Deepfakes

Prologue: Takes a Crook to Catch a Crook

From the moment the FBI arrested me in Operation Senior Sentinel to the day I walked out of federal prison years later, one thing was clear to me: fraudsters are born, not made.

Sure, you can teach somebody how to run a scam. But the real threats, the ones coming for your parents and grandparents, are criminals from birth. Just ask any second-grade teacher. She can look around her classroom and point out who those kids are going to be. The players, the jocks, the nerds, and the thieves. And she will be right nine times out of ten.

The thief, the fraudster, the scammer starts the trade in childhood. That is where they practice lying, cheating, and deceiving. Manipulation comes naturally to some people. They are born with it, and the ones who make a career of it sharpen the skill early.

I know, because I was one of them.

My generation of fraudsters worked the telephone. Then they got the internet. Now they have the most powerful tool a con artist could ever dream of: artificial intelligence. A machine that can write a perfect letter in your bank’s voice. A machine that can copy your grandson’s voice from a ten-second video. A machine that can put a fake face on a live video call.

Back in my day, if I wanted to sound like your grandson, I had to do it myself, and I was a lousy grandson. Today’s scammer just pushes a button.

This book is going to show you the dark side of AI and how professional scammers are using it to target the people we love most: our elders. If you are going to read a guide on how to spot fraud, you’d best get it from a former fraudster. I have sat on the other end of that phone line. I know the scripts, the tricks, and the exact moment a victim’s guard drops.

My job: I will teach you what to look for.

Your job: You get this guide into the hands of your parents and grandparents before their money is gone.

How to Use This Book

You do not have to read this book in one sitting. Each chapter stands on its own.

If you are an older reader, start with Chapters 1 through 12. They show you how each scam works and exactly what to do.

If you are the grown son, daughter, or grandchild trying to protect someone, read Chapter 13 first. It walks you through the guardrails you can set up this weekend.

If something has already happened, go straight to Chapter 14. Do not wait. Do not be embarrassed. Time matters.

At the very back is a one-page checklist. Copy it, print it, and tape it next to the phone. It may be the most valuable page in this book.

Chapter 1: Confessions of a Reformed Con Man

In my books Down the Road to Operation Senior Sentinel and Up The River Paddle Not Included, FPC Talladega, I lay out my former life as a fraudster. That life came to a close when the FBI dragged me across the evening news and I was sent to prison for my crimes.

I was convicted of Mail Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud. That conviction ended my life as a scammer. I chose not to go back to it, and I have lived a life of redemption ever since.

So why write this guide?

Because I have watched the seniors in my own family get taken, and it scares me.

My own mother and my in-laws have been taken for a ride more than once. My wife and I finally got them to agree not to do anything, or send anyone money, until they talk to us first. That way we can look into whatever they are being offered.

Even with that rule in place, they still fall for things. We find out later, after the money is already gone.

Think about that. A former professional con man, standing guard over his own mother, and the crooks still got through. If it can happen in my house, it can happen in yours.

I have spent years deep in the world of artificial intelligence and have published several books about it. So I decided to put together a guide to help other families dealing with the same painful and costly problem: deepfakes, scam emails, voice-cloning scams, fake text messages, and every other trick the new crooks are using.

The New Crime Wave Is Built on Old Tricks

AI has given the public some amazing tools. It can make pictures, answer questions, and translate languages on the spot. It has also handed criminals the biggest upgrade in the history of fraud.

No group is being hit harder than older adults.

Many seniors grew up in a world where a voice on the phone or a face on a screen could be trusted. If it sounded like your son, it was your son. If a letter had the bank’s logo on it, it came from the bank. That world is gone, and the crooks know it.

The Numbers Do Not Lie (Even If Everyone Else Does)

Here is what the latest government numbers say.

Americans reported losing about $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That is a record, and it is up from about $12.5 billion the year before.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, called IC3, tells an even scarier story for older Americans. In 2025, people age 60 and over filed more than 201,000 complaints and reported losing about $7.7 billion. That is a 59 percent jump in losses in a single year. The average loss was about $38,500. More than 12,000 seniors each reported losing over $100,000.

Read that last line again. Twelve thousand people lost more than a hundred grand apiece. For most of them, that was the retirement.

The FTC also found that older adults lose more per scam than younger people. In 2024, people 80 and over reported a typical loss of about $1,650, far higher than any other age group.

And those are only the people who reported it. The FTC estimates that the true cost of fraud against older adults in 2024 may have been anywhere from about $10 billion to more than $80 billion. Most victims never tell anyone.

Why AI Changes Everything

Old-fashioned scam emails were easy to spot. Bad spelling. Strange wording. A prince who needed your help moving his fortune.

AI scams do not work that way. They do not attack what you know. They attack how you feel.

A crook can now copy a loved one’s voice from just a few seconds of audio. He can pull that audio from a Facebook video, a TikTok clip, or even a voicemail greeting. Fake video tools, which used to be for Hollywood experts, are now cheap and easy to get.

So seniors are no longer being fooled by sloppy scripts. They are being fooled by what sounds like the desperate voice of their own grandchild.

In 2025, the FBI received more than 3,100 complaints from seniors that mentioned AI, with about $352 million in losses. And the FBI says those numbers are low, because many victims never realize a machine was involved.

Why Seniors Are the Target

I can tell you exactly why crooks go after older people, because I used to sit on the other end of that phone line.

First, trust. Many seniors were raised to believe that a familiar voice or a real-looking caller ID means the call is real. Scammers count on that.

Second, money. Seniors often have savings, a paid-off house, and retirement accounts. To a crook, that is a target with a bow on it.

Third, love. Most of these scams are built around a family emergency. A frightened voice begging for help triggers instinct, not careful thinking.

Fourth, manners. Older folks were raised to be polite. They do not hang up on people. Crooks love polite people.

Fifth, silence. Shame keeps victims quiet. Many are afraid their children will think they cannot manage their own affairs. So they do not report it, and the crook moves on to the next victim, or comes back for more.

A Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight

Part of what makes this moment so dangerous is that the technology is moving faster than the public can keep up.

Government reports still lump most AI scams into broad buckets like “imposter scam.” That makes it hard to count them. But the direction is clear. AI scams are growing. The losses are bigger. The fakes are harder to spot. And seniors are taking the worst of it.

For families like mine, this is not a news story. It is a Tuesday afternoon phone call. Many of you have watched your mother or mother-in-law fall for a scam. Not because she is foolish or careless, but because the tools being used against her were built to hack her heart.

Here is a thought I keep coming back to. For all of human history, a voice was proof. A baby knows its mother’s voice before it knows its own name. Now a machine can borrow that voice and use it against the very people who love it most. We are living through the first time in history when hearing is no longer believing. That is a big deal, and most people have not caught up to it yet.

The good news is this: the crooks have new tools, but their game has not changed. Every scam in this book still needs you to do one thing: act fast, before you think. Learn to slow down, and you take away their biggest weapon.

That is what the rest of this book is about.

Chapter 2: Inside the Scammer’s Playbook

Before we get into emails, texts, and fake voices, I want to take you behind the curtain. Every scam I ever saw, and every scam you will read about in this book, runs on the same playbook. The tools change. The playbook does not.

Learn the playbook, and you can spot a scam you have never seen before.

