The Security Circle
An IFPOD production for IFPO the very first security podcast called Security Circle. IFPO is the International Foundation for Protection Officers, and is an international security membership body that supports front line security professionals with learning and development, mental Health and wellbeing initiatives.
The Security Circle
EP 075 Bennett Arron: an Award-Winning Writer, Comedian, Author and Radio & TV Presenter. He is also one of the first major victims of Identity Theft in the UK
Bennett Arron – Biog
Bennett Arron is an Award-Winning Writer, Comedian, Author and Radio & TV Presenter. He is also one of the first major victims of Identity Theft in the UK.
As a Comedian, Bennett wrote and starred in the Radio Series Bennett Arron Worries Aboutand Bennett Arron is Jewelsh – both of which were nominated for a Celtic Media Awards. He supported Ricky Gervais on some of his tour dates and he recently starred in all four series of the Radio 4 Series ALONE.
As well as performing as a Comedian he has also spoken at many Conferences around the world on the subject of Fraud, ID Theft and Data Protection. He was the Guest Speaker at TheInternational Fraud Convention in Italy, The International Congress On Anti-Fraud & Anti-Corruption in Poland and Infosec, Europe. He was also the Opening Keynote Speaker at Auscert in Queensland, Australia
Bennett has had over 30 sitcom scripts produced on TV and Radio. He wrote on the BAFTA-winning Graham Norton Show as well as the BAFTA-winning children’s sitcom The Slammer.
Bennett presented the BBC documentary The Kosher Comedian in which he traced his family’s roots from Lithuania to South Wales. He also directed and presented the Channel 4 documentary How To Steal An Identity in which he stole the identity of the Home Secretary. The programme was Pick of the Day in The Guardian and The Telegraph, described as “Fascinating and Disturbing” by the TV Times, and Bennett was short-listed for a BAFTA.
He has written two books: the memoir Heard The One About Identity Theft? and the romantic comedy novel The Girl From The Discotheque.
Bennett is a past winner of both the TAPS Comedy Writer of the Year Award and the BBC New Writer's Award and is a past finalist of the BBC New Comedy Awards.However his proudest moment was coming third in an International Disco Dancing Championship in Tenerife.
Bennett has been called; “Genuinely Original and Funny” by The Times “Hilarious...razor sharp” by The Standard, and “A Welsh Seinfeld” by The Guardian.
Security Circle ⭕️ is an IFPOD production for IFPO the International Foundation of Protection Officers
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Yoyo:Hi, this is Yolanda. Welcome. Welcome to the Security Circle podcast. IFPO is the International Foundation for Protection Officers, and we are dedicated to providing meaningful education and certification for all levels of security personnel and to make a positive difference to our members mental health and well being. Our listeners are global. They are the decision makers of tomorrow. And we want to thank you wherever you are for being a part of the Security Circle. If you love the podcast, subscribe. We are on all podcast platforms. And also don't forget to like, comment and share. It means a lot. With me today, well, it's not often that I get to introduce a guest who is BAFTA shortlisted and a comedian. His name is Bennett Aron. How are you doing today, Bennett? Thank you for joining us on the Security Circle podcast.
Bennet:I'm fine and I'm delighted to be here. Thank you for asking.
Yoyo:Do a lot of people come up to you and say, tell us a good joke, Bennett?
Bennet:Yeah. I mean that, I either get that or I get people coming up to me after gigs going, Oh, here's one for you. And it's like, well, you know what, after 25 years of writing, I think I'm okay, but thanks. But it is weird when people say, here's a joke for you, because you, that wouldn't happen in any other profession. If people, you know, especially when people say to me, can you tell us a joke? And they wouldn't go up to an accountant to go, Oh, look, can you work out these figures for me? It's, it's really odd being convenient when people either they don't know how to act or they ask weird things. And I think one of the oddest things is because I do a lot of talks around the country or around the world, which I, which I enjoy either stand up either stand up or talks on, on Ford identity theft. And if I. John people afterwards for dinner and I'm sitting there with them. I'm naturally quite shy. I'm naturally quite quiet So if I don't say anything they say oh, yeah, you're not you're very quiet offstage, aren't you? So I say yeah, and if I do say anything that's remotely funny, then they say come on You're not on stage now, so you can't really win in those situations
Yoyo:That is the strangest dichotomy, but you, you really hit the nail on the head. Like, I don't have people coming up to me saying, Hey, I've got this really good way to solve a cyber security problem. Do you want to know it?
