Scam Rangers
Scam Rangers - A podcast about the human side of fraud and the people who are on a mission to protect us. We will hear from activists, researchers, prosecutors, human trafficking experts and other advocates, telling the story of scams and scam victims from their perspectives. Most importantly - we can learn what we can do about it. If you are enjoying this show, subscribe, and follow me on LinkedIn for more information and news about online scams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayelet-biger-levin/
Episodes
What makes someone vulnerable to a scam?
Many people assume scams only happen to people who are uninformed, careless, or less tech-savvy. But what if the real attack surface isn't technology at all?
What if it's trust?
In this episode of Scam Rangers, Ayelet Biger-Levin sits down with Tracy Hall—author, advocate, and survivor of one of Australia's most notorious romance fraud cases. After losing her life savings to a professiona...
In this episode of Scam Rangers, host Ayelet Biger-Levin sits down with Charles E. Wallace Jr., author of The Caregiver's Game: The Caregiver's Game: Unraveling Financial Deceit in the Shadows of Dementia. Charles turned into a fraud investigator after his mother fell victim to financial elder abuse. Together, they pull back the curtain on the subtle, malicious ecosystem of caregiver grooming, which drained hundreds of thousand...
In this episode of Scam Rangers, Ayelet sits down with fraud researcher and professor David Maimon to unpack some of the most alarming scam trends emerging today, from abandoned identity fraud and synthetic identities to AI-powered romance and investment scams.
They discuss how criminals are targeting former immigrants, children, and deceased individuals whose identities are no longer actively monitored, and how those identiti...
In this episode, Ayelet Biger-Levin sits down with Jamie Simmons to explore how scams have evolved from traditional fraud into a global, AI-driven threat rooted in human psychology.
From his early days as a park ranger to leading fraud prevention at Capital One, Jamie shares why fighting scams today requires a shift toward prevention before manipulation happens and not just stopping payments after the fact.
🔑 Key Takeaw...
Scams don’t start with transactions. They start with trust.
In this episode of ScamRangers, Ayelet Biger-Levin sits down with Amy Nofziger, Senior Director of Fraud Victim Support at the AARP Fraud Watch Network, to explore the human side of scams, and what’s changed over the past two decades.
Amy and her team receive ~450 calls a day from victims and concerned individuals. And what they’re seeing is clear:
The losse...
In this episode of Scam Rangers, Ayelet Biger-Levin sits down with Rebecca Rose from the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General to unpack the reality of scams today, and why they are far more than just a financial problem.
Scams have evolved into highly coordinated, psychologically-driven attacks designed to manipulate people in moments of fear, urgency, and trust. Rebecca shares how government impost...
In this episode of Scam Rangers, Ayelet speaks with Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs and former U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor, about the rise of crypto investment scams and the global infrastructure behind them.
They break down why these scams are growing so quickly, how financial grooming works in the crypto era, and what makes these schemes so effective at scale. Ari shares insights into blockchain intelligen...
In this episode of Scam Rangers, Ayelet Biger-Levin speaks with Nils Mueller, Director of the North America Chapter of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and former USAID Foreign Service Officer.
Nils shares his unique path into the world of scam prevention after spending more than two decades working in international development and governance. During his time in Southeast Asia, he witnessed the rapid rise of industrial-scale scam opera...
In this episode of Scam Rangers, Ayelet Biger-Levin joins Kate Griffin, Director of Inclusive Finance at the Aspen Institute, to discuss the monumental work of the National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention. Over the past year, Griffin has led a diverse coalition of 80 institutions, ranging from financial giants like JPMorgan Chase and Capital One to tech leaders like Google, Meta, and Apple, to develop a unified strategy aga...
Fraud prevention is often framed as a battle against criminals, but what happens to the customer along the way?
In this episode of Scam Rangers, host Ayelet Biger-Levin sits down with Marti DeLiema, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, to explore the human impact of scam prevention and fraud interventions and the unintended consequences that can emerge when protection efforts aren’t designed with empathy and care.
While...
