Bobbie Johnson

They had laggy internet connections and in the background he could hear noise, so it sounded like they were in a busy room, not a call, like a call centre maybe, not what you would normally do a job interview in. So these things, you know, individually, he didn't see any of these as a major red flag because you can imagine why somebody's name doesn't fit their face in your conception, right?

Or why they have an accent or why they use a default background on their video call. But as he spotted candidate after candidate, following the same pattern, he started to get really suspicious of them. And then the clincher really was that he saw one of the candidates was wearing glasses and as the candidate was answering questions, Simon could see in the lenses of the glasses a reflection

Or why they have an accent or why they use a default background on their video call. But as he spotted candidate after candidate, following the same pattern, he started to get really suspicious of them. And then the clincher really was that he saw one of the candidates was wearing glasses and as the candidate was answering questions, Simon could see in the lenses of the glasses a reflection

Or why they have an accent or why they use a default background on their video call. But as he spotted candidate after candidate, following the same pattern, he started to get really suspicious of them. And then the clincher really was that he saw one of the candidates was wearing glasses and as the candidate was answering questions, Simon could see in the lenses of the glasses a reflection

of an AI bot on the candidate's screen. So what he could see was that this was pumping out a script of some kind for the applicant to read in order to answer Simon's questions. And he could see this happening in real time. So at this point he figured his paranoia was well justified.

of an AI bot on the candidate's screen. So what he could see was that this was pumping out a script of some kind for the applicant to read in order to answer Simon's questions. And he could see this happening in real time. So at this point he figured his paranoia was well justified.

of an AI bot on the candidate's screen. So what he could see was that this was pumping out a script of some kind for the applicant to read in order to answer Simon's questions. And he could see this happening in real time. So at this point he figured his paranoia was well justified.

What emerged as we got deeper and deeper in were not just that these were people who were trying to fraudulently get jobs or people who were maybe running several different jobs at the same time, which we've seen a lot since the pandemic. But in fact, we were able to connect them back and see that they were

What emerged as we got deeper and deeper in were not just that these were people who were trying to fraudulently get jobs or people who were maybe running several different jobs at the same time, which we've seen a lot since the pandemic. But in fact, we were able to connect them back and see that they were

What emerged as we got deeper and deeper in were not just that these were people who were trying to fraudulently get jobs or people who were maybe running several different jobs at the same time, which we've seen a lot since the pandemic. But in fact, we were able to connect them back and see that they were

actually operatives who are working for the North Korean regime to try and get jobs and send money back to North Korea, which is, it turns out, this kind of pretty widespread scam that's being perpetrated against American companies particularly, but all around the world.

actually operatives who are working for the North Korean regime to try and get jobs and send money back to North Korea, which is, it turns out, this kind of pretty widespread scam that's being perpetrated against American companies particularly, but all around the world.

actually operatives who are working for the North Korean regime to try and get jobs and send money back to North Korea, which is, it turns out, this kind of pretty widespread scam that's being perpetrated against American companies particularly, but all around the world.

No. So he'd realized that something strange was going on and hadn't hired anybody. But there are lots of companies around the country who have been hiring North Koreans unwittingly. And this is actually, it turns out, it's a pretty widespread operation and well known in the cybersecurity industry. and in parts of law enforcement.

No. So he'd realized that something strange was going on and hadn't hired anybody. But there are lots of companies around the country who have been hiring North Koreans unwittingly. And this is actually, it turns out, it's a pretty widespread operation and well known in the cybersecurity industry. and in parts of law enforcement.

No. So he'd realized that something strange was going on and hadn't hired anybody. But there are lots of companies around the country who have been hiring North Koreans unwittingly. And this is actually, it turns out, it's a pretty widespread operation and well known in the cybersecurity industry. and in parts of law enforcement.

But it's really not something that's broken through into the public consciousness. Most people don't actually know about it. So when we started to put the pieces together and understand what was really going on, that's when the breadth and depth of this thing became apparent.

But it's really not something that's broken through into the public consciousness. Most people don't actually know about it. So when we started to put the pieces together and understand what was really going on, that's when the breadth and depth of this thing became apparent.

But it's really not something that's broken through into the public consciousness. Most people don't actually know about it. So when we started to put the pieces together and understand what was really going on, that's when the breadth and depth of this thing became apparent.

The scam, it's kind of basic in some ways, but wild in others. First of all, on the simplest level, you have teams of North Korean agents who are recruited out of college and they get sent to work in other kind of friendly countries, typically China or Russia. They cross over the border and they go work in these teams. They steal people's identities and they use those identities to apply for jobs.