Love, Lies and Locked Up
Easy Prey
What sounds like the plot of a crime thriller was Sharon Armstrong’s real life. An online romance drew her into an elaborate web of lies involving overseas contracts, invented emergencies, and several people playing carefully planned roles. By the time she arrived at an airport in Argentina with five kilograms of cocaine hidden inside her suitcase, she still believed she was carrying business documents for the man she loved. Sharon was arrested and spent more than two years in an Argentinian prison before returning home without a conviction. During that time, she had to confront the truth of...
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The Recruitment Trap
Easy Prey
Everybody is searching for ways to increase income. Unfortunately, MLMs often look like an easy way to start a business without taking on the cost of a traditional company. The pitch sounds simple. Buy the product, follow the plan, and put in the work. The numbers behind those promises often tell a different story. Today’s guest, Stacie Bosley, has spent years studying what really happens inside MLMs. She is a professor at Hamline University in Minnesota and holds a Ph.D. in applied economics. Her research covers multi-level marketing, consumer protection, income claims, and pyramid scheme...
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Convincing Deepfakes
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A familiar voice on the phone or a recognizable face on a video call used to offer some reassurance that you knew who you were dealing with. AI has changed that. Voice cloning, face swaps, and real-time video impersonation now allow scammers to convincingly pose as executives, job candidates, romantic interests, or even family members. Understanding how these attacks work and where they may be headed is a central part of Tom Cross’s work as Head of Threat Research at GetReal Security. Tom has spent more than 30 years studying cybersecurity threats, software vulnerabilities, and the methods...
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When Trust Becomes a Trap
Easy Prey
Most people use technology all day without giving much thought to what is happening behind the screen. We trust routers that may not have been updated in years, depend on internet systems few of us understand, and now turn to artificial intelligence for everything from travel plans to home repairs. That convenience comes with tradeoffs. In this episode, we look at the weaknesses built into our connected world and what happens when our technical knowledge fails to keep pace with the technology surrounding us. Sherrod DeGrippo leads threat intelligence for Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks, where...
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Scam Compounds
Easy Prey
When most people think about online scams, they picture criminals sitting behind a screen and stealing from victims around the world. But in Southeast Asia, many of the people sending those messages are victims too. Some were promised legitimate jobs, flown across borders, trapped inside guarded compounds, and forced to scam others while trying to survive. In this episode, I talk with Ivan Franceschini, a lecturer in Chinese Studies at the Center for Contemporary Chinese Studies Asia Institute. After years of studying labor rights, civil society, and Chinese investment in Cambodia,...
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Sports Betting
Easy Prey
Sports betting is everywhere now. It is in the commercials, on the apps, wrapped into game broadcasts, and sold as a fun way to make sports more exciting. But behind the easy sign-ups and “risk-free” offers is an industry built on odds most people do not fully understand, fine print that can cost real money, and a business model that depends on customers losing. In this episode, I talk with Danny Funt, an investigative reporter and the author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling. His reporting on sports betting, politics, news, and sports media has appeared...
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Google Maps Scams
Easy Prey
Most people are not thinking clearly when they need a locksmith or a plumber. They are locked out, water is leaking, something broke, and they just want somebody nearby who can fix it. So they open Google, tap one of the first businesses that comes up, and assume the listing is real. Unfortunately, that is exactly the kind of situation scammers count on. In this episode, Mike Blumenthal, co-founder and analyst at Near Media, talks about fake local business listings and the ways bad actors have learned to game Google Maps. Mike has been following this problem for years, going back to the...
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Job Recruiter Scams
Easy Prey
Job hunting is hard enough without having to stop and ask whether the recruiter in your inbox is even real. My guest today, Jay Jones, ran into that problem firsthand after being laid off in December 2023. With his daughter due to be born just weeks later, Jay began receiving messages from recruiters that looked promising at first, but quickly turned out to be fake. Jay, also known as The Profiler, decided not to ignore what was happening. He started investigating the patterns behind these scams and has since identified and helped remove thousands of fake profiles, fraudulent companies, and...
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Bail Bonds Scams
Easy Prey
Getting a call that someone you love has been arrested is scary enough. Getting that call from someone who sounds official, knows just enough to seem credible, and says you have to send money right away is exactly the kind of moment scammers are counting on. Julie Henderson is the president of the North Carolina Bail Agents Association and has spent 24 years working in the bail bond industry. She started in the field almost by accident after applying for what she thought was a legislative assistant job, and she has stayed because she cares about helping people get through one of the most...
