New Normal Big Life
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New Normal Big Life
Stolen Heart and Home: Avoiding the Scams (Cybersecurity Expert)
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What if feeling safer didn’t require fear, just better habits? We sit down with Security Awareness Expert, Robert Siciliano to unpack a practical path to protection that starts with mindset and ends with real-world routines you can use today. From locking your doors with intention to locking down your identity, the throughline is simple: all security is personal.
Siciliano gives you the steps to take to protect yourself in the physical and virtual worlds.
Chapters
- 0:00 Seatbelts And Security Mindset
- 8:17 Habits, Home Safety, And Denial
- 12:23 Blind Trust And Human Bias
- 15:02 Situational Awareness In Real Life
- 19:48 What-Ifs, Training, And Preparedness
- 21:45 AI Deepfakes And Crisis Scams
- 26:12 Family Code Words And Protocols
- 28:11 Building A Strategic Human Firewall
- 31:10 Security, Health, And Peace Of Mind
- 36:02 Practice Makes Protection A Habit
- 38:02 Catfishing, Loneliness, And Red Flags
- 45:40 Mortgage, Title, And Wire Fraud
- 52:32 Check Scams And Safer Payments
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DISCLAIMER: The information is not medical advice and should not be treated as such. Always consult your physician or healthcare professional before pursuing any health-related procedure or activity.
Most of us function in a state of denial that these things can't happen to us. And you know what? The likelihood of something bad happening is kind of slim, but there's a chance. And the same way that you wear a seatbelt because you know it's a smart thing to do, engaging in personal protection, whether it's protecting yourself in the physical world or protecting your identity, means just putting basic systems in place, developing good habits, and understanding situational awareness. Like when the phone rings, an email comes in, you get a text message, or you meet somebody that might mean to do you harm, that you have options and you exercise those options so that you are a tougher target.
SPEAKER_00:Hey wellness warriors, Antoinette Lee here, host of New Normal Big Life. New Normal Big Life 2025, Grit Fueled Wellness Revolution. The official companion ebook to our biggest, boldest season yet is out now and it's 100% free. This isn't some fluffy recap, it's a battle plan. Every game-changing guest quote, every pro tip and wellness warrior takeaway, plus brand new science and step-by-step action plans that turn what you heard on the podcast into real results in your body, mind, and life. Three powerhouse chapters, 41 episodes distilled, zero medical gatekeeping, all actionable grit. Claim your free copy right now in less than 20 seconds. Subscribe at nnbl.blog. When you grab the ebook, you also unlock weekly expert drops straight to your inbox in 2026. First access to new episodes, exclusive brand new behind-the-scenes warrior updates for me. 2025 proved you're done being dismissed. 2026 is your year to rise stronger, clearer, and unstoppable. Download your free copy now at nnbl.blog. If you've already subscribed, your copy is on the way to your inbox. Let's make 2026 the year medicine catches up to you. See you inside the book and on the next episode. Hi friends, welcome to the New Normal Big Life Podcast. We're bringing you natural and integrative health information and stories about nature that we hope will inspire you to get outside an adventure, along with a step-by-step plan to help you practice what you've learned, create your own new normal, and live the biggest life you can dream. I'm your host, Antoinette Lee, the Wellness Warrior. Let's get into today's topic. Hi, Robert. Welcome to New Normal Big Life.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00:So, why don't you introduce yourself to the audience, tell them what you do, and what's the one big idea you want to leave them with today?
SPEAKER_01:So I provide security awareness training. And what that means is I go, I get in front of large audiences and I educate and inform on how to avoid and remove yourself from a dangerous situation in both the physical and virtual worlds. My company is Protect Now LLC. I've been doing what I do for 30 something years, right? And the big takeaway, what it boils down to is most of us function in a state of denial that these things can't happen to us. And you know what? The likelihood of something bad happening is kind of slim, but there's a chance. And the same way that you wear a seatbelt because you know it's a smart thing to do, engaging in personal protection, whether it's protecting yourself in the physical world or protecting your identity, means just putting basic systems in place, developing good habits, and understanding situational awareness. Like when the phone rings, an email comes in, you get a text message, or you meet somebody that might mean to do you harm, that you have options and you exercise those options so that you are a tougher target.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. And I also love that you talk about making telling people to make a mindset shift to think that all security is personal. What do you mean by that? And how do we implement that in our lives?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, all security begins with you in your being, right? Your physical security. When somebody means to do you harm, personal security is about, you know, personal protection, defending yourself, you know, getting out of a dangerous situation. But it's more than that. It's like your, there's nothing more personal than your identity, right? Your social security number, your name, your address, your phone number, right? Your credit card information, your bank account. This is all personal to you, into your identity, and in into your personal protection. And when you engage in all security personally to you first, right? Knowing and understanding and recognizing risk, security on the job via your employment becomes so much more effective, so much easier. So when you look at security as being personal to you, you know, we are self-ish or self-interested creatures for good reason, actually. We begin to engage in the process of personal security much more effectively.
