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It's easy to think of fraud prevention as a technical problem with a software solution. But according to Brian Davis, effective fraud defense is just as much about people, trust, and communication as it is about tools and data. With over a decade of experience, Brian has built fraud teams from scratch, shaped company-wide strategy, and helped growing startups shift from reactive to proactive risk management.
Brian is the Head of Fraud at Dodgeball, where he's helping bring their orchestration platform to market, and the founder of House of Fraud, an invite-only community where top fraud professionals collaborate and share intel. He's seen firsthand how fraudsters adapt quickly, and how internal misalignment or a lack of education can leave companies vulnerable. His layered approach focuses on understanding how business systems are abused and using that knowledge to design smarter defenses.
In this episode, Brian shares his journey into the fraud space, explains why internal politics often matter more than policy, and offers a real-world breakdown of how fraud teams can gain traction and build trust. Whether you're running a digital subscription business, a fintech platform, or an e-commerce store, this conversation will help you think more clearly about why you're a target and what you can do to make your organization harder to hit.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:Everyone's talking about AI these days, especially in cybersecurity. Sure, artificial intelligence can boost your defenses, but cybercriminals have noticed too. Now they're crafting phishing emails so believable it's scary and finding clever paths around spam filters while zeroing in on vulnerabilities you didn't even realize were there.
Today, Aviad Hasnis joins the show. He's the CTO of Cynet Security and spent years running cybersecurity missions for the Israeli Defense Forces. Aviad's here to help us figure out what the changing threat landscape really means, whether you're leading a corporate giant or just trying to keep your small business safe.
From passwords getting scooped up to VPN setups from a decade ago that no one updated, Aviad's seen just about everything go wrong. He also explains why copy-pasting AI-generated code might open you up to attacks you never saw coming. He's big on education, common sense, and making sure you're using multiple security layers. These days even one slip-up can give attackers exactly what they're looking for. Aviad also walks us through supply chain vulnerabilities and why they should keep you up at night.
Whether you're the CISO of a Fortune 500 company or you're running a small team with Bob, the go-to tech person juggling 18 other tasks, this episode is packed with practical insights to help you avoid the next big cybersecurity headache. While AI might be reshaping the cybersecurity landscape, staying secure still comes down to thoughtful planning, human judgment, and making sure someone you trust has your back.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:Writers pour their hearts into their work, but unfortunately, that passion can make them prime targets for scams. From fake agents and vanity publishers to slick marketing schemes and social media impersonators, the tactics have only gotten more sophisticated over time. In this episode, we dig into the murky world of publishing scams and how they work and who they target. Along with why even experienced authors can get caught off guard.
Today's guest is Victoria Strauss. Victoria is the author of nine fantasy and historical novels for adults and teens, and she's also the co-founder of Writer Beware, a watchdog group sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. Drawing from decades of experience, Victoria shares red flags to watch out for, practical steps authors can take to protect themselves, and eye-opening stories of deception that highlight just how easy it is to get pulled in.
This conversation is about awareness and empowerment. Whether you're just getting started or you're a seasoned author, you'll learn how to do your due diligence, where to turn for trustworthy resources, and how to avoid becoming an easy target in a complex industry. With tools like Writer Beware, Victoria equips authors to stay vigilant, protect their creative work, and steer clear of costly traps.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:What if your social media success was built on deception, and it was working? In today's episode, we hear from someone who knows exactly how that happens. Tim O'Hearn is a former software engineer and the author of Framed: A Villain's Perspective on Social Media, a book that pulls back the curtain on how follower factories, automation, and persuasive technologies have shaped the online world we now take for granted. Tim doesn't just theorize, he built these systems himself.
Tim walks us through how his small side gig growing Instagram accounts evolved into a lucrative business, one that constantly navigated the blurry line between innovation and breaking platform rules. He opens up about the clever strategies he used to avoid detection and psychological hooks that made these methods so effective, as we explore the deeper consequences of social media's addictive nature.
We'll also explore the hidden risks businesses and individuals face when they obsess over metrics and follower counts instead of genuine connections, and why most people don't even realize they're caught up in this trap. Whether you're running a business, casually browsing, or just trying to figure out the complicated world of online attention, this conversation will give you a rare peek behind the curtain. And as you'll find out, stepping away from it all might not be as straightforward as you'd think.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:What if you could stop a scam in real-time before the damage is done? In this episode, I'm joined by Nick Stapleton, an investigative journalist and the face behind Scam Interceptors, the BAFTA award-winning BBC series that exposes online fraud and steps in to protect victims as scams unfold.
