Best DeleteMe Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 231: WTH 2025: Laptop Farms, Campus Cults, and the End of Anonymity 43:00

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1d ago43:00

43:00

From AI regulation fights and North Korean laptop farms to Nigerian campus cults, the human toll of online crime, and the death of online anonymity it's time to review the year in cyber stories—the good, the bad, the unimaginable, and what to do when "they" come for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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Episode 230: The Cursor Moved at 2 A.M. 52:56

8d ago52:56

52:56

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…

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Episode 229: Why Most Cybersecurity Advice Is Wrong 46:51

15d ago46:51

46:51

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/letter Learn more about your ad choices. V…

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Episode 228: Paul Raffile on the Sextortion Economy 43:04

22d ago43:04

43:04

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…

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Episode 227: Twas the Week Before Cyber Monday 29:14

29d ago29:14

29:14

The giant glittering scam and fraud trap of the holidays is here. Beau reunites with former co-hosts Adam Levin and Travis Taylor to talk about about fake websites, why gift cards are still a huge vector for fraud, and how to avoid the many pitfalls of the season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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Episode 226: On Digital Fingerprints and Dirty Money 44:01

1M ago44:01

44:01

Jeff Williams on the business of moving money: who gets blocked, what slips through, and why checking the right boxes doesn’t always mean a win in the nascent AI-powered sanctions compliance space. From fentanyl money to shell companies, we follow the (often filthy dirty) money. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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Episode 225: Big Breaches and Click Bots to AI and Beyond 38:04

1M ago38:04

38:04

When a young engineer uncovered a sizeable click fraud situation at Google, he discovered a bigger problem; namely, the perverse ingenuity that drives online fraud and scams. "Big Breaches" author Neil Daswani joined us to talk click farms, data breaches, AI exploits, and the big picture of cybercrime today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit …

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Episode 224: Jackals of Trust: A Short History of Cybercrime 47:31

2M ago47:31

47:31

Cybercrime expert Gary Warner joins to discuss Nigerian confraternities, the "campus cults" rooted in idealism that morphed into a multi-billion dollar transnational organized crime network. Learn about the "money blessing," the coded language and insider access, and the elite thug playbook for exploiting trust. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi…

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Episode 223: How to Make Your House Invisible 41:11

2M ago41:11

41:11

When scammers tried to steal Graceland, it seemed like a fluke, but deed fraud is very much on the rise. Del Denney of the Land Trust Company explains how criminals steal homes and how to stop it from happening to you. Plus, we revisit Adam Levin's wallet ripper about a twice-targeted beachfront property. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg…

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Episode 222: Heather Barnhart Hunts Digital Ghosts 50:18

2M ago50:18

50:18

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.f…

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Episode 221: Seth Godin's Anti-Spam Playbook: Be Awesome 44:29

2M ago44:29

44:29

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 …

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Episode 220: The $5,000 Mistake: Inside a Facebook Scam 45:18

3M ago45:18

45:18

By DeleteMe

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Episode 219: 3 Ways Not to Lose Everything 43:46

3M ago43:46

43:46

Former federal prosecutor Tom O’Malley takes us inside the strange, high-stakes world of modern fraud—where victims are presumed guilty, families lose fortunes, and the fight against global crime rings starts at home. Three lessons that could make a difference. Voting: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting?utm_campaign=signal4_finalists_finalis…

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Episode 218: The Data Grift Everyone Missed 50:25

3M ago50:25

50:25

Every click, swipe, and post fuels the data economy. Credit cards, apps, even maps—our lives are scraped, stitched, and sold. It feels like a heist, and sometimes it is. Identity Theft Resource Center CEO Eva Casey-Velasquez insists the picture isn’t entirely bleak. This week we talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of data brokers. Learn more…

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Episode 217: The Wrong Dan Sturman 43:07

3M ago43:07

43:07

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 megap…

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Episode 216: Who’s Watching the Watchers? 47:14

4M ago47:14

47:14

Feeling watched? Join us as Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark breaks down the new reality of digital surveillance. From school apps to AI scams, we dive into how companies collect your data and how to take control of your online privacy. The war for privacy is real—and it's a fight you can't afford to lose. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi…

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Episode 215: They Targeted His Mom, He Went Full CIA 43:41

4M ago43:41

43:41

A fake Microsoft pop-up cost Ken Westbrook’s mom her life savings. But they scammed the wrong family. Westbrook is former CIA. These days he’s sounding the alarm on how foreign crime rings steal billions from Americans with smishing campaigns, scareware, and gift cards. We talked about solutions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm…

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Episode 214: DEF CON Redux with Rachel Tobac! 38:14

4M ago38:14

38:14

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/adcho…

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Episode 213: Inside DEF CON’s Social Engineering Village 41:34

4M ago41:34

41:34

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 megapho…

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Episode 212: How to Talk to a Cybercriminal 42:39

4M ago42:39

42:39

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 abou…

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Episode 211: The Coldplay Couple and the End of Anonymity 33:36

5M ago33:36

33:36

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 y…

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Episode 210: Cracking the Code of Fraud with AARP's Kathy Stokes 44:39

5M ago44:39

44:39

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. Vi…

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Episode 209: Unmasking the North Korean IT Scam 42:29

5M ago42:29

42:29

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 mo…

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Episode 208: Will AI Write Its Own Laws? 45:44

5M ago45:44

45:44

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 bef…

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Episode 207: Kristen and the Phantom Puppy 34:17

6M ago34:17

34:17

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 yours…

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Episode 206: Chris Hutchins’s Travel Hacking Gets Hacked 42:55

6M ago42:55

42:55

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.)…

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Episode 205: Cybersecurity Girl Caitlin Sarian Tries to Delete Herself Online 32:42

