factor...

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 sever...

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 ent...

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 institu...

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...

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,...

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 an...

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 promot...

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...

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 Genera...

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 Re...

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...

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 le...

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 ma...

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 s...

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 financi...

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...

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,...

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 exte...

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...

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. Whe...

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 pre...

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 feat...