The Five Buttons Every Scammer Pushes

Think of your mind as a control panel. A scammer’s whole job is to push the right buttons in the right order.

Button one is fear. “Your account has been hacked.” “Your grandson is in jail.” “Your Social Security number has been suspended.” Fear shuts down the thinking part of the brain.

Button two is urgency. “You have to act right now.” “The bail hearing is in one hour.” “Your account will be closed by midnight.” If you have time to think, the scam dies. So they never give you time.

Button three is authority. They pretend to be the bank, the IRS, Medicare, the police, Amazon, Microsoft, or a lawyer. People are trained to obey authority. Crooks wear it like a costume.

Button four is secrecy. “Don’t tell anyone.” “Don’t tell your bank, they may be in on it.” “Grandpa will be so mad, please keep this between us.” Secrecy cuts you off from the people who would stop you.

Button five is reward or love. A prize, a refund, a can’t-miss investment, or a sweetheart who finally understands you. Greed and loneliness are both powerful buttons, and crooks push them both.

When you feel any of these buttons being pushed, especially fear plus hurry plus secrecy, that is your alarm bell. It does not matter how real it sounds.

How a Scam Call Actually Unfolds

Here is how a professional works a call, step by step. I have changed the details, but the shape is the same one used in boiler rooms for decades.

Step 1, the hook. They grab you with a shock. “Mrs. Johnson, this is the fraud department at your bank. We have stopped a $2,400 charge on your account.”

Step 2, the proof. They say something that makes them seem real. Your name. Your street. The last four digits of your card. Much of that is sold online after data breaches, so knowing it proves nothing.

Step 3, the hero. They offer to save you. “Don’t worry, I’m going to help you protect your money.”

Step 4, the isolation. “Stay on the line with me. Don’t hang up, or we’ll lose the case number.” “Don’t tell the teller why you’re withdrawing the money. There may be an employee involved.”

Step 5, the ask. Now, and only now, they tell you to move money, buy gift cards, go to a Bitcoin machine, or hand cash to a courier.

Step 6, the reload. If you paid once, they will be back. A second agent. A new problem. A fee to release the money. A “recovery” service. Once a crook knows you will pay, you go on a list, and that list gets passed around.

Notice that step 5 comes last. By the time they ask for money, they have spent fifteen minutes making you scared, then making you trust them. That is why smart people fall for this. It is not about intelligence. It is about pressure.

The Sucker List Is Real

When I was in that world, everybody knew the most valuable thing in the business was a list of people who had already paid once.

It is the same today, just digital. If you have been scammed before, you are more likely to be targeted again, not less. And one of the cruelest tricks is the recovery scam. Someone calls claiming to be a lawyer, a government agent, or a recovery company. They say they can get your lost money back, for a fee.

The FBI says seniors reported losing more than $540 million to these recovery scams in 2025. That money was often stolen from people who had already been robbed once.

Here is the rule: nobody legitimate charges you up front to recover money you lost to a scam. Anyone who calls offering to do it is the same gang, coming back for seconds.

The Golden Rule of the Whole Book

If you remember nothing else, remember this:

Any message that makes you scared, makes you hurry, and asks you to keep a secret is a scam until proven otherwise.

Real banks, real police, real government agencies, and real grandchildren can all wait ten minutes while you hang up and check. Only a crook cannot.

Chapter 3: Your Inbox Is Lying to You

Email looks harmless. A few lines of text, maybe a logo, maybe a name you know. But behind that friendly screen sits one of the oldest weapons in the scammer’s toolbox: borrowed trust.

Many older Americans grew up when a letter was a letter. If it had a company’s name on top, it came from that company. Email changed that. Anyone can put any name and any logo on an email in about thirty seconds.

How Big Is the Problem?

According to the Pew Research Center, 73 percent of American adults have experienced at least one online scam or attack. Email is one of the main ways those scams start.

The FTC reports that older adults were much more likely than younger adults to lose money to fake tech support, fake prizes and sweepstakes, romance scams, and fake government notices. Many of those start with a single email.

And AI has made email scams much better. A 2024 research study found that phishing emails written by AI fooled people about as often as emails written by human experts. That means a crook who cannot spell “Tuesday” can now send a million flawless, personal-sounding emails before lunch.

What Modern Scam Emails Look Like

Forget the misspelled prince. Today’s scam emails look like this:

Subject: Your PayPal account has been limited

We noticed unusual activity on your account. To avoid permanent suspension, please verify your identity within 24 hours. Click here to restore access.

Subject: Norton Subscription Renewal: $399.99

Thank you for your purchase. Your card will be charged $399.99 today. If you did not authorize this, call our billing department at 1-8XX-XXX-XXXX.

Subject: Final Notice: Unpaid Toll Balance

Our records show an unpaid toll. Pay now to avoid a late fee and suspension of your driver’s license.

Subject: Grandma, it’s me

Hi Grandma, I’m writing from a friend’s account because I lost my phone. I’m in a bit of trouble and need help. Please don’t tell Mom.

Notice the pattern. Fear, hurry, and a link or phone number for you to use. The “renewal” email is one of the sneakiest. You did not buy anything, so you call to cancel. That is exactly what they want. The person who answers is the scammer, and now he has you on the phone.

The Tricks Behind the Email

Fake identities. Scammers copy the logos, colors, and wording of banks, Amazon, PayPal, Medicare, the IRS, and your internet company.

Fake addresses. The sender’s name might say “Wells Fargo,” but the actual address behind it is something like support@wellsfargo-secure-alerts.net. The name is a costume. The address is the truth, and even the address can be faked.

Personal details. Crooks buy stolen data from past breaches. They may know your name, address, and even part of your account number. That makes the email feel real. It is not proof.

Mixed attacks. The email is often just step one. Next comes a phone call, a text, or a fake website. Each step adds pressure.

Why Seniors Get Hit Harder

More savings. Crooks know where the money is.

More trust in official-looking mail. If it looks professional, many people assume it must be real.

More to lose emotionally. A threat of losing benefits, getting in legal trouble, or being cut off from the bank hits harder when you live on a fixed income.

Repeat targeting. Once a crook gets your email address and a little information, he comes back again and again with new stories.

Red Flags in Any Email

• It asks you to click a link to “verify,” “restore,” or “confirm” something.
• It gives you a phone number to call about a charge you did not make.
• It threatens a deadline: 24 hours, today, by midnight.
• It asks for a password, PIN, Social Security number, or full account number.
• It has an attachment you were not expecting.
• It comes from a friend or relative but sounds a little off, or asks for money or gift cards.
• The sender’s address does not exactly match the company’s real website.

What to Do, Step by Step

Step 1. Do not click anything. No links, no attachments, no buttons.

Step 2. Do not call any phone number in the email.

Step 3. Close the email. Breathe.

Step 4. If you are worried it might be real, go to the company yourself. Type the company’s web address into your browser by hand, or call the number printed on the back of your card or on a paper statement.

Step 5. If the email came from a friend or family member asking for help, call that person at the number you already have for them.

Step 6. Show it to someone you trust. A fresh pair of eyes catches what a worried mind misses.

Step 7. Report it, then delete it. You can forward phishing emails to reportphishing@apwg.org, and report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Lock Your Email Door

Your email account is the master key to your life. If a crook gets into it, he can reset your bank password, your Amazon account, and more.

