Purple Acorn Network
The $20 Device That's Destroying Trust at Work
July 29, 202513 min

The $20 Device That's Destroying Trust at Work

About This Episode

A twenty-dollar gadget became a career killer. Wells Fargo fired over a dozen employees for something smaller, sneakier than fraud: faking mouse movement to simulate productivity. Not stealing money—stealing time. The invisible war between surveillance and breathing room just claimed its first casualties. Jim Stroud dissects how a simple USB device exposed the trust bankruptcy poisoning modern workplaces. When keystroke loggers meet mouse jigglers, when screen recorders battle software rebellion, the real question isn't about productivity—it's about survival. … This episode is brought to you by: PromptMonitor - Monitor and improve your visibility in AI/LLMs. This is the future of job search – opportunities come looking for you. https://www.promptmonitor.io?via=jimstroud Read The Recruiting Life newsletter to learn what’s happening now and next in the world of work. https://jimstroud.beehiiv.com Job Search Summit – Free virtual event of innovative job-hunting strategies. Happening on August 1, 2025 at 11 am CST. Register now. https://betterthing.net/jobsearchsummit Send questions, comments and criticisms to Jim Stroud: Via LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimstroud/ ⁠ Via X: https://x.com/jimstroud⁠https://x.com/jimstroud⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices