As the prevalence of AI continues to grow, more and more people are worried about their online safety. New scams seem to be popping up every day, packaged in creative and terrifying ways. Rather than resign yourself to an inevitable fate or remove yourself from the online world entirely, learn the tricks of the trade to avoid being just another pwned noob.

From celebrity actors to professional athletes and even social media CEOs, anyone can be a hacker's target. What matters most is catching someone unprotected and unawares and pwning them—hacker slang for completely and humiliatingly beating someone. Leaving them with the kind of digital defeat that has them scrambling to recover stolen data, reputation, or worse. But that doesn’t have to be you.

Ctrl+Alt+Pwn: The Hacker’s Playbook (And How to Beat It) exposes the secret weapons, sneaky tactics, and psychological tricks used by hackers today—and shows you how to stop them. Whether it’s setting traps with a Wi-Fi Pineapple or using malicious QR codes to send victims to phishing sites, modern hacking isn’t just about code—it’s about manipulating people. And it’s getting more dangerous with the rise of AI, deepfakes, and advanced social engineering.

From headline-making ransomware attacks to celebrity data leaks and scams that start with a single swipe on a dating app, Ctrl+Alt+Pwn walks you through real-world cases and gives you the tools to stay one step ahead. Because no one is off-limits. But with the right knowledge, you don’t have to be the next victim.

Frank Riccardi
Frank Riccardi is a cybersecurity and privacy expert passionate about empowering people and companies with the cyber-savvy needed to repel cyberattacks. With twenty-five years of experience in healthcare compliance and privacy, he has led the response to high-profile data breaches and ransomware cyberattacks. He’s developed robust compliance programs for various facets of healthcare organizations. Riccardi earned his JD from the Western New England University School of Law and a BS in clinical laboratory sciences from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is certified in healthcare compliance by the Compliance Certification Board (CCB). Grappling with one cyberattack after another has led Riccardi to embark on a new journey and mission: Helping everyday people—whom he affectionately refers to as “non-geeks”— protect themselves from financially devastating and soul-crushing cyberattacks that can ruin their lives.
Riccardi is the author of Mobilizing the C-suite: Waging War Against Cyberattacks, a call to arms for business leaders to take action against cyberattacks by deploying basic cybersecurity controls (Business Expert Press, 2023). He is a sought-after guest on top-rated cybersecurity podcasts and posts frequently on LinkedIn, where he has over 15,000 followers.
When he is not preaching the gospel of cyber hygiene, Riccardi indulges in his love for music as an audiophile and a vinyl record hoarder—or, as he prefers to call himself, a hobbyist. He lives with his wife in the charming city of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Introduction: The Art of the Pwn
Chapter 1: How Do I Reuse Thee? Let Me Count the Ways!
Chapter 2: Hacking Tools: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Chapter 3: Hacking Tools Are Dangerous. So What Can We Do About It?
Chapter 4: Your Smartphone is a Productivity Godsend. It’s Also a Dystopian Wasteland Hell-Bent on Pwning You
Chapter 5: Hackers Gonna Hack: The Making of a Cybercriminal
Chapter 6: The Nigerian Prince Who Was the King of Phishing
Chapter 7: Is Your CEO Asking for Money? It Might Be A Deepfake!
Chapter 8: Is “Ethical Deepfake” An Oxymoron?
Chapter 9: Deepfake Videos, Cognitive Bias, and the Chico Marx Factor
Chapter 10: The Pernicious Threat of the Liar’s Dividend
Chapter 11: Deepfake Detectors and the Coming Age of Deepfake Supremacy
Chapter 12: Cybercriminals Want to Pwn You With Deepfakes. This is How You Stop Them.
Chapter 13: “I Love You, Baby. Now Send Me More Bitcoin.”
Chapter 14: Oops, That Breach is on You: The Finger-Pointing Art of Corporate Blame-Shifting

Conclusion: Smashmouth Cybersecurity—Never Get Pwned Again With This One Weird Trick!

Acknowledgements
Endnotes
About the Author
Index