• Use a strong password that you do not use anywhere else. A short sentence works well, like a line from a favorite hymn plus a number.
• Turn on two-step verification, sometimes called two-factor. That means the account sends a code to your phone when someone signs in. A family helper can set this up in ten minutes.
• Never give that code to anyone who calls you. Not the bank, not Microsoft, not your grandson. Anyone asking for that code is breaking in.

Email scams are not rare. They are everyday business for criminals. But a few habits block almost all of them: do not click, do not call their number, go to the source yourself, and ask for a second opinion.

Chapter 4: That’s Not Your Grandson on the Phone

The phone rings. It is late. You hear crying, then a voice you would know anywhere.

“Grandma? It’s me. I’m in trouble. I was in a car accident and they arrested me. Please don’t tell Mom and Dad. I need you to help me.”

Then another voice comes on, calm and official.

“Ma’am, my name is Attorney Mark Davis. I’m representing your grandson. He’s being held, and the judge has set bail at $8,500. We need to handle this quickly and quietly. There’s a gag order on the case, so you can’t discuss it with anyone.”

This is the grandparent scam. It has been around for years. The difference today is that the voice on the line may truly sound exactly like your grandson.

How Voice Cloning Works

In the old days, the caller did not sound like your grandchild. He would mumble, blame a bad connection, or say, “My nose is broken, that’s why I sound funny.” Often that was enough to save the victim.

Not anymore.

Free and cheap AI tools can now copy a person’s voice from just a few seconds of recording. A birthday video on Facebook. A TikTok clip. A YouTube video from a school play. A voicemail greeting that says, “Hi, you’ve reached Jake, leave a message.”

The machine studies the pitch, the tone, the accent, and the little habits of speech. Then the crook types what he wants the voice to say, or talks into a microphone and the machine changes his voice into your grandson’s in real time.

Victims often swear it was 100 percent their loved one. And that is the point.

The Many Faces of the Family Emergency Scam

The grandparent scam is the most famous, but it comes in many costumes.

The jail call. Your grandchild has been arrested and needs bail money.

The accident call. Your son hit someone with his car and needs money for the other driver’s hospital bills, or to keep from being sued.

The hospital call. Your daughter is hurt in another country and the hospital will not treat her until they are paid.

The kidnapping call. This one is pure evil. You hear your loved one screaming. A man says he has her and will hurt her unless you pay right now and stay on the line. The FBI calls this virtual kidnapping, and it has warned that crooks are now using altered photos, videos, and audio as fake “proof of life.”

The “new number” text. “Hi Mom, I dropped my phone in the toilet. This is my new number. Can you help me pay a bill?”

In every version, you will hear the same three things: it is an emergency, it has to happen now, and you must not tell anyone.

What a Real Emergency Looks Like

Here is the truth. Real police do not call grandparents for bail money in gift cards. Real lawyers do not send couriers to your door to pick up cash. Real hospitals do not demand a wire transfer before treating someone. And real gag orders do not stop you from calling your own family.

A real emergency can survive a five-minute phone call to check the facts. A scam cannot.

Your Best Weapon: The Family Safe Word

This is the single strongest protection in this book, and it is free.

Sit down with your family and pick a safe word or code phrase. Something only you and your loved ones know. It should not be anything a stranger could find on Facebook. Not a pet’s name, not a street name, not a birthday.

Good examples:

• A silly phrase, like “purple pancakes” or “Uncle Earl’s boat.”
• An inside joke from a family trip.
• A question with a strange answer, like “What did we eat at the lake?” with the answer “burnt hot dogs.”

Then make the rule: if anyone ever calls, texts, or video-calls asking for money or help in an emergency, they must give the safe word. No safe word, no money. Period.

My family has done this, and I will tell you, it cuts right through the bullshit. A crook with a perfect copy of your grandson’s voice still does not know the word.

A few tips:

• Say the word out loud in person. Never text it or post it.
• Make sure everyone knows it, including the grandkids, cousins, and in-laws.
• If someone gets it wrong or dodges it, hang up. Do not give them a second guess.
• Change it if you ever think it has gotten out.

The Call-Back Rule

Even with a safe word, use the call-back rule.

Step 1. Hang up. It is okay to be rude to a crook. You will not hurt his feelings.

Step 2. Call your loved one directly, at the number you already have saved. Not a number the caller gave you.

Step 3. If they do not answer, call their parent, spouse, roommate, or another relative.

Step 4. If you still cannot reach anyone and you are truly worried, call the local police where the person lives and ask them to check.

Step 5. Do not send money while you are figuring it out. A real problem will still be there in an hour.

Questions That Break the Spell

If you get stuck on a call and feel yourself panicking, ask these questions out loud:

• “Why the rush?”
• “Why can’t I tell anyone?”
• “Why can’t I call you back at your regular number?”
• “What’s our family safe word?”

A loved one in real trouble will answer. A crook will get angry, push harder, or hang up. Any of those tells you what you need to know.

The Hardest Truth

I will be blunt, because it matters.

A familiar voice is no longer proof of who is talking.

That is a painful thing to accept. Your ears have been telling you the truth your whole life. But today, the only things you can trust are the safe word and your own call-back. Not the voice. Not the caller ID. Not the crying.

When in doubt, hang up and call. Every single time.

Chapter 5: Seeing Is No Longer Believing

For most of our lives, a video was proof. If you saw it with your own eyes, it happened. Our brains are built to trust what we see.

Deepfakes break that instinct.

A deepfake is a fake video, photo, or voice made by a computer to look and sound like a real person. The word comes from “deep learning,” a type of AI, and “fake,” which is exactly what it is.

What Crooks Do With Deepfakes

Fake video calls. A scammer can put a loved one’s face on a live video call. The face moves, blinks, and talks. It may be a little blurry, or the call may “keep cutting out,” which is a handy excuse for any glitches.

Fake celebrities. This is one of the biggest. You see a video on Facebook or YouTube of a famous TV doctor, a billionaire, or a news anchor. They are recommending a miracle cure, a can’t-lose investment, or a crypto trading platform. It looks real. It is not. The FBI warns that investment scammers use AI-generated videos and voices of celebrities, CEOs, and trusted figures to sell fake opportunities.

Fake officials. A “bank manager,” “FBI agent,” or “Medicare representative” on a video call, complete with a badge and an office behind him. All of it can be faked.

Fake sweethearts. Romance scammers use AI to create good-looking people who do not exist, with photos and even short videos. We will talk more about this in Chapter 10.

Fake proof. Crooks can make a fake photo of your grandson in a hospital bed or a jail cell to “prove” their story.

How to Spot a Deepfake

The fakes get better every month, so do not count on spotting them by eye. But here are some things that can give them away:

• The face looks a little too smooth, like a wax figure.
• The lips do not quite match the words.
• The person does not blink normally, or blinks too much.
• The edges of the face, hair, or glasses flicker or blur when the head moves.
• The lighting on the face does not match the room.
• The voice sounds flat, with little emotion, or the emotion does not fit the face.
• The person avoids turning their head to the side.
• The video “keeps freezing” every time you ask a question.

The Live Video Test

If you are on a video call and something feels off, try this:

• Ask the person to turn their head all the way to one side and then the other.
• Ask them to wave a hand slowly in front of their face.
• Ask them to hold up a specific number of fingers, or touch their nose.
• Ask them something only the real person would know, and that is not on social media.
• Ask for the family safe word.

