Thieves used to rob banks and steal physical money, but in a digital world, it is much easier to sit behind a keyboard and deceive you into giving it to them. Fortunately, there are specific things you can do to protect your finances before scammers get into your accounts.

Today’s guest is John Buzzard. John is a nationally recognized financial industry fraud expert who has delivered significant influence in credit card fraud, risk, and security services for financial institutions throughout the United States.

• [0:56] - John shares his background and what he does currently in the financial industry fraud space.
• [2:31] - Everything old is new again. Things come back in a cyclical fashion but have a new digital spin.
• [3:49] - There’s a price to pay for convenience especially if we don’t keep an eye on things and be aware of what can go wrong.
• [5:19] - Be conscious of where you bank and make purchases.
• [7:46] - Set up alerts so any activity in your bank accounts, including deposits, is made known.
• [11:34] - There are different viewpoints on freezing your credit.
• [17:15] - There are some capabilities in apps that can block certain types of activity.
• [20:35] - During and post-Covid, we have gotten into a “tap and go” contactless experience when making purchases.
• [22:20] - New payment techniques are safe. John discusses Apple Pay as something secure that he likes to use for safety and convenience.
• [25:40] - John explains card chips and what happens when they aren’t working.
• [27:59] - If there is fraud, it is handled differently if it is a chip transaction or a mag swipe.
• [31:01] - John shares an experience in wanting to create a new PIN for an account.
• [33:39] - What shouldn’t you share on social media to help prevent scams and fraud?
• [37:54] - When you have a complete stranger reaching out to you, no matter how they do it, they’re job is to get you disturbed and upset so that you react.
• [40:24] - Speaking in passcodes and passphrases is totally acceptable. That is often the thing a criminal does not have, even if they have your password.
• [44:16] - From a resolution standpoint, when you go to your financial services provider, as a consumer you do have rights.

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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After a data breach, many criminals are beginning to use deep learning AI to categorize the information they have stolen. They’re using a steady amount of micro attacks on individuals and businesses and not just full-scale assaults.

Today’s guest is Robert Blumofe. Bobby joined Akamai in 1999 to lead the company’s first performance team. While serving as one of Akamai’s chief architects, he was instrumental in the design and development of their intelligent edge platform which now handles trillions of internet requests daily. Bobby’s technical past lends itself to a passion in machine learning and AI and he holds a PhD in Computer Science from MIT.

• [1:02] - Bobby shares his background and current role at Akamai.
• [2:32] - When he joined the company in 1999, he didn’t really know what Akamai did.
• [4:29] - Customers recognized that Akamai could have the capabilities to see all the traffic to their websites and potentially block attacks.
• [7:02] - Machine learning is really remarkable. Akamai has been using deep learning as a tool to solve problems for their security products.
• [9:25] - AI has become a big part of everything we do.
• [10:35] - The quantity and quality of the data used by AI is what differentiates the machine learning and models of an enterprise.
• [12:36] - Bobby discusses what the next five years could look like for cyber criminals.
• [15:24] - Criminals only need one success out of thousands or millions of targets.
• [17:32] - Social media platforms really do want to do the right thing but there’s only so much they can do.
• [18:39] - As a consumer, you have to be on guard and not necessarily trust where information is coming from.
• [20:42] - Any new significant development in technology is hard to differentiate from magic, especially in the early days of development.
• [23:04] - Machine learning is remarkable and as a technologist, Bobby wants to love it. But there are so many examples of misuse.
• [25:29] - Use the technology, but check the output.
• [29:10] - When solving a simple problem, does the AI really need to know everything? They access so much data that isn’t useful.
• [31:19] - Just because an entity can carry on a conversation, doesn’t mean it has authoritative knowledge.
• [33:04] - What is zero trust?
• [34:51] - A misconception is that AI will take over and plan like sci-fi movies.
• [39:11] - You need to have all the checks and balances in critical areas.
• [42:07] - Leadership in organizations needs to prioritize efforts and be very involved.
• [44:52] - We need to assume that AI will continue to develop and criminals will continue misusing the technology in new ways.
• [47:23] - The changes and advances have been so fast recently, that we may need the opportunity to pause.

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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AI search tools are being used by criminals to sort through data breaches and data dumps they’ve stolen to target as many individuals as possible. After your phone has been swapped, they’ll have the ability to access all your SMS messages and phone calls. But there are precautions you can take.

Today’s guest is Mark Kreitzman. Mark is a seasoned cybersecurity expert with over 20 years of experience in building cybersecurity companies. Mark brings insights into evolving threats facing mobile security and data privacy. His expertise in our increasingly mobile world makes him a valuable resource in discussing how to mitigate your risks as it pertains to mobile communications.

• [1:02] - Mark shares his background in cybersecurity and what he does now in his career.
• [2:08] - In 2017, Mark experienced a SIM swap scam.
• [5:30] - He used his anger and paranoia to help develop Efani, a cybersecurity focused mobile service.
• [8:51] - When you get SIM swapped and the carrier recognizes that you’ve been attacked, they go into liability protection mode.
• [11:16] - Mark shares some of the details of what happened in his experience and explains that he still doesn’t know if he was specifically targeted.
• [14:00] - Through fraud, scammers can actually become resellers.
• [17:27] - SIM swapping started as a way to target and harass celebrities.
• [20:52] - Once scammers have information, they can get into many different accounts because people tend to use the same passwords.
• [23:14] - Everybody’s information is floating out there. Data breaches give scammers and fraudsters access to so much.
• [24:19] - Mark describes what you will see on your phone from your end when a SIM swap scam has occurred.
• [28:42] - Efani is a mobile service provider. Mark explains how they are different.
• [31:28] - With a $5 million insurance policy, Efani does everything possible to protect it.
• [34:54] - Efani is extremely busy because there are so many cases of this problem.
• [37:07] - When you give a carrier your social security number to open an account, you are essentially opening a credit account.
• [39:58] - Unfortunately, many people don’t know about this type of scam. It is a silently growing trend.
• [42:08] - With Efani, mobile carriers are never given a customer’s information.
• [45:45] - Mark tends to live on the paranoid side after being a victim of this type of scam. He shares what he does when he travels.
• [49:05] - Using a VPN while traveling is a great idea to help protect yourself.
• [51:44] - Right now, Efani has a promo code you can use for your plan just for Easy Prey listeners: Efani.com/EasyPrey

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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