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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

50:12

Episode 237: The Internet is Groundhog Day

What the Hack? ·

2026/02/02

This week, we're going to the movies. Virginia Heffernan joins us to talk about Groundhog Day (the movie), surveillance, and why online systems reward repetition over reflection and connection with a special cameo by marketing maestro Seth Godin. Magic + Loss: https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

46:04

Episode 236: The Con: Part Two, Asian Scam Compounds

What the Hack? ·

2026/01/27

After exposing the scam compounds and human trafficking behind today’s fraud economy, we follow the money, the power, and the few pressure points—from crypto seizures to sanctions—that might actually help spell the end of Southeast Asian scam compounds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

50:47

Episode 235: The Machine: Part One, Asian Scam Compounds

What the Hack? ·

2026/01/20

You’ve seen the scam texts. This week we go inside a global scam economy to expose human trafficking networks, lawless economic zones, and fortified compounds where victims are forced to target victims in a world of crime bosses and corrupt politicians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

51:59

Episode 233: How Brett Johnson Made $160,000 a Week

What the Hack? ·

2026/01/06

Former cybercrime kingpin Brett Johnson didn’t just break the law; he built the tools still used by criminals today. He's back for another episode to check in and unpack why cybercrime works, how defenses fail, and the way life itself is often the ultimate "in" for an attacker.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

52:56

Episode 230: The Cursor Moved at 2 A.M.

What the Hack? ·

2025/12/16

A deadbolt clicks. This email, that voice--they sound all right. Then things go sideways. This week, 911 Cyber CEO Marc Raphael joins the pod to explore how AI makes scams faster, smoother, and harder to spot, and what you can do to stay hard to hit in the new threatscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

46:51

Episode 229: Why Most Cybersecurity Advice Is Wrong

What the Hack? ·

2025/12/09

How do you stay safe online? (Wrong answers only.) Avoid public Wi-Fi, QR codes, charging stations. Cyber OG Bob Lord (Yahoo, DNC, CISA) wrote an open letter tackling the real harm caused by bad advice, and offering a better path with proven practices to stay safe online.Check out https://www.hacklore.org/letterLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

43:04

Episode 228: Paul Raffile on the Sextortion Economy

What the Hack? ·

2025/12/02

Sextortion scams targeting teenage boys doubled this year—and Paul Raffile says the platforms knew it was happening. Learn how Instagram's default settings let criminals to weaponize friends lists for blackmail, and how social media continues to fail the children it claims to protect.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

50:18

Episode 222: Heather Barnhart Hunts Digital Ghosts

What the Hack? ·

2025/10/21

Forensic expert Heather Barnhart (SANS Institute) decoded Osama Bin Laden's phones and helped convict quadruple murderer Brian Kohberger. Learn how surviving her own harassment fueled her mission, plus the digital "pattern of life" hack and simple steps to combat AI deepfakes and stay safe online.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

44:29

Episode 221: Seth Godin's Anti-Spam Playbook: Be Awesome

What the Hack? ·

2025/10/14

Marketing visionary Seth Godin explains how the Internet got hijacked by an attention-stealing spam economy that keeps us in an endless loop of badly targeted marketing. Godin's anti-spam playbook: demand companies earn your attention with awesomeness, and break the digital slop loop that broke the Internet.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

45:18

Episode 220: The $5,000 Mistake: Inside a Facebook Scam

What the Hack? ·

2025/10/07

A locked account. A call for help. What happened next left Tony questioning everything he thought he knew about the Internet. This week is about trust, technology, and how quickly things can unravel when those we count on aren’t who they seem.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

43:07

Episode 217: The Wrong Dan Sturman

What the Hack? ·

2025/09/16

It started with a slow roll of weird emails and phone calls. And then award-winning filmmaker Dan Sturman found himself in the crosshairs of serious hackers. With parallels to another case of mistaken identity and an assist from security expert Reuben Moretz, this week we explore bad social engineering.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

34:44

Episode 214: DEF CON Redux with Rachel Tobac!

What the Hack? ·

2025/08/26

In this second installment of our DEF CON two-parter, we talked to SocialProof Security CEO Rachel Tobac about how and why people are often the weakest link in so many cybersecurity protocols and how making yourself a harder target will cause most threat actors to move on to an easier mark.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

41:34

Episode 213: Inside DEF CON’s Social Engineering Village

What the Hack? ·

2025/08/19

At DEF CON’s Social Engineering Village, contestants have 22 minutes to charm real employees at real companies into revealing real details that could lead to a breach. We step inside the booth to see how persuasion, improv, and psychology fuel both ethical hacking and the rise of cybercrime worldwide.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

42:39

Episode 212: How to Talk to a Cybercriminal

What the Hack? ·

2025/08/12

Kurtis Minder knows the dark web better than most—and he’s not just watching from the sidelines. As a ransomware negotiator, he’s helped victims talk their way out of seemingly impossible situations. This week, we explore how cybercriminals operate, what makes them tick, and what you need to know to avoid becoming their next target.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

33:36

Episode 211: The Coldplay Couple and the End of...

What the Hack? ·

2025/08/05

A not-entirely innocent moment at a concert set the internet on fire. But what if that was just a symptom of a bigger problem? New York Times journalist Kashmir Hill, author of Your Face Belongs to Us, helps us explore the chilling reality of ambient surveillance, and how facial recognition could be the end privacy as we know it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

44:39

Episode 210: Cracking the Code of Fraud with AARP's...

What the Hack? ·

2025/07/29

Online fraud isn't just annoying; it's a national crisis. Last year alone, it may have siphoned $158 billion from the U.S. economy. This episode features AARP's Kathy Stokes, who reveals how fraud has morphed into a sophisticated, global operation and what's being done to fight back against this evolving threat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

44:29

Episode 209: Unmasking the North Korean IT Scam

What the Hack? ·

2025/07/22

Fortune Magazine's Amanda Gerut offers a deep dive into the secret army of remote IT workers funding North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Explore the hidden world of laptop farms, the criminal identity theft targeting freelancers, and the shocking human cost. It's a chilling scheme with law enforcement and freelancers trapped in the crossfire.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

47:44

Episode 208: Will AI Write Its Own Laws?

What the Hack? ·

2025/07/15

Join Ben Winters, director of AI and Privacy at the Consumer Federation of America, for a front-row seat to the chaotic world of AI regulation where dirty data, aggressive lobbying, and public confusion drive a "winner takes all" vibe. From shady therapy bots to data-fueled discrimination, Ben reveals the urgent need to create guardrails for AI before it jumps the tracks.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en

36:17

Episode 207: Kristen and the Phantom Puppy

What the Hack? ·

2025/07/08

Kristin got scammed because she didn't want to give a puppy mill her business. This classic digital scam has it all: fake breeders, phony shipping agents, and a non-existent air-conditioned crate. Kristen reveals how her scammers used trust, urgency and emotion, to close the deal. Listen to her story and what you can do to avoid getting duped yourself.

en

44:55

Episode 206: Chris Hutchins’s Travel Hacking Gets Hacked

What the Hack? ·

2025/07/01

If you have never listened to Chris Hutchins explain how to get free travel, you’ve probably been paying too much for your vacations. Turns out, a threat actor was listening to him and stole his miles. Download this week’s episode to hear how he hacked the situation to score even more points. (This episode originally airdropped September 26, 2022.)

en

227 results

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