Bennet:Yeah, absolutely. It doesn't happen in many professions. No, it
Yoyo:doesn't. And your reference to the taxman was hilarious. Not a lot of people reference tax men and women. But look, you have a really good list here. So not only are you BAFTA shortlisted comedian, actor, award winning writer, author, keynote speaker on fraud and identity theft. Let's talk about that. How on earth does a comedian get involved with fraud and identity theft?
Bennet:Well, what's funny is that the two things happened simultaneously, except I wasn't aware of the fact that it was happening to me at the time. I was aware of the fact that I was going to be a comedian, but I wasn't aware of the fact that I was about to be one of the first major victims of identity theft in the UK. So I was just starting my career as a comedian. 25 years ago and living in rented accommodation and everything was going, was, was going fine. I was looking to buy a house got a mortgage, sorted, saw a place we liked, made an offer, offer accepted, all fine. It was all going ahead, gave notice to the landlord where I was renting. And then from nowhere I had a letter from the bank telling me that the, the loan, the mortgage was being stopped because they just discovered all my. outstanding debts. And that's when it all started when I realized there was something odd going on because I knew I didn't have debts and then I had to get a credit report which showed all these companies to which I allegedly owed thousands and thousands and then found out that I was, I was a victim.
Yoyo:That's a kind of heart attack moment that, isn't it? When you realize, okay, this, this shit's real.
Bennet:Yeah, but also, as I said, this is 25 years ago. Nobody had heard about identity theft. Nobody knew what was going on. So, not only was I going through that, but I had to convince the police. and the companies involved, that I was me and not the person pretending to be me. And, and that was probably one of the most, stressful things that I have to go through, that he, that this is happening to me. My wife was pregnant at the time and on top of all that, nobody was believing me
Yoyo:So what did you have to do then to persuade people that, you know, this behavior wasn't of your own doing?
Bennet:I had to literally track down the person who had done it to me because the, the police well, here's a bizarre thing. So. I had to contact the police. An officer came to my house and sat down. I went through the whole story and listened and made notes. And at the end he said, well, this is all very good Mr. Aron, but it's your name. How do I know it's not you that's carried out the crime? And I said, you're quite right officer, and I would have probably got away with it. If I hadn't contacted you, it was, it was just the most, just the most bizarre thing to have to go through. Because, yeah, why
Yoyo:would you, why would you ring the police and dob yourself in? Yeah,
Bennet:it made no sense. Go, oh, well done, you caught me. How could I have got away with it? Oh, yeah, I shouldn't have said anything. So yeah, so it was very, very odd. But anyway, I followed the paper trail and tracked down that the guy had lived at a previous address of mine. And followed where he moved on to and followed different things and eventually handed the name and address over to the police and said, you know, this is him. The odd thing is no money had been taken from my account. He didn't take one penny. It was just opening accounts in my name, getting a passport in my name, getting all these things, phones, everything in my name. So I had to prove that, you know, look at the address, that this isn't my address. That's the only way I could prove that it wasn't me and it was a person pretending to be me.
Yoyo:Crikey. So what have you been doing since then to raise the awareness about identity theft, identity fraud? Well,
Bennet:when all this happened to me, I never thought, Oh, do you know, in a few years time I'm going to start, you know, making money from going around the world, talking about my story. I mean, that was the last thing that was on my mind. So what happened after sort of all finished? I was interviewed, a friend of mine worked for an ad agency and a client of his was bringing out a product to help people with identity theft. They'd been a victim to stop making a victim and they wanted to speak to case studies and He said, do you mind if I put you forward? I said, no, it's fine. So I spoke to them and they said, you know what? We've spoken to over a hundred people and your story is the worst. I went, yeah. Oh, hang on. That's not such a good thing. And they said to me, cause I, then he was a comedian. I was just starting off as one. They said, do you talk about this in your standup? And I said, no, I don't think anybody's interested in that. And they said it has become quite a big thing. And I thought, do you know what? Maybe. I don't know, for cathartic reasons, I'd write a show about it. So I wrote a show, took it to the Edinburgh Festival, and on the back of that, I was asked to be the guest speaker at Ford Conventions, and I was asked by Channel 4 to make a documentary on the subject, which I did.
Yoyo:So why do you think people, because look, it's like, Comedians have a, such a unique talent and we know that some of them go very close to the bone, right? And now, you know, you've got this cancel culture to, to bring around a way of relating to people and seeing the funny side of what is a generally bad experience. That's, that's a great skill. How, why do you think it works?
