Most of us give out the same phone number and email address without thinking twice. But when that information gets combined with everything else available online, it can reveal a surprising amount about who we are, where we live, and the people around us. And with AI making it easier to pull those details together, scammers can create attacks that feel much more personal and believable than they used to.
My guest today is Arjun Bhatnagar, the co-founder and CEO of privacy and security company Cloaked. Arjun has spent more than 20 years in technology, starting out as a programmer at a young age and later working as a CTO and leading engineering teams. His work now focuses on helping people take back more control over their personal information and digital identities.
We talk about how AI is changing scams, why reusing the same contact information can make us easier to track, and what he calls "data poisoning" or using aliases and alternative information to make that tracking more difficult. We also discuss why privacy doesn't have to be all or nothing, and some practical ways to make yourself a harder target without giving up the technology you use every day.
Show Notes:
- [01:51] Arjun Bhatnagar explains how his interest in privacy began with using fake names and unique email aliases online.
- [05:05] Privacy and data protection matter to everyone, not just celebrities, executives, or other high-profile targets.
- [07:17] AI has made scams cheaper to create, easier to personalize, and much more convincing.
- [10:10] Public attitudes toward privacy have shifted as people have become more aware of how their information is collected and used.
- [12:43] Privacy is about having control over personal information rather than trying to remain completely anonymous.
- [15:05] Data poisoning can make it harder for companies and scammers to build an accurate profile of someone.
- [18:27] Alias phone numbers, email addresses, and other identifiers can protect personal information without disrupting everyday communication.
- [21:23] Cloaked uses different types of phone numbers to reduce tracking without creating an unnecessary shortage of available numbers.
- [26:14] Reusing the same username across multiple platforms can make separate accounts easier to connect.
- [29:41] Deepfakes, voice cloning, and highly personalized phishing attacks are becoming increasingly difficult to recognize.
- [37:21] Individuals are often expected to manage cybersecurity risks that companies are better equipped to handle.
- [40:39] Keeping multiple privacy tools in one service raises security concerns and requires careful protection of user data.
- [43:43] A phone number can reveal a surprising amount of personal information through data brokers and public sources.
Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.
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