Episodes

  • Cognitive Heists series #3: The Call Is Coming from Inside Your Mind

    Cognitive Heists series #3: The Call Is Coming from Inside Your Mind
    Jul 25 2025
    📞 The Call Is Coming from Inside Your Mind Welcome to #3 of the "Cognitive Heists" series. The Voice in Your Head -- Authority, Audio Deepfakes, and the Power of a Familiar Voice In 2019, a UK energy firm received a call. The voice on the other end sounded exactly like the CEO of their German parent company. The request? Transfer €220,000 immediately to a trusted vendor. It wasn’t the CEO. It was a deepfake. This was the first confirmed deepfake voice fraud used to commit corporate theft—and it’s only the beginning. This issue dives into: 🎧 Why voice is one of the most powerful trust signals—and why that’s dangerous now 😨 How vishing, voice cloning, and audio deepfakes hijack your certainty 👻 A classic urban legend (yep—the babysitter and the call from inside the house) 🧠 The psychology of obedience, panic, and auditory illusion 🧯 And how to train your brain to pause the response before the wire transfer In a world where your boss’s voice can be faked, what part of your brain do you not listen to? A couple relevant sources related to AI based voice scams: [PROVED] Unsuspecting Call Recipients Are Super Vulnerable to AI Vishing: (this is my story about having an AI voice bot participate in DEFCON's Social Engineering Community Capture the Flag competition). https://blog.knowbe4.com/proved-unsuspecting-call-recipients-are-super-vulnerable-to-ai-vishing Seeing (and Hearing) Isn’t Believing: My SEC Presentation on AI-Driven Scams: https://blog.knowbe4.com/seeing-and-hearing-isnt-believing-my-sec-presentation-on-ai-driven-scams The FAIK Files: AI Oopsies! Audio version: https://pod.link/1771521321/episode/af214a2812ad672b675870a9fb56f4cb YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY31aE5-PxA TechCrunch story: Google’s Gemini panicked when playing Pokémon: https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/17/googles-gemini-panicked-when-playing-pokemon/ P.S. -- Just a quick reminder that I've got a great book out that's all about deepfakes, disinformation, and deception. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already: https://ThisBookIsFAIK.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • Cognitive Heist series #2: The Bait Man

    Cognitive Heist series #2: The Bait Man
    Jul 17 2025
    Welcome to part 2 of the Cognitive Heist miniseries: The Bait Man 🗝️ He doesn’t pick the lock. 🚪 He doesn’t sneak in the back. 🪝 He just leaves something shiny on the ground and waits for you to pick it up. Enter "The Bait Man": the scammer who lets your own curiosity or greed do all the work. Part 2 of Cognitive Heist explores: 👉 Why bait-based scams (phishing, “found” USBs, QR traps, honeytexts) work so well 👉 The irresistible psychology of forbidden knowledge and too-good-to-miss offers 👉 A chilling parallel with the Nazi gold train legend—possibly the most expensive “nothing” in history 👉 The ancient myth of Pandora’s Box... and what it says about modern clickbait 👉 And as always: tentacles, noir, and cognitive traps. In other news: 👉 The FAIK Files: Climbing Through the Context Window Audio version: https://pod.link/1771521321/episode/3ec38fa7cd599b26e3c7fde25651a3f0 YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ntZlQ4Lbkw 👉 Research Paper of the Week: Project Vend-- Can Claude run a small shop? (And why does that matter?) Anthropic's page discussing the experiment Business Insider P.S. -- Just a quick reminder that I've got a great book out that's all about deepfakes, disinformation, and deception. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already: https://ThisBookIsFAIK.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    14 mins
  • Cognitive Heists series #1: The Insider -- Trust by Proximity, not Proof