Many deepfake tools still struggle when a hand passes in front of the face or the head turns sideways. But the best rule is simpler: if anyone on a video call asks for money, hang up and call them back on their regular phone number.

Celebrity Endorsements Are Almost Always Fake

Here is a rule that will save a lot of people a lot of money.

Famous people do not advertise investment platforms, miracle pills, or free government money in Facebook videos.

If you see a famous face selling a way to double your money, assume it is a deepfake. The FBI says Americans reported more than $8 billion in investment scam losses in 2025, and people 60 and over reported losing about $3.5 billion of that. Many investment scams start with a fake ad or a new “friend” on social media.

The Bigger Lesson

Here is where I want you to slow down and think a little bigger.

For thousands of years, people have trusted their eyes and ears because they had no choice. Seeing was believing. Now we are entering a world where anything can be faked, and that means trust has to move. It has to move away from what we see and hear, and toward what we can check.

That is not a sad thing. It is just a new rule. Our grandparents learned to lock their doors when the neighborhood changed. We have to learn to verify.

So the new rule is this: do not trust the face. Do not trust the voice. Trust the call-back.

Chapter 6: One Little Text, One Big Mess

For most older adults, a text message used to be a simple thing. A quick note from a grandchild. A reminder from the doctor’s office. A code to log in somewhere.

Today, that same little bubble on your phone is one of the busiest roads crooks use to reach you. Text scams are often called “smishing,” which is short for SMS phishing. SMS is just the technical name for a text message.

Text scams take almost no skill. They are cheap, fast, automatic, and they work.

Why Text Scams Are Everywhere

According to the FTC, text messages were the most commonly reported way scammers first reached people in 2025. In 2024, people reported losing about $470 million to scams that started with a text. That is more than five times what was reported in 2020.

Texts work because they feel casual. Most of us see a text as a quick little chore, not a threat. Crooks count on that lowered guard.

The Three Tricks Inside Every Scam Text

Urgency. “Your bank account is locked. Verify now.” “Your package cannot be delivered. Update your address.” “Your Medicare benefits will expire. Confirm before midnight.” Hurry kills careful thinking, and many seniors feel responsible for fixing a problem right away.

Authority. The message claims to be from your bank, the Post Office, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, Medicare, the toll road, or the DMV.

Familiarity. The message looks clean and normal, with no spelling mistakes. AI writes it in perfect, corporate-sounding English.

The Most Common Scam Texts Hitting Seniors

The fake delivery.

USPS: Your package is on hold due to an incomplete address. Update within 12 hours: [link]

This one works on everybody, but especially on folks who get medicine and household goods by mail.

The fake toll bill.

FINAL NOTICE: You have an unpaid toll balance of $6.99. Pay now to avoid a $50 late fee: [link]

These have flooded phones nationwide. The tiny amount is the bait. They want your card number.

The fake bank alert.

Chase Fraud Alert: Did you attempt a purchase of $1,249.00 at Walmart? Reply YES or NO.

If you reply NO, a “fraud agent” calls you a minute later. That call is the real scam. It leads straight into the fake bank scheme in Chapter 8.

The fake Medicare or Social Security notice.

Medicare: Your benefits require verification. Confirm your information here to avoid interruption: [link]

The fake refund.

You have been issued a $179 refund. Claim here: [link]

The family emergency.

Grandma it’s me. I broke my phone, this is my new number. Can you help me with something?

The wrong number.

Hi Linda, are we still on for dinner Thursday?

You kindly reply, “Sorry, wrong number.” The stranger apologizes, then strikes up a friendly chat. Weeks later, the new friend is talking about a great investment. This is often the start of a romance or crypto investment scam, the kind the crooks themselves call “pig butchering,” because they “fatten up” the victim before they take everything.

How One Text Snowballs

A single click can lead to a fake website that steals your password. Or a phone call from a fake “bank fraud department.” Or a fake tech-support agent who asks to take control of your computer. One text can roll downhill into identity theft and empty accounts.

The QR Code Trap

QR codes are those little black-and-white square patterns you scan with your phone camera. Restaurants use them for menus. Parking meters use them for payment. And crooks love them, because you cannot read a QR code with your eyes. You have no idea where it leads until it is too late.

Watch for:

• QR code stickers placed on top of the real code on parking meters, gas pumps, and signs.
• QR codes in emails or letters claiming to be from your bank, a delivery company, or the government.
• QR codes in text messages telling you to “scan to pay.”
• Any stranger telling you to scan a code at a Bitcoin machine. That is a scam, every time.

Safe habits:

• Do not scan QR codes from emails, texts, or letters you did not expect.
• On a parking meter or sign, check whether the code is a sticker pasted on top. If it is, do not use it.
• When you pay for parking or a bill, type in the official web address yourself, or use the company’s real app.

What to Do: The Text Message Rules

Rule 1. Never click a link in a text you were not expecting. Not from the bank, UPS, Amazon, Medicare, the toll road, or even someone claiming to be family. If the message is real, you can check it another way.

Rule 2. Do not reply. Not even with “STOP.” A reply tells the crook your number is real and someone is reading.

Rule 3. Check the claim yourself. Call the number on the back of your card. Go to the post office website or the toll agency website by typing the address yourself.

Rule 4. Report it. Forward the text to 7726. That spells “SPAM” on the keypad, and it alerts your phone company. Then delete it.

Rule 5. Block the number using your phone’s built-in “Block” feature.

Rule 6. Remember the big red flag: real agencies do not use surprise texts to ask for your personal or financial information.

Rule 7. Turn on your phone company’s free scam protection. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile all offer free tools that filter scam calls and texts. A family helper can turn them on in a few minutes.

Rule 8. Ask someone. A son, daughter, grandchild, or trusted friend can look at a text in two seconds and save you thousands of dollars.

It Is Not About Being Gullible

Text scams do not succeed because seniors are gullible. They succeed because criminals have turned technology into a weapon aimed at trust, hurry, and good manners. With a few simple habits, you can make that weapon misfire every time.

Chapter 7: Uncle Sam Does Not Take Gift Cards

“This is Officer Daniel Ross with the Social Security Administration. Your Social Security number has been suspended because it was linked to drug trafficking in Texas. To avoid arrest, you must cooperate fully. Press 1 to speak with an agent.”

Calls like this terrify people. That is the whole idea.

Government impersonation is one of the most profitable scams going. The FTC says people reported losing about $920 million to government imposters in 2025. The FBI says seniors alone reported more than $413 million in government impersonation losses that year.

Who They Pretend to Be

• The IRS, saying you owe back taxes and will be arrested today.
• The Social Security Administration, saying your number is “suspended” or your benefits will stop.
• Medicare, offering a “new card,” a free brace, a free genetic test, or saying your coverage needs “verification.”
• The FTC, the FBI, or the Department of Justice, saying your identity was used in a crime.
• The local sheriff, saying you missed jury duty and there is a warrant out for you.
• The court, the DMV, a toll agency, or the Post Office.
• A “government grant” office, saying you won free money and just need to pay a fee.

What the Real Government Will Never Do

Write these down. Every one of them is a sure sign of a scam.

