Insights

From Scammer to Strategist: Brett Johnson on Rebuilding Trust in a Fraud-First World

Nov 17, 2025

The 2025 Somos Summit brought together global thought leaders, industry experts and innovators to explore the intersection of Trust, Technology & Transformation. Held just outside Washington, D.C., this year’s event featured insightful sessions and meaningful conversations focused on advancing the telecom ecosystem and shaping the future of trusted communications.

Brett Johnson – known as the original Internet Godfather – took the stage as the keynote of 2025 Somos Summit and opened with a striking inversion of the trust we so often talk about. “Before [a criminal] can victimize you, they have to win your trust,” he said. “If you don’t trust me, you won’t give me access, data or cash.” It’s not brute-force hacking that drives most modern fraud, but persuasion – social engineering built on technology that makes a fake look real.

Brett recounted his own journey from running one of the first organized cybercrime networks to helping organizations fight the same schemes he once built. He explained how attackers blend psychology and technology to create convincing illusions: spoofed caller IDs that mimic banks or agencies, fake websites built in minutes and emails engineered to provoke a fast click. “It’s not about ignorance,” he said. “You’re dealing with someone who understands both how systems work and how people think.”

He revealed that 90% of cyberattacks exploit known weaknesses like reused credentials, default passwords and unverified third-party access rather than creating novel, hi-tech approaches. Phishing still succeeds because it hits emotion, not logic. And inside organizations, insiders and contractors often open doors they don’t even know exist. Johnson’s advice was practical, not theoretical: freeze credit for everyone in the household (including children), enable alerts on every financial account, stop reusing passwords and use a password manager with strong authentication. He also emphasized awareness – understanding that every online platform has predators and that “trusting correctly” means verifying before acting.

Closing his talk, Brett reminded the audience that cybercrime isn’t just technical. It’s built on human behavior, confidence, shortcuts and emotion. “Trust matters,” he said, “but only when it’s earned and checked. If you understand how attackers think, you take away their easiest wins.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Trust is the entry point: Every scam starts with confidence, not code. Fraudsters mix tools and psychology to earn it.

• Known gaps cause most losses: Default passwords, reused credentials and unchecked third parties fuel the majority of breaches.

• Human factors drive success: Phishing works because it manipulates emotion faster than logic.

• Practical defense wins: Freeze credit, enable alerts, use strong authentication and build real situational awareness.

• Trust – but verify: Confidence fuels connection, but unchecked trust fuels crime.

Brett Johnson’s 2025 Somos Summit keynote is now available on demand—for a limited time. Don’t miss your chance to watch!