Familial Identity Theft
Easy Prey
Identity theft is usually framed as an external threat. Hackers, data breaches, anonymous criminals operating somewhere far away. This episode looks at a much harder reality to face: identity theft that happens inside families, often quietly, over many years, and without immediate detection. The damage isn’t just financial. It reshapes trust, relationships, and a person’s sense of stability long before anyone realizes what’s happening. My guest is Axton Betz-Hamilton, an associate professor of financial counseling and planning whose research focuses on familial and child identity theft....
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Exploiting Trust (Part 2)
Easy Prey
Security failures rarely come from cutting-edge attacks or sophisticated tools. They happen in ordinary moments when someone holds a door, follows an instruction without questioning it, or finds a workaround that makes their day easier. Those small, human decisions are often the real entry points, and they tend to compound over time. This episode picks up the second half of our conversation on exploiting trust with FC Barker, a veteran ethical hacker and physical security expert known for legally breaking into banks, government buildings, and high-security facilities around the world. With...
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Exploiting Trust (Part 1)
Easy Prey
Most security failures don’t start with a dramatic breach or a mysterious hacker sitting in a dark room. They usually start quietly. Someone assumes a system is locked down. Someone trusts that a door shouldn’t open, or that a machine “just works,” or that no one would ever think to look there. Over time, those small assumptions stack up, and that’s where things tend to go wrong. Today’s guest is FC Barker, a renowned ethical hacker, social engineer, and global keynote speaker with more than three decades of experience legally breaking into organizations to expose their blind...
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Surviving a Ransomware Attack
Easy Prey
A ransomware attack doesn’t always announce itself with flashing warnings and locked screens. Sometimes it starts with a quiet system outage, a few unavailable servers, and a sinking realization days later that the threat actors were already inside. This conversation pulls back the curtain on what really happens when an organization believes it’s dealing with routine failures only to discover it’s facing a full-scale cyber extortion event. My guest today is Zachary Lewis, CIO and CISO for a Midwest university, a 40 Under 40 Business Leader, and a former Nonprofit CISO of the Year....
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Why You Fall For Scams
Easy Prey
Why do smart, capable people fall for scams even when the warning signs seem obvious in hindsight? In this episode, Dan Ariely joins us to examine how intuition often leads us in the wrong direction, especially under stress, uncertainty, or emotional pressure. A renowned behavioral economist, longtime professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, and bestselling author of Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, Misbehaving, and Misbelief, Dan has spent decades studying why rational people consistently make choices that don’t serve them. We talk about...
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Mobile Device Threats
Easy Prey
In a world where we’re told to carry our entire lives in our pockets, we’ve reached a strange tipping point where the very devices meant to connect us have become windows into our private lives for those who wish us harm. It’s no longer a matter of looking for the "shady" corners of the internet; today, the threats come from nation-state actors, advanced AI, and even the people we think we’re hiring. We are living in an era where the most sophisticated hackers aren't just trying to break into your phone, they’re trying to move into your business by pretending to be your best...
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Past, Present, and Future of AI agents
Easy Prey
The intersection of AI and cybersecurity is changing faster than anyone expected, and that pace is creating both incredible innovation and brand-new risks we’re only beginning to understand. From deepfake ads that fool even seasoned security professionals to autonomous agents capable of acting on our behalf, the threat landscape looks very different than it did even a year ago. To explore what this evolution means for everyday people and for enterprises trying to keep up, I’m joined by Chris Kirschke, Field CISO at Tuskira and a security leader with more than two decades of experience...
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You Are Traceable with OSINT
Easy Prey
Publicly available data can paint a much clearer picture of our lives than most of us realize, and this episode takes a deeper look at how those tiny digital breadcrumbs like photos, records, searches, even the background of a Zoom call can be pieced together to reveal far more than we ever intended. To help break this down, I’m joined by Cynthia Hetherington, Founder and CEO of The Hetherington Group, a longtime leader in open-source intelligence. She also founded Osmosis, the global association and conference for OSINT professionals, and she oversees OSINT Academy, where her team trains...