Nick brings a decade of undercover documentary experience to his current mission: fighting digital deception and empowering everyday people to stay safe. He shares jaw-dropping stories from the front lines, including the near miss that almost caught him off guard, and breaks down the complex operations behind everything from romance scams to global scam compounds.
As the author of How to Beat Scammers, Nick also gives practical advice on how to recognize red flags and build your own defense against a rising tide of fraud.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:What happens when the drive to succeed masks deep emotional wounds and addiction? In this episode, Jonathan Schwartz shares a powerful and painfully honest account of how his life unraveled.
Once one of Hollywood's most trusted financial advisors, Jonathan worked with icons like Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, and Gwyneth Paltrow. On the surface, he had it all. But underneath the success was a secret struggle with gambling and drug addiction that led him to steal millions from the very clients who trusted him most.
His fall from grace was dramatic and public, ending in a prison sentence and the loss of everything he had built. But that wasn't the end of his story. Today, Jonathan is sober and rebuilding his life with purpose. As Program Director at Altus Rehab, he now helps others find their own way out of addiction and shame. His story is raw, real, and full of hard-earned wisdom for anyone who has ever felt like they couldn't ask for help.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:People used to think fraud was something that happened in the shadows, rare, distant, and mostly affecting big companies. But after talking to PJ Rohall, it's clear that fraud is evolving fast, and it's showing up in places most of us don't even think to look.
In this episode, I sit down with PJ Rohall, Head of Fraud Strategy and Education at SEON and co-founder of About Fraud. PJ's work is all about staying ahead of scammers and helping businesses and individuals understand how fraud actually works. From synthetic identities and AI-powered scams to account takeovers and refund fraud, he breaks it all down in a way that's both eye-opening and surprisingly accessible.
We talk about how fraudsters think, what makes people vulnerable, and why collaboration is one of the best defenses we have. PJ shares practical tips, real-world examples, and some of the patterns he's seeing that everyone should be aware of. Whether you run a business or just want to better protect yourself online, this conversation might change the way you think about trust, technology, and the digital world we live in.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:Sometimes it feels like every new technology we adopt comes with a new risk we didn't see coming. From AI and data breaches to phishing scams and ransomware, it's clear we live in a time when cybersecurity isn't just a tech issue, it's a human issue.
In this episode, I talk with Jeff Reich, Executive Director of the Identity Defined Security Alliance. Jeff has been in the cybersecurity world since the early days, with decades of experience helping organizations protect what matters most. His passion for identity security and risk management runs deep, and he brings a thoughtful perspective on how the industry has changed and what we need to do to keep up.
We explore why identity is the real perimeter in today's digital world, how businesses and individuals can be proactive rather than reactive, and what it really takes to build a security-first mindset. Jeff also shares why communication is just as important as tech when it comes to staying secure. Whether you're a cybersecurity professional or just someone trying to stay safe online, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about the role identity plays in your digital life.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:I used to think of my car as just a tool to get from point A to point B. But after this conversation, I can't help but see it as something else entirely, a powerful data collection device that knows far more about me than I realized. From where I go and who I text to how I drive and even what's on my phone, today's vehicles are gathering a staggering amount of personal information.
In this episode, I talk with Andrea Amico, the founder of Privacy4Cars. Andrea is one of the leading voices in automotive data privacy and someone who's spent years uncovering the hidden ways cars collect, store, and share our information. He breaks down how connected cars work, what's actually being tracked, and why it matters not just for your privacy, but for your safety and finances too.
We get into everything from rental car risks and data left behind when you sell a car, to how automakers and third parties might be profiting off your data without your knowledge. If you've ever paired your phone with a vehicle or assumed your texts disappear when you disconnect, this episode is going to change the way you think about driving and how to take back control.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
Links and Resources:Some scams are so convincing, they're almost impossible to spot. With phishing emails that look like they're from your bank, deep fake videos that mimic real people, and AI-generated messages that feel personal, it's getting harder to know what's real and what's a trap.
In this episode, I sit down with Gabrielle Hempel, a security operations specialist at Exabeam and a current law student at Purdue University. Gabrielle brings a sharp perspective shaped by years in cybersecurity, a master's in cybersecurity and global affairs from NYU, and hands-on experience navigating everything from vulnerability management to executive risk consulting. She even wrote her graduate thesis on critical infrastructure security.
We talk about the new era of digital deception, why younger people are actually falling for scams more often, and how criminals are using AI and current events to build trust and bypass defenses. Gabrielle shares practical advice, personal stories, and a fresh way to think about digital safety that could help you spot the next scam before it costs you.
Show Notes:Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
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