The real government will never:

• Call, text, or email you out of the blue threatening arrest.
• Tell you your Social Security number is “suspended.” That does not happen.
• Demand payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin machine, wire transfer, or payment app.
• Ask you to move your money to a “safe” account to protect it.
• Send someone to your home to pick up cash, gold, or a check.
• Tell you to keep the call secret from your family or your bank.
• Ask you to confirm your full Social Security number or Medicare number on a call they started.
• Charge you a fee to receive a grant or prize.

The IRS generally contacts people by paper mail first. Social Security will never threaten you. Medicare will never call to sell you anything.

Caller ID Is a Liar

Scammers can make your caller ID show anything they want: “Social Security Administration,” “IRS,” your local police department, even a real government phone number. This is called spoofing.

So a caller ID that says “IRS” proves nothing. Treat it like a name tag at a costume party.

Medicare Scams to Watch For

Medicare and health care are a favorite playground for crooks because so many seniors depend on them.

• “We’re sending your new Medicare card. Just confirm your Medicare number.”
• “You qualify for a free back brace, knee brace, or diabetic supplies.”
• “Medicare covers a free genetic test or cancer screening. We’ll send a kit.”
• “Your plan is being canceled unless you switch today.”

Your Medicare number is like a credit card number. Crooks use it to bill Medicare for things you never got, and that can mess up your own care later.

Read your Medicare Summary Notices or your plan statements. If you see a service, device, or test you never received, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

What to Do, Step by Step

Step 1. Hang up. Do not press 1. Do not argue. Just hang up.

Step 2. Do not call back the number they gave you.

Step 3. If you are worried it might be real, look up the agency’s official number yourself. For Social Security, that is 1-800-772-1213. For the IRS, go to IRS.gov. For Medicare, call 1-800-MEDICARE.

Step 4. Tell a family member or friend what happened.

Step 5. Report it. Report Social Security scams at oig.ssa.gov. Report IRS scams at tigta.gov. Report any government imposter to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

One more thing. If a caller says your name has been “linked to a crime,” relax. You are not in trouble. You are being worked. Real investigations do not start with a robocall.

Protect Yourself Before They Call

• Create your own online account at ssa.gov (called “my Social Security”). If you set it up first, a crook cannot set one up in your name.
• Consider getting an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS at IRS.gov. It blocks anyone else from filing a tax return in your name.
• Shred old Medicare statements and anything with your Social Security number on it.

Here is the bottom line, from a man who has dealt with real federal agents: when the FBI wants you, it does not call ahead and ask for gift cards. Trust me on that one.

Chapter 8: Your Bank Will Never Send a Courier

This is the scam that keeps me up at night, because it is stealing entire life savings.

It starts with what looks like a security alert. A text, a pop-up, or a phone call from your “bank’s fraud department.” By the end, you have emptied your own accounts and handed the money to a stranger, all while believing you were protecting it.

The FTC calls these “false alarm, real scam” schemes. From 2020 to 2024, the number of older adults who reported losing $10,000 or more to scammers posing as businesses or government agencies more than quadrupled. Combined losses from older adults who each lost more than $100,000 to these schemes jumped eightfold, from about $55 million to about $445 million.

In 2025, the FTC said bank impersonators caused the highest losses of any business imposter.

How the Fake Bank Call Works

Here is a typical script. Every line is designed to push a button.

“Hello, Mr. Harris, this is Kevin from the Bank of America fraud department. We’ve detected suspicious activity on your account. Someone in Florida just tried to wire $4,800. Did you authorize that?”

You say no. Of course you didn’t.

“I was afraid of that. It looks like your account has been compromised, and, I’m sorry to tell you this, we believe someone inside your local branch may be involved. That’s why I need you to work only with me. Don’t discuss this with the tellers.”

Now you are scared and you have a hero.

“To protect your money, we need to move it into a new secure account while we investigate. I’ll walk you through it. If the teller asks, just tell them it’s for a home repair.”

Or:

“For your safety, withdraw the cash and we’ll send a courier to pick it up and deposit it in a protected federal account.”

Or:

“Convert the money into gold for safekeeping. A federal agent will come collect it.”

Some versions add a second caller, a fake “FTC agent” or “FBI agent,” who confirms the story and even texts you a picture of a badge.

The Red Flags in That Call

• Your bank will never ask you to move money to “protect” it. There is no such thing as a “safe account” you send money to.
• Your bank will never tell you not to talk to the tellers.
• Your bank will never tell you to lie about why you are withdrawing money.
• No bank, no government agency, and no police department will ever send a courier to pick up cash, gold, or checks from your house.
• No real agency will tell you to buy gold bars for safekeeping.
• No real fraud department will ask for your online banking password or the code they just texted to you.

If you hear any one of these, it is a scam. Not maybe. Is.

The Courier at the Door

This one is terrifying because it brings the crook to your front porch.

After the phone call, a polite young man in a car shows up to collect a package. Sometimes he even gives you a password to say. He is often a low-level “runner” who may not know the whole scheme. But your money is gone the minute he drives away.

If anyone ever comes to pick up money because of a phone call, do not hand it over. Close the door, lock it, and call 911.

Tellers Are on Your Side

Bank tellers see these scams every week. They are trained to ask questions when an older customer suddenly wants to pull out a large sum of cash.

If a teller asks why you need the money, tell the truth. If someone on the phone told you to lie to the teller, that is the proof you are being scammed. Let the teller help you. Many tellers have saved people’s life savings with one question.

What to Do, Step by Step

Step 1. Hang up, even if the caller ID shows your bank’s real name and number. Remember, caller ID can be faked.

Step 2. Wait a minute. Some crooks stay on the line after you hang up. Better yet, call from a different phone.

Step 3. Call your bank yourself at the number on the back of your card or on your paper statement.

Step 4. Ask the bank: “Is there a fraud problem on my account?” Usually, the answer is no.

Step 5. If you already gave out information or sent money, tell the bank right away and follow the steps in Chapter 14.

The best line you can memorize: “I’ll call the bank myself.” Then do it. A crook cannot survive that sentence.

Chapter 9: The Pop-Up That Holds Your Computer Hostage

You are reading the news on your computer. Suddenly the screen goes red. An alarm blares. A big box appears:

WARNING! Your computer has been infected with a virus. Your bank information and passwords are at risk. Do not turn off your computer. Call Microsoft Support immediately at 1-8XX-XXX-XXXX.

Your heart jumps. You call the number. That is the scam.

How Big Is This?

Tech support scams hit seniors harder than almost anyone. The FBI says people 60 and over filed more than 21,000 tech and customer support complaints in 2025, with more than $1 billion in losses. The FTC says older adults were far more likely than younger adults to report losing money to these scams.

How the Scam Works

Step 1, the scare. A pop-up, a fake email about a “renewal,” or a cold call from “Microsoft,” “Apple,” “Geek Squad,” or “Norton” says something is wrong.

Step 2, the remote control. A friendly “technician” asks you to download a program so he can “fix” your computer from his end. Once you do, he can see your screen, move your mouse, and open your files.

Step 3, the fake problem. He shows you scary-looking screens full of “errors” that are perfectly normal.

Step 4, the payment. He charges you hundreds of dollars for a “fix” or a “security plan.”

