The Problem with Not Reporting Scams with Kathy Stokes
Easy Prey
Many assume that scammers just target the more mature in age, but they go after everyone. Younger people who may have been manipulated may not have the same amount of money to lose, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t being targeted. Today’s guest is Kathy Stokes. Kathy is the Director of Fraud Prevention Programs with AARP. She leads the AARP social mission work to educate older adults on the risks that fraud represents to their financial security. She currently serves on the advisory council to the Board of International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators and on the...
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The Difference Between Fraud and Scams with Uri Rivner
Easy Prey
Moving money has never been easier. We no longer need to go into a bank, fill out a slip, and hand it to a teller to receive our money. We can now transfer money instantly. Scammers are taking advantage of unfamiliar technology to either hack in and take our money or to deceive you into sending it to them yourself. Deciding if the bank is responsible for the loss is becoming more and more of a conversation. Today’s guest is Uri Rivner. Uri has been fighting financial crime for 20 years working closely with the world’s largest banks on developing strategies against online fraud and scams....
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Sex Trafficking and Murder on the Road with Frank Figliuzzi
Easy Prey
It sounds like an episode straight out of Criminal Minds. The FBI’s Highway Serial Killers initiative hunts for long-haul truckers behind at least 850 murders of mostly female sex trafficking victims along our nation’s highways. Today’s guest is Frank Figliuzzi. Frank was the FBI’s Assistant Director over Counterintelligence. He served 25 years as an FBI Special Agent in assignments across the country. As the head of all espionage investigations, Frank frequently briefed the White House, the DNI, and the Attorney General. For the past seven years, Frank has been a national security...
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Next Gen Romance Scams with Anna Rowe
Easy Prey
Scammers have gone from postal mail and faxes to email and phone calls where you never see the person, but now with AI, you can even have a live video call that seems completely real with deep fake technology. It’s no longer safe to just see a person, but there are other things you can do to know if you’re communicating with the individual they claim to be. Today’s guest is Anna Rowe. Anna is the founder of Catch the Catfish and co-founder of LoveSaid. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Romance Fraud and Victim Support. Show Notes: [0:55] - Anna shares her background as a teacher and...
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Challenges of Employee Onboarding and Offboarding with Craig Davies
Easy Prey
Many years ago, people chose to stay with the same employer for decades. Today, employees are changing jobs more regularly. Each company needs to have processes in place allowing access to systems needed to do their jobs, but there’s also a risk of when they leave that they may still have access to certain programs. Today’s guest is Craig Davies. Craig started in banking, holding many roles including CSO. As the CISO and the Executive Director of Gathid Ltd., he is passionate about helping organizations strengthen access management without completely overhauling their people,...
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5 Common Uses of Synthetic IDs with Stuart Wells
Easy Prey
There are entire communities set up to fight fraud that use synthetic IDs as well as scammer gangs that are advancing their creative ways to use these documents. This is changing regularly as biometric authentication advances continue. Today’s guest is Stuart Wells. Stuart is the CTO of Jumio and is responsible for all aspects of Jumio’s innovation, machine learning, and engineering. He is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of tech experience. He was previously the Chief Product and Technology Officer at FICO, and held executive positions at Avaya and Sun Microsystems. Show...
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Vantage Travel Bankruptcy with Michelle Couch Friedman
Easy Prey
Imagine booking a vacation only to find out that the company files for bankruptcy a week later. As a consumer, would you know what your rights are? There’s a big difference between travel insurance and travel protection. One can leave you with no way to get your money back. 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...
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Cybersecurity for Everyday People with Greg Tomchick
Easy Prey
Learning how to keep your business safe and protect your online data can be advantageous for your home and personal life as well. Your children and family can create awareness at school and with friends. Today’s guest is Greg Tomchick. Greg is a former professional baseball player turned award-winning cybersecurity coach. He has worked with more than 250 world-renowned companies, including American Airlines, Caterpillar, and Trinity Rail. He is regularly featured live on ABC, Fox, and is an expert contributor to Inc. Magazine. He is now the CEO of Valor Cybersecurity and host of The...
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Misunderstanding Victims of Romance Fraud
Easy Prey
The media loves sensationalized romance scams, but we need to understand that anyone can be emotionally seduced and it's not just the lonely. No one is off limits to being targeted, no matter the age, status, or career. And the impact is far greater than just financial. Today’s guest is Becky Holmes. Becky is the creator and voice behind the popular Twitter account Death to Spinach. Becky’s book looks at all aspects of romance fraud, from the heartbreaking to the hilarious, the academic to the anecdotal, and discusses where we’ve gone wrong in dealing with those affected. Show Notes: ...
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Scams Exploiting Emotions with Alan Castel
Easy Prey
We can easily stereotype those we believe are susceptible to a scam. But the scammers are keeping up with current events and are prepared to take advantage of our basic human emotions. The impact of these frauds is underreported due to the shame and embarrassment. Today’s guest is Alan Castel. Alan is a Psychology professor at The University of California Los Angeles. He studies learning, memory, fraud, and aging. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine. He recently published a book entitled . Show Notes: [1:08] - Alan shares his...
info_outlineScammers have gone from postal mail and faxes to email and phone calls where you never see the person, but now with AI, you can even have a live video call that seems completely real with deep fake technology. It’s no longer safe to just see a person, but there are other things you can do to know if you’re communicating with the individual they claim to be.
Today’s guest is Anna Rowe. Anna is the founder of Catch the Catfish and co-founder of LoveSaid. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Romance Fraud and Victim Support.
Show Notes:
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[0:55] - Anna shares her background as a teacher and describes how she was catfished in 2015.
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[2:52] - How can you make genuine informed consent when someone is deceiving you at that level?
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[3:45] - A therapist’s suggestion of researching narcissists and psychopaths started her healing journey.
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[5:35] - Anna learned that this type of scam commonly comes from West Africa and the scammers are known as Yahoo Boys.
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[7:44] - Romance fraud can be in person, like with Anna’s experience. But there are romance scams that are online only.
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[9:32] - It is common for romance scammers to also be perpetrating other types of fraud at the same time.
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[11:44] - Pig butchering includes another problem, where scammers themselves are also trafficked.
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[13:59] - A lot of victims don’t realize they are interacting with a scammer for a long time because they aren’t asking for money.
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[17:51] - In years past, Photoshopping an image to appear realistic wasn’t as easy as it is now with AI.
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[19:26] - Blending a new face onto an existing photo can even be used in video.
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[21:15] - Voice cloning is also often used and apps to do this are free.
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[24:24] - Deep fake scammers use content on social media stories and live streams to record long pieces of video.
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[26:20] - This technology is improving quickly, but Anna shares some of the ways you can tell if something is a deep fake.
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[28:51] - There are simple things to check on profiles that you can notice as red flags before getting involved with someone.
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[33:01] - Scammers also really like using cryptocurrency because it is unregulated.
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[34:14] - Scammers build a reality typically by using the 5 C’s of reasons why their spouse is gone.
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[37:30] - There are different strategies to look for certain things as you “become your own detective” on various social media platforms.
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[40:57] - When scammers know that you are “onto them” they know what they can change.
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[43:36] - Every decision a scammer makes is premeditated.
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[46:50] - Scammers will keep you hooked and space away from them could get you in a space of trusting your gut.
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[53:32] - Reverse image searches are extremely helpful.
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[57:50] - Anna describes some of the ways she was able to determine what her scammer was doing.
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[61:10] - Anna was put into an open relationship without her consent.
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[63:05] - Future faking is common in narcissists and psychopaths.
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[64:26] - These scams are really damaging and it is important to not use victim shaming language when discussing it.
Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
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