    Cognitive Heists series #1: The Insider -- Trust by Proximity, not Proof
    Jul 11 2025
    🕵️‍♂️ New Deceptive Minds mini-series: Behind the Scams (Cognitive Heists) 🕵️‍♂️ They didn’t pick the lock. They didn’t sneak in through the vents. You held the door open for them. This week’s issue kicks off a new 10-part series: Cognitive Heist—a deep dive into the psychological exploits behind the world’s most effective social engineering attacks.T his week is all about "The Insider": Trust by proximity. Why do we let people in—not because they’re verified, but because they seem like they belong? We unpack: ⚡ The psychology of in-group bias and “trust theater” ⚡ Real-world infiltration tactics (think BEC, fake IT staff, Slack scams) ⚡ Urban legends and conspiracies that make insiders feel mythic ⚡ How your mind, not your firewall, is the real attack surface You’ll never look at the new guy in the group chat the same way again.Oh... and there are a couple other fun bits in there as well. Enjoy! Cognitive Inoculation: Winn Schwartau and the Metawar -- FAIK Files Podcast (audio version): https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/the-faik-files/41/notes Cognitive Inoculation: Winn Schwartau and the Metawar -- FAIK Files Podcast (YouTube version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ntZlQ4Lbkw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    13 mins
  • Narrative Armor: Why Some Stories Become Immune to the Truth

    Narrative Armor: Why Some Stories Become Immune to the Truth
    Jun 28 2025
    When it comes to deception, everything is about story. And the stories people cling hardest to are ones that aren't solely about information... they are about self-protection. They explain the world. They spark emotion. They reinforce identity. And once we believe them, we don’t just share them…We defend them. In this issue of Deceptive Minds, I explore why some narratives become immune to fact-checking, critique, or correction — and how we end up reinforcing falsehoods just by wanting them to be true. 🛡️ Why emotionally charged stories resist disproof 🧠 How narratives come preloaded with defenses (mockery, morality, tribalism) 📜 Real-world & historical examples of story-based immunity 🧩 And how to tell when you're dealing with a belief that's been bulletproofed Because when deception takes the form of a story you want to believe… truth never even gets a chance. Deceptive Minds: newsletter about how we are fooled, how we fool ourselves, and what we can do about it. Check out the print newsletter on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ or on my ⁠⁠website⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    11 mins
  • Repeat Until Real

    Repeat Until Real
    Jun 24 2025
    Hey Friends! This is one of the most important issues so far -- please share! Ever find yourself believing something… just because you’ve heard it enough? That’s the Illusory Truth Effect at work. "Illusory Truth" is the cognitive glitch that makes repetition feel like credibility. In this issue of Deceptive Minds, we explore: 🧠 Why familiar lies feel more believable than unfamiliar truths 📢 How repetition is used in marketing, politics, scams, and propagan 🛡️ And how to defend your mind against one of the most powerful tools in deception If it’s been said often enough, we stop asking whether it’s true. We just… feel like it is. 🧩 How This Connects to Previous Deceptive Minds Issues Narrative sets the stage. Attention brings focus. Plausibility helps the lie land. Fluency makes it feel smooth. Emotion gives it velocity. Credibility theater dresses it in trust signals. Repetition cements it. Repetition is the glue that binds these elements together. It gives them staying power. It builds the illusion of consensus — even when there is none. Want to see my Bigfoot Security Tips video? Here are links to the video on YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Till next time! Perry Check out the print newsletter on LinkedIn or on my website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    13 mins
  • Truth Hurts. So We Lie.

    Truth Hurts. So We Lie.
    Jun 12 2025
    Ok. This one's pretty uncomfortable. It's about the lies we tell ourselves and why we believe them. We all like to think we’re rational. But the truth is, our minds are masters of defense... not just against deception, but against discomfort. In this issue, I explore the mental machinery behind "motivated reasoning" and "cognitive dissonance." These are mechanisms we use to try to protect ourselves from inconvenient facts. 🔍 Why we reject information that threatens identity 🛡️ How our beliefs start defending themselves 🎭 Why feeling right often beats being right This theme hits at the core of the Deceptive Minds mission: a newsletter about how we are fooled, how we fool ourselves, and what we can do about it. Want to check out the print version? You can ⁠⁠get here as a LinkedIn newslette⁠r⁠. Or you can subscribe to the email version on my website: ⁠⁠https://TheDeceptionProject.com⁠⁠ Anything you'd like me to cover in a future edition? Stay sharp, — Perry hello [at] 8thLayerMedia [dot] com Other references for this issue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_flat_Earth_beliefs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repressed_memory https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/about/index.html Jessica Barker's newsletter: Human Nature of Cyber Security: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7312575416190255104/ Jessica Barker's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-barker/ The FAIK FILES Audio version here: https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/the-faik-files/38/notes FAIK FILES YouTube version: https://youtu.be/Sy67tVZ_OVk Apple's controversial research paper: https://ml-site.cdn-apple.com/papers/the-illusion-of-thinking.pdf Nate Jones' thoughts on the Apple paper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tYAvjkOQk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    17 mins
  • The Costume of Truth: Why We Trust the Logo, the Lab Coat, and the Lanyard

