This week, we sit down with Al Pascual, CEO and founder of Scamnetic, to talk about fraud from the inside out. Al didn’t come up through product or engineering. He started his career chasing real fraud cases, shaped early on by parents who were cops and a first job in a bank fraud department. That hands-on experience is what pushed him from treating fraud as “just a job” to seeing it as his lane.

We get into the scam patterns that worry him most right now, including pig butchering and sextortion schemes that still aren’t getting enough mainstream attention. Al makes a clear case that fraud isn’t primarily a data or tooling problem. It’s a human one. Psychology, pressure, shame, and timing matter more than most defenses want to admit. When a big fraud story hits the news, he explains how coverage often misses the point by focusing on the tech and ignoring the manipulation. Al shares one of the strangest cases he’s worked, and what it taught him about how creative and absurd fraudsters can be. We also tackle the reality of AI-enabled scams, including voice cloning. How common is it really, and who’s actually at risk? Kevin is skeptical he’d fall for it, while Laura shares a story about a friend losing $500 to a gift card scam, a reminder that real people get caught all the time. This one is a grounded, sometimes funny, and occasionally unsettling look at how fraud really works, and why understanding people matters as much as understanding systems.

A recognized expert on cybercrime, Al Pascual is the CEO and Founder of Scamnetic. Scamnetic is a software solution for scam detection and protection that uses AI to analyze incoming communications in real time and flag or score risk before someone falls for a scam. A successful technology entrepreneur and a former managing executive of Javelin Strategy & Research, Al has spent his career laser-focused on protecting consumers and organizations from financially motivated crimes. His past research on consumer identity theft has been cited by hundreds of media outlets and presented at conferences around the world. Al cut his teeth fighting fraudsters at HSBC, Goldman Sachs, and FIS, where during his time as an investigator, his work resulted in the arrest of more than four hundred suspects.

This week on That Tech Pod, Laura and Kevin chat with Richa Kaul, founder and CEO of Complyance, for a blunt conversation about what governance, risk, and compliance actually are, and why so many companies pretend it’s something else.

Richa walks us through how she really landed in GRC, including the moment she realized compliance isn’t about forms or frameworks. It’s about power, incentives, and who takes the fall when systems fail. Drawing on her time in legal tech, enterprise systems, and AI, she makes the case that much of today’s compliance model is quietly broken, and that organizations know it, even if they won’t admit it. We dig into why GRC has such a credibility problem, the comforting lies companies tell themselves about being “compliant,” and whether compliance should be about control or trust, and why so many leaders default to the wrong one. Richa also weighs in on whether “move fast and break things” is actually gone, or just better disguised in the age of AI. We close with a forward-looking conversation on AI risk, including the uncomfortable questions boards avoid, why training alone won’t fix reckless AI use, and what organizations should be paying attention to next if they want governance that actually works.

Richa Kaul is the founder and CEO of Complyance, an AI-powered GRC platform helping enterprises navigate governance, risk, and compliance with ease. She previously held leadership roles in legal and compliance technology, including helping scale global solutions at ContractPodAI. Richa focuses on how companies can move beyond checkbox compliance to build systems that actually support better decisions, accountability, and trust as AI becomes more embedded in the enterprise. She is passionate about the future of compliance, the role of AI in governance, and the challenges of scaling a company in enterprise tech. Her innovative approach combines deep technical expertise with strategic business acumen, making her a sought-after thought leader in the GRC space.

As we announced last week, this month on That Tech Pod, we’re changing things up a bit. Instead of our usual deep dives into eDiscovery, data privacy, and cyber security, this December, we're spotlighting people and organizations using technology to close real gaps in opportunity.

In this episode, we sit down with Savita Raj, the CEO of Techbridge Girls, to talk about what it really takes to help girls from underrepresented communities see themselves in STEM. Savita cuts through the buzzwords to explain why the pipeline problem is still very real in 2025, even as AI races ahead, and why access is about far more than programs. It’s transportation, time, family expectations, early exposure, and a sense of belonging.

The conversation gets candid about the gap between industry rhetoric on diversity and who actually makes it through. Savita shares what funders and tech leaders often miss about hidden barriers, and why the rise of AI and automation makes sustained investment in programs like Techbridge Girls more urgent than ever.

If you want to support Techbridge Girls, you can donate directly at https://www.techbridgegirls.org/donate to help bring high-quality STEM experiences to girls from underrepresented communities, or explore ways to get involved like volunteering, mentoring, or partnering at https://www.techbridgegirls.org/get-involved to make a more hands-on impact.

Savita Raj, is the CEO of Techbridge Girls. Techbridge Girls is a nonprofit focused on opening doors to STEM for girls from underrepresented communities through hands-on learning, mentorship, and exposure to real-world careers. The organization works closely with schools and industry partners to help girls build confidence, skills, and a lasting sense that they belong in science and technology. Savita has decades-long experience in leadership, strategy, and fundraising focused on creating equitable STEM programs in underserved communities. An engineer by training, Savita has served as the Chief Program Officer for Girl Scouts of the USA and as the Executive Director for the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering. She lives in Austin and enjoys traveling, reading, sewing, and baking.

This December, That Tech Pod is shifting gears a bit. Instead of our usual deep dives into eDiscovery, privacy, and security, we’re using the next few pods to spotlight leaders and organizations using technology to close real gaps in opportunity. These episodes are about mission, access, and impact, and what it looks like to build pathways into tech from the ground up.