Step 5, the twist. Often there is a second act. A few weeks later, someone calls to say you are owed a refund because the company went out of business. While he is “processing the refund,” he claims he accidentally sent you $40,000 instead of $400 and needs you to send the difference back by wire, gift card, or Bitcoin machine. He never sent you anything. He just moved your own money around on the screen to fool you.

Sometimes the fake technician hands you off to a fake “bank” or “government agent,” and the whole thing becomes the life-savings scam from Chapter 8.

Red Flags

• A pop-up with a phone number. Real virus warnings never include a phone number to call.
• Alarms, flashing screens, or a voice telling you not to turn off the computer.
• Anyone who calls you out of the blue about a problem with your computer. Microsoft and Apple do not do that.
• A request to let someone take control of your computer.
• A “refund” that requires you to send money back.
• Any request to pay by gift card, wire, crypto, or a Bitcoin machine.

What to Do, Step by Step

Step 1. Do not call the number on the screen.

Step 2. Close the browser. If it will not close, hold down the power button until the computer turns off. Then turn it back on. That clears most fake warnings. It is safe, no matter what the screen told you.

Step 3. If you already let someone into your computer, turn it off and disconnect it from the internet. Then get help from a trusted local repair shop or a tech-savvy family member.

Step 4. Change your passwords, from a different, safe device, starting with email and banking.

Step 5. Call your bank and card companies if you paid anything or if the “technician” saw your accounts.

Step 6. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and IC3.gov.

One easy fix for families: have your family helper set up your computer so it updates itself automatically and has the built-in security turned on. Then you will know that if a warning ever comes with a phone number, it is fake.

A Word About Pop-Up Ads and Search Results

Crooks also buy ads that show up at the top of search results. You search for “Amazon customer service” or “Wells Fargo phone number,” and the first result is a fake.

For any company you deal with, get the phone number from your card, your statement, or the paperwork they mailed you. Write the important numbers in a notebook by the phone, so you never have to search for them online.

Chapter 10: Love at First Wire Transfer

Loneliness is one of the most powerful buttons a crook can push, and it is one of the cruelest.

Romance scams target widows, widowers, divorced folks, and anyone who could use a little kindness. The crook does not come in with a threat. He comes in with flowers, emojis, and “Good morning, beautiful.” By the time he asks for money, the victim is in love.

The FBI says people 60 and over reported losing about $584 million to romance and confidence scams in 2025. That is the money people admitted to. Many never do.

How a Romance Scam Unfolds

The meeting. It starts on Facebook, a dating site, Words With Friends, or with a “wrong number” text. The person is attractive and successful. Often a widower, a doctor working overseas, an oil rig engineer, a soldier on deployment, or a businessman traveling abroad. Those jobs all explain why he can never meet in person.

The bond. He messages every day, sometimes all day. He is charming, attentive, and always available. He moves the chat to WhatsApp, Telegram, or text, away from the site that might flag him. He says “I love you” fast, sometimes within weeks.

The problem. Then comes trouble. A medical bill. A customs fee. A frozen bank account. A plane ticket so he can finally come see you. Or something more modern: “I’ve been making a fortune trading crypto. Let me teach you, so we can build our future together.”

The squeeze. Once you pay, there is always another problem, and it is always bigger. If you hesitate, he gets hurt, then angry, then desperate.

AI Has Made These Scammers Better

Romance scammers used to steal photos of real people. Now they can create faces that do not exist, so a reverse image search may come up empty. AI chat tools help them write sweet, natural-sounding messages and even run dozens of “romances” at once. Some now use short fake videos or voice messages to “prove” they are real. The FBI has warned that scammers use AI to make their fake profiles and conversations more believable.

Red Flags of a Romance Scam

• He is always too far away to meet, and every plan to meet falls through.
• He cannot video chat, or the video is always blurry, frozen, or “broken.”
• He moves the conversation off the dating site right away.
• He says “I love you” very quickly.
• His story has holes, or his grammar and details change over time.
• He asks for money, gift cards, crypto, or for you to receive and forward packages or money for him.
• He offers to teach you how to invest or trade crypto.
• He asks you to keep the relationship secret from family.

Here is the one-line rule: anyone you have never met in person who asks for money is a scammer. Every time.

What to Do, Step by Step

Step 1. Stop sending money. Right now. No matter what story comes next.

Step 2. Talk to someone you trust and show them the messages. Crooks work hard to keep you from doing this, which tells you everything.

Step 3. Do a reverse image search on his photos. A grandchild can show you how in two minutes with Google Images.

Step 4. Ask for a live video call, and use the live video test from Chapter 5.

Step 5. Report the profile to the site or app, and report the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and IC3.gov.

Step 6. Be gentle with yourself. These crooks are professionals. They study people for a living, and they are very good at faking love. Falling for it does not make you foolish. It makes you human.

For Families

If you think your parent is in an online romance with a scammer, do not open with “You’re being stupid.” That pushes them closer to the crook, who will say, “Your family doesn’t want you to be happy.”

Instead, ask questions. “Have you met him in person?” “Has he ever asked for money?” “Can we look him up together?” Let the facts do the talking. Sometimes it helps to have a neutral person, like a bank manager, a pastor, or a police officer, explain how these scams work.

Chapter 11: Follow the Money: How Crooks Want to Be Paid

Here is one of the simplest and most powerful lessons in this whole book.

You do not have to figure out whether the story is true. You only have to look at how they want to be paid.

Crooks want money that is fast, hard to trace, and impossible to get back. Real businesses and real government agencies do not.

The Big Red Flag Payment Methods

Gift cards. If anyone tells you to pay with a gift card, it is a scam. Gift cards are for gifts. Not for taxes, not for bail, not for utility bills, not for fixing your computer. When a crook asks you to read him the numbers on the back of the card, your money is gone that second. The FTC says gift cards are among the payment methods older adults most often report in fraud.

Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. If anyone you do not know tells you to buy crypto or send Bitcoin, it is a scam. Seniors reported more than $4.3 billion in cryptocurrency-related fraud losses to the FBI in 2025.

Bitcoin ATMs. These machines are popping up in gas stations, grocery stores, and convenience stores. Crooks tell victims to withdraw cash, feed it into the machine, and scan a QR code the crook sends. The money goes straight to the crook’s account. The FBI says seniors filed more than 6,100 complaints about these machines in 2025 and reported about $257 million in losses. The FTC found that in early 2024, the typical loss using one of these machines was $10,000, and people over 60 were more than three times as likely as younger adults to report losing money this way. If someone on the phone is telling you to go to a Bitcoin ATM, hang up.

Wire transfers. Wiring money through a bank, Western Union, or MoneyGram is like handing over cash. Once it is gone, it is usually gone.

Payment apps. Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, and similar apps are fine for paying family and friends you know. They are dangerous for paying strangers, because money usually cannot be pulled back.

Cash by mail or courier. No legitimate business asks you to mail cash, hide it in a magazine, or hand it to a courier.

Gold and silver. A newer twist: scammers tell victims to buy gold bars to “protect” their savings, then send someone to pick them up.

The Payment Rule

Write this on a card and keep it by the phone:

If anyone asks me to pay with a gift card, crypto, a Bitcoin machine, a wire, a payment app to a stranger, cash by courier, or gold, it is a scam. I will hang up.

Safer Ways to Pay

• Credit cards give you the most protection if something goes wrong. You can dispute a charge.
• Checks mailed to a company you already know and trust, at an address you looked up yourself.
• Paying a bill through your bank’s own website or the company’s real website, which you typed in yourself.

