#97 What Kind Of Idiot Gets Phished?

The '#97 What Kind Of Idiot Gets Phished?' episode of 'Reply All' begins with host PJ Vogt expressing his curiosity about phishing, a type of online scam that he previously thought only gullible people fell for. However, recent high-profile hacks, such as those involving John Podesta and the Sony hack, started with phishing, leading PJ to question if even the smartest individuals, like his colleague Alex Blumberg, could be susceptible. To explore this, PJ enlists the help of Daniel Botanic, a digital forensics investigator, to conduct a phishing test on the staff of 'Reply All' and Alex Blumberg, with the permission of Gimlet Media's president, Matt Lieber.

The experiment unfolds with various members of the team receiving phishing emails crafted by Daniel. Executive producer Tim Howard is the first to encounter a phishing attempt but becomes suspicious and avoids falling for it. PJ Vogt himself receives a phishing email but recognizes it as a scam and alerts the rest of the team. Alex Goldman is also targeted but does not fall for the phishing attempt due to his skepticism. The most significant moment comes when Alex Blumberg, initially confident that he would not be fooled, becomes the 'big tuna' who falls for the phishing scam. Despite his two-factor authentication set up, he enters his credentials into a fake Google login page set up by Daniel, effectively giving the hacker access to his email account.

The narrative then shifts as PJ Vogt grapples with the guilt of having tricked his colleagues and the mixed reactions from the team. To further explore the idea that anyone can be phished, the experiment is expanded to include Matt Lieber, who had previously expressed skepticism about Alex Blumberg's susceptibility to phishing. In a twist of irony, Matt Lieber is successfully phished within seconds, proving that even the most skeptical individuals are not immune to well-crafted phishing attacks.