    The Costume of Truth: Why We Trust the Logo, the Lab Coat, and the Lanyard
    Jun 9 2025
    Not all deception hides in the shadows. Some of it walks right in — wearing a badge, a clipboard, or a lab coat. In the latest issue of Deceptive Minds, I explore one of the most powerful tools in the scammer’s playbook: credibility theater — the subtle art of looking legitimate enough to bypass your skepticism. Inside this issue: 🎭 Why we trust uniforms, logos, and titles more than facts 🧠 The psychology behind “surface-level trust” 📜 Historical scams that used nothing but confidence and costumes 🔍 How social engineers, phishers, and marketers use the same tricks today 🛡️ And how to train your brain (and your team) to see through the performance Because sometimes, the most dangerous deception doesn’t sneak past you — it gets waved through the front door. 🧠 Join 4,000+ others exploring how deception works — and what to do about it. Want to check out the print version? You can ⁠⁠get here as a LinkedIn newslette⁠r⁠. Or you can subscribe to the email version on my website: ⁠⁠https://TheDeceptionProject.com⁠⁠ Anything you'd like me to cover in a future edition? Stay sharp, — Perry hello [at] 8thLayerMedia [dot] com Check out The FAIK Files, episode 27: Prove Yourself!! Audio version of the podcast: https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/the-faik-files/37/notes YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/m4TYB40oThg?si=AqzkaqHqD3QBXLLu Link to my Google VEO 3 experiment, "The Sandwich Incident: https://youtu.be/DvsFm1XII6U Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    14 mins
  • Feel First, Think Never: Your Emotions Are the Exploit

    Feel First, Think Never: Your Emotions Are the Exploit
    May 28 2025
    If it made you panic, rage, or rush… it probably bypassed your cognitive defenses. In the latest issue of Deceptive Minds, I dig into the dark cognitive malware of emotional hijacking: how scammers, manipulators, and even well-meaning voices use fear, urgency, outrage, and hope to short-circuit your critical thinking. Inside: 🧠 Why your emotions beat your rational mind to the punch 📞 How scam messages and panic phishing bypass logic 📣 What viral rage-bait and fear-mongering have in common 🔥 Plus: how a single fire reshaped a nation — and how the “lie that felt true” still outperforms facts today The stronger the feeling, the weaker the scrutiny. Want the print version? It's available on LinkedIn or my website. References: The Great Moon Hoax: https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/08/the-great-moon-hoax/ Moon Shot: Race, a Hoax, and the Birth of Fake News: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/moon-shot-race-a-hoax-and-the-birth-of-fake-news The True Story of the Reichstag Fire and the Nazi Rise to Power: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-reichstag-fire-and-nazis-rise-power-180962240/ The Missile Gap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_gap Episode 26 of The FAIK Files: Listen here: https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/the-faik-files/36/notes Watch here: https://youtu.be/2slM09Czy_s?si=D3ZotFEef3zdGbZA Anthropic's Claude 4 Attempts to Blackmail a Researcher: Claude 4 System Card: https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/6be99a52cb68eb70eb9572b4cafad13df32ed995.pdf Something Wild Happens If AI Looks Through Your Emails and Discovers You're Having an Affair: https://futurism.com/ai-email-affair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    13 mins