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Anyone Could Walk In
Easy Prey
Sometimes we forget how much trust we place in the little things around us like a lock on a door or a badge on someone’s shirt. We see those symbols and assume everything behind them is safe, but it doesn’t always work that way. A person with enough confidence, or the right story, can slip through places we think are locked down tight, and most of us never notice it’s happening. My guest today is Deviant Ollam, and he’s one of the rare people who gets invited to break into buildings on purpose. He talks about how he fell into this unusual line of work, the odd moments that shaped his...
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The Scam You Never See Coming
Easy Prey
Fraud today doesn’t feel anything like it used to. It’s not just about somebody skimming a credit card at a gas pump or stealing a check out of the mail. It has gotten personal, messy, emotional. Scammers are building relationships, earning trust, and studying the little details of our lives so they can strike when we’re tired, distracted, or dealing with something big. And honestly, most people have no idea how far it’s gone. My guest, Ian Mitchell, has spent more than 25 years fighting fraud around the world and leading teams in the financial sector. He’s the founder of The Knoble,...
info_outlineCybercrime continues to evolve in sophistication and scale, with attackers running their operations much like businesses. From ransomware gangs with customer support desks to AI-generated phishing campaigns that erase traditional red flags, scams are becoming harder to detect and stop.
In this episode, David Bittner, host of the CyberWire Daily Podcast, shares his perspective on the changing landscape of fraud and cyberattacks. Drawing on his background in media, theater, and podcasting, as well as years of reporting on security issues, he explains how both criminals and defenders are using AI, why ransomware has exploded instead of fading, and how scams exploit human trust and expectations..
David also talks about common scams hitting people today, from toll violation texts and fake bank calls to romance scams on social media. He recounts personal experiences of being targeted, including a Facebook credential-harvesting attempt and an exit-ramp “out of gas” con, to show that no one is immune. Looking ahead, he predicts existing scams will keep evolving, AI will continue to raise the stakes, and defenders may eventually need AI “agents” watching out for them in real time.
Show Notes:
- [02:00] David explains how CyberWire grew from a daily news brief into a full podcast network covering cybersecurity.
- [04:21] David recalls his background in media, theater, and early computer culture that shaped his path.
- [05:52] We hear how luck, timing, and technical skills combined to make podcasting a success for him.
- [07:17] David shares why he believes AI is the biggest change to cybersecurity in the past decade.
- [08:00] He notes that bad grammar is no longer a reliable phishing red flag thanks to large language models.
- [10:11] We discuss how phishing awareness training must adapt to more convincing scams.
- [12:30] He reflects on the unexpected rise of ransomware compared to early predictions about cryptomining.
- [14:08] David explains how ransomware groups now operate like corporations with support teams.
- [16:00] He raises concerns about ransom payments funding overseas criminal networks in Russia and North Korea.
- [18:15] We learn how scammers use call centers and human trafficking to scale their operations.
- [19:30] David describes current scam trends, including fake toll violation texts and AWS account alerts.
- [21:32] He points out how romance scams thrive on social media platforms like Facebook.
- [22:16] David recounts a frightening call where his mother was nearly scammed by criminals posing as bank security.
- [25:09] He emphasizes how scammers manipulate victims to stay locked into the story and ignore warnings.
- [26:03] We hear how criminals pressure victims into withdrawing cash, buying gold, or handing funds to unwitting couriers.
- [27:00] David shares a case where a delivery driver was tragically killed after being caught up in a scam pickup.
- [29:00] He talks about his own experiences of being scammed, including a Facebook credential-harvesting attempt.
- [32:08] David recalls falling for an “out of gas” roadside con and explains why he still prefers trusting people.
- [34:00] He reflects on how vague scam messages exploit imagination and insecurities.
- [36:08] We hear examples of scams that exploit real-life contexts, such as HR benefits or package deliveries.
- [37:45] David explains his current vigilance with real estate transactions and wire transfer fraud.
- [39:26] He predicts the next wave of scams will be evolutions of what already works, boosted by AI.
- [40:07] David outlines the persistence of “treasure box” and inheritance scams dating back hundreds of years.
- [41:02] He shares his hope that future AI “agents” will act as a safeguard for vulnerable users.
- [42:21] David speculates about “nuisance ransomware” that charges small amounts to fly under the radar.
- [43:25] He jokes about calling it “inconvenienceware” and wonders if such a niche could emerge.
- [44:39] David directs listeners to CyberWire.com to explore his podcasts and resources.
Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.