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Easy Prey

Easy Prey

De: Chris Parker
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Chris Parker, the founder of WhatIsMyIPAddress.com, interviews guests and tells real-life stories about topics to open your eyes to the danger and traps lurking in the real world, ranging from online scams and frauds to everyday situations where people are trying to take advantage of you—for their gain and your loss. Our goal is to educate and equip you, so you learn how to spot the warning signs of trouble, take quick action, and lower the risk of becoming a victim. Crímenes Reales Política y Gobierno
Episodios
  • Tricked by Followers and Badges

    Tricked by Followers and Badges
    Jul 16 2025

    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:
    • [01:12] Tim recently published Framed: A Villain's Perspective on Social Media, a book that shares his journey from breaking the rules on social media to getting millions of followers for his clients.
    • [02:15] We learn a little bit more about the beginnings of spamming the Internet and increasing online presence, including MySpace and Instagram, which evolved into getting more followers.
    • [04:14] This created social proof and the possibility of higher conversion rates.
    • [05:09] Increasing followers using botnets or fake followers. Organic growth and interacting with accounts that might follow or like.
    • [08:35] Tim's business was Shark Social, where he bent the rules to get followers for clients.
    • [09:53] The technical side of his operation. Proxies were used to mask their tracks.
    • [12:30] Social media services have taken efforts to stop things like follower growth services.
    • [14:54] Risks for businesses using social media growth platform services. It's against TOS, and your account can get banned.
    • [18:36] Systems Tim built to target consumers using social media. The goal was to get users to spend more time on the app.
    • [20:50] Thresholds for annoying users. It was shocking how many people allowed push notifications and other annoying things.
    • [22:54] How social media affects Tim.
    • [26:11] We learn how he feels about the influencer culture and promoting his book on TikTok.
    • [27:14] Advice for business owners, including these services, may not get you more business. Pause before doing too much.
    • [28:48] Individuals should focus on conversions.

    Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.

    Links and Resources:
    • Podcast Web Page
    • Facebook Page
    • whatismyipaddress.com
    • Easy Prey on Instagram
    • Easy Prey on Twitter
    • Easy Prey on LinkedIn
    • Easy Prey on YouTube
    • Easy Prey on Pinterest
    • Tim O’Hearn
    • Tim O’Hearn - LinkedIn
    • Tim O’Hearn - Beehiiv
    • Framed: A Villain's Perspective on Social Media
    • Spam Kings
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    33 m
  • Only 10 Seconds to Expose a Scam

    Only 10 Seconds to Expose a Scam
    Jul 9 2025

    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:
    • [01:06] Nick presents a show called scam interceptors for the BBC. He also does scam advice on a chat show called Morning Live. He also wrote a self-help book about How To Beat Scammers.
    • [01:59] We learn how Nick got into the space. He began in investigative journalism and hidden camera work and now 5 years later Scam Interceptors is his full-time job.
    • [06:17] He came very close to becoming a victim of a scam, because a lot of scammers try to get him.
    • [14:30] About 300,000 accounts a day get hacked on Meta.
    • [15:10] There are things you can enable on Meta to help protect your account.
    • [16:43] In the UK scammers rarely go to prison.
    • [17:18] When he first started the series the scale of some of the scam operations out there really shocked him.
    • [18:43] There can be 200 people working in a scam call center.
    • [20:52] A lot of the people who run pig butchering scams are indentured slaves.
    • [24:12] They would even hire models to have video conversations with potential scam victims.
    • [25:22] Why local governments don't break up these scam centers.
    • [26:38] It's difficult to motivate the authorities when the victims aren't from that country.
    • [29:21] APP refunds in the UK. In most cases we need to be aware and protect ourselves.
    • [30:52] Assume everything out of the blue is fake. Come from a position of skepticism.
    • [35:04] When investigations go wrong filming the show and they lose people to scams.
    • [39:10] When the show first began, sometimes the people they were trying to stop from being scammed thought they were the scammer.

    Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.

    Links and Resources:
    • Podcast Web Page
    • Facebook Page
    • whatismyipaddress.com
    • Easy Prey on Instagram
    • Easy Prey on Twitter
    • Easy Prey on LinkedIn
    • Easy Prey on YouTube
    • Easy Prey on Pinterest
    • Nick Stapleton
    • Scam Interceptors
    • Nick Stapleton - Instagram
    • Nick Stapleton - LinkedIn
    • Nick Stapleton - Facebook
    • How to Beat Scammers: The Complete Guide to Keeping Yourself Safe from Fraud
    • Morning Live
    • Scam Clinic Podcast
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    46 m
  • Gambling, Lies, and Millions Stolen from Celebrities

    Gambling, Lies, and Millions Stolen from Celebrities
    Jul 2 2025
    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: [01:30] Jonathan is a different person from who he was. He grew up in Upstate New York and his father left when he was four. His mom had a lot of stress and took it out on him which created childhood trauma.[03:34] Accounting was the subject that he was good at.[05:02] Eventually, his cousin gave him a job working in Los Angeles for celebrities.[06:33] In 2004, he became a partner in GSO business management. He got a break when Linkin Park was looking for someone in business management. Their success opened up the floodgates.[08:37] He began getting more and more A-list clients.[09:04] In 2010, he became addicted to gambling.[10:01] This eventually led to embezzlement from his celebrity clients. He placed the bet with this bookie everyday for 6 years.[13:48] He ended up embezzling about 7 million dollars.[14:12] When he stopped gambling he had suicidal ideation.[17:05] He always intended to pay the money back.[19:37] Jonathan shares a time when the bank wanted to call Alanis. [21:03] There was a point when his partners started to notice something wasn't right.[22:04] In 2015 he was fired by Alanis, but he continued to give his attention to his A-list clients.[24:42] He didn't want to expose anyone to the fact that he was committing crime. He never told a soul.[25:07] The dark secret was eating him inside, and he also had to deal with his unresolved trauma.[27:12] How Jonathan had to come clean with his wife, because he was scheduled for a lie detector test.[28:48] After failing the test, he was facing 23 years in prison. He negotiated a four to six year plea agreement.[31:14] He ended up being released early because of COVID.[32:11] He struggled to get a job and ended up going back to school, and now he's a marriage and family therapist with an emphasis on addiction and trauma.[34:00] In prison he had the opportunity to reflect on his bad decisions and read a lot of books.[36:33] He's proud to be sober and a nerd. His trauma is resolved, and he gets to help people in treatment not make the same mistakes that he made.[41:34] Celebrities today need to understand not to trust their business manager so quickly and to make sure that they're proactive in their financial affairs and that they're asking for source documents.[42:11] Audit your business manager with some level of frequency.[48:43] Don't go out and spend all your money. Treat your first dollars as your last dollars.[50:56] Jonathan has a book coming out in about 12 months. Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review. Links and Resources: Podcast Web PageFacebook Pagewhatismyipaddress.comEasy Prey on InstagramEasy Prey on TwitterEasy Prey on LinkedInEasy Prey on YouTubeEasy Prey on PinterestJonathan Schwartz - InstagramJonathan Schwartz - Altus RehabJonathan Schwartz - LinkedInAltus RehabGamblers Anonymous
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    53 m
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