SPEAKER_00:Quick heads up wellness warriors. I don't let just anyone into this mic time. The only sponsors I ever bring on are products that I plan to use, personally use, swear by, and that have legitimately moved the needle on my health and my families. No fluff, no fillers, no junk. So if you're serious about leveling up your energy, sleep, recovery skin, whatever your goal is, do not bounce early. Stay to the very end of this episode. I'm dropping some of my absolute ride or die brands and exactly how they've helped me feel unstoppable. These aren't random ads, they're tools I stake my name on. You'll thank me later. Keep it locked. We're going all the way to the finish line together. Before we cover the next topic in this episode, I want to introduce you to the Adventure Sports Lifestyle. The Adventure Sports Lifestyle is essential to my good health. So here's the story. When winter sets in, especially when there's a lot of snow and it's freezing cold outside, even humans feel like hibernating, staying inside, sleeping as much as possible, maybe overeating and exercising very little. But that is the key to setting you up for inflammation, for mood disorder, like depression. And I want to encourage you to get outside and adventure in winter. One of the things that I did on January 1st, 2026 is I got together with family and friends and we went cross-country skiing in a beautiful forest. It was quiet, it was fun, we moved our bodies, we worked off food and drink from the night before. And I started the morning in considerable pain. I I almost thought that I probably shouldn't go skiing because I was having a flare-up of some symptoms that was causing leg pain. But after a short time outdoors, I didn't feel the pain. And the cold helped reduce the inflammation. And as I started moving, the pain started to dissipate. It didn't go away completely, but I felt so much better. I hope this inspires you to get outside an adventure in winter and do something good for your internal health, like maybe reducing inflammation or improving your mood and your external health, getting together with friends and being part of a community. So when people are thinking about security in online and offline, they often don't realize how much programming within their lives, the way they were raised, the way they were educated in school, the way their parents told them to listen to and trust authority. You know, I'm from the generation where stranger danger, we stranger dangered everyone, from the next door neighbor to your uncle. Like that's how my parents raised me. So uh, but that's changed. And today, I like to say a phrase this way today, people have natural responses that include fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or beg someone not to hurt you, and photograph. And so many people, when a dangerous situation happens, they think to take out their phone and record it as evidence, or they instead of helping someone who's in danger, like calling filing 911 when you see or hear someone in danger or jumping in and helping, they take out their phone and record it. How can we shift people's minds to rely more on flight, running away or getting away, moving yourself away from danger, fight preparing to defend yourself physically or virtually and not rely so much on fawning, begging someone not to help hurt you because it doesn't work most of the time, and freezing and uh photographing.
SPEAKER_01:Personal security all begins with recognizing risk. It's about understanding that bad things can and sometimes do happen, and that you have to essentially arm yourself with the ability to react and respond effectively. And that means, like, first and foremost, like, you know, where are you spending most of your time? At home. And many people don't lock their doors because they say, Well, I don't want to live like that. I don't want to lock my doors because I don't want to live in fear, which is kind of silly, actually. And then many people don't actually have a home security system. Like 80% don't have a home security system. They say, Well, because I don't want to live like that. And I say, Well, what does that actually mean? Well, you know, like bad things really aren't gonna happen to me, and they're probably gonna not you know come into my neighborhood because I live in a safe neighborhood. So it's about first and foremost recognizing that many of us function in a state of denial. And then when we function in this level of denial, that means we're basically like completely 100% dropping our guard, functioning in this state where it's not gonna happen to me, and we do nothing to protect ourselves or our families. We don't have the uncomfortable conversations that I think are necessary. Say, for example, when your daughter's going off to college, I think that she should know how to defend herself, you know, because statistically, there's like a one out of four chance that she can be assaulted. You know, that's a real thing. And so when we engage in these uncomfortable conversations, when when we recognize that all security is personal, when we understand that these things can happen to us, and like putting a seatbelt on, it's just like getting control, right? Then I think that is the beginning of the journey to locking your doors, installing that home security system. And when it comes to virtual, installing something called a password manager, you know, engaging in something called a credit freeze and so forth. Like all of these tips and tricks and tools and strategies are about shifting our belief systems from it can't happen to me to security is about being paranoid and fear and worry, to it's about control. It's about managing risk, it's about uncomfortable conversations with my family so that they are protected, so they they know what to do so that they have options.
SPEAKER_00:It's also about preparedness, preparing yourself for what could happen, just like we should be preparing for natural disasters. We should prepare for the fact that we could become the target of a criminal. Can you tell us a little bit about what you mean when you talk about human blind spots? What are those?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So as it as an interdependent species, which is what humans are, what does that actually mean? It means that when we are born, uh, we require our mother and father or whoever to, you know, uh uh uh for survival. You know, we we require others for our survival. And as we grow and as we you know social socialize in society, we require others to procreate. Like we would cease to function without each other, like the species would essentially dissipate, right? If we if we weren't what we are considered is an interdependent species. That said, the fundamentals of being interdependent means that by default, we need to trust each other. That is a requirement. So it is more natural and more normal to trust each other, to give the benefit of the doubt all day, every day. Pretty much every time you meet somebody and the phone rings and you get an email or a text message, we give the benefit of the doubt pretty much all the time. Not trusting others is not natural. It's not normal. It doesn't come easy to us because we want to and need to trust each other. And that blind spot is that we blindly trust each other. So when that phone rings, when that email comes in, when you meet that person online and you begin to spend time with them virtually and maybe even meet them in person and don't really know them, you don't quite really know what you're getting yourself into. But we want to and need to give the benefit of the doubt. So that blind spot is what prevents us from seeing risk or understanding risk. And I think that when you engage in the process of risk management and personal protection and understand that all security is personal and begin to do these different things, you begin to see the world around you a little bit differently. Situational awareness becomes a habit. Understanding and recognizing risk becomes a bit more natural to you because now you're like engaged in the process of, you know, reducing risk, managing risk. And you begin to see the world just a little bit differently, not to the point where you worry, where you live in fear, but to the point where you're like, you're like, you know what, I got this. This is good. I understand this. I want this, I need this. Like, I gotta tell my kids about this. My spouse should do this. Like, we need to talk about this more because it's important and it matters.
