Patrick Coughlin reveals the billion-dollar criminal networks behind AI-powered scams, why their tactics work on everyone, and what families, organizations, and communities can do to fight back.

Signature Talks:

  • The Deepfake Decde

  • The Digital Caregiver

  • A New Era of Digital Defense

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About Patrick

Patrick Coughlin spent more than twenty years building teams, products, and companies that protect governments and Fortune 500 enterprises from the most sophisticated cyber threats. He co-founded TruSTAR Technology, a security intelligence platform acquired by Splunk, and now leads Savi Security, where his team built Scamwise, a free tool that gives anyone an instant assessment of a suspicious message.

When his 73-year-old mother was targeted by an AI-powered voice impersonation scam, Patrick turned his expertise toward a question most cybersecurity professionals never ask: why do smart, capable people fall for scams in the first place? What he found wasn't a technology problem — it was a human psychology problem, fueled by criminal organizations operating at a scale most people can't imagine.

His debut book, Dark Side of the Boom: How Scammers Hijacked the AI Revolution (Fast Company Press, June 2026), exposes the networks behind the global scam epidemic, the psychological tactics they've weaponized, and what families and communities can do to fight back. Patrick is a Georgetown, St. Andrews, and Stanford alum. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son, and dog.

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What People Are Saying

  • Patrick spoke at several events for the Wall Street Journal for a variety of audiences from the super technical to C-suite executives and he always connected deeply with the audience and was a highlight on the agenda.

    — Rob Sloan, Research Director, Wall Street Journal

  • I worked with Patrick for high-profile cybersecurity events like RSA and Blackhat. He was a pleasure to work with and always delivers an insightful and entertaining session.”

    — Christine McKeown Elswick, Managing Director, Highwire PR

  • As Patrick Coughlin says in his incisive, elegant book, there are only two kinds of people in the world today: those who have been scammed and those who will soon be scammed. Read him for a compelling history of how we got to this terrifying place, and to defend yourself properly for the inevitability.

    — Vanessa Grigoriadis, author of Blurred Lines and Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair magazine

  • Cyber crime pays and powered by AI, it can make a victim of any of us. Coughlin’s timely guide to the dark side can teach you how to stay safe.

    — Richard A. Clarke, author of bestseller Cyber War and first US Special Advisor to the President for Cyber Space

  • I have been inside the scam compounds in Cambodia where this misery gets manufactured. Patrick Coughlin gets it right. Dark Side of the Boom is a thriller, an investigation, and a survival guide rolled into one. Read it. Then hand it to everyone you love.

    — Erin West, Founder of Operation Shamrock, former Deputy District Attorney, and one of the nation's leading prosecutors of AI-enabled financial fraud

Dark Side of the Boom: How Scammers Hijacked the AI Revolution
Fast Company Press | June 16, 2026

AI-powered scams are the fastest-growing criminal enterprise on the planet. The networks behind them are sophisticated, global, and scaling fast. Dark Side of the Boom goes inside the epidemic — the criminal organizations driving it, the psychological tactics that make it work, and what families and communities can do to fight back.

The Book

Audience Fit

  • Caregiving and aging conferences.

  • Cybersecurity events.

  • Financial services and wealth management.

  • Consumer protection and fraud prevention.

  • Corporate all-hands and leadership offsites.

  • University and alumni events.

  • Book festivals and literary events.

Speaking Kit & Booking

Ready to bring Patrick to your conference or event?

Patrick is based in Los Angeles and speaks nationally.

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Download Speaker Kit (PDF)