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Perry Carpenter | N2K Networks

8th Layer Insights

Hey folks! It's been a few weeks, but now the gift is here. :) It's the 7th installment of the "Cognitive Heists" series. This one is titled, "The Trojan Gift." 🎁 

Not all traps look like traps. Some arrive with a bow on top.

The Trojan Horse is the oldest example. But today, the gift often looks like a free service. No charge, no strings… except the ones you don’t see.

Because the real price isn’t money. It’s privacy.

-- It’s data.

 -- It’s you.

In this issue of Cognitive Heists, we explore:

 🔹 How “free” has always been one of the most effective disguises in the con artist’s playbook

 🔹 Folklore warnings about cursed gifts that crumble into ash

 🔹 Why reciprocity, curiosity, and flattery make us drag danger through our own gates

 🔹 And how modern Trojan Gifts hide in inboxes, QR codes, cloud apps, and “free” platforms

The cost of convenience is rarely written on the tag.

Enjoy!

Next up: The Double Agent—where the betrayal sits across the table, smiling like a friend.

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Cognitive Heists series #7: The Trojan Gift

Some cons don’t succeed because of the smooth-talking seller. Instead, they succeed because of the crowd.

Enter The Shill -- a hidden accomplice pretending to be just another customer, audience member, or lucky passerby. They're in the crowd, acting as a 'normal' audience member... all with the goal of bringing validation to the con-artist's claims. 

They clap first, they nod enthusiastically. They “buy” the tonic. They shout “this stuff really works!”

And we believe them… because we think they’re one of us. That’s the power of the shill: weaponized trust and manufactured consensus.

Next time: The Trojan Gift - when the real danger is hidden inside the prize.

===== In other news: =====

The FAIK Files: It's a Personality Problem: 

 Audio version: https://pod.link/1771521321/episode/ZWVmYWYxMDgtZGU4ZC0xMWVmLWIwNGQtMmY0YjJkNzQ3YzEx

 YouTube version: https://youtu.be/RNw1T4CSIU8?si=99tQN5tcPwIaAlV6

Interesting Thing of the Week:

 The Washington Post has a great article titled, "Making cash off ‘AI slop’: The surreal video business taking over the web." The article covers the -- as the title states -- AI Slop: the internet's latest hustle. 

Get the book, FAIK!

 Just a quick reminder that I've got a great book out that's all about deepfakes, disinformation, and deception. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already: https://ThisBookIsFAIK.com.

P.P.S -- Did you know that we have an text version of this newsletter? Check it out on LinkedIn or my Website. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cognitive Heist series #6: The Shill

Welcome to Deceptive Minds - An audio newsletter about how we are fooled, how we fool ourselves, and what we can do about it. 

This one is all about "The Long Con."

When the lie moves in next door.

Not every con kicks down the door. Some knock politely, charm their way inside, and stay for dinner.

In this issue , we explore the anatomy of the long con... a psychological slow-burn that trades urgency for intimacy. Think of these as more than just scams. They’re stories that unfold like relationships... until the final betrayal.

In other news:

New FAIK Files episode (Video Killed the ...)

 Audio version: https://pod.link/1771521321/episode/012b4c787fc35a8cd9df3d8f99fcd569

 YouTube version: https://youtu.be/mYFwURVoPE8 

Interesting Thing of the Week: 

Hany Farid's TED Talk, How to spot fake AI photos: https://www.ted.com/talks/hany_farid_how_to_spot_fake_ai_photos

Until next week... stay safe out there!

Perry

P.S. -- Just a quick reminder that I've got a great book out that's all about deepfakes, disinformation, and deception. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already: ⁠https://ThisBookIsFAIK.com⁠.

P.P.S -- Did you know that we have a text version of this newsletter? Check it out on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or at ⁠The Deception Project⁠ website. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cognitive Heist series #5: The Long Con

👻 New Deceptive Minds issue: Cognitive Heist series issue #4 -- The Ghost

The ghost doesn’t break in. It doesn’t even exist. It just panics you into acting-- fast, unthinking, exposed.