SPEAKER_00:When I talk with people, most people don't know or understand what situational awareness is. And I'm shocked by that because for me, it feels innate to just be aware of my surroundings. Maybe it's because I'm an outdoors woman or because I was born in a city and not in a rural location. But can you tell people examples of what situational awareness would look like, both in person and digitally as they're going about their lives? What are some examples they might relate to?
SPEAKER_01:So I'm gonna get a little metaphysical on you here. Okay. Situational awareness is about living consciously, right? Living consciously is consciously being aware of yourself and others, of your surroundings, of your situation. Awareness is about understanding and recognizing everything going on 50 to 100 feet around the perimeter of your body at all times. It means knowing when something behind you or something to the right or the left or in front of you might seem place or a little bit of a red flag, when something jumps out or something doesn't seem right. It's about reacting and responding effectively. It's not what's happening to you, it's what you do about it, right? It's about being consciously aware at all times of what your options are. Most people are kind of like this all day long. You know, they're in there, they're buried in their phone, they're not paying much attention to what's going on, they're walking into stuff, they're not seeing what's going on around their perimeter of their body at all. I think that what happens there, you you don't just you don't just reduce the your reaction time should something bad happens. I think you're also I think you're also missing out on a lot of what good life has to offer. You know, by being aware of your environment, you see more of the bad, but you also see more of the good. And and that's that's the goal of of understanding situational awareness is like just to see so much more of what's going on around you. And many of us, we have this up until like a certain age. Like if you've had kids, you know, like when the kids are in the back cup of the back seat of the car and they're looking out the window, they're asking you a thousand questions because they're so curious. But over time, we that kind of goes away. We kind of stop doing that. We kind of stop being curious, we kind of start paying attention, you know. But if you were to be, say, you know, you you if you were to fly into LaGuardia right now and then, you know, take a car into New York City, it'd be like, bam, what's going on here? Like your situation awareness would be up. You're in the downtown Manhattan. What is happening right now? You know, to the point where it's like it's a bit overwhelming, which is actually not a bad thing. But we become very complacent with the awareness in our everyday environments. We can and we kind of like put ourselves at a certain amount of risk as a result. So I say, get curious, get aware, pay attention to your surroundings. You'll see more of the good that life has to offer. And for your safety and security, you also see more of the bad.
SPEAKER_00:Just for our practical application, listeners, when I practice, well, I live situationally aware, especially since I live in a cabin in the woods, away from lots of people, and very up close and personal with wildlife. And I'm and I'm not at the higher end of the food chain most of the time.
SPEAKER_01:So bears, coyotes, and wolves, predators.
SPEAKER_00:Exactly. And I've developed, I think, my situational awareness be because of the hobbies, because I was born in a city, and because I've been in the military. And when I practice situational awareness, and this is how it could look for you at home listeners, is that you engage all of your senses. You're hearing, you're seeing, you're smelling changes. And I'll give you an example of how I use this, and I think it protected me from possibly a kidnapping or carjacking. I was leaving the gym one day in New York City, and it turns out it was a friend who was walking up on me, but I didn't know it, and it was dark, it was nighttime, and I heard a little sound behind me. I didn't see anything when I glanced over my shoulder. I took a defensive posture, and then I confirmed what I thought I heard because I could smell someone's cologne and it smelled close, right? So when I turned around and let's just say I used um some hand-to-hand combat moves and and laid him out on the ground, he was like, Hey, it's great, you know, I was just coming to say hello and to help walk you to your car for safety, but I guess you don't need my help. So I engaged all of my senses. And if he were a bad actor, maybe it would have saved my life. And then later on, because I trained for what would happen if someone tried to grab me as I was getting into my car, I mentally trained for that possibility. The day that someone did try to grab me when I was getting into my car, I was able to fight him off.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's called what ifs and visualizations. You what if various scenarios and you visualize them actually happening. And when they did, or when they do, your your mind and body are much more prepared for it.
SPEAKER_00:Right. So you've been on lots of shows, CNN today, and you've been a private investigator. What would you consider as some of the most, I don't know. Surprising or alarming evolutions in crime that people need to be aware of.
SPEAKER_01:So AI has really flipped fraud on its head. I've been saying for 30 years, when I when I'm done with the presentation in front of a big audience, one of the last things I always say is listen, don't worry about any of this, but just do something about it. Just put these systems in place and you'll be good. Now I'm a bit worried. I'm a bit worried because AI has created a scenario where we cannot tell the difference between a real voice and a cloned voice. And we literally cannot. Like we humans do not have the capacity to tell real versus fake when it comes to a cloned voice. It's it's perfect. There's no differentiation whatsoever. And then when it comes to a cloned face, whether it's a photo or a video, while right now, if you're paying close attention, you can see a few things. You can see some differences in facial expressions and eye contact and the way the mouth moves versus what the cheeks and the eyes are doing simultaneously. But the technology to create face overlay and it be perfect is there. We're there. It's just not consumable. The bad guys have good enough technology that they're basically posing as whoever, a loved one, somebody who's in your life that you trust, and they're sending videos or doing actual live chats, whether it's with just audio or audio and video. And most of the time we can't tell the difference. And when it comes to, say, your grandchild being at risk or your son or daughter being kidnapped, which are common scams that are happening right now. When somebody gets on a video call, they get on a phone call, or they get on a live feed, they're freaked out because they really truly do believe that their loved one is at risk because they don't know that it's a it's artificial intelligence and a human on the other end orchestrating it. And it's not just like various scams that involve, you know, like kidnapping or or or wiring money. It's like it's big dollar crypto scams that equate to six and seven figures. And I've seen, I've met like face to face people that have lost like$600,000 in scams like that, where they got a wrong number text message. And next thing you know, three or four months later, they've invested like all their life savings. And before you know it, like the scammers just disappear and they've lost everything in their mid-70s. And now they're on as awful it is to say, like suicide watch, and they're going bankrupt. And like that's what happens. That's where we're at. In in and I've been doing what I do for all of my adult life, and I've never seen such high dollar amounts being stolen in the frequency of that happening. You know, Bernie Madoff did a big thing back in the day with the Ponzi schemes, and he had victims like Steven Spielberg and others. That's child's play compared to what's happening right now. That's what has me worried. That's what that is what is here and now in the future of that is going to be worse because we're just not prepared for it.
