The pandemic is tough for Victor's small business, but the loan he receives from the Paycheck Protection Program is a lifeline. Years later, he receives a call from someone claiming to be from the sheriff's office. The caller says Victor's loan application has been flagged as fraudulent and he must pay the money back right away or face arrest. Victor doesn't realize that his loan information is public and easily accessible to scammers, who use it to their advantage.
May 17, 2024•46 min•Ep. 189
Lorraine is grieving her father when she receives a letter claiming to be from Florida Power & Light notifying her to contact them. A kind "operator" named Anna walks her through the process of switching the account from her father to setting up a new one in her name and paying a deposit. A few weeks later, a notice from the real Florida Power & Light arrives in Lorraine's mailbox and she realizes Anna wasn't who she said she was. The criminals have gotten away with the $300 deposit, and...
May 10, 2024•40 min•Ep. 188
Amid quickly changing technology and social trends, criminals are constantly developing new methods of defrauding consumers. In this bonus episode, Bob talks with Amy Nofziger of the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline to discuss six of the fastest-growing scams. These include new forms of check fraud, celebrity impersonation, sweepstakes and grandparent scams, along with the technology of voice printing and scams related to the upcoming summer Olympics.
May 03, 2024•22 min
The criminal side of the internet, the Dark Web, is unknown to most of us. This week's guest, criminologist David Maimon, takes us behind the curtain into a world where criminals talk to one another anonymously and the personal identifying information of thousands of unsuspecting victims is up for sale. Learn how Maimon's research warns of emerging trends and how consumers can protect themselves.
Apr 26, 2024•40 min•Ep. 187
After a divorce, Nancy moves to North Carolina and takes a job as a caregiver for older patients who are in poor health. The work is rewarding but challenging, and to help her unwind after long days, a roommate introduces her to Korean television dramas. She becomes a fan of one actor in particular, Paul Ahn, and follows him on social media. So she is thrilled when she receives a Facebook message from someone claiming to be Paul. They exchange messages, and the relationship quickly becomes roman...
Apr 19, 2024•43 min•Ep. 186
Marlene is suffering from terrible back pain and preparing to have surgery in a few days when her computer suddenly begins flashing a fraud warning. The tech support operator tells her that her account has been compromised. Fearing the money she needs for her surgery will be lost, she pushes through the blinding pain and races to her bank and a cryptocurrency ATM in hopes of saving her money.
Apr 12, 2024•45 min•Ep. 185
Employment scams are one of the fastest growing types of fraud. The recent surge can be traced to several post-pandemic factors that make these crimes even easier for criminals. In this episode, we will hear from a job seeker and an employer who've both been affected, as well as an expert who shares the red flags job seekers should be on the alert for.
Apr 05, 2024•43 min•Ep. 184
In Part 2 of this 2021 episode, young ICU nurse Whitney Kirkpatrick's life is turned upside down when the police show up at her door looking for her boyfriend of nine months, Gregory Thomas. He is not the wealthy, successful oil executive he claims to be. Instead, Gregory has spun an elaborate web of lies — and he's been funding his extravagant lifestyle with Whitney's money. With the support of family and friends, Whitney finds the strength to move on and to educate others about identity theft ...
Mar 29, 2024•38 min
In this 2021 episode, recent graduate Whitney Kirkpatrick is starting her career as a nurse when she meets Gregory Thomas, young and driven, and already the CEO of an oil company. His Southern charm, ambition and lavish lifestyle win over Whitney, her friends and her family. Then strange things begin to happen: large withdrawals from her bank account, calls from creditors late at night and pieces of Gregory's story not adding up.
Mar 22, 2024•32 min
Linda Khandro is a busy college professor who spends her spare time playing her harp in hospitals and hospice facilities. One day her life is turned upside down when a virus alert on her computer leads to a threatening phone call and a four-and-a-half-months long nightmare. The ordeal has her doing things she couldn't have imagined: retiring early from the teaching career she loves and buying gold bars and putting them into a stranger's car.