Bennet:It's interesting. I think I get a lot of work because I deliver what's a serious subject, you know, in a, an amusing manner and people have, I mean, I've heard people laughing and then crying during the story, which is quite a bizarre thing. Luckily, that doesn't happen in normal gigs because that'd be weird. But people really relate to it and because. You know, the story does have funny moments to it, and it does have heartbreaking moments. I think the fact that I can use comedy as a way of getting emotion helps really, and helps the story to come across and helps people to Become a part of it. It's not just me talking about somebody else. It's not me talking about things. Well, you know, you have to be careful. It's saying this is generally what happened to me and how I suffered from it and how I literally lost everything and became penniless and homeless. And, you know, my pregnant wife and I had to move in with my parents. But then there's, you know, then there's comedy elements to it as well. So people, people enjoy coming along with me through the story.
Yoyo:And, you know, it's when something big like that happens and your wife is pregnant, that's really worrying as well. I'm sure that you would rather that whole thing hadn't happened. But it is rather good that you've made something really meaningful out of what was a very bad experience.
Bennet:Yeah, I mean, it was and the fact that she was pregnant, you know, it's obviously a tough time, but then to have nowhere to live and have no money and to move in with my parents and yeah, I mean, we called our child fraudster, obviously Because, it seemed to fit and we didn't. But yeah, so it was it was tough. It was tough. But now when I, people say to me, because I have two of the worlds doing this, I managed to take the family way to places because I've been doing the talks and very nicely people have paid for us. all to go. So you say, do you, are you pleased it happened away because of how you've benefited? No, I prefer it not to have happened. But it did. So I'll just try and make the best the best of it.
Yoyo:Do you find now that you're always looking over your shoulder or are you quite assured that you won't be a victim again?
Bennet:I was always cautious. I was always careful. and again, what happened to me wasn't through fault of my own. I had done nothing. It had basically happened because I'd had my post, my mail redirected, and the mail direction service didn't work. So because of that post had gone to a previous address. And the person there had taken advantage of that situation. So it was no fault of mine. And then the companies didn't do enough checks. They were just quick enough to, get a new client on board and that's all they cared about. I hadn't done anything wrong. That's the bizarre thing. I had done nothing wrong. I was cautious. I was careful. And yet, outside influences had allowed it to happen. So yeah, I'm still careful now. And what's funny, as well as doing these talks, I go to companies and I talk to staff of these companies, warning them about, you know, Facebook, social media, what can happen to that? And I show them things that I've done myself through fake accounts, which is something I never thought I'd get involved in. And the number of people that I always think people are aware of this and people know what to avoid, but they're not. They're really not. And I think that's why I get, you know, I get employed to go. to these companies to go, Oh God, I, I would have clicked on that link. If I hadn't realized I would have accepted that friend request or I hadn't looked. So it's quite nice for me to be able to stop it from happening to other people. And of course I managed to get the UK driver license application form completely changed because of what I did in the documentary. So that's something. Wow.
Yoyo:That's that. And so the changes that you were enabled to that you, the changes that you were able to make that was as a result of them taking your advice, was it on
Bennet:board? Well, what happened was I I stole the identity of the British Home Secretary as part of the documentary through yeah, I know. Which one was this at the time? Charles Clarke. Okay. So, in retrospect, rather foolish but the way I did it was through finding a loophole in the driving license application form where you could use a birth certificate as proof of identity that easily. Instead of them saying, oh, well, thanks for pointing that out, well, we'll close that loophole, they arrested me. Which, you know, isn't the thank you I was anticipating. But they then, they then closed the loophole and then had to scrap all the application forms and re, redo them because of what I had done. So I made a difference, but it would have been nice if I'd received some kind of, you know, gratitude for it.
