Press & Media
Information for journalists, podcasters, and media professionals covering ProtectMyCircle.
Media inquiries: Contact Garland A. Hurt directly at support@protectmycircle.com. We typically respond to press inquiries within 24 hours.
About ProtectMyCircle
ProtectMyCircle is an AI-powered scam detection service built to protect everyday Americans — particularly older adults and their families — from the rising tide of phishing emails, text scams, Medicare fraud, grandparent scams, and other fraud that costs Americans over $10 billion per year.
The service was founded by Garland A. Hurt, a 40-year veteran of information security and banking cybersecurity based in West Tennessee. After watching people in his community lose their savings to sophisticated scams, Garland built the tool he wished had existed for them.
ProtectMyCircle is available free (2 checks/day, no account required) and as a Family plan covering up to 5 people for $7/month.
Key facts
- Founded 2026, West Tennessee
- Founder Garland A. Hurt, Founder & Information Security Officer
- Mission Protect families from scams through accessible AI-powered tools
- Pricing Free tier (2 checks/day) · Family plan $7/month
- Website protectmycircle.com
The problem we solve
The FTC reported that Americans lost $10.3 billion to fraud in 2025 — a record high. Adults over 60 lose more money per incident than any other age group. The scams are increasingly sophisticated: fake Medicare calls that know your name, USPS texts with professional-looking websites, grandparent scam calls that already know your grandchild's name from Facebook.
Most families have no fast, easy way to verify whether a message is real before they act on it. ProtectMyCircle fills that gap — paste the message, get an instant plain-English verdict, know what to do.
Founder bio
Garland A. Hurt has spent 40 years working in information security and banking cybersecurity. He has seen firsthand how fraud evolves, and how ordinary people — regardless of education or tech savvy — can be manipulated by well-crafted scams. ProtectMyCircle is his answer to a problem he has watched cause real financial and emotional harm to real people in his community.
Garland is available for interviews, podcast appearances, and expert commentary on scam trends, elder fraud, and AI-powered consumer protection. Contact: support@protectmycircle.com
Suggested story angles
The $10 billion problem most families ignore until it's too late
Why elder fraud is the fastest-growing financial crime in America and what a 40-year security expert built to stop it.
AI for grandma: making scam protection accessible to everyone
How ProtectMyCircle strips away the complexity of cybersecurity to give any family member — regardless of tech background — an instant second opinion on suspicious messages.
The scams hitting Tennessee families right now
A local founder's view on the Medicare robocalls, USPS texts, and grandparent scams targeting Tennesseans — and how to stop them.
Media assets
Logo files, founder headshot, and product screenshots are available on request. Email support@protectmycircle.com with your publication name and deadline.
Get in touch
For interviews, expert quotes, or media kits, reach out directly.
support@protectmycircle.comWhy ProtectMyCircle is different
While McAfee, Norton, and Trend Micro offer scam detection as one feature buried inside large security suites, ProtectMyCircle is purpose-built for one audience: American families and seniors who want simple, trustworthy protection without a cybersecurity degree.
- The only product with an interactive training center — 10 modules, real quizzes, and individual completion certificates. No competitor offers education alongside detection.
- Built by a real expert — Garland A. Hurt brings 40 years of banking and Information Technology experience. The product reflects real-world knowledge, not algorithmic pattern matching alone.
- Radically simple — No software installation. No account required for free checks. Works on any device. Designed for the 74-year-old who just wants to know if that Medicare email is real.
- Family pricing that makes sense — $7/month covers up to 5 people. That is $1.40 per person — a fraction of competing products.
Garland A. Hurt
Garland A. Hurt is the Founder and Information Security Officer of ProtectMyCircle, based in West Tennessee. With more than 40 years of experience in banking and financial technology information security, Hurt has spent his career protecting financial institutions from the same social engineering tactics that criminals now deploy against everyday families.
Hurt founded ProtectMyCircle after observing a growing gap: while enterprise security tools are sophisticated and well-funded, everyday families — particularly seniors — have no trusted, simple tool to evaluate the increasingly convincing scam messages hitting their phones and inboxes every day.
Available for interviews. Contact: protectmycircle-contact.html