Investment scams are no longer clumsy or obvious. They’re professional, polished, and engineered to look legitimate. In this episode of Scam Rangers, we’re joined again by Jim Browning, renowned scam investigator and YouTuber, to unpack how modern investment scams scale online, why even smart and cautious people fall victim, and how platforms, ads, and recovery scams fuel a devastating cycle of harm.
Drawing from firstha...
In this deeply personal and moving episode of Scam Rangers, Ayelet Biger-Levin sits down with Beth Hyland, a romance scam survivor who has transformed her experience into a powerful mission for advocacy. Beth shares the intimate details of how a sophisticated criminal operation exploited her emotional vulnerability following a divorce, leading to over $26,000 to be stolen from her through Bitcoin ATMs and fraudulent loans.
The conve...
In the final Scam Rangers episode of 2025, Ayelet Biger-Levin is joined by industry veteran Ken Palla for a deep year-in-review of the global scam prevention landscape.
This conversation examines what actually happened in 2025 across regulation, enforcement, and industry action, and why 2026 must move decisively from research and recommendations to urgent execution.
From mandatory reimbursement in the UK, to Australia’s Scam Pr...
In this powerful episode of Scam Rangers, Ayelet Biger-Levin sits down with scam psychology expert Martina Dove to dive deep into the psychology of scams. Martina shares her insights on the psychological tactics used by scammers and the most effective methods for prevention and intervention.
The conversation dives deep into the origins of Martina's research, which began with her interest in the Barnum effect , a phenomenon whe...
In this powerful episode of Scam Rangers, host Ayelet Biger-Levin speaks with Sarah Ralston, online safety expert, fraud investigator, and mother of five, about the hidden dangers lurking in online ads.
We dive deep into how scam ads are hyper-targeted using the same ad tech that powers legitimate marketing, exploiting trust, grief, and even childhood curiosity. From cloaking techniques that evade detection to the heartbreaking targ...
In this fascinating episode of Scam Rangers, host Ayelet Biger-Levin interviews renowned scam investigator Jim Browning, whose YouTube channel has over 4.4 million subscribers. Jim has made headlines for infiltrating scam call centers, exposing how large-scale fraud operations really work—from pig butchering scams to telco account hijacking.
We explore:
- How Jim first gained access to scammer computers and what he...
🎙️ Episode Title: Demystifying Scam Fog: You Can’t Fix What You Don’t Measure
👤 Guest: Peter Tapling, Managing Director at PTap Advisory
🎧 Host: Ayelet Biger-Levin, ScamRangers
🔍 Episode Overview:
How can you solve a problem you’re not measuring?
In this episode, we tackle one of the biggest blind spots in scam prevention: data classification. Peter Tapling — identity and fraud prevention pionee...
In this episode of ScamRangers, host Ayelet Biger-Levin welcomes back fraud and financial crime expert Ken Palla to discuss the evolving global response to scams. They dive into Australia’s groundbreaking Scam Prevention Framework, lessons from the UK’s Contingent Reimbursement Model and Online Safety Act, and why the U.S. lags behind in fraud prevention. Ken shares insights on the need for ecosystem-wide collaboration,...
In this episode, we explore the groundbreaking research of Prof. David Maimon, a leading expert in cybersecurity and online fraud. Prof. Maimon discusses his innovative methods for studying the cybercrime ecosystem, including embedding in fraudsters' digital environments, analyzing business email compromise scams, and uncovering the use of deepfake technology in modern fraud. Learn how his evidence-based approach bridges the gap be...
In this episode, talk to Toby Evans, Head of Economic Crime, Australian Payments Network to explore the newly introduced Australian scams prevention framework and its implications for various industries. We discuss the importance of collaborative efforts across sectors, including banking, telecommunications, and digital platforms, in addressing the growing threat of scams.
Key Themes:
- New Legislation Overview: Introduc...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Emergency Intercom is a comedy podcast by Enya Umanzor and Drew Phillips. There is no emergency, but there is an intense need for attention, so maybe listen up… You don’t want to know what happens if you don’t. (we will be violent)
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.