Yoyo:I don't know, an MBE, maybe. Maybe. That's all. That's all. You're not asking for much. No. My goodness. Now, it's interesting that you've been able to affect that change. I should connect you definitely with Tony who is part of the We Fight Fraud team. I don't know if you know WW WFF. Yep. Yeah. And Tony, Tony is it Tony Sayles? Is his name and I've met, I've met Tony. Yeah, I'll be trying to twist his arm to get him on the podcast. The thing is, he's, he's gone beyond that. Do you know what I mean? But for those that don't know, hang on
Bennet:a second. Hang on. He's gone beyond that. So what you're saying is all they can get. are people like you. Wow. No, no,
Yoyo:no, no. I've seen him a couple of times. I'm like, come on, Danny. We need to get you on the podcast. But I feel like he's gone beyond that in the sense of he's got his hands and so many pots and pies and things that he hasn't got time to do what he thinks is a little podcast, even though we are in the top 25 percent of downloaded podcasts globally. So maybe I should tell him that. Yeah, yeah. And so, but what's super cool about Tony sales is you follow him like he's such a gazer and he's like proper London in it. Oh, do you know what I mean? And he's the last type of person that you would think would go to a corporate business and talk about social engineering and why it's massively risky. And he shows you in his road shows how easy it is. And he'll do it. Like he'll set something up. So he'll demo it right in front of you, but he's lived, he's got lived experience. He was a fraudster. So, but it's, but you weren't, you were a victim and you've been able to affect great change. So kudos.
Bennet:Thank you very much. Yes. No, I was, I have a a background in drama school. So I certainly wasn't a a fraudster. Although some say that I was a little bit, even as an actor, but no, I did. I, I, I just became a victim from yeah, from nowhere really sort of unexpectedly and unwanted.
Yoyo:A lot of security professionals that certainly listen in, they'll understand the pain here, but when you're in a physical security role, and I was for a major, major business, some of the youngsters, you know, when I say youngsters, I mean, the 20 year olds the now millennials, I should say you should just leave their cards, their credit cards and bank cards lying around on the tables and in the canteen area. And I used to go up to them and say, Hey Hey, listen, don't leave this lying around, you know, it'd be really nice and soft and fluffy. And they'd be like, yeah, whatever. And as soon as I turned my back away, they put it back on the table again. I did feel that that generation, certainly in the, in the teenies decade that I didn't feel they got it. I really felt that if they lost their car, they just get another one. If they get, if they get frauded, they just get another one. They just get the money back. And there's this kind of disposable attitude. How do you deal with that mentality in your speak, in your speaks, in your, in your talks?
Bennet:In my speaks? I think well, a lot of the people, when I go to these companies, a lot of the people I speak to are, are younger people. And. They are the ones that sort of think that they won't get caught or think that they know social media inside out. And when you point things out to them, especially with things like WhatsApp messaging or things that come through Instagram and TikTok that they, that they do click on and that's when the realization sort of hits and that's when they realize actually, They, they can become victims fairly easily. And I Not that I derive pleasure from pointing it out, but I quite like it when people who think that they are not Susceptible to this type of thing do see that yet They could easily forfeit and I think what's up messages I mean that that's happening a lot at the moment that that type of fraud that type of scan is happening a lot Text messaging basically as well. And I think that those things are good to point out and just to make them aware. And they do, they do really sit up and go, Oh, okay. I could easily fall for this and I'm pleased you've pointed it out to me.
Yoyo:I check in with my baby boomer friends every now and then. And for example, I've talked to them about the whole deep fake voice thing. And I've said, you know, if anyone messages you saying, Hey mom, this is my new number, you know, or anything weird like that. And they all said. I've had text messages like that, but my daughter would never change her number and not tell me. Okay, that's great if everybody is compus mentis, but what if you've got a parent or an elderly member of the family who doesn't quite have great memory and maybe there's not a lot of cognitive ability to be able to sort of critical think that. And so you're dealing with, you know, the exploitation of very vulnerable people. And I said to the WhatsApp group, you know, have a, have a code, have a password that's a verbal password between you. So unless you get that verbal password back or it's in a text message, you know that it's definitely that person. It's going to be something that's uniquely a relationship password that you have. Boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, kid, mom, dad, whatever. And I think that's going to work. But listen, when you look at fraud, my goodness, this is like a war in the sense of we're vulnerable on all fronts here. It's not just our friendly WhatsApp, where we touch base with all our pals and loved ones. It's social media, it's our post, it's, it's going outside, it's using that dodgy car machine, it's having a comb car, it's like, there is no, there is no front that we are not vulnerable in right now. That's pretty
Bennet:scary. Yeah, absolutely. It comes from, from all angles. And that the, you know, the, the, I lost my phone. I'm on holiday. Those texts make sure that people think, oh, well, I'm not going to fall for that one. Those are the ones that people fall for. It's a you know, it, the way they're written and especially now with so much AI technology that you don't have to have somebody that, who has got a great command of, of English. It can be done, you know, through, through the AI bots and it's, it's, you know, it's very good and it's very, very convincing. I had one from a friend of mine recently, well, supposedly through his, from him saying about a new number. I only knew it wasn't from him because his spelling is so atrocious. No way could he have spelled that well.