Mar 15, 2024•52 min•Ep. 183
In Part 2, Michael, an Iraq War veteran who has fallen on hard financial times, thinks he has found help from Voyager Financial Group, which pays him a lump sum in exchange for five years' worth of disability payments. But it has only made his money problems worse. He declares bankruptcy, and now Voyager is suing him. As he prepares to defend himself, Michael make a shocking discovery: The entire scheme is illegal and Candy Kern-Fuller and Andrew Gamber of Voyager have spent years getting rich b...
Mar 08, 2024•38 min•Ep. 182
The men and women who bravely fight for our nation are too often the target of financial criminals. After serving four years clearing roadside bombs in Iraq, Michael returns home and is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. A divorce and a series of medical emergencies leave him struggling financially and searching for some relief. Michael finds the Voyager Financial Group, which offers lump sums for military disability benefits, but Michael soon finds out the scheme will leave him in e...
Mar 01, 2024•28 min•Ep. 181
When a fire destroys his Wisconsin home, Royce Babcock and his family are forced to live out of their garage. Desperate to get his home rebuilt, Babcock hires Tyler Hansen, who has excellent reviews and reasonable rates. Delay after delay and myriad excuses leave Babcock with no choice but to take his complaints to law enforcement. This reveals a history of Hansen and his wife defrauding homeowners all over the state.
Feb 23, 2024•48 min•Ep. 180
In Part 2, Homeland Security Agent Justin Deutsch and colleagues pursue Mary Marr, the leader of a fraud and money laundering ring that defrauded hundreds of victims who thought they were buying tech stocks. A member of an elusive organization called the Knights of Malta, Marr uses a diplomatic passport to evade capture across many countries before her arrest in a beauty salon in Serbia.
Feb 16, 2024•48 min•Ep. 179
In 2014, Homeland Security Agent Justin Deutsch inherits a case concerning an international fraud and money laundering ring. Callers from "boiler rooms" pose as investment brokers and peddle stocks that don't exist. Working on tips about suspicious bank accounts in Florida, Deutsch and other agents follow the money – eventually leading to the ringleader, Mary Marr. The investigation unravels a scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims around the world out of millions of dollars.
Feb 09, 2024•38 min•Ep. 178
Todd Alper is a recently retired lawyer and teacher in New York City. One day in 2020, he learns that there are many people trying to locate the lawyer Todd Alper, even though he hasn't actively practiced law in several years. To his astonishment, an online search reveals a website for a law office in his name. Criminals are impersonating him in an elaborate scheme targeting owners of timeshares. Todd is devastated that his name is being used to defraud innocent people, and he begins the long fi...
Feb 02, 2024•53 min•Ep. 177
In Part 3 of this 2022 episode, when Therin Miller walks into the FBI office to throw himself on the mercy of the government, he's not sure if he will leave a free man. To clear his name, he becomes an FBI informant, recording conversations with his roommate and business partner, Brant Holloway, and his associate Lyle Livesay. Therin's work results in indictments on multiple counts of bank fraud related to the luxury car scheme, plus the arrest of a Russian mobster in Ukraine. But even with the ...
Jan 26, 2024•45 min
In part 2 of this 2022 episode, Therin Miller's exciting new business venture with his roommate, Brent Holloway, is quickly becoming a nightmare. Not only does the luxury-car dealership seem to be part of an elaborate scam, but his girlfriend, Kristin, uncovers a connection to some very dangerous people, including notorious Russian-born mobster Mani Chulpayev. Therin could be an accessory to some serious crimes. Terrified of going to prison, or worse, he and Kirsten come up with a plan.
Jan 19, 2024•35 min
In this 2022 episode, National Guardsman Therin Miller never imagined that placing an online ad for a roommate would result in something far scarier than anything he faced on two tours of combat zone duty. His new roommate, Brant Holloway, is a friendly, well-mannered local business owner. The two become fast friends, so when Brant suggests they go into business together, Therin is intrigued. Before he realizes it, Brant and his adviser, Lyle Livesay, have drawn him into a crime ring involving l...
Jan 12, 2024•35 min
The heartwarming story of a homeless veteran, Johnny Bobbitt, who spends his last $20 to help a stranded woman captures national media attention when the woman and her boyfriend start a GoFundMe campaign to help him get on his feet. Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico raise more than $400,000 in just a few weeks. However, when things don't seem to add up, investigators quickly learn this story is all based on a lie.