SPEAKER_00:One of the ways that I am protecting myself and the closest people to me, my closest friends and family, the people that if someone were going to try and pretend that they were holding me ransom unless my loved one pays a certain amount of money, I've already given them cues for when it's not real. So I have habits and behaviors that only people who know me best will know that it's not real because the deep fakes, the AI-generated audio and video is so good. So good. What things can people do in their lives to help protect them from crisis scams?
SPEAKER_01:Both personally and professionally, there should be dialogue between you and your family, between you and your coworkers and your employees, that these things happen, they're real, and we need to know what to do if and when you know some type of crisis, urgency, tragedy occurs that requires immediate reactions, or if there's money being transferred, as simple as that, is money being transferred. So, for example, the one one of the executives in the Ferrari Motor Corporation, right, got a WhatsApp call. I actually got a WhatsApp text, which led to a call of the CEO speaking to the CEO about money that was being transferred regarding a merger. And the voice was perfect. The company officer heard the voice, he's like, This sounds like my colleague, like my boss, but the requests that are being made, he just wasn't familiar with this particular merger that was happening. And it's somebody that it's something that he should have known about. So, so like something that kind of flipped a switch, and he said to the person on the other end of the line that sounded like the CEO, hey, I just got a quick question. You know, we had dinner the other night. You recall that, right? And the guy's like, Yeah, that that what was that book that you recommended to everybody? And when he asked that question, the caller hung up. So the executive used basic common sense, you know, something didn't feel right, something didn't seem right, you know, stuff wasn't matching up. And then the question, the qualifying question, the knowledge-based authentication question what was that book you recommended? That was the end of the call. So having a code word of sorts between you and loved ones, between you and coworkers, I think is a great first step. Just listening to this podcast, watching this video, having this conversation, sharing this information, talking to other people about it, that by itself will stop it in the future. We just need to be aware of these things, and being forewarned is forearmed.
SPEAKER_00:You pioneered something that I love so much because I'm a tech nerd, is and it's called the strategic human firewall. What is that and how can someone implement this in their lives?
SPEAKER_01:You know, we we talk about firewalls, which are like software technology based that are designed to put up like this wall between your device and your data and the outside world, right? All the hackers that are scanning the internet looking for vulnerabilities in your network. Okay. And while that's necessary and it's important, the human firewall is your ability to understand and recognize risk in such a way where you don't worry about these things, you just do something about it. That you know that security is no different than putting on a seatbelt. It's about getting control. It's not about worry, it's not about fear, and we don't function in a state of it can't happen to me. We recognize that, you know what, it can happen. It's unlikely that it's gonna happen. But if it did, these are all the different things that I'm gonna do. It means that we understand that trust is a bit overrated. It means that we understand what security awareness is. And security awareness is basically like like I provide security awareness training. And what that is, is it's basically like, okay, these are all the different risks: identity theft, computer hacking, home invasions, cars being broken into, your identity being stolen, all that stuff, right? And so identity theft protection, credit freezes, locking your doors, home security systems, locking up your car, all that stuff are all the solutions, right? Okay, that's security awareness. That's in your head. It's intellectually, you understand all this stuff. Security appreciation, which is where the human firewall lies, is while I understand all these things, I understand all these risks, I understand all these solutions. And it means something and it matters to me, and I'm gonna do something about it because it's important to me. And I'm gonna teach it to those in my life, and I'm gonna expand on this information and I'm gonna talk about it because it means something and it matters, and everybody needs around me needs to understand it as well. And once you incorporate security appreciation, security means something on a deeper level, and that's how we become the strategic human firewall.
SPEAKER_00:Well, now that people have an emotional connection and they've derived some meaning when you talk about personal security, the next thing we wanted to do is to empower them that they have it within them to do something about it. And even if you're a grandma walking with a cane, you can be a smart consumer, you can be a little more guarded in how much information you give out and not telling your entire life story that I live alone since my husband passed away, you know, that tells a stranger that you could be very vulnerable, right? Yeah, yeah. So you talk about this feedback loop and and the connection between personal security and and health. What is that and what can we do about it?
