Fraudology Podcast with Karisse Hendrick

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick is joined by Robert Siciliano, a world-renowned security analyst, bestselling author, and the architect of the Strategic Human Firewall. While the industry often obsesses over technological solutions, Robert explores why humans—not hackers—remain the ultimate deciding factor in organizational security.
The conversation dives deep into the "Human Blind Spot"—our biological instinct to trust that often overrides digital suspicion. Robert shares his unconventional journey from the streets of Boston to becoming a leading security educator, including the time he bought a working ATM on Craigslist to prove how easily data breaches can be purchased.
We also explore the critical shift from "Security Awareness" to "Security Appreciation":
The Compliance Trap: Why traditional phishing simulations and "check-the-box" training often lead to security fatigue and victim shaming.

The Strategic Human Firewall: How to transform employees from passive targets into active detection layers by filtering intent rather than just traffic.

The Kitchen Table Effect: Why the most effective security training is personal, encouraging employees to protect their families so they naturally protect their companies.

Overcoming Fatalism: A direct look at why people resist security measures like password managers and home alarms, and how to bridge the "Appreciation Gap" through empathetic dialogue.

In this episode of Fraudology, host Karisse Hendrick is joined by a guest she has been trying to bring back to the show for years: Holly Sandberg, a veteran leader in fraud operations, Americas Advisory Board at MRC and the former Director of Trust and Safety at Reverb. As the industry grapples with the rapid rise of Generative AI, Holly and Karisse cut through the "robot takeover" anxiety to provide a grounded, expert perspective on the future of fraud leadership.
The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of AI in trust and safety, detailing why the "human element" remains the ultimate force multiplier for technical models. Holly shares why senior fraud leadership cannot be replaced by LLMs, noting that the critical "domain expertise" required to manage sophisticated fraud—and spot model drift—is not found in open-source data.
We also explore the "hot topics" dominating the fraud landscape today:
The AI Visibility Strategy: Why volunteering for AI steering committees and working cross-functionally is the best way to prove your indispensability to leadership.
Hallucinations and Data Gaps: A deep dive into the "bias toward certainty" in AI, featuring a hilarious yet cautionary example of "pizza fraud" hallucinations and the risks of depending on LLMs for math and complex policy.
Career Resilience in a Changing Market: Tactical advice on navigating layoffs, the "quiet rehiring" trend, and how to pitch your value for a promotion by focusing on what you will do, rather than just what you’ve done.

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick provides a comprehensive update on the shifting tides of the fraud industry, from international takedowns to the growing pains of AI-driven commerce. Karisse dives into the latest news and personal insights gathered from her network, cutting through the industry hype to provide practical realities for fraud and payments professionals.
The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of Agentic AI in commerce and how the major card brands are reacting to it. Karisse provides an inside look at new protection frameworks, such as American Express’s "ACE Developer Kit," and contrasts them with the current lack of "compelling evidence" provisions for AI agents at Visa and Mastercard.
We also explore the "hot topics" dominating the fraud landscape today:
The Scam Center Strike Force: A breakdown of recent DOJ actions against Southeast Asian criminal organizations, the seizure of $700 million in cryptocurrency, and the sobering reality of human trafficking victims trapped in these compounds.
The Positive Lure Phishing Scam: Why hackers are spoofing platforms like Paperless Post and Evite to bypass traditional "fear-based" training, using our desire for community to harvest credentials and install malware.
The Human Element vs. AI: Why senior fraud leadership cannot be replaced by LLMs. Karisse explains how the critical "domain expertise" and "institutional knowledge" required to manage sophisticated fraud are not found in the open-source data that powers AI.

The Fraud Job Market Crisis: A candid look at the recent wave of layoffs affecting veteran fraud fighters, the trend of "pay band reductions," and strategic advice for those navigating a saturated and increasingly centralized job market.

The Fraud Avengers Assemble: Inside the Magic of Fraud Fight Club Round 3 In this special reunion episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick is joined by Hailey Windham (Fraud Forward podcast) and Jen Lamont for an authentic, "slumber party style" debrief straight from an Airbnb in Charlotte, North Carolina. After three days at Fraud Fight Club Round 3, the trio cuts through the noise of traditional conferences to discuss why this "unconference" feels like the "Fraud Avengers" have finally assembled to collaborate, rather than just sit through slide decks.
The conversation dives deep into the emotional and technical highlights of the event, starting with a powerful keynote from Tracy Hall, a romance scam survivor whose story of a two-year, "in-real-life" relationship challenges every stereotype of fraud victimization. We explore the "last mile" of scams, including the chilling new acronyms parents need to know—like WDYLL and DYS—and why Australia’s aggressive legislative approach to social media and scam liability is setting a global benchmark.
Jen Lamont shares the stage with the legendary Marc Evans to break down a fascinating $30,000 "bust-out" fraud case involving a Las Vegas casino, 314B information sharing, and the race against a seven-day security film window. Meanwhile, Haley Windham discusses the "Outnumbered, Not Outmatched" philosophy, detailing how AI and automation are becoming "jet fuel" for lean fraud teams buried under manual reporting and dispute trends.
We also explore the "hot topics" dominating the fraud landscape today:
The Rise of Ghost Tapping: A deep dive into the new wave of contactless, tokenized fraud hitting luxury merchants and why many banks are only just now connecting the dots.
The "Unconference" Magic: Why the most significant industry breakthroughs are happening at Airbnb kitchen tables and through "Nokia phone" claps rather than on the main stage.
Cross-Industry Adoption: How the "Merchant Fraud Alliance" (MFA) is set to bring this same level of intense collaboration to the merchant and e-commerce side in Chicago this October.
The Human Connection: Why "extroverted networking" and firm handshakes are still the best tools we have to combat fraudsters who communicate better than we do.

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick welcomes back Ron Zayas, CEO of Ironwall, to discuss the terrifying ways Artificial Intelligence is industrializing fraud. While we often think of AI as a tool for automation, Zayas explains that its true danger lies in its ability to apply human-like logic to stolen data at an unprecedented scale.
The conversation dives deep into the mechanics of modern account takeovers, explaining how AI can "guess" password variations by identifying personal patterns across multiple data breaches. We also explore the hidden risks of biometric security, from the vulnerabilities of centralized facial recognition databases to the high error rates of AI models when identifying people of color.
Key topics covered in this episode include:
Fraud at Scale: How AI moves beyond simple automation to recognize patterns in your passwords and digital behavior to breach accounts across the web.
The Biometric Trap: Why storing your facial recognition or fingerprint data with a bank or organization is a permanent risk, and why local storage on your device is the only safe alternative.
Biometric Bias and Mistakes: The reality of high error rates in facial recognition for people of color and the harrowing story of a woman arrested for a crime in a state she had never visited due to an AI mismatch.
Breaking the Connection: Practical steps to remove your personal information from data brokers and why you should treat your mobile number with the same secrecy as your Social Security number.
The Metadata Threat: How a simple photo of your house or the Grand Canyon can leak your exact IP address and physical location to bad actors through hidden metadata.