AARP’s weekly podcast The Perfect ScamSM tells the stories of people who find themselves the target of a scam. Host Bob Sullivan introduces listeners to those w...
Family Fights to Disentangle Father from Romance Scam, Part 2
In part 2, Chris and his family try without success to stop their father, Alfred, from sending money to a series of criminals he met online – some claiming to need medical care and one even impersonating WWE wrestler Alexa Bliss. One day when Alfred comes to him asking for a $5,000 loan, Chris thinks it could be a turning point. The optimism is short-lived, however, as Alfred's story will soon take an even more tragic turn.
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43:42
Family Fights to Disentangle Father from Romance Scam, Part 1
When Alfred's sons notice unusual transactions on their dad's bank statements, they start asking questions. But Alfred's reaction tells them that there is much more to the story than he is letting on. The family spends the next several years trying desperately to disentangle their father from various scams, one even involving an online romance with an impostor posing as WWE wrestler Alexa Bliss.
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36:59
Archive Episode: Woman’s Inheritance Wiped Out in Crypto-Dating Scam
After 25-year-old Niki Hutchinson loses her mother, she uses some of her inheritance to start fresh in California. Not knowing anyone, she does what many people do today and joins a dating app to make connections. She develops a friendship with a man named Hao and, in time, he offers to teach her how to invest in cryptocurrency. With some small successes and lots of encouragement from Hao, she dives in and invests her inheritance, plus some of her dad’s money as well. That’s when her friend becomes less helpful.
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58:23
Job Seekers Targeted by a Work-From-Home Reshipping Scam
When Cathy's disabled husband loses his Medicaid coverage, she must look for a job to help pay the rent. The retired Army Reserve veteran has impressive work experience, so when she puts her resume online, she almost immediately gets an offer. The job is for a shipping company, receiving, inspecting, and forwarding packages, and it allows her to work from home while caring for her husband. It seems like the perfect job for a while, but when they offer her a promotion to purchasing agent, it could end up putting their home in jeopardy.
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40:38
Phony Home Contractors Steal Over $450,000
80-year-old David lives in a tight-knit community, frequently helping his neighbors with yard care and other tasks. So when he gets a knock on the door from two brothers claiming they are working on his neighbor's home, and noticed a hole in his roof, David agrees to let them fix it. But one repair turns into many as the brothers find more and more work that needs to be done on his house. David's daughter is suspicious, and when she finds out that the work has cost her father over $450,000, she jumps into action to help catch the criminals.
AARP’s weekly podcast The Perfect ScamSM tells the stories of people who find themselves the target of a scam. Host Bob Sullivan introduces listeners to those who have experienced scams firsthand, as well as professional con artists and leading experts who pull back the curtain on how scammers operate.
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