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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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_outline
Hacking AI
Easy Prey
AI has brought incredible new capabilities into everyday technology, but it’s also creating security challenges that most people haven’t fully wrapped their heads around yet. As these systems become more capable and more deeply connected to the tools and data we rely on, the risks become harder to predict and much more complicated to manage. My guest today is Rich Smith, who leads offensive research at MindGard and has spent more than twenty years working on the front lines of cybersecurity. Rich has held leadership roles at organizations like Crash Override, Gemini, Duo Security, Cisco,...
info_outline
The Ransomware War
Easy Prey
Ransomware isn’t a lone hacker in a hoodie. It’s an entire criminal industry complete with developers, brokers, and money launderers working together like a dark tech startup. And while these groups constantly evolve, so do the tools and partnerships aimed at stopping them before they strike. My guest today is Cynthia Kaiser, former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division and now the Head of the Ransomware Research Center at Halcyon. After two decades investigating global cyber threats and briefing top government leaders, she’s now focused on prevention and building...
info_outline
Opportunistic Crimes
Easy Prey
Criminals are always adapting. Whether it’s copper wiring stripped from job sites or porch pirates grabbing deliveries in broad daylight, they keep finding new ways to take what isn’t theirs. But maybe prevention isn’t about harsher punishment or more cameras. Maybe it’s about smarter design and understanding what drives people to steal in the first place. My guest today is Dr. Ben Stickle, a professor of criminal justice at Middle Tennessee State University and one of the country’s top researchers on property crime. Before entering academia, he worked in law enforcement, which gives...
info_outline
Post Scam Guidebook
Easy Prey
Fraud usually gets talked about in numbers like how much money was stolen, how many people were affected, how many cases got filed. But behind every one of those numbers is a person who’s been blindsided, manipulated, or left trying to rebuild trust in others and in themselves. This episode shifts the focus back to those human stories and the fight to protect them. My guest, Freddie Massimi, has spent more than a decade helping scam victims find both financial and emotional recovery, bringing empathy and understanding to a field that too often feels cold and procedural. As a certified...
info_outline
Can You Trust Anything Online
Easy Prey
You think you’d never fall for a scam until you meet someone like Kitboga. He’s a software engineer who’s turned his curiosity about online fraud into a full-time mission to outsmart scammers and protect the people they target. His YouTube channel, The Kitboga Show, has millions of followers and nearly a billion views, thanks to his mix of humor, empathy, and clever ways of exposing how scams really work. In our conversation, Kit opens up about how this all started, what it’s really like to spend hours pretending to be a scam victim, and how organized crime has turned fraud into a...
info_outline
Real Time Fraud Detection
Easy Prey
Everywhere you turn, someone’s trying to fake something like an image, a voice, or even an entire identity. With AI tools now in almost anyone’s hands, it takes minutes, not days, to create a convincing fake. That’s changed the game for both sides. The fraudsters have new weapons, and the rest of us are scrambling to keep up. The real question now isn’t just how to stop scams, but how to know who or what to trust online. My guest today, Bala Kumar, spends his days on the front lines of that battle. He’s the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Jumio, a company working to make...
info_outlineFraud usually gets talked about in numbers like how much money was stolen, how many people were affected, how many cases got filed. But behind every one of those numbers is a person who’s been blindsided, manipulated, or left trying to rebuild trust in others and in themselves. This episode shifts the focus back to those human stories and the fight to protect them. My guest, Freddie Massimi, has spent more than a decade helping scam victims find both financial and emotional recovery, bringing empathy and understanding to a field that too often feels cold and procedural.
As a certified financial crimes investigator and program manager at The Knoble, Freddie has made it his mission to bridge the gap between institutions and individuals. He shares the heartbreaking and hopeful moments that define his work including one phone call that saved a life. Along with how that experience changed the way he thinks about what true fraud prevention really means.
Freddie also opens up about The Knoble’s Post-Scam Victimization Guide, a collaborative, trauma-informed resource designed to help victims regain control of their lives and prevent re-victimization. From crypto scams to romance cons, he explains how these schemes keep evolving, why empathy is still one of the best tools we have, and how every fraud fighter can make a difference simply by listening and responding with humanity.
Show Notes:
- [00:40] Freddie shares his background as a certified financial crimes investigator and program manager at The Knoble.
- [01:40] A look back at Freddie’s early path into criminal justice and how empathy shaped his fraud-fighting approach.
- [03:07] The story of a Tennessee widow who lost $300,000 in a pig-butchering crypto scam.
- [04:30] Freddie’s emotional account of saving a victim’s life and how it reframed his mission to protect others.
- [07:42] The rise of collaborative fraud-fighter networks and Freddie’s work leading The Knoble’s post-scam initiatives.
- [08:11] How The Knoble unites financial institutions, law enforcement, and NGOs to address “human crime.”
- [08:58] Development of the Post-Scam Victimization Guide, a trauma-informed resource for banks and fraud teams.
- [10:39] How financial crime has evolved from simple check scams to complex digital exploitation and trafficking.
- [13:01] The need for faster, more transparent information sharing between banks and law enforcement.
- [14:04] What makes the Post-Scam Guide different including actionable steps, empathy-driven language, and real-world tools.
- [15:00] Sextortion cases, Gavin’s Law, and how shame and silence compound the harm.
- [18:30] Practical tools in the guide, including hotline numbers, QR codes, and scripts for supporting victims.
- [20:20] How to talk to romance scam victims with compassion including using questions that spark reality checks, not judgment.
- [22:00] Why shame keeps scams underreported and how trauma-informed communication changes outcomes.
- [23:19] The role of technology in scams: remote access, malware, and how scammers exploit smartphones and computers.
- [24:36] Shoutout to Kitboga for his cybersecurity tools and awareness campaigns against scam call centers.
- [25:22] Why elderly victims remain the most vulnerable and how education can empower prevention.
- [27:24] The double victimization cycle like when scammers return pretending to recover lost money.
- [30:00] Freddie’s real-world example of helping a victim secure their accounts and recover identity.
- [32:50] How banks can adjust fraud detection systems to catch hidden patterns of exploitation.
- [34:30] Spotting red flags in gift card purchases and why speaking up can literally save lives.
- [36:31] Freddie’s advice for anyone who suspects they’re being scammed: stop all contact and secure your accounts.
- [37:06] The importance of documenting everything and reporting through IC3.gov and law enforcement.
- [38:30] Emotional recovery and community support are just as vital as financial recovery.
- [41:00] The biggest mistake victims make after being scammed is staying silent out of shame or fear.
- [41:40] Freddie’s story about protecting his own grandmother from IRS and WhatsApp scams.
- [43:00] Common text-message scams and why you should never reply, even with “wrong number.”
- [44:48] How to access The Knoble’s free, vetted Post-Scam Victimization Guide.
- [45:30] Where to connect with Freddie and The Knoble’s wider fraud-fighter network.
Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.