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PODCAST

What the Hack?

"What the Hack?" is the award-winning true cybercrime podcast--the place to hear memorable stories and get good advice.

true crime

All Episodes

42:19

Episode 198: Cory Doctorow Makes Us Wonder if...

What the Hack? ·

2025/04/29

Think you’re too savvy to get scammed? Author and activist Cory Doctorow explains how we’re all one muffaletta and a malfunctioning jet door away from falling prey to the most basic of cons. He joins us this week to talk about that and to fill us in about his new book, “The Bezzle.”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

50:00

Episode 197: FBI Operative Eric O’Neill:...

What the Hack? ·

2025/04/22

What if the biggest threat to your privacy wasn’t some hacker in a hoodie—but a spy trained to infiltrate your life? Former FBI operative Eric O’Neill, the man who took down spy Robert Hanssen, explains how digital spies target us, offering along the way real-world tips to protect ourselves in a world where everyone’s a potential target.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

49:43

Episode 196: Max Lebow Battles a Cyber PsyOps Nightmare

What the Hack? ·

2025/04/15

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

47:05

Episode 195: Can AI Commit the Perfect Crime?

What the Hack? ·

2025/04/08

AI is everywhere – in the news, on our devices, assisting us, making life easier for us, and for criminals, too, harnessing AI to swindle people more efficiently. What’s next? We dive into the dark side of AI and ask two experts: Could AI commit the perfect crime?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

37:00

Episode 194: Karen Johnson’s Scam Project Is a...

What the Hack? ·

2025/04/01

Karen Johnson is a catfisher-turned-scam avoidance coach turned–you guessed it–catfishing victim. The scam that got her is a classic, opening the door to a Pandora’s Box of the usual advice about avoiding the most common scams out there. But the thing that really got us thinking is the role AI played in almost every aspect of this week’s show.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

39:23

Episode 193: Roy Wood, Jr. Exposes the Loch Ness...

What the Hack? ·

2025/03/18

As a Daily Show correspondent, comedian Roy Wood, Jr. knows a thing or two about fake news and truthiness as well as the truth-and-a-half that is comedy. By skewering the media and the people in the news, he has special insight into how misinformation affects the way we think about the world and what we know. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

50:54

Episode 192: Max McCoy Investigates $47 Million That...

What the Hack? ·

2025/03/11

Max McCoy stumbled on a $47 million swindle that starts just north of the Oklahoma panhandle and bounces to Australia before things get really confusing in a haze of small town corruption, secretive law enforcement and competing theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

43:18

Episode 191: Erin West Puts the Bad Guys to Shame

What the Hack? ·

2025/03/04

Erin West is the Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County, California, and the founder of Project Shamrock. Whether she’s prosecuting eye-popping SIM-swap money grabs or putting large-scale pig butchering operations out of business, her stories and experience can help you stay safer.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

43:35

Episode 190: Dick Gephardt Wants a Safer Internet

What the Hack? ·

2025/02/25

Former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt is on a mission to kill Section 230, the legal shield that lets social media giants profit from chaos. If engagement-driven algorithms are fueling harmful content for the sake of profit, is it time for the U.S. to take bold action to rein in the Internet? (You know the answer, but this is a must listen!)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

41:46

Episode 189: Kara Swisher Calls Out the Man Babies of...

What the Hack? ·

2025/02/18

Kara Swisher has been covering Silicon Valley since the early days, and she’s made a ton of enemies the old fashioned way (by telling the truth about the new robber barons of our digital lives). In a new memoir called Burn Book, she pulls the curtain back on a world run by powerful babies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

46:18

Episode 188: Jen Caltrider Unwraps Hidden Privacy...

What the Hack? ·

2025/02/11

Privacy expert Jen Caltrider reveals how those shiny new AI gadgets with their mind-bending tech—not to mention the social media apps capturing every moment—are a privacy nightmare. Is going analog the only safe option? Learn how to protect your data from the prying eyes of Big Tech.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

26:44

Episode 187: Al Franken Holds a Mock Senate Hearing...

What the Hack? ·

2025/02/04

No deep fake here. This week, Al Franken does his own impersonations of Bernie Sanders, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Sherrod Brown and Susan Collins in this mock Senate Hearing featuring Siri (played by the actual voice-over talent Susan Bennett) and Al’s fellow SNL alum Laraine Newman playing the part of Alexa.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

41:38

Episode 186: Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark...

What the Hack? ·

2025/01/28

Ever wonder why facial recognition is so accurate? Well, one reason is the shocking amount of personal data it needs (think: all the world’s snapshots), and that’s why Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark is taking aim at the industry behind that technology. We also review Charity’s top scams to watch for this year, and other topics near and dear to our own scam-hating hearts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

43:37

Episode 185: Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal Join...

What the Hack? ·

2025/01/21

From cyberbullying to harmful algorithms, the risks are real. This week, Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal join us to discuss their bipartisan bill—the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Together, they’re taking on Big Tech to ensure the safety of children online. Tune in to hear how KOSA could change the digital world for the better.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

55:38

Episode 184: Kristin Bride Lost Her Son and Now She’s...

What the Hack? ·

2025/01/14

Kristen Bride’s 16-year-old son died by suicide after being cyberbullied on Snapchat. Setting her sites on anonymous messaging apps that intentionally traumatize children, Bride heads to Washington DC to fight for change.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

42:20

Episode 183: Ava Smithing Battles Big Tech and the...

What the Hack? ·

2025/01/07

Ava Smithing was eleven when she saw a swimsuit on Pinterest that she liked. That innocent click turned into an eating disorder. How? This episode explores the most dangerous thing children face today: Algorithms. On a mission to hold Big Tech accountable, Ava shares her journey as an activist with us, including her recent role providing Congressional testimony in support of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

52:08

Episode 182: The Most Scary, Interesting, and...

What the Hack? ·

2024/12/31

We look back at the internet’s scariest moments, the boldest defenders, and the most surprising tech twists of 2024—groundbreaking legislation, international scam-rings, and the growing fight to make the internet a safer place for everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

42:36

Episode 181: Bob Sullivan Discovers a Scam That...

What the Hack? ·

2024/12/24

Chester Frilich lost everything to scammers, and he didn’t just lose his money—he lost hope, too. Bob Sullivan joins us to recount this devastating case, revealing the IRS’s unintentional role in punishing victims, and how advocacy and legislation could turn things around. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

45:08

Episode 180: Amy Neville Fights Snapchat’s Drug...

What the Hack? ·

2024/12/17

What happens when social media platforms prioritize engagement over safety? How do drug dealers exploit apps like Snapchat to target teens? Amy Neville lost her son Alex to counterfeit Oxycodone pills that were laced with Fentanyl. He bought them from a Snapchat user. She talked with us about this hidden crisis and her mission to reform social media and protect future generations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

37:39

Episode 179: Tarah Wheeler and Deviant Ollam Reveal...

What the Hack? ·

2024/12/10

Tarah Wheeler lost her security badge. Deviant Ollam picked his way into "secure" spaces. Together, they show how humans make or break security and why layering defenses is key to surviving inevitable mistakes. What happens when security fails because of us? Two experts dive into the blind spots in physical, digital, and human security—and why fixing them starts with being honest about our mistakes.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

220 results

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