SPEAKER_01:So if you've ever, you know, studied like sociology, psychology 101, somewhere along the lines you might have heard of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, right? And at the hierarchy of human needs, like at the base of that triangle, are our physiological needs, basically like survival, consuming fluids, eating food, getting a good night's rest. Like you need, we need to sleep, to eat, to drink. Those are our physiological needs, right? And right above that is our safety and security needs, right? Safety, stability, structure. Without that, we can't possibly achieve like love and belongingness needs, self-actualization needs, and all that stuff, right? So when when we understand like the absolute basics, when when we engage in safety, security, stability, structure, and protection at a level where we make that a part of our thought process. It's not just something that we take for granted, it's something that we we work on achieving. Like they say, you know, security never sleeps. Security is 247-365. It's it's it's security is not necessarily a destination. It's it's a journey. It's it's it's it's an ongoing process. When we look at security the same way we look at our physiological needs, like I I I maintain my security as much as I maintain my physical well-being, my physical health, like my mental health, my physical health. You know, like I it's all part of the same puzzle, you know. Like I wake up every day and I have a routine. And that routine involves, you know, drinking a certain amount of fluids every day, eating certain clean foods every day, hugging my wife, hugging my kids, you know, paying attention to my dog, making sure that I'm consuming good information from my mind, that I'm not consuming negative, upsetting information, that I'm engaging in processes on a regular basis that make me a whole, healthy, happy, balanced person. And that is food and fluids and sleep and security and happy things and perspective and balance, and it's all part of the same thing. You know, it's not you can't have one effectively without the other.
SPEAKER_00:So the bottom line for the listener is your personal security, your digital security is as important to you as food, water, shelter, belonging.
SPEAKER_01:That's how I treat it. And I don't worry about any of this stuff. I sleep pretty good, like seven and a half hours every night without fail. Like nothing in my life is like topsy turvy, upside down worry. And I have, and then hear this I have 22 security cameras. Now, when I tell people that, they're like, Well, that's a bit excessive. I go, well, yeah, but they're kind of fun. And and then and and and I say, Well, what do you think about it? Somebody who has 22 security cameras, they go, Oh, you must be paranoid. And here's the deal with that. See, in our culture, in our society, that's what we think of. When we think of somebody who engages in security, oh, he must worry, she must worry. They live in fear, they're always looking over their shoulder, they must be paranoid. And if you if if a person understands anything about what paranoia actually is, and I do, I have a first cousin who is effectively diagnosed as paranoid. It's it's unsettling for her, for for for us. I mean, she's dis-eased in the mind. The poor kid, like her life is just a constant state of overwhelm. And she truly does believe that others are out to get her. She truly does believe that the government is tapping her phone. She truly is at odds with reality. And that's not what security is. Security is not about paranoia, it's about risk management. But we as a culture associate the two pretty tightly. And that dichotomy is ultimately what prevents us from actually engaging in the process of security because we don't, nobody wants to be paranoid, you know? And that's kind of what I'm up against, is unraveling that and challenging people's belief systems.
SPEAKER_00:So imagine this, listeners, if you minimize your security blind spots, if you implement what you've learned here today from Robert six months from now, instead of having moments of deep worry about your safety online and offline and the safety of the people you love, when you have your security systems in place, when you've practiced and trained what you would do in various situations, then you don't really think about it. You're just living your life and everything is set up for you. So by having a security plan and implementing it, then you really don't have to think about it. And when something happens, you're just already a habit because you've practiced it in the physical world, you've practiced it mentally, and it becomes second nature. Yeah, that's it.
SPEAKER_01:It's great. I've been having this conversation with my girls. I got two girls there, they're right now, they're 17 and 20. I've been having this conversation with my girls since they were like five, you know. So when they go out in the world, they're a bit more prepared than others. They're often bringing things to my attention that is like I find to be like I'm doing my job as a parent. I'm doing my job in such a way where like they're bringing stuff to my attention that they see, that they understand, that I don't know that other kids their age might see or understand, or other adults might see or understand because they're they're paying attention, they're aware, they're being proactive, they're in tune, they're in touch, they're situationally conscious of their environment at all times. And and I think that as a result, like the dialogue that we have, there's a lot more insight, introspective, detail, like because they're conscious, they're living consciously, you know, and and that that is is is is is is part of you know personal protection. And it's a it's a and I think it's ultimately like a better way to absorb what it means to be human and ultimately like to get so much more out of life.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I did some research to come up with a few of the sort of common security concerns of our generation. Well, I guess of this era of the 21st century. And I'd like to run a couple of a few of them by you to see what advice you might have for listeners in terms of how they can prepare themselves or protect themselves in various situations.
SPEAKER_01:So now that we've got everybody drinking the Kool-Aid, right? Now let's talk about this is what you do, this is how you react, this is how you respond, this is the systems you put in place. So fire fire away, uh, and I'm I'm ready to go.
SPEAKER_00:Sounds great. So catfishing is one of the biggest challenges I think that's facing anyone. Well, really, I I've heard that people in their middle ages fall victim to romance scams and catfishing, also. I think anyone could be prey to this kind of uh problem. What can you do to prevent yourself from falling prey to someone who's catfishing you?
