Criminals feel safe to hide behind the internet. They hire people and train them to be effective salespeople with the goal of taking your money. Let’s look at a few ways to do our due diligence to be sure that who you are working with online are who they say they are. 

Today’s guest is Ken Gamble. Ken is a professional investigator, corporate security specialist, and cybercrime expert with 33 years of experience working for individuals and multinational corporations. He is the co-founder and executive chairman of IFW Global that conducts fraud investigations, asset tracking, fraud recovery, disruption and  prevention of global cybercrime, monitoring enforcement actions to protect and recover assets for worldwide clients. He is the current Australian chairman of the International Association of Cybercrime Prevention, a non-profit association founded in Paris in 2006. Ken is an accomplished surveillance specialist and former surveillance advisor contractor to a commonwealth government agency in Australia and a consultant to numerous law enforcement agencies in the US, Asia, and Europe as well as several foreign governments.

Show Notes:

• [1:23] - Ken shares his background and international experience.
• [2:41] - In his career, Ken has worked in all sectors of investigation.
• [3:50] - What inspired Ken to get into this field? The internet.
• [6:00] - International crimes are very complicated to pursue which has made crime on the internet so impactful.
• [8:01] - Although challenging, it is possible to track people down by following a digital footprint and mistakes. 
• [9:39] - The type of work Ken does is very high-end.
• [10:47] - Ken has worked for foreign governments and government officials for many high-end cases.
• [11:37] - Following the money doesn’t lead to the scammer. Ken describes other methods to track the location of criminals.
• [13:05] - A lot of success comes from informants and whistle-blowers.
• [13:55] - Sometimes people work in a call center not knowing that they are working for a scam organization.
• [15:02] - This is a male-dominated industry, specifically young men.
• [17:06] - Although these criminals are ruthless, they are well spoken, polished speakers and are generally very charming.
• [18:03] - Craigslist is often used to attract job applicants.
• [19:37] - Criminal organizations are extremely manipulative to those who come to realize that the operations are wrong.
• [22:38] - A big red flag is talking to someone and not ever seeing them either in person or on a video chat.
• [24:25] - Do your due diligence and research who you’re talking to. 
• [26:54] - Criminal organizations train employees through very well rehearsed scripts.
• [29:23] - The number one red flag is that criminal organizations are not regulated firms.
• [30:52] - Cryptocurrency is a big trend in scams currently.
• [33:18] - There are a lot of new challenges with cryptocurrency fraud.
• [35:22] - Cybercrime organizations are extremely sophisticated.
• [36:55] - Many organizations have mastered moving funds to other countries that won’t cooperate with law enforcement.
• [38:29] - Being able to reveal who the criminals are leads to a better chance at asset recovery.
• [40:02] - If Ken can identify a criminal and freeze accounts, it worries them. Paying back a client is how they can get out of their predicament.
• [41:18] - Some countries are more favorable to the victim and others are not.
• [42:37] - Ken now takes the media along to busts to expose criminals and educate the public.
• [44:09] - Financial crime is devastating to the victim.
• [46:50] - Criminals sometimes feel extreme guilt but they justify their actions.
• [51:15] - If you want to invest in something, ask for second opinions and do your due diligence and research.

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

Links and Resources:

• Podcast Web Page
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• IFW Global Website
• Ken Gamble on LinkedIn