This issue explores one of the most dangerous tools in a scammer’s toolkit: urgency. We unpack:

 🧠 The psychology of panic and why urgency shuts down critical thinking

 📞 Real-world scams that weaponize fake emergencies

 🕯️ A chilling tie-in to folklore: the crying child at the door

 🐙 And yes, there are tentacles. Always tentacles.

The Ghost's superpower is tricking you into moving before you think.

---

Check out the most recent FAIK Files podcast: Dark Knowledge & Hidden Agendas

 Audio version: https://pod.link/1771521321/episode/ae2224ed846ac80ad3c8e2fbc0185087

 YouTube version: https://youtu.be/U7447dpffao

Interesting research of the week: Sweet-talk the bots: New research shows how LLMs respond to human persuasion tricks

 Geekwire article: https://www.geekwire.com/2025/sweet-talk-the-bots-new-research-shows-how-llms-respond-to-human-persuasion-tricks/

 Wharton School blog post: https://gail.wharton.upenn.edu/research-and-insights/call-me-a-jerk-persuading-ai/

Until next week... stay safe out there!

Perry

P.S. -- Just a quick reminder that I've got a great book out that's all about deepfakes, disinformation, and deception. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already: https://ThisBookIsFAIK.com.

P.P.S -- Did you know that we have a text version of this newsletter? Check it out on LinkedIn or at The Deception Project website. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cognitive Heist series #4: The Ghost - Panic, Urgency, and the Speed of Deception

📞 The Call Is Coming from Inside Your Mind

 

Welcome to #3 of the "Cognitive Heists" series. The Voice in Your Head -- Authority, Audio Deepfakes, and the Power of a Familiar Voice

In 2019, a UK energy firm received a call. The voice on the other end sounded exactly like the CEO of their German parent company. 

The request? Transfer €220,000 immediately to a trusted vendor. It wasn’t the CEO. It was a deepfake.

This was the first confirmed deepfake voice fraud used to commit corporate theft—and it’s only the beginning.

This issue dives into:

 🎧 Why voice is one of the most powerful trust signals—and why that’s dangerous now

 😨 How vishing, voice cloning, and audio deepfakes hijack your certainty

 👻 A classic urban legend (yep—the babysitter and the call from inside the house)

 🧠 The psychology of obedience, panic, and auditory illusion

 🧯 And how to train your brain to pause the response before the wire transfer

In a world where your boss’s voice can be faked, what part of your brain do you not listen to?

A couple relevant sources related to AI based voice scams:

 
[PROVED] Unsuspecting Call Recipients Are Super Vulnerable to AI Vishing: (this is my story about having an AI voice bot participate in DEFCON's Social Engineering Community Capture the Flag competition). https://blog.knowbe4.com/proved-unsuspecting-call-recipients-are-super-vulnerable-to-ai-vishing

 
Seeing (and Hearing) Isn’t Believing: My SEC Presentation on AI-Driven Scams: https://blog.knowbe4.com/seeing-and-hearing-isnt-believing-my-sec-presentation-on-ai-driven-scams

The FAIK Files: AI Oopsies!

 
Audio version: https://pod.link/1771521321/episode/af214a2812ad672b675870a9fb56f4cb

 
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY31aE5-PxA

TechCrunch story: Google’s Gemini panicked when playing Pokémon: https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/17/googles-gemini-panicked-when-playing-pokemon/

P.S. -- Just a quick reminder that I've got a great book out that's all about deepfakes, disinformation, and deception. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already: https://ThisBookIsFAIK.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cognitive Heists series #3: The Call Is Coming from Inside Your Mind

Welcome to part 2 of the Cognitive Heist miniseries: The Bait Man

 🗝️ He doesn’t pick the lock. 