SPEAKER_01:Understand first and foremost that 25% of all of us right now, as we speak, experience loneliness on a regular basis. Loneliness is 25% of all of us default when we get out of bed. And that's perfectly natural and it's perfectly normal. It's no different, they they call it the pain and the ache of loneliness. And we have that pain and ache because without it, as a species, we would not make an effort to be with anybody else. We we we need to have that pain and ache to so so that we gravitate towards each other, right? It's no different than hunger pains. It's the same exact thing as hunger pains. If you have hunger pains, what do you do? You seek out food, right? It draws you towards food, right? If we didn't have hunger pains, then then we wouldn't eat ever. Like there'd be no reason to eat. If we if we never, ever, ever had hunger pains, we would not eat. That's what like Ozympic does. You take Ozympic, it turns off a switch, you're not hungry, you lose weight. It's the same thing. So what scammers, they act like Ozympic, okay, for loneliness. And what they do is they seek people out on dating sites, they just send you a wrong number text message, they send you an email. And once you engage, right, now six to eight times a day, you might be communicating with this person, more or less. And over time, what happens is this dialogue you're having with this person, this, this, this regular, like, good morning, dear, how are you? What are you doing today? Pictures of you know them and pictures of what they're eating for dinner and and activities that they're engaging in throughout the day, and and all that back and forth is designed to build rapport and ultimately to build trust. And so, what happens to that loneliness after one to two weeks? It dissipates, it's now gone. And now you begin to feel as if this person is your person. And now that that loneliness is gone, now you begin to trust that person ever so much more. And now the blinders begin. This is when, this is when you begin to trust at levels that begin to get you into trouble. And so when you understand what's happening to you, meaning that like you're you're you're engaged in a relationship with somebody virtually in most cases, and you're feeling really, really comfortable and your trust levels are up and your loneliness is dissipated, that's exactly when stuff starts to happen that might be a little odd in normal circumstances. Like that person. Says, oh, I got in a car accident today and I went to the hospital and they wouldn't take my insurance card and they they want me to pay this bill, and the bill's$5,000. Can you loan me that money and I'll pay you next week when my insurance card is activated and I get reimbursed? And you're like, okay, yeah, sure, whatever. Like, I, you know, anything that you need, like you start to engage in scenarios that don't make a lot of sense, but you're doing it because you trust this person. You really need to first and foremost step back and understand what loneliness does to people. And then from there, understand that the moment that there's any type of request for money, even if it makes personal perfect sense, yeah, it's a scam. You know, I work with banks and credit unions all the time. And they and they tell me, like, there isn't a week that goes by where a client of the bank or credit union doesn't come in and wires several thousands of dollars to somebody who they think they're in a relationship with. And the bank employees intervene and say, look, can you explain like where this money is going and who it's going? Oh, this is this is a woman that I'm in a relationship. This is a man who, you know, he's my boyfriend. Well, how do you know him? Oh, I met him on, you know, on an online on a dating site, or well, but have you ever met him? No, I haven't met him, but we talk all the time. We tax, we've even met on video. Oh, okay, but but how long has it been? Well, I've been, you know, with this person for like six months now, but you haven't actually been, you haven't actually met them, met them. No, I haven't, but so so do you think this might be a scam? Oh no, it's not a scam, it's real, it's real. And and they keep every single month or every single week paying the money. Why do they pay the money? Because the loneliness is gone, and it feels better to not be lonely and not have the money. They don't care.
SPEAKER_00:And what's so heartbreaking is a simple search, like dropping whatever photos that person sent to you into Google Image and looking to see if those photos match somebody else's different name and social media profile, and reverse checking their phone number. There are there are like simple things that you can do to be a good detective on your own when you meet someone online before you develop a relationship with this person.
SPEAKER_01:None of this is complicated. There is right now, and this is important that we flesh this out really quick. Like, my dad's a baby boomer. He's 78 years old, okay? There is, most people don't know this. There's a there's 124 trillion dollar transfer of wealth that's occurring right now. It's the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of the planet, okay? 124 trillion dollars of wealth, which is basically the baby boomers in the greatest generation, transferring their assets to my generation, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials, and so forth. So basically, like my dad is an example, 78 years old, when he perishes, because it's gonna happen, his home, which is 20 minutes north of Boston, is worth like a million and a half dollars because it's 20 minutes north of Boston, you know, and it's paid for because he worked for 45 years with compounded interest and his pension and his annuity and his investments. He paid off his mortgage, which is what you're supposed to do after 30 years. Okay. And his generation understood and understands that, and they have a ton of money. That money is the target for all these catfishers. So that$124 trillion of wealth is right now in the possession of the most trusting generation left on the planet, the most moneyed, right? The least technically savvy, and cognitively declining. I mean, that's you know, I'm 57 and I'm cognitively declining. We are, you know, and so but that is the target for all the for all that for all these scammers. Just understanding that alone should make you sit up and be aware that when that message comes in via that dating service or whatever, like what's really happening here? Am I being targeted? And chances are, yeah. Not to say that there's anything wrong with you, but it's like you're just, you know, naturally a target of these scammers because you're in the market. When we get these wrong number text messages, hey Robert, you know, are we having lunch tomorrow? And you're like, they know my name. Who's this? I'm sorry. Are we supposed to have lunch? Or would I miss something? The moment you respond to that wrong number text message, you're already going down the rabbit hole because you don't already know that that's a total, absolute scam. And that's when the dialogue begins. And I know this because I respond to all those text messages, and I've engaged in those scammers, and they're really good at what they do. And they've you they use all kinds of AI to entice you, photos, videos, you name it. And it's all designed to gain your trust so that eventually you're you'll part with your money.
SPEAKER_00:The next thing that's on a lot of people's mind, and the greatest generation and the baby boomers are really really anyone who has a mortgage can fall victim to this crime, and that is mortgage theft. Someone refinancing your home out from under you or taking out a loan that's guaranteed by your home. How does this crime work? And how can people prevent it from happening? And are these companies that say they can protect your mortgage from theft, are they can they really help you?