Yoyo:That's bad, isn't it? Do you know, I mean, look, look, what, when you do your when you do your speeches and your keynotes, what are the common things that people come up to you afterwards and say, what kind of impact are you
Bennet:making on them? A lot of people come up and tell me how good looking I am. I
Yoyo:know you're low. You're so funny.
Bennet:A lot, I wasn't expecting that big laugh, to be honest. You keep, you keep relying
Yoyo:on your humor, Bennett.
Bennet:Little, little rude. You know, no wonder Tony Sales doesn't want to come on this. The, the thing, well, most of the time people come up to thank me and to say people feel guilty, which is very funny. People feel guilty for laughing during the talk. And I get that all the time. They come up, they go, I'm really sorry. I laugh. I'm like, no, no, no, you're meant to, I know. But, you know, I said, right. It's written that you laugh and that you have different emotions. So that, that's fine. So they thank me. And a lot of the time they tell me their own experiences of fraud, you know, which is really dull. No, I'm joking, but they do, they tell me, you know, things that have happened to them. And some of them really are, you know, quite, quite shocking. Also during my talk, which is my, probably one of my favorite bits, I ask if anybody has been arrested and I've had brilliant stories. I mean, properly good stories that have resulted in people being filed. people leaving the company on their own accord a couple of days later because of what they've told me. It is bizarre that people are willing to tell me anything when I ask them from stage, which they wouldn't do in a normal chat. If I say I'm saying I'm being arrested, people do put their hand up and tell me. I love that. I love that type of interaction, but people are generally, generally really grateful that I spoke to them and and told them the story. You could
Yoyo:always give them like a little like thing at the beginning, like a preface that says, Hey guys and girls, it's okay to laugh.
Bennet:Yes, I do. I generally do. At the beginning, at the beginning, I say that, you know, I'm a comedian, so it's fine if you want
Yoyo:to laugh and feel bad about it. Yeah, it gives me some self affirmation if you do find a few
Bennet:things funny. Yeah, absolutely right.
Yoyo:The Channel 4 directory, I mean, is this available like online? Is it, is, are there places that we can signpost people to watch it? Is it on YouTube or anything?
Bennet:The documentary is it's, I think it's on my website, bennettarren. com, there should be a link to it on there.
Yoyo:We should definitely signpost that on the bio then, 100%.
Bennet:Yeah, absolutely could do that. Also I've written a book about my experience which is called Heard the One About Identity Theft, which is also available on the on my website, and I give 20 percent of all sales to Dementia UK. because my dad sadly had dementia. So yes, I've got that. And then anybody wants to get in touch and book me. Thank you. Yeah.
Yoyo:Well, I think you've made me laugh. So I can certainly tell that you're a reasonably good comedian so far. I'll take that.
Bennet:Thank you. So far.
Yoyo:So, what's next for you then? You know, crikey, you know, you've, you've got the whole kit and caboodle really, but what, what excites you about what's coming
Bennet:up? I love writing. Writing is one of my favourite things. I started, my career started as a, as a writer, writing comedy sketches for TV years and years ago. So I'm doing that. I'm currently directing a documentary, funnily enough, for BBC Wales. So that's what I haven't directed since the. Yeah, since the Identity Theft documentary, I haven't directed. I've been in a couple and I presented a couple, but I've not directed it. So I'm doing that at the moment. So I'm currently editing that which is good fun. We've got a few talks coming up, a few after dinner gigs coming up poker game, but that's neither here nor there. So yeah, there's a few a few potential things happening, which is quite exciting. I've just finished, I was in a Radio 4 sitcom called Alone. I was in four series of that, which was great. We were hoping that was going to be recommissioned, but it hasn't been, but it is it is now a box set on, all the audiobook websites. So that's lovely. So I enjoyed doing that. It was myself, Angus Deighton, and other people way better known than I. Oh, do you
Yoyo:know, I thought it was horrible what happened to him on Have I Got News For You. I missed him on that show so much. Such a clever, intelligent, funny guy.
Bennet:And a lovely, a very quiet guy, but a really nice guy. I yeah, I really enjoyed spending time with him and chatting. And I agree with you. I, I agree. But
Yoyo:don't, don't you think though that, I mean, I mean, look, it's interesting that you said he was quite sort of quiet and you've also said that you're quite introverted. Why is it that comedians can bring out this persona on stage and yet most of them are actually very introverted, introspective people?