 🚪 He doesn’t sneak in the back. 

 🪝 He just leaves something shiny on the ground and waits for you to pick it up.

Enter "The Bait Man": the scammer who lets your own curiosity or greed do all the work.

Part 2 of Cognitive Heist explores: 

👉 Why bait-based scams (phishing, “found” USBs, QR traps, honeytexts) work so well 

👉 The irresistible psychology of forbidden knowledge and too-good-to-miss offers 

👉 A chilling parallel with the Nazi gold train legend—possibly the most expensive “nothing” in history

👉 The ancient myth of Pandora’s Box... and what it says about modern clickbait

👉 And as always: tentacles, noir, and cognitive traps.

In other news:

👉 The FAIK Files: Climbing Through the Context Window

 Audio version: https://pod.link/1771521321/episode/3ec38fa7cd599b26e3c7fde25651a3f0

 YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ntZlQ4Lbkw 

👉 Research Paper of the Week: Project Vend-- Can Claude run a small shop? (And why does that matter?)

 
Anthropic's page discussing the experiment

 Business Insider

P.S. -- Just a quick reminder that I've got a great book out that's all about deepfakes, disinformation, and deception. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already: https://ThisBookIsFAIK.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cognitive Heist series #2: The Bait Man

🕵️‍♂️ New Deceptive Minds mini-series: Behind the Scams (Cognitive Heists) 🕵️‍♂️ 

They didn’t pick the lock. 

They didn’t sneak in through the vents. 

You held the door open for them.

This week’s issue kicks off a new 10-part series: Cognitive Heist—a deep dive into the psychological exploits behind the world’s most effective social engineering attacks.T

his week is all about "The Insider": Trust by proximity.

Why do we let people in—not because they’re verified, but because they seem like they belong?

We unpack:

 ⚡ The psychology of in-group bias and “trust theater”

 ⚡ Real-world infiltration tactics (think BEC, fake IT staff, Slack scams) 

⚡ Urban legends and conspiracies that make insiders feel mythic

 ⚡ How your mind, not your firewall, is the real attack surface

You’ll never look at the new guy in the group chat the same way again.Oh... and there are a couple other fun bits in there as well. 

Enjoy!

 
Cognitive Inoculation: Winn Schwartau and the Metawar -- FAIK Files Podcast (audio version): https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/the-faik-files/41/notes

 
Cognitive Inoculation: Winn Schwartau and the Metawar -- FAIK Files Podcast (YouTube version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ntZlQ4Lbkw

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Cognitive Heists series #1: The Insider -- Trust by Proximity, not Proof

When it comes to deception, everything is about story. 

And the stories people cling hardest to are ones that aren't solely about information... they are about self-protection. They explain the world. They spark emotion. They reinforce identity.

And once we believe them, we don’t just share them…We defend them.

In this issue of Deceptive Minds, I explore why some narratives become immune to fact-checking, critique, or correction — and how we end up reinforcing falsehoods just by wanting them to be true.

 🛡️ Why emotionally charged stories resist disproof

 🧠 How narratives come preloaded with defenses (mockery, morality, tribalism)

 📜 Real-world & historical examples of story-based immunity

 🧩 And how to tell when you're dealing with a belief that's been bulletproofed

Because when deception takes the form of a story you want to believe… truth never even gets a chance.

Deceptive Minds: newsletter about how we are fooled, how we fool ourselves, and what we can do about it.

Check out the print newsletter on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ or on my ⁠⁠website⁠⁠. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrative Armor: Why Some Stories Become Immune to the Truth

Hey Friends!

This is one of the most important issues so far -- please share!

Ever find yourself believing something… just because you’ve heard it enough? That’s the Illusory Truth Effect at work. "Illusory Truth" is the cognitive glitch that makes repetition feel like credibility.