SPEAKER_01:There's a few things going on there. Okay, so number one, being refinanced. So being refinanced means like, you know, literally, like they're refinancing your mortgage. That's easy enough to do as long as they have your social security number. If they have your social security number, then they can begin the process as if, you know, it's their house. They just go through the exact same process that you would go through. They work with the broker and they just, you know, provide all the various paperwork, whether it's deeds or titles, anything that they need, tax returns, and they can get all of that from a hacked computer. As long as you have what's called a credit freeze, and a credit freeze is a tool that's free, that's available through the three major credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. If you search Credit Freeze Transunion, Credit Freeze Equifax, Credit Freeze Experian, you'll find the page on each of those sites to freeze your credit. And once your credit's frozen, opening up a new credit card under your name, getting a line of credit under your name, buying a boat under your name that's financed, refinancing your home, none of those things are possible if your credit's frozen because all of those processes, all of those forms of credit require a credit check. And with a credit freeze, your credit's frozen. It's locked down. The lender can't see your scores, therefore, that refinance is going to be declined. So if you want to prevent your home from being refinanced under your name, basically your identity being stolen to begin with, you want to get yourself a credit freeze. All right. And then home title theft. Home title theft is a problem more or less in certain states, depending on how they process or handle titles and deeds. All right. So there are services that you can subscribe to for 20, 30 bucks a month that essentially they're monitoring that data. When your title or deed is manipulated, they're monitoring that information. They have access to the registry of deeds in many of the states. And it's kind of like identity theft protection, where they're monitoring your credit. These home title services that monitor your title activity, they just they have their like, you know, their hands and all the various registries of deeds, and they'll let you know about it. Okay. And on top of that, they you might provide them a certain power of attorney where they can work in your behalf to mitigate whatever home title theft might occur. So for that fee, you're getting basically like a subscription to monitor your home title along with power of attorney to mitigate it should it happen. Do you need it? Well, I don't know that you need it. I think it's a good thing to have if you have the income and you have the money to spend. But you can also, like, what county do you live in? Just give us an example.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I don't give out that information.
SPEAKER_01:Great. I live in Suffolk County, which is fine. I don't care. And if I was to do a search on Suffolk County title search, or Suffolk County Title Protect, or Suffolk County Search Title, anything like that, the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds would pop up. And immediately you'd see the opportunity to register my home, my address, my name, my everything with the registry of deeds to get constant alerts in regards to what's occurring. And right there and then I would know in the future if there's any manipulation of my own title. That's a good thing. That's what you want. Okay. So once you have that in place, now anytime anybody's manipulating a title, you now know about it. As far as the power of attorney goes, I have an attorney. So I'm I don't know if I necessarily need that aspect of the service. All that being said, you want to have some type of a search going where, in this case, it's free, where you can have be tapped into any activity regarding a title. The other thing in regards to mortgages to is to be aware of is that it's said that, like on average, Americans buy about five homes in the course of our lifetimes. Okay. And the process of closing on a mortgage kind of changes dramatically every like 10 or 15 years. So if you closed on your last mortgage, say 20 years ago, and you close on a mortgage next week, it's a pretty different process. Things just look differently. I mean, certain infrastructure is there, but overall, like virtually signing documents is very different. Like there's a bunch of things. That said, what bad guys do today is they get access to your email, or they get access to your real estate agent's email, or they got access to the title company's email that's you know part of that process, or the attorney's email. And once the bad guys are inside the email communication, they see your closing in a couple of weeks. The next thing they're gonna do, posing as your real estate agent or the title company or the escrow company, is they're gonna send you an email that looks like it's coming from your real estate agent. And if your real estate agent her email is actually breached, they might actually send an email from her email address. And they say, and in that email, they say, hey, in anticipation of closing next week, here are instructions for wiring your funds. And they actually send a document that's connected to a bank account that the criminal controls. And ultimately, you fill out that wiring instructions and you execute the wiring of funds out of your bank account. You're not getting that money back. So it's important to have conversations with your real estate agent, with the title company, with your attorney. Why mortgage closing wire fraud is a real thing? And to make sure that everybody in the process of your purchase of this property, that they all have two-factor authentication, they've changed up their passcodes for their email, that you never wire money based on an email, that you want to get in touch with all the various providers and say, hey, I just got these instructions. Is this legit? And make sure that you're calling a trusted phone number or meeting them in person, printing out your documents, like it's a big deal. I've seen people lose six and seven figures on such scams.
SPEAKER_00:And the last one is the fraudulent check. And this happens quite a bit in real estate, for example, or in a bank saying there's been a class action lawsuit, and you've been a customer during this time period, and we're giving you this money because it's part of the class action lawsuit, or you just recently close and there's some money back on your title search, and so you get a check that looks very real. And that this one actually happened to me, but I looked at the check with discernment and saw three things that were completely wrong. So I never cashed the check. I didn't even have to call my the title search company or my realtor or the broker because I could spot it for myself on the check. What are some of the things that people can do when they get a check in the mail that they were not expecting to know if it's a real check? And what is the danger if they go ahead and cash that check?