Bennet:Yeah, it's funny, you know. I used to, not so much now, but I used to do lots of gigs with friends. We'd all drive around in the cars to different gigs and do the gigs together. And people go, Oh God, that must be so much fun. Nope. It was just depressing because we would all just sit there and moan or complain or not talk. So I don't know. I don't know what it is about. Being shy, because I, my, my school friends can't believe what I do for a living. I mean, like, completely shocked. Because I hardly open my mouth in school at all. Somebody once said to me if I was the, the class clown, the class comedian, I said I wasn't but I did write all their material. Which was which was quite true.
Yoyo:I was, I had a male opposite who was also the class clown. And sometimes we'd just be in trouble just for giggling and finding stuff funny. We were, we were smart, we were intelligent, we pranked around because I think we were understimulated academically. And it's, it's so funny how we've both grown up to be quite successful, good, solid careers. It's interesting to see back then, whether anyone would have thought I would have gone into such a very serious profession, including, you know, the British police force, but and yet there you are in school, you know, introverted and now people are like the dudes on stage. Yep.
Bennet:Yep. It's yeah, it, it, honestly, it is, it is, yeah, it's funny. It's funny that to think I've never in a million years thought that this is what I would do for a living. So it's, yeah, it's odd.
Yoyo:Good. Well, I hope so, because I don't think I could go out on stage. Although, Carolyn Pearson, who was a former guest of the Security Circle podcast, she has a very serious career in travel risk and you know, travel safety. And, and she's an expert. She's phenomenal. And she said that she took herself off to a stand up comedy course. Ah, right. She said, Oh, yo, yo, I recommend it. You've got to do it. You just got to do it. And I said, I can't think of anything worse. I think I would get that kind of like, no words would come out. And I just looked like a blithering idiot. But she said, Even corporately in how she goes to meetings. And she says she learns so much about herself doing something like that. Have you done any courses?
Bennet:I run courses like that. Yeah. So I run courses for standup comedians or people who want to be standup comedians and I run. Sitcom writing workshops. If I teach people how to write sitcoms, I've had over 30 sitcoms produced on TV and radio. And that's what got me through lockdown because all my gigs finished and all the talks, I did some online talks. But what got me through lockdown was running these workshops. I didn't, if anybody would be interested, and I must've run 20, maybe more during lockdown and 15 to 20 people in each one, and they all sold out. And it was great. And people who did that, people who learned how to, who'd never ever. written before, have now gone on to have their own sitcoms produced, have won writing awards. So yeah, I'm really, I'm really, that's something I'm really proud of in the last few years, that I've helped people who've never written before to go on and now have a career as a writer.
Yoyo:Wow, that's awesome. And what would you say was your favorite sitcom to write for
Bennet:and why? I used to write a children's sitcom called Genie in the House on Nickelodeon and I wrote, oh gosh, probably about 20 episodes of it on a feature film, which I was in as well, funnily enough. And that was, that was a lot of fun. That was a lot of fun to write because my kids loved it. They were watching it at the time and it was it was, it was, it was a writing team, which I really enjoyed working with and it was just, just good fun. So that's probably my favorite. What
Yoyo:about, is there anything kind of like adult focused that maybe I would have heard of? Adulthood?
Bennet:No, years ago, I think my first writing job, there was a sitcom with Richard Blackwood, and I think that was the first writing sitcom writing job that I had. Yeah. So, that was great. It was called Ed Stone is Dead, I think. Yes. That was that was fun but anything that you might have seen of late? No, of late it's been mainly, I've had three of my own radio series which I wrote and starred in. So those have been good, but TV wise of late, maybe not, sitcom wise. Do you
Yoyo:know I've always, like when I was younger, I always wanted to be a writer, but then I realized I couldn't write.
Bennet:Well, you say that, I
Yoyo:And then, and this is like hot off the press, I don't know when we're going to put this podcast out, but a security publication has just offered me a column. And now I'm thinking, Whoa, this now is real. My dream has literally manifested true. I wanted to be a journalist when I was younger and, and I ended up becoming a detective. So you could tell that if I'd gone into journalism that I would have gone into investigative journalism. It was just the way, and it's just kind of weird how life navigates and now I've got to have to get my writing head on. And think, how can I maintain interest with someone reading something? Don't you think though, that when you're doing it as a profession, do you find it harder? Like, you know, when people write creatively and they're not under any pressure, but the minute you're getting paid, like per minute, or you're getting paid to deliver a certain time or meet an editor's deadline, do you find that the fun of it goes, or have you always loved it?