In this issue of Deceptive Minds, we explore: 

 🧠 Why familiar lies feel more believable than unfamiliar truths 

 📢 How repetition is used in marketing, politics, scams, and propagan

 🛡️ And how to defend your mind against one of the most powerful tools in deception

If it’s been said often enough, we stop asking whether it’s true. We just… feel like it is.

🧩 How This Connects to Previous Deceptive Minds Issues

 
Narrative sets the stage.

 
Attention brings focus.

 
Plausibility helps the lie land.

 
Fluency makes it feel smooth.

 
Emotion gives it velocity.

 
Credibility theater dresses it in trust signals.

 
Repetition cements it.

Repetition is the glue that binds these elements together. It gives them staying power. It builds the illusion of consensus — even when there is none.

Want to see my Bigfoot Security Tips video? Here are links to the video on YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok. 

Till next time!

Perry

Check out the print newsletter on LinkedIn or on my website. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Repeat Until Real

Ok. This one's pretty uncomfortable. It's about the lies we tell ourselves and why we believe them.

We all like to think we’re rational. But the truth is, our minds are masters of defense... not just against deception, but against discomfort. 

In this issue, I explore the mental machinery behind "motivated reasoning" and "cognitive dissonance." These are mechanisms we use to try to protect ourselves from inconvenient facts. 

 🔍 Why we reject information that threatens identity 

 🛡️ How our beliefs start defending themselves 

 🎭 Why feeling right often beats being right

This theme hits at the core of the Deceptive Minds mission: a newsletter about how we are fooled, how we fool ourselves, and what we can do about it.

Want to check out the print version? You can ⁠⁠get here as a LinkedIn newslette⁠r⁠. Or you can subscribe to the email version on my website: ⁠⁠https://TheDeceptionProject.com⁠⁠

Anything you'd like me to cover in a future edition? 

Stay sharp, 

— Perry

hello [at] 8thLayerMedia [dot] com

Other references for this issue:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_flat_Earth_beliefs

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repressed_memory

 https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/about/index.html

 Jessica Barker's newsletter: Human Nature of Cyber Security: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7312575416190255104/

 Jessica Barker's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-barker/

 The FAIK FILES Audio version here: https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/the-faik-files/38/notes

 FAIK FILES YouTube version: https://youtu.be/Sy67tVZ_OVk

 Apple's controversial research paper: https://ml-site.cdn-apple.com/papers/the-illusion-of-thinking.pdf

 Nate Jones' thoughts on the Apple paper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tYAvjkOQk 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Truth Hurts. So We Lie.

In this episode, Perry sits down with award winning cybersecurity author, George Finney to discuss his recent book, Project Zero Trust. This is a broad discussion that hits on the concepts of Zero Trust, George's approach to writing the book, his passion for storytelling, and much more. 

Guest:
George Finney (LinkedIn) (Website)
Books and References:

Project Zero Trust: A Story about a Strategy for Aligning Security and the Business, by George Finney

Well Aware: Master the Nine Cybersecurity Habits to Protect Your Future, by George Finney

The history and evolution of zero-trust security, TechTarget

Wikipedia: Zero Trust Security Model

Perry's Books (Amazon Associate Links)

Transformational Security Awareness: What Neuroscientists, Storytellers, and Marketers Can Teach Us About Driving Secure Behaviors, by Perry Carpenter

The Security Culture Playbook: An Executive Guide To Reducing Risk and Developing Your Human Defense Layer by Perry Carpenter & Kai Roer

Production Credits:
Music and Sound Effects by Blue Dot Sessions, Envato Elements, & Storyblocks.
Artwork by Chris Machowski @ https://www.RansomWear.net/ and Mia Rune @ https://www.MiaRune.com.
8th Layer Insights theme music composed and performed by Marcos Moscat @ https://www.GameMusicTown.com/
Want to get in touch with Perry? Here's how:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Instagram

Email: perry [at] 8thLayerMedia [dot] com

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Communicating Complex Topics with Creativity and Passion

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