On pivoting to a role in Trust & Safety
Why I’m targeting a specific industry for my career’s next phase
Earlier this year, as baseball players were starting to trickle into 2024 Spring Training camps in Florida and Arizona, I made a belated realization. The Cleveland Guardians — my favorite baseball team — were hosting their home opener on the same day a total solar eclipse would temporarily bring extra darkness to the shores of Lake Erie.
Despite growing up in Ohio and loving the team since the days of Joe Carter, Doug Jones, and Julio Franco, I’d never been to Opening Day in Cleveland (or anywhere else). I also, to quote Mick Jagger, wanted to see the sun blotted out from the sky. So why not be efficient and knock two items off of the ol’ bucket list at the same time?
I called someone I know in Ohio to ask if she’d like to accompany my wife and I on our celebration of baseball and totality. I’ll refer to her as “Rebecca” throughout this article in the interest of privacy, but that’s not actually her name.
“Sure!” Rebecca said, “I’d love to come. But I have a question to ask… Is there any chance you could get four tickets to the game?” Rebecca, retired and widowed several years prior, had begun dating again and wanted to bring her new beau along with her. Overjoyed for her, we obviously agreed. What a great opportunity to meet the new love interest.
Weeks later, we arrived in Ohio eager to meet this new person. It was then we learned that Rebecca had yet not met him in person either. He lived out-of-state. His work regularly took him out of the country. They met on a dating app but quickly moved to corresponding via text message.
I didn’t know much about online scams at the time, but I knew enough that my brain was exploding with the ahh-woo-gah of klaxons and the strobing of red lights. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.
We then learned Rebecca’s new partner had been held up in Europe due to a work-related travel snafu and wouldn’t be able to make it to the game or to meet any of us that weekend. Cue additional alarm bells.
I was pretty sure I knew what was happening here, but I also knew Rebecca to be incredibly intelligent, well educated, and street smart. She suffers no fools, immediately sniffs out BS, and doesn’t take crap from anyone. This cognitive dissonance just added to the pounding, flashing, screaming signals in my head.
We had a conversation. I expressed my love and respect for her. I laid out my concerns — what I knew, what I suspected, what to look for, what resources were available. Rebecca assured me she had gone into this relationship with her eyes open and requested my trust (which, to be clear, she had never lost). I walked away fearing I knew what was coming, hoping for the best, and remaining committed to supporting my loved one no matter what.
Fast forward four months and in August I again found myself in Ohio. The Guardians were still in season, so I caught another game. I can’t remember the last time I was fortunate enough to see two games in Cleveland in the same season!
By this point, Rebecca had lost a little bit of money and realized that she’d been taken. She was also utterly and completely heartbroken. I mean just absolutely, completely devastated. I saw a pain so deep I’d only before seen it in her at funerals.
Not only did this scammer take some of her hard-earned money, he (or she.. or they…) rocked her to the core. One of the most confident people I’ve ever met felt like she couldn’t be certain of anything. She’d been convinced it was real, she knew it was mutual love. How could she possibly trust her judgment going forward? How could she overcome the shame?
I felt, as the kids may still say, all of the feels. Rage. Astonishment. Sympathy. Anxiety. Sorrow. Love. Grief. Disappointment. Guilt. Moments like that are simultaneously the best and worst times to be an empathetic person.
How could anyone do this to such a wonderful human for a few hundred bucks? Or more accurately, how could someone enslave someone else and make that person do this to such a wonderful human for a few hundred bucks?
Additional questions flooded my mind: WTAF? Why aren’t there guardrails in place to protect people? Why aren’t people more educated about these dangers? How do you get rocked to to the core like this and bounce back? If J. Geils was still making music, “Love Stinks” would certainly include a reference to this, right? Right?!?!
It was too late for Rebecca, but it needn’t be too late for someone else’s friend or family member. Somebody should do something about this.
Fast forward again to October. The Guards made a playoff run, but it came to a bitter end. Despite valiant efforts, they lost to the Yankees. Ugh. That’s like losing to the scammers.
Speaking of things ending, I’ve lost my job and am searching for what comes next. I’d begun to question a number of things about the role and company I’d been working in, so this is a natural inflection point for me. A time to think about what I want out of a new job. A moment to ponder the value coming out of the 40+ hours per week I put into work. An occasion to pivot in order to provide myself with new challenges.
So it is that I find myself committed to my next role being in the area of Trust & Safety. This is an opportunity for me to apply well-honed skills and past experience in a new way. It’s a chance to take on the absolute worst actors in our world, to combat those who see Rebecca and people like her as pigs to be bled out. It’s a way to continue the work I’ve been involved in for years — empowering and advocating for the less privileged, more marginalized members of our society — but with a new, sadly relevant twist.
In the past I’ve set up compliance regimes and achieved SOC 2 certifications. I’ve investigated violations of law and contractual terms. I’ve been involved in arbitrations and other legal proceedings. I’ve implemented cyber security measures. I’ve worked directly with the public and with business and government clients. I’ve handled allegations of financial fraud and sexual abuse. I’ve campaigned and lobbied on behalf of pro-Democracy candidates and measures. I’ve developed software. As you now know, I’ve counseled someone I love who has to deal with the aftermath of being scammed. If you’re still reading this as I blow past the 1,100 word mark, then hopefully you agree that I have some skill in communication. I may have never held a Trust & Safety role before, but I have the transferrable skills, extensive relevant experience, and a ton of motivation to help those solving these these problems.
So that’s me. That’s how I come to be looking for a T&S Role late in 2024. Eight months ago, I didn’t expect to be in this place anymore than I expected Cleveland to be in 1st place.
There’s a lot of work to be done here and I’m eager to find my spot doing some of it. If you’re hiring for T&S roles, if you’re in the industry and have advice, if you just know someone else who is, then this is me asking for your assistance. I know I have something to contribute here, I just need the right organization to partner with me.
As we Cleveland fans are fond of saying… we may have lost this time, but we’ll get ’em next year. I fundamentally believe that applies to both the Yankees and the scammers.