6M ago32:42

32:42

Every part of life that comes in contact with the Internet is tracked, packed and sold to a a seemingly infinite network of data brokers. Caitlin Sarian AKA Cybersecurity Girl joined us this week to discuss why scrubbing your information is trickier than it sounds and what you can do about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad…

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Episode 204: Nicole Perlroth Says All the Things that Keep Adam Up at Night 47:04

6M ago47:04

47:04

Nicole Perlroth’s book This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is a masterpiece on the topic of cyberwar and the zero-day hacks that make it deadly. Join us as we explore with Perlroth a cyberscape where mistakes are weaponized, backdoors abound and we all have zero degrees of separation from spies and the people they spy on. Learn more about your …

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Episode 203: Jack Rhysider Exposes Our Digital Secrets 42:30

7M ago42:30

42:30

What if your digital footprint made you a target? Jack Rhysider, host of "Darknet Diaries," shares how a fan turned his online presence into a personal puzzle—revealing just how easily your privacy can be pieced together and exploited. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy DeleteMe

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Episode 202: Shannon Edwards Reveals the Student Data Free-for-All 40:26

7M ago40:26

40:26

As technology is integrated deeper into classrooms, the lines between education and data privacy have been destroyed by for-profit data miners. This week, privacy advocate Shannon Edwards reveals how educational apps harvest sensitive information from children, commodify their data, and what parents can do to fight it. Learn more about your ad choi…

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Episode 201: Keren Elazari Decrypts the Ransomeware Nightmare 39:41

7M ago39:41

39:41

Ransomware is a type of malware that allows hackers to commandeer data on a device or an entire network. Increasingly, the threat actors behind these crimes set their sites on mission critical targets. We talked about it with renowned cybersecurity expert Keren Elazari this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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Cafés, Parks, and Third Spaces - Season 3 Episode 15 10:56

7M ago10:56

10:56

Go find your third place, whether its the cute lil cafe or a cute lil park or a cute lil other place. Be Nice :)

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Episode 200: The Wild West of the Loophole Economy 48:13

8M ago48:13

48:13

We’ve all been there. You see something perfect online, you do all the clicks and then think, “Wait, was that legit?” Scam-lite transactions are the way of the web these days, whether it’s direct-from-manufacturer or super-sticky subscriptions, we have your back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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Ground News, Shaky Foundation - Season 3 Episode 14 27:43

8M ago27:43

27:43

This is turning into all my internet icks... I talk about Ground News and all these news bias reporting services being convenient, but how that convenience comes at a cost. Be Nice :)

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Episode 199: CISA Director Jen Easterly Stands Watch in the Cyberwars 43:11

8M ago43:11

43:11

From elections to ransomware, CISA Director Jen Easterly breaks down the threats to America’s critical infrastructure and what’s being done to stop them, sharing along the way her journey from the real-life battlefield to the frontlines of cybersecurity. This is a rare glimpse into the most pressing threats America faces—and a compelling story abou…

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Who PPP'd on My Public Service - Season 3 Episode 13 27:29

8M ago27:29

27:29

We dive into Public Private Partnerships and why they suck...Public Risk, Private Gain...Ew Be Kind :)

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Episode 198: Cory Doctorow Makes Us Wonder if Everything’s a Scam 42:19

8M ago42:19

42:19

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…

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Mind, Please Stay in Your Seat - Season 3 - Episode 12 19:45

8M ago19:45

19:45

We talk about....ugh....what was it....oh yeah... FOCUS Be Kind :)

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Episode 197: FBI Operative Eric O’Neill: Cybercriminals Are Spies—Not Hackers 48:00

8M ago48:00

48:00

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…

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DeleteMe Gives Me The Ick - Season 3 - Episode 11 12:37

8M ago12:37

12:37

Data Privacy Scrubbing services are the modern-day protection racket. I dive into all aspects of our current life and how we get sold solutions to a problem that continue to perpetuate the problem, instead of having regulation and broader reform.

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Episode 196: Max Lebow Battles a Cyber PsyOps Nightmare 47:43

8M ago47:43

47:43

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy DeleteMe

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Episode 195: Can AI Commit the Perfect Crime? 45:05

9M ago45:05

45:05

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…

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The Left needs The Boys - Season 3 - Episode 10 27:55

9M ago27:55

27:55

And The Boys needs The Left! We talk about young men and the left. I try to share some of the reasons that more young men need to reject liberalism and conservatism, to embrace leftism. I also talk about some of the reasons men feel more at home with the conservative movement. Masculinity means showing up for others!…

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Episode 194: Karen Johnson’s Scam Project Is a Teachable Moment for AI 35:00

9M ago35:00

35:00

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. Lear…

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Perfection Paralysis - Season 3 Episode 9 13:49

9M ago13:49

13:49

I share some thoughts I had about the left political movement in North America and how we all just need to be empathetic in our movement building. I call the constant criticism of the leaders and agents in the left movement perfection paralysis.

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Episode 193: Roy Wood, Jr. Exposes the Loch Ness Monster Gun Lobby Conspiracy 37:23

9M ago37:23

37:23

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…

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Episode 192: Max McCoy Investigates $47 Million That Isn’t in Kansas Anymore 48:54

10M ago48:54

48:54

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…

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Episode 191: Erin West Puts the Bad Guys to Shame 41:18

10M ago41:18

41:18

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/adchoi…

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Episode 190: Dick Gephardt Wants a Safer Internet 41:35

10M ago41:35

41:35

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!)…

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Episode 189: Kara Swisher Calls Out the Man Babies of Big Tech 39:46

10M ago39:46

39:46

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/adchoi…