SPEAKER_01:I got a bunch of these checks because I react and respond to all that stuff. I collect them. But of course, I never deposit them. And I, you know, I just, I just, you know, kind of scam bait the scammer, right? So you get a check in the mail. The idea is that, you know, you miss that they're gonna tell you either A, they sent you too much money, or B, you mistakenly got the check, or whatever the case is. In the end, were you really expecting that check? 100% of the time, probably no. So just throw it away. When you get it, when you're engaged in, let's say, like a like a like a Facebook marketplace sale or a click, a Craigslist sale, and there's some type of a check that's being sent to you as a result of this transaction. They might say, we're gonna send you additional money for the movers and want you to pay the movers, whatever the case might be. All that nonsense. Just know that once you deposit that check, it's just a matter of time until that check bounces. And as far as like telling if the check is real or fake, I'm pretty sure the majority of the checks that I've received that I have in my possession are actual real checks. Like there's nothing about them that is makes it a fake check. To actually get and have checks printed up is pretty easy to do. You can have real checks printed up, like anybody can buy checks, you can void a check and just send it in and get real checks in the mail. That's that's like a no-brainer. So telling the difference between real or fake check, I don't I don't know that that's even a direction that you we need to go. Just know that like the process of getting a check and depositing the check and making payments based on that money that you deposited and so on, that that advanced fee type scam is still really works because there's still millions of people that are writing checks all the time. Think, you know, baby boomers and such. And you know, we just become so used to that form of commerce that we don't think much about it. When it boils down to it, just don't. You know, just don't engage in somebody sending you a check for payment for something that you're buying online or or the or you're selling online or anything like that. Like just be cognizant that that advanced fee check scam works and don't be depositing those checks, just insist on cash payments or insist on somebody, you know, sending you that money via Venmo or PayPal. And don't ever Venmo or PayPal or Zell anyone that you don't absolutely know who that person is personally. Because you have to treat those services like they're cash. And once you send that money, you're not getting it back.
SPEAKER_00:Well, this has been so insightful. Tell us about how individuals and corporations can work with you.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, cool. Yeah. So find me online at protectnowlc.com. Protectnowlc.com is our base. It's where I operate. And uh also just Google me, Robert Siciliano. If you you you search Robert Siciliano, I pretty much own the first three pages of search. And uh, I'm on all the socials and I'm easy to find. Robert Siciliano or ProtectNowLLC.com.
SPEAKER_00:Well, we will put all of your URLs and social media links in the show description. And thank you so much. This has been such a great discussion.
SPEAKER_01:This was a lot of fun. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00:All right, wellness warriors. This is Antoinette Lee, your ride or die host, signing off for now, but I'm not letting you disappear on me. Every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Central, I'm pouring virtual coffee in the cabin on X Spaces, formerly Twitter, and I'm saving a seat just for you. We laugh, we argue, we unpack the latest episode, and we tackle whatever fire is burning in your world right now. No gatekeeping, no fake niceness, just real talk with real people wanting to connect and who are done being dismissed by the sick care system. Join us at 10 a.m. Central, 8 Pacific, 9 Mountain, 11 Eastern. The Xpace link drops every Tuesday, so turn on notifications for NNBL blog right now so you never miss it. Raise your hand to jump on the mic, listen in the shadows, or just sip coffee with us. Every single option is welcome. I can't wait to hear your voice in the cabin. See you Wednesday wellness warriors. Don't keep me waiting. Magnesium, an unsung hero, fuels over 300 bodily reactions from heart health to stress relief. Magnesium expert Natalie Girado, founder of Rooted In, found freedom from anxiety, insomnia, and pain through topical magnesium. It transformed my life, she says, inspiring her mission to share this mineral's power. Cardiologist Dr. Jack Wolfson calls magnesium essential for heart health, helping regulate rhythms, blood sugar, and reduce inflammation. Up to 80% of people may be deficient facing issues like depression, migraines, insomnia, or muscle cramps. For women over 40, magnesium eases menopause symptoms, boosts energy, and supports bones. Choosing the correct type of magnesium matters. Real stories, Natalie's in mind, highlight its impact. After interviewing magnesium expert Natalie Girado, I became a customer. I was already a magnesium fan, having been told by two cardiologists to take magnesium for a minor heart arrhythmia. Natalie explains it best in the Magnesium, the Mineral Transforming Lives episode of New Normal Big Life Podcast. Fast forward after the interview, I bought the Rooted Inn bundle for sleep, tranquility, and pain relief. As a spine injury survivor with several other health challenges, I'm in constant pain. However, I don't take any pain medication. Rooted in is now one more source that nature provided to give our bodies what it needs when it needs it. You can find magnesium in natural bodies of water like lakes and rivers and in soil. But modern farming practices have stripped magnesium out of the soil and our food. That's why today, Rooted Inn's rest, relief, and tranquility are part of our afternoon and nightly sleep routine. My guy who did two tours kicking indoors in Iraq with the Marines now has no trouble falling asleep. I no longer have to take melatonin before bedtime to fall asleep. So after I became a customer and saw how well these products work, I applied to become an affiliate. I've been sharing the secrets of rooted in. Friends and family from age 38 to 68, and everyone has gotten amazing results within minutes of applying the cream. Do something naturally good for yourself. Get rooted in. Click my affiliate link in the episode description to shop now. When you're planning an adventure camping, rafting, AVI, or mountaineering, you'll need quality food with sufficient vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to fuel your adventure. My partner Ready Hour is here to help you ahead of time. Ready Hour has a long history of providing calorie-rich, reliable, and delicious nourishment for life's unexpected situations and adventures. They're part of a family of companies that have served millions of people like you for decades. My family and I use Ready Hour products for camping, mountaineering, and disaster preparedness for five years now. They're not just reliable, they're also your affordable option too. Long-term storable food shouldn't break the bank. That's why they have great sales and payment options for you. It's your bridge to safety and survival when you're on an adventure. So make your next decision your smartest decision. Be ready for adventure tomorrow today. Trust ReadyHour. Ready to shop? Use my affiliate link in the show description. The information in this podcast is not medical advice and should not be treated as such.
SPEAKER_01:Always consult your physician or healthcare professional before pursuing any health related procedure or activity.
