Drink Spiking
Easy Prey
A drink can be out of your sight for only a moment, but that may be all it takes for someone to tamper with it. Spiking can happen in bars, restaurants, festivals, and even among people who already know and trust each other. It also goes far beyond alcohol. Drinks, food, vapes, cigarettes, and other substances can be altered without someone’s knowledge, leaving them vulnerable before they fully understand what is happening. Dawn Dines has spent more than 20 years working to change how people understand and respond to spiking. She is the founder and CEO of Stamp Out Spiking, a UK charity...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
Convincing Deepfakes
Easy Prey
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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,...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outlineA drink can be out of your sight for only a moment, but that may be all it takes for someone to tamper with it. Spiking can happen in bars, restaurants, festivals, and even among people who already know and trust each other. It also goes far beyond alcohol. Drinks, food, vapes, cigarettes, and other substances can be altered without someone’s knowledge, leaving them vulnerable before they fully understand what is happening.
Dawn Dines has spent more than 20 years working to change how people understand and respond to spiking. She is the founder and CEO of Stamp Out Spiking, a UK charity focused on education, prevention, training, and better safeguarding practices. Her work has helped bring spiking into the public conversation and pushed for stronger laws, better training, and more support for people who have experienced it.
Dawn talks about the experiences that led her into this work and what she has learned from victims over the years. She explains some of the signs that a person may have been spiked, why it can be so difficult to know exactly what happened, and what friends or staff can do when someone suddenly seems far more intoxicated than they should be. She also shares practical ways people can look out for each other while still going out and enjoying themselves.
Show Notes:
- [00:44] Dawn Dines shares how her 20-year campaign against spiking helped push for changes to UK law.
- [02:18] Spiking can involve drinks, food, vapes, cigarettes, and even needles, not just alcoholic beverages.
- [04:27] Dawn recalls two frightening experiences while traveling that showed her how easily someone could be drugged without their knowledge.
- [07:32] She explains why she continued campaigning despite years of resistance and how public pressure helped bring greater attention to the issue.
- [10:41] Spiking affects both men and women, and Dawn describes how widespread the problem has become around the world.
- [13:37] Victims may struggle to understand what happened, especially when friends or family assume they simply drank too much.
- [16:35] Dawn explains how quickly symptoms can develop and why getting to a trusted person immediately can make a difference.
- [19:54] Education can help hospitality workers, security teams, and the public recognize when someone’s behavior changes suddenly.
- [23:06] Victim blaming, embarrassment, and memory loss are among the reasons many incidents are never reported.
- [26:58] Bars and restaurants can reduce risk through staff training, drink covers, safety information, and clear procedures for helping customers.
- [28:41] Dawn discusses the growing awareness of spiking and why cooperation across countries, venues, and law enforcement matters.
- [31:48] Witnesses, security footage, recovered substances, and quick reporting can all help investigators build a case.
- [34:18] Dawn encourages people to stay vigilant and look out for one another without allowing the threat of spiking to stop them from enjoying their lives.
Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.