
About this episode
Laura Shin has reported on crypto scams since the early days and wrote one of the first stories on sim swaps. That did not stop a spear-phishing attempt from getting her to download software and run a terminal command before she caught it.
Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, and Chris Perkins turn her near miss into a practical defense playbook, then debate whether self-custody still makes sense for anyone with a public crypto profile.
Hosts:
Austin Campbell, Host of Bits + Bips, Founder of Zero Knowledge Group, and Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern
Ram Ahluwalia, Co-host of Bits + Bips and CEO of Lumida
Chris Perkins, Co-host of Bits + Bips and Head of Franklin Crypto
Guest:
Laura Shin - Founder and Host of Unchained
This clip is from a longer conversation on crypto security and social engineering. Full episode here: https://youtube.com/live/yKHaE6xMZsE
We go live every Monday - subscribe to catch it live.
Sponsors:
👉 Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED).
Chapters:
🎣 00:00 The fake podcast invite that nearly caught Laura Shin
💻 00:26 How far it went: a download, then a terminal command
🛡️ 05:02 Austin's hard rules for when someone puts time pressure on you
🏦 06:36 Why Ram says ETFs now beat self-custody for public figures
🥷 07:39 Chris on getting hacked and losing his Snoop Dogg NFT
🤖 10:41 Why the same playbook is coming for banks via AI voice clones
🦅 11:33 Chris on letting the private sector recover stolen crypto
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get every episode summarized
Each time Unchained publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Unchained

Should Stock Tokens Be Limited to KYC'd Users? Or Be Tradeable by Anyone?
Unchained
Sep 11, 202638:47completed

Uneasy Money: Is OpenAI Training on Your Private Chats to Win the AI Race?
Unchained
Sep 10, 20261:21:57completed

The Chopping Block: FOMO's Co-Founder Defends the Memecoin Trenches, Hunter Bide...
Unchained
Sep 10, 20261:03:48completed

Bits + Bips: AMC's CEO Calls Robinhood's Stock Tokens 'Vile.'
Unchained
Sep 9, 202619:22completed