Payment Requests That Should Make You Laugh

A little humor helps. When you hear one of these, picture the crook’s face:

• “The IRS accepts Target gift cards.” No, it does not.
• “Your grandson’s bail can be paid at the Bitcoin machine at the Circle K.” No, it cannot.
• “Microsoft needs you to buy $500 in Google Play cards to fix your printer.” Not in this lifetime.
• “To receive your $2 million prize, just send $1,500 in processing fees.” If you have to pay to win, you did not win.

Back in my day, a con man at least had to tell a good story. These new guys want you to pay a parking ticket in Bitcoin. Where is the craftsmanship?

Chapter 12: Stop Feeding the Machine

Every scam you have read about so far runs on one fuel: information about you.

Your name. Your grandkids’ names. Your town. Your voice. Your birthday. Where you bank. Where you went on vacation. When you are away from home.

Much of that information is handed to crooks for free, by us, on social media.

How Oversharing Feeds Voice Cloning

To clone a voice, a crook needs a few seconds of clear audio. Where does he get it?

• Videos posted on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
• Voicemail greetings recorded in your own voice.
• Videos of a grandchild’s graduation, birthday, or sports game.
• Short phone calls where a stranger keeps you talking: “Hello? Can you hear me? Is this Mary?”

Then he needs a story. Where does he get that?

• Posts like “So proud of my grandson Tyler, off to college at Auburn!”
• Check-ins at the airport: “Off to Florida for two weeks!”
• Photos with the street sign or house number showing.
• Comments where family members tag each other by name.

Put that together, and the crook can call you as “Tyler,” in Tyler’s voice, saying he is in trouble at college, with details that sound exactly right.

Simple Ways to Starve the Machine

On social media:

• Set your accounts to private, so only friends and family can see them. A family helper can do this in a few minutes.
• Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know, or from a “second account” of someone you are already friends with. That is often a fake.
• Post vacation photos after you get home, not while you are away.
• Do not post your birthday, your address, your phone number, or your grandkids’ schools.
• Skip those fun quizzes like “Your first car plus your mother’s maiden name is your rock star name.” Those are often the answers to security questions.
• Ask the family to think twice before posting long videos of the kids talking, at least on public accounts.

On the phone:

• Consider using the phone’s standard voicemail greeting instead of one recorded in your own voice.
• If a stranger calls and asks, “Can you hear me?”, do not say “yes.” Just hang up.
• Let unknown numbers go to voicemail. Real callers leave messages.

Around the house:

• Shred bank statements, medical papers, and anything with account numbers.
• Sign up for USPS Informed Delivery, which shows you pictures of mail coming your way, so you notice if anything goes missing.

A Thought Worth Sitting With

Here is where I get a little philosophical.

We were raised to believe that our voice and our face belonged to us. They were the most personal things we owned. Now every time we post a video, we are handing out free copies of ourselves. The machine does not know or care who we are. It just learns how we sound, and it can play that sound back to the people who love us.

I am not saying throw your phone in the lake. I love technology. I write about it. But we have to treat our voices and our faces the way we treat our checkbooks: with a little care, because somebody out there wants them.

Chapter 13: For the Grown Kids: Build the Guardrails Now

This chapter is for the sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends who are trying to protect someone they love.

I am one of you. My wife and I watch over our own seniors. I can tell you from experience that a rule like “call us before you send anyone money” is a good start, but it is not enough. Scammers are very good at convincing people to break that rule. “Don’t tell your kids, they’ll just worry.”

So you need guardrails that work even on the day the rule fails.

The good news is that most of these are free, and you can set up many of them in one weekend afternoon.

Start With the Talk

Before you change a single setting, have a conversation. And do it with respect.

Your parents raised you. They paid bills and ran a household long before you were born. Nobody likes to be treated like a child, and if you make them feel that way, they will hide things from you. My wife and I have dealt with that firsthand. A parent who feels judged stops telling you what is going on, and that silence is exactly what a crook wants.

Try something like this:

“Mom, these scammers are using AI now. They can copy my voice. They’ve fooled bankers and lawyers. It’s not about you. I want us to set up a plan so nobody can trick either of us.”

Make it a team effort. You are not taking over. You are building a fence together.

Guardrail 1: The Family Safe Word

Pick a family safe word together, as described in Chapter 4. Make sure every family member knows it, including the grandkids. Practice it once or twice so it becomes a habit.

Guardrail 2: The Call-Back Agreement

Agree on this rule: “If anyone calls about an emergency or asks for money, we hang up and call each other back on our regular numbers. Every time. No exceptions, no hard feelings.”

Then put your phone numbers on the checklist at the back of this book and tape it next to the phone.

Guardrail 3: Freeze Their Credit

A credit freeze stops crooks from opening new loans or credit cards in your parent’s name. It is free, and it does not affect their credit score or their existing cards.

You need to do it at all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each one has a website and a phone line. When your parent needs to apply for credit, they can lift the freeze for a short time.

Guardrail 4: Turn On Bank and Card Alerts

Most banks and credit card companies can send a text or email whenever:

• A charge goes over a certain amount.
• Money leaves the account.
• Someone changes the password, phone number, or address on the account.

Set the alert limit low. With your parent’s permission, you can have alerts sent to you as well, or set up view-only access so you can see the account but not move money.

Guardrail 5: Name a Trusted Contact

Many banks, credit unions, and brokerage firms let a customer name a “trusted contact person.” That is someone the bank or broker can call if they see signs of fraud or confusion. It does not give that person any power over the money. It just gives the bank someone to call.

Ask your parent to add a trusted contact on every bank and investment account. It takes a few minutes and can save a fortune.

Guardrail 6: Block the Calls Before They Ring

• Turn on the free scam-blocking service from their phone company. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile all have free options.
• On an iPhone, turn on “Silence Unknown Callers,” so only people in the contacts list ring through. Others go to voicemail.
• On many Android phones, turn on call screening and spam protection in the phone settings.
• Add the family’s numbers, the doctor, the pharmacy, and the bank to their contacts, so real calls still get through.
• Register their numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov. Crooks ignore it, but it cuts down on legitimate sales calls, which makes scam calls easier to notice.

Guardrail 7: Lock Down the Technology

• Turn on two-step verification for email and bank accounts.
• Set phones and computers to update automatically.
• Set social media accounts to private.
• Write the real phone numbers for the bank, credit cards, Medicare, and Social Security in a notebook by the phone, so your parent never has to search online.
• Remove any remote-control software a “technician” may have installed.

Guardrail 8: Plan for the Future

Talk with your parent about a durable power of attorney for finances, and about who should help if their health or memory changes. An elder law attorney can help with this. It is much easier to plan while everyone is healthy than to scramble during a crisis.

Know the Warning Signs

Watch for these signs that a parent may be caught up in a scam:

• They suddenly get secretive about phone calls, money, or a new “friend.”
• They are buying a lot of gift cards.
• They make large withdrawals, or ask about how to use a Bitcoin machine.
• New packages, cards, or mail arrive that they cannot explain.
• They seem anxious, scared, or embarrassed after phone calls.
• They mention a lawyer, agent, or officer who is “helping” them.
• Bills start going unpaid, even though money should be there.

