{"podcast":{"title":"Easy Prey","slug":"easy-prey-456730","podcast_index_feed_id":456730,"rss_url":"https://easyprey.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"https://www.easyprey.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/a/7/b/da7b4263e01762f1d959afa2a1bf1c87/EASY_PREY_-_PODCAST_COVER-20250929-rgdpfg4wki.jpg","author":"Chris Parker","episode_count":325,"summary":"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.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/easy-prey-456730"},"episode":{"title":"Stopping Phone Scams","slug":"stopping-phone-scams","published_at":"2026-03-11T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/easy-prey-456730/stopping-phone-scams","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/easy-prey-456730","url":"https://www.easyprey.com/314","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/easyprey/EP314.mp3?dest-id=1655398","summary":"Phone scams get dismissed as background noise or just annoying interruptions and unknown numbers with robotic voices we learn to ignore. But behind that noise is an industry built on psychology, automation, and staggering profitability. My guest today is Alex Quilici. He's an engineer, entrepreneur, and the CEO of YouMail, a company focused on protecting consumers and businesses from unwanted and fraudulent calls. Alex has spent years analyzing how robocalls and scam campaigns are designed, how they evolve, and why they continue to work despite better technology and increased awareness. What began as a voicemail platform shifted into fraud prevention after users unintentionally revealed a powerful truth that even small friction can disrupt scam operations. He shares how his own father got pulled into a tech support scam which cemented his mission to move beyond blocking calls and toward tracing and stopping scams closer to their source. We talk about how scam calls are engineered, the tactics that trigger panic and urgency, and how criminals use data breaches, AI tools, and impersonation to sound convincing. We also explore what's changing, including fewer random calls, more targeted attacks, rising text and messaging scams, and the difficult balance between stopping fraud and allowing legitimate calls through. Alex shares practical ways consumers and businesses can reduce risk, along with a candid look at why this problem is so persistent and where it's likely heading next. Show Notes: [2:23] Alex explains how YouMail shifted from a voicemail company into fraud prevention after noticing users using an out-of-service message to deter robocallers. [3:25] Discussion turns to robocall volume, with Alex estimating billions of calls per day and roughly five billion robocall…","meta_description":"Phone scams get dismissed as background noise or just annoying interruptions and unknown numbers with robotic voices we learn to ignore. But behind that n…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2716,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/easy-prey-456730/episodes/stopping-phone-scams/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/easy-prey-456730/stopping-phone-scams.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}