Dr. Dawn Sarno: Cyberscams and You

Dr. Dawn Sarno: Cyberscams and You

From Critically Speaking by Therese Markow

April 7, 2026 · 31 min · Season 1 · Episode 233

About this episode

Therese Markow and Dr. Dawn Sarno discuss the prevalence and detection of phishing scams, emphasizing the importance of cyber hygiene and vigilance.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Dawn Sarno, a leading expert on cyber scams, discuss the prevalence and detection of phishing scams. Dawn explains that phishing often targets older adults due to their perceived lack of tech savvy and higher financial stakes, but notes that younger adults are also vulnerable, often due to impulsivity and poor online habits. She highlights the rise of AI-generated deep fakes, which make scams more convincing and harder to detect. Dawn advises slowing down and verifying suspicious communications, emphasizing the importance of cyber hygiene practices, such as using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication. She also emphasizes the importance of vigilance and reporting scams to help prevent others from falling victim. Key Takeaways: Differences and similarities between fraud, phishing, whaling, deep fakes, scams, and spam. Older adults are often targeted by scams, but they also typically have more to lose relative to a younger adult. While factors associated with age, like loneliness and abnormal cognitive decline, may make you more vulnerable to falling for a scam, Dr. Sarno's research generally suggests that there may not be a huge…

People in this episode

Hosts: Therese Markow, Therese

Guest: Dr Dawn Sarno

Topics covered

  • cyber scams
  • phishing
  • AI-generated deep fakes
  • cyber hygiene

Keywords

  • older adults
  • younger adults
  • scam detection
  • multi-factor authentication

Mentioned in this episode

Products: strong passwords, multi-factor authentication

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