Bennet:No, I do love it, but yes, so I do quite a few articles in different publications. I've written three books and the books were great because there was no pressure. Could do it as and when I did not, if people would like them, but they, they've done. I wrote a romantic comedy. That's a lovely comments from people, which is great called the girl from the discotheque and I've written the identity theft book and I've written one about sitcom writing and I love doing that because there's no pressure. It's when you, yeah, as you say, when you're asked to write, you go, Oh, this is great. And then there's a deadline and then you've got to, you know, please the editor and you've got to please other people. Yeah, there's more, so good luck with yours because there is pressure.
Yoyo:Yeah, I mean, look the good news is that the first issue is a very short deadline. So it means that I'll literally sit on it this weekend and produce it ready for the editor to approve. We've already agreed the subject and there's already in my head, like a ton of ideas of things that thought leadership, things that people need to be talking about. And then. You know, I could even write about the fact that I've had this amazing and engaging conversation with you and why it's so important to, you know, hire Bennett Aron for, for speaking to, yeah. So I would just speaking to everybody in the podcast gives me. rich content to do a lot with. And even if I took the best things from every single podcast, all the key learnings, the golden nuggets, all those, those super cool things, there's plenty to write about. But yeah, so what's your ideal job now? What would you love to do if someone said to you, Bennett, listen, I've got the job of your dreams,
Bennet:what would it be? I enjoy doing stand up. I really enjoy doing stand up, but I enjoy doing my talk the most. That's the thing I enjoy the most because it's so personal. And even though I've done it so many times, it's something that I, I always derive pleasure from. I like doing that. I like doing these, I do videos for companies as well. Where I do videos about about fraud, about ID theft about hacking And I, I really like doing, doing those. So it's usually the CSO or somebody will get in contact with me and say, we want to do some cybersecurity videos. So I I'll write them and I'll perform in them. And what I like is the response to them, which has been really, really good. One company, the response was so good is they've asked me back now three times to do a set of three different more, which is lovely. And it's what I was saying before about people suddenly going, Oh gosh, if I hadn't watched this video. I could have fallen for that. I could have fallen for that WhatsApp message, you know, I, I would have clicked on that link. So the fact that I'm, I'm having an effect on people like that is, is something I love. And from my point of view, it's all the things I enjoy. It's writing, it's performing, and it's talking about fraud, which are the, you know, it's encompassing all three things which I enjoy the most.
Yoyo:I use one email address most commonly, and you can guarantee that through applying for jobs in the past or registering at Expeditions. Expeditions, Expo, what ex what they called. Exhibitions. Exhibitions. I do wanna say cheers though. You can, you know, you can tell that your data's been sold on and you get this really crappy stuff. My junk folder is always full with somebody offering me millions of pounds or, oh, I don't know. I've had this on another podcast where I keep getting threatening emails because as a, I'm clearly a, a man who's been doing something naughty online. And yeah, all of those. And yet,
Bennet:first of all, It's not only men that do naughty things online, just want to point that out.
Yoyo:But, but, but you see, they think I'm a man. Yeah, of course. And so, yeah, yeah. And so they think I'm, so that's how I meant that to come across. But, I've got to
Bennet:tell you, talking, the reason I mentioned that, so a friend of, and it made us laugh and laugh, a friend, a comedian friend of mine got one of those. Emails, another one you're talking about saying that they've been watching him doing whatever and he just put it on Facebook and said, okay, I've had this. I'm just going to admit to it. Yes, I have been looking at these sites. I have been doing that. I'm not going to pay the money, but I just want all my friends to know, because it's obviously going to come out. So how about oh my God. So I wrote him. I went, you know, that's a scam, but by which time everybody had seen it. And he's now come off social media.
Yoyo:Oh, oh, you mean he actually genuinely thought he was going to be blackmailed, so he just put it out there first? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, I thought He thought
Bennet:he was going to be blackmailed, so he just put it out there and said I've been making this, I've done it, so I'm not going to be blackmailed, they're not going to take my money, I'm letting you know I have been, and he listed some of the sites. It's like, mate, you've gone into this a little bit too deeply. And he was so embarrassed. Oh, no. Please now come off social media.