If you see these, stay calm. Ask gentle questions. Remind them that this can happen to anyone, and that you are on their side.

Chapter 14: Got Scammed? Don’t Hide It, Do This Now

If you are reading this chapter because it has already happened, listen to me first.

It is not your fault. These are professional criminals. They do this all day, every day, and they are very good at it. They have fooled doctors, lawyers, bankers, and police officers. They even fooled my family, and I used to be one of them.

Shame is the crook’s best friend. It keeps you quiet while he gets away, or while he comes back for more. Do not give him that gift.

Time matters. The faster you act, the better the chance of stopping the money.

Step 1: Stop All Contact

Hang up. Do not answer their calls, texts, or emails. Do not send any more money, no matter what they say. If they threaten you, that is just more pressure. They have no power over you.

Step 2: Call Your Bank or Card Company Right Away

Use the number on the back of your card or on your statement. Tell them:

• “I have been the victim of a scam.”
• How much you sent, when, and how.
• Ask them to stop or reverse the payment, freeze the account if needed, and issue new card numbers.

If you paid by wire, Zelle, or another bank transfer, call immediately. Sometimes a payment can be stopped if the bank acts quickly. The FBI’s Recovery Asset Team has helped freeze stolen funds when victims and banks report fast.

If you paid with a gift card, call the company that issued the card, using the number on the back of the card. Tell them it was used in a scam and ask for a refund. Keep the card and the receipt.

If you paid with cryptocurrency, contact the company you used to buy or send it, and report it right away.

Step 3: Secure Your Accounts

• Change the passwords on your email, bank, and any account the crook may have touched. Do this from a safe device.
• If you let someone into your computer, turn it off and have it checked by a trusted repair shop.
• If you gave out your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov for a step-by-step recovery plan.
• Freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Step 4: Report It

Reporting helps catch these crooks and helps protect the next person. Here is who to call.

• Federal Trade Commission: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: IC3.gov
• AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline: 877-908-3360. This is free, and you do not have to be an AARP member. Trained volunteers will listen and help you figure out next steps.
• National Elder Fraud Hotline from the U.S. Department of Justice: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311)
• Your local police department. Ask for a police report number. Your bank may need it.
• Medicare fraud: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
• Social Security scams: oig.ssa.gov
• Identity theft: IdentityTheft.gov
• Scam texts: forward to 7726 (SPAM)
• If an older adult is being exploited by someone they know, contact Adult Protective Services. You can find your local office through the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116.

Step 5: Write Everything Down

Make a list of:

• Names the crooks used.
• Phone numbers, email addresses, and websites.
• Dates, times, and amounts.
• How you paid, with receipts, card numbers, and transaction numbers.

Keep copies of texts, emails, and screenshots. Do not delete anything yet.

Step 6: Beware of the Second Wave

This is very important.

After you have been scammed, you will likely be targeted again. Crooks share and sell lists of victims. Very soon, someone may call claiming to be a lawyer, an FBI agent, or a “fund recovery service” who can get your money back for a fee.

That is a recovery scam. It is the same crooks, or their friends, coming back for more. The FBI says seniors reported losing more than $540 million to these recovery scams in 2025.

The real FBI, the real FTC, and real police do not charge a fee to recover your money.

Step 7: Take Care of Yourself

Being scammed can bring on shame, anger, fear, and sadness. Many victims lose sleep and pull away from people. Some stop trusting their own judgment.

Please talk to someone. A family member, a friend, a pastor, your doctor, or the volunteers at the AARP helpline. You are not alone. Hundreds of thousands of people report scams every year, and those are only the ones who speak up.

The money matters. But you matter more.

Chapter 15: The Future Is Fake, but You Don’t Have to Be Fooled

As technology moves forward, scams will get more convincing, more personal, and harder to catch. Fake videos will get sharper. Cloned voices will get smoother. AI will write messages that sound exactly like your bank, your doctor, or your granddaughter.

I will not sugarcoat it. The crooks are going to keep getting better tools.

But here is what a former fraudster knows that the crooks would rather you did not: the tools change, the playbook never does. Every scam in this book, from the oldest phone con to the newest deepfake, needs the same three things from you. It needs you scared. It needs you rushed. And it needs you alone.

Take away any one of those, and the scam falls apart.

The Five Habits That Beat Every Scam

• Pause. Real emergencies can wait ten minutes. Scams cannot.
• Verify. Hang up and call back on a number you already know.
• Never trust the contact method the stranger picked. Not their link, not their number, not their caller ID.
• Involve family. Say the safe word. Show someone the message. Crooks hate a second opinion.
• Watch the payment. Gift cards, crypto, Bitcoin machines, wires, couriers, and gold mean scam. Always.

One Last Thought

I spent part of my life on the wrong side of this fight. I know what it is like to hear a trusting voice on the other end of the line and see a target instead of a person. I am not proud of that. I paid for it, and I have spent the years since trying to make it right.

This book is part of that.

There is a strange kind of justice in a former con man teaching the people he once would have called marks how to beat the con. Maybe that is what redemption looks like. Not erasing the past, but turning it around and pointing it at the people still doing the damage.

The goal is not to make you afraid. It is to make you ready. You cannot stop the crooks from building new tools. But you can make yourself impossible to trick.

A Note From My Wife and Me

I hope this guide helps a whole lot of people out there. We kept the price of this guide low because we want to reach as many seniors as we can.

You can help by passing this guide along wherever seniors gather and socialize: churches, senior centers, community clubs, the doctor’s waiting room, and the family dinner table. Buy a copy for your mother. Read the safe word chapter out loud at Thanksgiving. Tape the checklist by Grandpa’s phone.

This subject is near and dear to my wife’s heart and mine. We put a lot of work into this, and we hope it helps your family, too.

God bless. And if the technology changes again, and it will, you will hear from us again.

That you can take to the bank. Just make sure it is your real bank.

The Checklist: Keep This by the Phone

STOP. Is This a Scam?

If it makes me SCARED, makes me HURRY, or asks me to keep a SECRET, it is a scam until proven otherwise.

I Will Never

• ☐ Pay a stranger by gift card, crypto, Bitcoin ATM, wire, or app.
• ☐ Hand cash, gold, or checks to a courier at my door.
• ☐ Move my money to a “safe account” to protect it.
• ☐ Give anyone the code that was texted to my phone.
• ☐ Let a stranger take control of my computer.
• ☐ Click a link or call a number from a surprise text, email, or pop-up.
• ☐ Keep a money request secret from my family.

I Will Always

• ☐ Hang up and call back on a number I already know.
• ☐ Ask for our family safe word in any emergency.
• ☐ Call my bank at the number on the back of my card.
• ☐ Talk to someone I trust before sending money.
• ☐ Remember: caller ID, voices, and faces can be faked.

My Trusted People

Name: ____________________ Phone: ________________

Name: ____________________ Phone: ________________

Bank: _____________________ Card: _________________

Safe word hint (never the word itself): ________________

If I Think I’ve Been Scammed

1. Stop talking to them. Send nothing more. Call my bank.
2. AARP Fraud Watch Helpline: 877-908-3360
3. Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-372-8311
4. Report: ReportFraud.ftc.gov, IC3.gov, and local police.
5. Anyone offering to “recover” my money for a fee is a scammer.

The End

C. Rich