Dec 22, 2023•49 min•Ep. 176
In part 2, Kelly and her husband Ryan, who is retired from the Navy, are reeling from the theft of his Facebook account and fear it may be used for military-related scams. World-famous wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen is fighting his own battle against scammers impersonating him on social media. His impostors have stolen thousands of dollars from fans who think they are donating to his causes or carrying on a romantic relationship with him. To make matters worse, both Kelly and Paul have repor...
Dec 15, 2023•54 min•Ep. 175
National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen is renowned for incredible, one-of-a kind images of polar bears, leopard seals, narwhals and other unique species in some of the world's coldest, most menacing climates. Sharing these intimate portraits and his experiences in places few will ever visit has gained him a large, devoted following on social media. Unfortunately, scammers have also taken notice and are operating hundreds of impostor accounts targeting his followers. Meanwhile, a veteran a...
Dec 08, 2023•46 min•Ep. 174
YouTube star Kitboga has turned scam baiting into performance art, delighting his 3.3 million followers with his many characters and laughs at the expense of online criminals. It started out as pure curiosity, and a way to avenge his grandparents who'd been victims of scams, but along the way, he's helped return money and hijacked accounts to victims, and he's taught a lot of viewers how online scams work. Bob sits down with Kitboga for a humorous and enlightening conversation.
Dec 01, 2023•56 min•Ep. 173
Our smartphones contain access to just about everything that's important to us, so when criminals figure out how to exploit vulnerabilities in security on mobile devices, the results can be disastrous. In this episode, we'll hear about a group of young criminals who use the technique of SIM swapping to target the cellphones of high-earning crypto investors and steal millions of dollars. We'll also learn what steps you can take to safeguard your own accounts.
Nov 24, 2023•48 min•Ep. 172
While we are busy planning holiday gatherings and travel and buying gifts, scammers are working overtime coming up with ways to target us. In this special bonus episode, Bob sits down with Amy Nofziger, from the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline, to talk about the ways criminals are following seasonal trends to exploit common scams. These include social media ads, shipping text messages, gift cards, charity giving, pet scams, seasonal work and holiday travel.
Nov 17, 2023•32 min
Have you ever thought about who might be on the other end of those scam calls and messages we all receive? The answer could be far more sinister than you might imagine. The "scammer" may also be a victim of human trafficking. These people are lured by the promise of well-paid jobs to travel to countries in Southeast Asia and are then forced to work in prison-like scam compounds. A BBC journalist and brave volunteers work to expose this brutal practice.
Nov 10, 2023•50 min•Ep. 171
When David meets a woman, based in the Philippines, on a dating app he feels he's made a real connection. While not romantic, over the course of a year they develop a deep friendship. One day she comes to David with a problem: She needs some help dealing with a property owned by her ailing grandmother. It starts with a small loan, but as the issues pile up, David exhausts his personal resources and borrows money from family and friends. His life spirals out of control when he loses his home, and...
Nov 03, 2023•46 min•Ep. 170
You've heard the advice: When you receive an unexpected phone call from a company, hang up and call its verified phone number. But can you trust an internet search to find a valid number? Criminals have figured out how to deceive search engines including Google and put fake phone numbers in search results that look like the real thing. This malvertising, or malicious advertising, can lead to disaster for consumers like Marcia whose search for Amazon's customer service number goes very wrong....
Oct 27, 2023•45 min•Ep. 169
This week, we are bringing you a very special episode about a new development in the tech world that threatens to make things much easier for criminals – artificial intelligence. AI is already being used to supercharge the common grandparent and imposter scams because it's relatively cheap and easy to clone a person's voice and make it say whatever you want. We use examples with Bob's own voice to show you how it's being done and what to look out for.
Oct 20, 2023•53 min•Ep. 168
In 2018, The Perfect Scam brought you the story of the French psychic Maria Duval mail fraud impostor scheme. For decades, criminals, led by a man named Patrice Runner, used Duval's name and image on letters sent all over the U.S. and the world, promising good fortune in exchange for regular payments, and threatening disaster for those who ignored the solicitations. Federal investigators estimate the scam impacted 1 in 300 Americans and raked in over $200 million. The U.S. Postal Inspection Serv...
Oct 13, 2023•57 min•Ep. 167