Yoyo:Because you kind of gave me an idea then I could have easily cut and paste a bit of an email that's come to me and put it on LinkedIn and said, Hi everybody. Listen, it's clear that somebody's doing something very naughty online. Just thought I'd let you all know to raise the awareness. So actually this is, this is twisted stuff. I was told by an expert Ben Solomon and Scott Holland, actually. They are gurus working with the dark web, and they basically said the minute it's asking for cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, you know, it's an utter fraud. It's when they're not asking for that. You need to flag it up and worry, but he's they did talk to the podcast and they said they've had a couple of clients, you know, drop them emails to say, listen Scott. You know, Ben, this is a bit awkward, but yeah, I'm really worried. This is going to come out. The words have resonated with what these men were actually doing. Which is all, yeah, which is, and, and, and obviously, you know, these guys are experts and they would look at it and say, Hey, listen, this is just a load of rubbish. It's spam, but cheers for the, you know, PMI. Yeah,
Bennet:yeah, absolutely.
Yoyo:Well, yeah. So I think you've got to. You've got to have a laugh at it, really. But yeah, I get sick and tired. But I've got emails that I've never kind of used for anything. And guess what? No junk. Funny that, isn't it? Oh, that's very good. Yeah. If I use them, I'm sure I'd get junk. Yeah,
Bennet:yeah. No,
Yoyo:absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Well, listen, I mean, look you are genuinely original and funny. I agree with the times. That's what they said about you. How much did you have to pay them for that
Bennet:one? 150 pounds.
Yoyo:150 pounds! What have we got here? The standards saying you're hilarious, clever, wit and razor sharp. How can anyone refuse you, Bennett?
Bennet:I, well, I'm saying nothing. Yes, I've had some very nice nice quotes over the years, which is very lovely. Have you
Yoyo:got any lasting top three tips on raising awareness for people in relation to identity theft before we finish?
Bennet:I think the main thing that I would really generally recommend, and it is quite important is to book me. So, yeah, I'm not giving out tips for free. So yeah, book me too, to come and talk or to come in and speak to your company or to come to do some videos for you. And I would say, so I, I was asked this recently and Something I used to say to my kids all the time when they had exams was to check and recheck the question before you answer it. And I think that's the main thing that I say to people when they ask me what they can do is that if you get an email, if you get a text message, you get anything at all, look at it, stop, re look at it, and then see whether or not you think it's genuine. Don't just respond straight away. Just give yourself that second to go, okay, I'm going to re look at that sort of with fresh eyes and then decide whether or not it's, it's a genuine thing to which I should respond.
Yoyo:I received an email just the other day through work. And I thought, this is weird. Why am I getting LinkedIn notifications coming through to my work address? That's not like that would happen. And who, I don't even remember sending a connection request to that guy, but it's the sort of thing I would have responded to. And I thought, did exactly what you said. I work in cybersecurity, Bennett. I did exactly what you said. And I read it and I thought, And I went to the original email and there were loads of numbers and signs and you know x244999 something whatever. And I submitted it. I submitted it as a phishing email. And I got this email back saying, well done, you've spotted the phishing test. I'm thinking, I work in cyber security, if I didn't pass that, I would have been hauled into the office,
Bennet:I'm sure. Can you imagine? Yes.
Yoyo:It's close, close shave, because LinkedIn, very active, they certainly, you know, nearly caught me there.
Bennet:Yeah, no, I know a lot of companies that do these types of things, which is great. I think, yeah, I think it's true. If I wanted the company, the reason they called me in was so many people clicked on the link and they thought, okay, we need to do something about this. So that's why they got me in to talk to the staff and not berate them, just warn them.
Yoyo:Although, although, really you want to berate them and beat them around the head a little bit, really. But it's okay.
Bennet:Well, to be fair, I did berate them. I just didn't want to admit to it.
Yoyo:No, you should. You should, absolutely. Well, listen, a great great time. Thank you so much for a great fun conversation. Really loved it. You know where he is, listener, to book him. And I certainly would come and see you. I think actually it was Mike Hurst that introduced me to you. He might even have you in mind for something. I'm sure he's always got stuff up his sleeve, Bennett.
Bennet:No, he's lovely, Mike. It's very nice of him to introduce me. Yeah, he's very, he's a lovely, lovely person.
Yoyo:Yep, he is. Well, listen, I wish you all the best and all the success. And thank you so much for doing your very significant bit in raising the awareness of identity theft.
Bennet:My pleasure. Thanks for having me. Take care.
Yoyo:Cheers.