In this episode, Laura and Kevin talk with Danny Rojas, Executive Director of All Star Code, about why the organization’s work supporting young Black and Latino men matters right now. Danny talks about the barriers that often go unseen, from unequal access to early exposure and networks to the challenge of learning long-term skills in an attention-driven world. He also shares his own path through corporate, startup, and nonprofit leadership, and how that journey shapes the way he leads today. The conversation looks at what really drives long-term impact beyond learning to code, including mentorship, confidence, community, and industry exposure. Danny also speaks about why access, timing, and sponsorship still matter more than talent alone.

You can learn more about All Star Code's programs, get involved, or make a donation at https://allstarcode.org. To contribute directly, please visit https://allstarcode.org/donation. Your support helps expand access to tech education, mentorship, and career pathways for the next generation of innovators.

In this episode, Laura and Kevin chat with Walter Haydock, whose path from Marine intelligence to Capitol Hill to AI governance gives him a rare view of what “security” actually means in the age of AI and generative models. Walter talks about why he thinks governance is becoming the next real defense layer, and how to sort actual AI risks from the odd glitches everyone loves to talk about. He breaks down common myths he hears from non-tech folks, what recent cloud outages say about the shortcuts companies take, and whether the latest hospital ransomware attacks signal a true AI-driven threat wave or just better marketing from bad actors.

We also get into the personal side: what feels high-stakes after years in national security, and which unexpected habits from that world turned out to be useful in tech. Walter closes by looking ahead at what might trigger the first serious AI crackdown in the U.S. and whether a federal AI law is finally on the horizon. It’s a grounded, candid look at where the field is headed from someone who’s seen the stakes up close.

Walter Haydock is the Founder and CEO of StackAware, where he helps AI-driven companies handle cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance risk. He’s one of the leading voices on ISO 42001 and has guided organizations through the audit process as AI governance becomes a core part of security. Before building StackAware, Walter worked in national security as a staff member on the House Homeland Security Committee, an analyst at the National Counterterrorism Center, and a Marine Corps intelligence officer. He’s a graduate of the Naval Academy, Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and Harvard Business School.

This week’s post-Thanksgiving episode is a full smorgasbord of random stories, internet rabbit holes, and tech-adjacent tangents. Laura and Kevin skip the usual guest and run through a pile of listener-requested topics. They start with the viral Tinder profile of a man who openly admitted to abusing women yet pulled in more than 800 matches, which leads them into the strange world of dating-while-incarcerated sites. From there, they jump to Japan’s businesses that help people legally disappear without a trace, and how that even works in a world where everything leaves a digital footprint. Things keep escalating, including a true story about a man who robbed a bank to get away from his wife, only to be sentenced to house arrest. It’s messy and funny and they somehow still land the plane with a tech angle at the end. Perfect listening if you want something light but still genuinely interesting after the holiday.

This week on the pod, Laura and Kevin sit down with Janna Scott, founder of DeFi Tax, to unpack one of crypto’s most confusing and controversial topics: taxes. Janna shares how she went from frustrated accountant to tech founder after realizing how broken the crypto tax ecosystem was. She explains why the IRS treats digital assets differently than stocks, how compliance rules can border on entrapment, and what it will take for fairer regulation to emerge.

We talk about the darker side of crypto: market manipulation, whales, and whether regulation is actually working or just pushing bad behavior further underground. Through it all, Janna brings a mix of technical insight and practical insight, reminding us that the hardest part of crypto isn’t the technology, it’s the system built around it. Between murky IRS rules and hidden market forces, it’s easy to understand why so many investors feel lost or opt out. But as Janna makes clear, accountability isn't out of reach. You just have to do the math.

Janna Scott is the founder of DeFi Tax, a platform bringing clarity and compliance to cryptocurrency tax reporting. Her journey began in 2021 after her accounting clients raised concerns about unreliable crypto tax tools. Over the next two years, Janna collaborated with the SEC, IRS, and top universities to identify and fix major compliance gaps. Her work set new standards in the field and earned recognition from regulators and academics. Today, DeFi Tax is known for its audit-ready reports, direct blockchain integration, and user-focused design. Janna’s mission is to help individuals and businesses navigate crypto taxes with confidence and transparency.

In this episode, Dr. Ashwin Mehta joins us to talk about how AI is quietly changing the way we think, learn, and make decisions. Drawing from his global career in pharma, government, and consulting, from building digital learning systems in West Africa to leading AI strategy at Bayer — Ashwin shares why he’s dedicated his work to keeping the “human” at the center of technology.

We explore how trust in AI can evolve from confidence to dependency, what “agentic AI” really means for the future of work, and the mental habits we risk losing as machines start thinking for us. Ashwin also reflects on what he still refuses to let AI handle, and why maintaining human judgment may be the ultimate competitive edge in an increasingly automated world.

Dr. Ashwin Mehta helps organizations adopt AI in ways that put people first. With a PhD in digital learning adoption and over 20 years across pharma, government, consulting, and international health, he focuses on the intersection of technology, human capital, and transformation. His experience includes leading AI-enabled learning at Bayer, advising enterprises and governments at Deloitte, and building digital training systems in West Africa during crises.

As founder of Mehtadology, Ashwin designs AI strategies that align technology with human potential, covering topics from large language models to intelligent automation while addressing readiness, infrastructure, and culture. His research and writing offer insights on adaptive learning, AI ROI, and the cognitive impacts of delegating decisions to machines.