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Confessions of a Fraudster
Easy Prey
Technology keeps changing, but many of the most effective scams still come down to something very human: trust. My guest today is Tony Sales, co-founder of We Fight Fincrime and Underworld TV. Tony has a perspective most people in fraud prevention will never have. Earlier in his life, he was involved in organized financial crime and was once described in the UK press as Britain’s greatest fraudster. After years in that world, and after serving time in prison, Tony made the decision to use what he knew to help stop the very crimes he had once been part of. Today, Tony works with...
info_outlineTechnology keeps changing, but many of the most effective scams still come down to something very human: trust. My guest today is Tony Sales, co-founder of We Fight Fincrime and Underworld TV. Tony has a perspective most people in fraud prevention will never have. Earlier in his life, he was involved in organized financial crime and was once described in the UK press as Britain’s greatest fraudster.
After years in that world, and after serving time in prison, Tony made the decision to use what he knew to help stop the very crimes he had once been part of. Today, Tony works with financial institutions, governments, law enforcement, and major organizations to help them better understand fraud, social engineering, money laundering, and cybercrime. In this conversation, he explains why criminals are often so effective at exploiting human behavior, why security training can miss the real-world ways scams unfold, and why friction is not always a bad thing when it helps protect people from devastating losses.
We also talk about the role of leaked data, call center scams, deepfakes, banking safeguards, and why consumers and organizations both need to think differently about fraud prevention. Tony’s message is direct: criminals adapt quickly, and if we want to defend against them, we need to understand how they think.
Show Notes:
- [01:25] Tony Sales shares his background as a former UK fraudster and explains how he now works through We Fight Fincrime to help people understand money laundering, online safety, and human vulnerability.
- [03:04] Tony describes being drawn into crime as a child, beginning with small thefts before gradually moving into sponsorship scams, credit card fraud, and cloned debit cards.
- [06:10] After getting caught for identity theft and spending years as a fugitive, Tony explains how prison and seeing the impact on his family became a turning point in his life.
- [08:35] How organized crime operates like a business, with different people handling IDs, fraud schemes, fake watches, mortgage fraud, and professional connections.
- [11:40] Why criminal networks rely on trusted introductions, insulation, and layers of separation to protect the people at the top.
- [14:30] Tony explains how criminals adapt in the moment, use confidence to avoid suspicion, and often rely on talking their way out of situations instead of escalating them.
- [18:20] The difference between how criminals and security professionals think, including why criminals are not limited by the same rules, checklists, or assumptions.
- [21:35] Tony discusses how childhood experiences, ADHD, and a lack of structure contributed to the way he viewed rules and boundaries.
- [24:00] Social engineering is not always dramatic or technical; Tony explains how believable stories, ordinary behavior, and quick adaptation can be more effective than elaborate tactics.
- [26:45] How call center scams combine scripts with salesmanship, emotional pressure, and real-time responses to keep victims engaged.
- [29:33] Tony explains why leaked data remains valuable for criminals and how even a name and phone number can be enough to build a convincing attack.
- [31:43] The conversation turns to personal and organizational protection, including Tony’s belief that people need to “patch” the human operating system.
- [34:20] Why fraud awareness training often fails when it is boring, generic, or disconnected from people’s everyday consumer lives.
- [36:16] An example of a bank adding friction to an international wire transfer, and Tony explains why friction can protect people from major losses.
- [38:30] Tony discusses the tension between fast, frictionless transactions and stronger safeguards that may slow people down but reduce fraud risk.
- [41:03] AI, deepfakes, and impersonation scams raise new challenges, but Tony emphasizes the importance of live verification and using common sense.
- [43:24] What consumers should understand about bank security, shared responsibility, and why no system can remove every risk.
- [46:00] Everyday data requests, such as hotels asking for passport copies, can create long-term privacy and fraud risks if that information is mishandled.
- [47:48] Tony discusses online safety, young people, and why banning access to social media may create new vulnerabilities instead of solving the underlying problem.
- [50:15] Why learning from former criminals, hackers, and people who understand real-world attacks can help organizations defend themselves more effectively.
- [52:30] Tony explains why companies need more security talent, stronger resources, and boards that understand the scale of modern fraud and cybercrime threats.
- [54:32] Tony shares where listeners can find him online and learn more about We Fight Fincrime.
Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.