Libsyn Directory

The Art of Espionage

Release Date: 04/16/2025

Easy Prey

Everyone’s talking about AI these days, especially in cybersecurity. Sure, artificial intelligence can boost your defenses, but cybercriminals have noticed too. Now they're crafting phishing emails so believable it’s scary and finding clever paths around spam filters while zeroing in on vulnerabilities you didn’t even realize were there. Today, Aviad Hasnis joins the show. He's the CTO of Cynet Security and spent years running cybersecurity missions for the Israeli Defense Forces. Aviad’s here to help us figure out what the changing threat landscape really means, whether...

Author Scams Exposed

Easy Prey

Writers pour their hearts into their work, but unfortunately, that passion can make them prime targets for scams. From fake agents and vanity publishers to slick marketing schemes and social media impersonators, the tactics have only gotten more sophisticated over time. In this episode, we dig into the murky world of publishing scams and how they work and who they target. Along with why even experienced authors can get caught off guard. Today’s guest is Victoria Strauss. Victoria is the author of nine fantasy and historical novels for adults and teens, and she’s also the co-founder of...

Tricked by Followers and Badges

Easy Prey

What if your social media success was built on deception, and it was working? In today’s episode, we hear from someone who knows exactly how that happens. Tim O’Hearn is a former software engineer and the author of Framed: A Villain’s Perspective on Social Media, a book that pulls back the curtain on how follower factories, automation, and persuasive technologies have shaped the online world we now take for granted. Tim doesn’t just theorize, he built these systems himself. Tim walks us through how his small side gig growing Instagram accounts evolved into a lucrative business, one...

Only 10 Seconds to Expose a Scam

Easy Prey

What if you could stop a scam in real-time before the damage is done? In this episode, I’m joined by Nick Stapleton, an investigative journalist and the face behind Scam Interceptors, the BAFTA award-winning BBC series that exposes online fraud and steps in to protect victims as scams unfold. Nick brings a decade of undercover documentary experience to his current mission: fighting digital deception and empowering everyday people to stay safe. He shares jaw-dropping stories from the front lines, including the near miss that almost caught him off guard, and breaks down the complex...

Gambling, Lies, and Millions Stolen from Celebrities

Easy Prey

What happens when the drive to succeed masks deep emotional wounds and addiction? In this episode, Jonathan Schwartz shares a powerful and painfully honest account of how his life unraveled. Once one of Hollywood’s most trusted financial advisors, Jonathan worked with icons like Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, and Gwyneth Paltrow. On the surface, he had it all. But underneath the success was a secret struggle with gambling and drug addiction that led him to steal millions from the very clients who trusted him most. His fall from grace was dramatic and public, ending in a prison sentence...

Human Side of Fraud: Empathy, Education, & Evolution

Easy Prey

People used to think fraud was something that happened in the shadows, rare, distant, and mostly affecting big companies. But after talking to PJ Rohall, it’s clear that fraud is evolving fast, and it’s showing up in places most of us don’t even think to look. In this episode, I sit down with PJ Rohall, Head of Fraud Strategy and Education at SEON and co-founder of About Fraud. PJ’s work is all about staying ahead of scammers and helping businesses and individuals understand how fraud actually works. From synthetic identities and AI-powered scams to account takeovers and refund fraud,...

Identity Is The New Security Perimeter

Easy Prey

Sometimes it feels like every new technology we adopt comes with a new risk we didn’t see coming. From AI and data breaches to phishing scams and ransomware, it's clear we live in a time when cybersecurity isn’t just a tech issue, it’s a human issue. In this episode, I talk with Jeff Reich, Executive Director of the Identity Defined Security Alliance. Jeff has been in the cybersecurity world since the early days, with decades of experience helping organizations protect what matters most. His passion for identity security and risk management runs deep, and he brings a thoughtful...

Your Car Is Spying On You What It’s Collecting and Who It’s Telling

Easy Prey

I used to think of my car as just a tool to get from point A to point B. But after this conversation, I can’t help but see it as something else entirely, a powerful data collection device that knows far more about me than I realized. From where I go and who I text to how I drive and even what’s on my phone, today’s vehicles are gathering a staggering amount of personal information. In this episode, I talk with Andrea Amico, the founder of . Andrea is one of the leading voices in automotive data privacy and someone who’s spent years uncovering the hidden ways cars collect, store,...

Why Everyone’s A Target

Easy Prey

Some scams are so convincing, they’re almost impossible to spot. With phishing emails that look like they’re from your bank, deep fake videos that mimic real people, and AI-generated messages that feel personal, it’s getting harder to know what’s real and what’s a trap. In this episode, I sit down with Gabrielle Hempel, a security operations specialist at Exabeam and a current law student at Purdue University. Gabrielle brings a sharp perspective shaped by years in cybersecurity, a master’s in cybersecurity and global affairs from NYU, and hands-on experience navigating everything...

Child Exploitation Cyber Investigations

Easy Prey

Technology is a double-edged sword. It can empower us, connect us, and solve problems, but it can also be used to exploit, manipulate, and harm. When it comes to protecting children online, that line gets especially thin. Digital forensics, AI-powered image classification, and global law enforcement collaboration are now essential tools for keeping families safe in a world that moves faster than most of us can keep up. Debbie Garner knows this world intimately. She’s a retired Special Agent in charge with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and former commander of the state’s Internet...

More Episodes

What makes someone betray their country? It’s rarely just about money. In this episode, you’ll hear from a retired CIA officer who spent 25 years recruiting foreign spies by tapping into something deeper than greed. Jim Lawler shares real stories from his career in human intelligence, where persuasion was built on empathy, trust, and understanding what truly drives people.

From failed pitches to high-stakes successes, he explains the psychology behind espionage, how personal stress becomes a powerful leverage point, and why most people who commit treason believe they’ve been betrayed first.

Whether you’re curious about spycraft or just want a better grasp of human behavior, this conversation pulls back the curtain on how people can be influenced to cross the line.

Show Notes:

[00:50] Jim was a CIA operations officer. His job was to recruit foreign spies for the CIA.
[01:21] Most of his career was about battling weapons of mass destruction. His specialty was human intelligence and recruiting foreign spies was the backbone of that.
[02:32] He's now a speaker and a teacher. He's also written three spy novels.
[03:02] MICE Framework: Money, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego.
[05:11] Jim shares a story from one of his first recruitment pitches. He also found out that revenge is a driving force for espionage.
[11:58] Polygraph tests are stress detectors.
[15:16] Divorce is one of the most psychologically tumultuous times in a person's life. When recruiting, Jim would become their best friend because he never once recruited a happy person.
[16:07] He would study the crack system like a rock climber. He was a keen listener and very curious.
[17:33] Empathy and patience were everything when recruiting spies.
[20:21] Jim talks about the metaphysics, which is like a neural link where he would put out what he would envision as an invisible link to the brain of his recruits.
[22:11] If something is too good to be true it is.
[23:45] As a recruiter, he had to manipulate, exploit, and subvert people to get them to do what he wanted them to do.
[27:58] Jim believes in treating people the way he would like to be treated. He was sincere with his actions.
[28:35] He believes in using his powers of persuasion for good.
[32:43] Over 90% of the people he pitched became assets.
[33:48] Jim explains what a cold pitch is and the objective to get the second meeting.
[36:58] His novels are thinly based on operations he did. A lot of his stories are based on things that he has done or things that his colleagues have done.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.

Show Notes:

Links and Resources:

TOPICS