Shauli Zacks
Published on: October 30, 2025
SafetyDetectives recently spoke with Mikiv Bhansali, CEO of Rondesse, a company taking on what Bhansali calls “the world’s largest pandemic” — scam and fraud. Drawing from decades in technology, law, and cybersecurity, he and his team have built an ecosystem that unites investigators, forensic experts, and legal specialists to prevent scams and recover stolen funds. In this conversation, Bhansali opens up about the company’s origins, its real-time scam interception technology, and the growing threat of AI-driven fraud that’s reshaping the online safety landscape.
Can you tell us about your background and what drives your work as CEO?
My name is Mikiv Bhansali, CEO of Rondesse. We’re a brand that exists because of what we believe is the largest pandemic in the world right now — scam, fraud, and online safety. And it’s only getting worse.
I’ve always been in the technology and legal industries, going all the way back to 1999. I’ve built several successful companies that were eventually acquired. When my partners and I sat down and asked, “What’s the biggest problem people are facing right now?” the answer was clear. And when we looked around, we realized almost nothing was being done. Every government claims to protect you against scams and fraud, but there are systemic issues everywhere. That’s how Rondesse was created.
We built a threefold approach:
- Rondesse Incorporated, our cybersecurity arm — with full-time private investigators, cyber forensic experts, and certified ethical hackers.
- Rondesse Legal, our legal arm — with a network of over 3,000 attorneys, including managing partners across multiple firms.
- Rondesse & Simpsons, our forensic accounting arm.
This infrastructure took about two and a half years and over $4 million to build before we were even ready for sales. But it works.
To give you some perspective, when I ask people what the world’s third-largest economy is, they usually name a country. The correct answer is cybercrime — a $10 trillion industry, growing to $15 trillion next year. Scammers are making more money for less work because of AI, and there’s no one really there to stop them effectively. That’s why we built Rondesse.
For me personally, this is more than another business venture. It’s a cause. When you look at an elderly person’s face and see that they’ve lost everything — sometimes they’re even suicidal — and you can help them, there’s no greater feeling. That’s our number one motivation.
For readers who may not know Rondesse, what are your flagship services?
Rondesse focuses on two things: crime and scam prevention and money recovery.
- Scam Prevention: We created a proprietary technology called Real-Time Scam Interception. The problem today is that scammers have become so advanced that even when you get a call from what looks like your bank’s number, it could still be fake. Sometimes it’s the same number printed on the back of your credit card.
Here’s how it works: when you get a suspicious call or message, you hit the SOS button in our app. That alerts a Rondesse officer, who joins the call immediately. We take over the conversation and verify whether it’s real. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s a scam. One percent of the time, it’s legitimate, and we confirm it.
- Money recovery: We handle cases where people have already lost their money. We work with agencies like the FBI, the Virginia and Georgia Bureaus of Investigation, the Texas Rangers, and state police departments across the U.S. We’ve recovered funds both domestically and internationally.
One story stands out. A widow in Florida lost $1.3 million right after her husband passed away from COVID. She contacted 42 law firms — all turned her down. This was a highly educated woman, but that’s the thing: intelligence doesn’t protect you from scams when technology is this advanced. The scammers rerouted her phone so that when she thought she was calling her bank, she was actually speaking to them.
She even wrote to the Attorney General, who sent the Secret Service. They couldn’t help because the scammers were overseas. Law enforcement eventually referred her to Rondesse. Four months later, we coordinated SWAT operations in India with the Enforcement Directorate — the equivalent of the Department of Justice. We made 25 arrests, froze 21 accounts, and secured the funds, which are now awaiting repatriation. That case was featured in USA Today and on multiple law enforcement sites.
What kinds of threats are you seeing most often today, and how is Rondesse addressing them?
People always say, “Use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” And while that’s true, we’re past that stage now. These scams are too sophisticated.
Take this case: a man called Bank of America about an issue with his account. Twenty minutes later, he got a call from the exact same number printed on his debit card. The caller said, “You called us earlier,” and began asking security questions. How could he possibly know it was a scam? He was a Rondesse client, so when they asked for a one-time passcode, he hit the SOS button. We intercepted and confirmed it was a fraud attempt. That one button saved him about $75,000.
We’re also seeing the rise of AI scams. With just five seconds of your voice, scammers can now clone it perfectly — same tone, same inflection. They can even generate real-time video deepfakes during calls. I can make a deepfake of you right now, and your family might not be able to tell it’s fake.
That’s why real-time detection is crucial. Our app flags calls with an “80% chance of being a bot or AI.” If that alert shows up, you hang up. And if you still want to talk, we’ll engage for you. That’s the only way to stay safe. It’s not about common sense anymore — it’s about active defense.
Rondesse also works with seniors and other vulnerable groups. What unique challenges do they face, and how do you help protect them?
We help people of all ages. Surprisingly, it’s the 21–43 age group that loses the most money overall. But seniors lose the most per incident. They’re also more emotionally vulnerable.
The biggest challenge? Saving people from themselves. You can have all the tools in the world, but if someone refuses to believe they’re being scammed, it’s an uphill battle.
One case that really sticks with me was a woman in her seventies caught in a romance scam. Her niece called us, desperate. “My aunt is in love with a scammer,” she said. “He’s pretending to be a U.S. military officer stationed in Syria. She won’t listen to me.”
When we spoke to her, she said, “No, he’s real. The government’s trying to bring him home, but he needs $5,000 to pay for transport.” We asked her for two days before she sent the money. In those two days, we contacted the U.S. military and got an official letter confirming no such person existed. We showed her how easy it was to fake the “official” certificate he’d sent — I just replaced his name with mine in five seconds.
That convinced her. But what scared us most was that she wasn’t just about to send money — she was planning to meet him in person. That could have turned into human trafficking. We stopped it just in time.
We see this pattern constantly — people saying, “I already got scammed, it won’t happen again.” But once your data is out there, it’s out. Around 83.6% of online transactions are compromised, and 91.1% of iPhones and Androids leak data through third-party apps. Your Social Security number is worth $5 on the dark web. Medical records can go for $20 to $500.
So, yes, once compromised, you can’t erase the risk — but we can build a digital fortress around you to keep you safe and help recover what’s lost.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the next big challenge in online safety, and how is Rondesse preparing for it?
The next big threat is AI supremacy — deepfakes, cloned voices, and generative scams. It’s not just about awareness anymore; it’s about collaboration. We can build the best protection systems in the world, but if someone keeps clicking on unsafe links or ignores our warnings, they’ll still get hurt.
We’ve seen terrifying cases. Parents get calls from what sounds exactly like their child crying and saying they’re in jail. It’s all fake — AI-generated — but how could they know?
There was also a $100 million scam involving a Singapore-based company. The entire deal — all the executives, the board, everyone on the video call — were deepfakes. The deal went through before anyone realized.
Law enforcement agencies often tell us, “We need you more than you need us.” And I agree — we’ve become a critical layer in this fight. But the real challenge is public awareness. People must understand they’re swimming with sharks every time they go online.
When we conducted raids in India, we found databases of cancer patients. These scammers were targeting them, calling and saying, “Your medication will stop tomorrow unless you pay now.” That’s the level of cruelty we’re dealing with.
This isn’t petty crime — it’s organized digital terrorism. These people are trained to feel no remorse and to prey on the weakest. Our goal at Rondesse is to make sure fewer people fall victim, to intervene before damage is done, and to keep pushing back with everything we have.
