The Perfect Scam

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 the discovery of the scam causes friends and family to turn their backs on him. With the help of a support group, David finds healing and begins to rebuild his life and help others facing the same challenges.

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.

Discover the alarming use of AI in scams, particularly in voice cloning. Explore the risks of identity theft and the importance of digital literacy. Understand the potential dangers of AI and the need for regulation. Dive into the positive aspects of AI and the importance of human oversight. Learn to trust your gut and maintain the human element in the age of AI scams.

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 Service finally put a stop to the letters in 2014, but even when we covered the story in 2018 Runner was still on the run. In this episode, Bob checks in with USPIS Inspector Clayton Gerber to find out how the fight for justice is going, and learns how one of the world's largest marketing companies, Epsilon, played a major role in the scheme.

Caring for ailing senior dogs is a passion project for Helen and her husband, who run the nonprofit dog hospice Old Dogs Go to Helen. They rely on donations to pay for the dogs' medical and comfort care until they pass on. One day, they receive a text message appearing to be from the nonprofit's Bank of America account, which leads them through a familiar series of steps to secure their accounts from a possible fraud. While Helen thought she was averting a crisis, she was actually the victim of a sophisticated bank impersonation fraud.

In part 2, Gerard Puana stands accused of stealing the mailbox of his niece, the deputy city prosecutor, Katherine Kealoha. Surprisingly, this strange crime will lay bare that Katherine's luxurious lifestyle is fueled by a reverse mortgage on her grandmother's home, and that her husband, Louis, is using his power as police chief to cover up the crime.

In this 2021 episode, Katherine and Louis Kealoha report that their mailbox has been stolen, a strange occurrence in the upscale Honolulu neighborhood of Kahala. Even stranger is that Katherine claims that her uncle Gerard Puana is the mailbox thief, an accusation he vehemently denies. When the case goes to court, though, the Kealohas' secrets are exposed, revealing a terrible case of family financial fraud.

Thieves think that stolen cryptocurrency is the perfect crime — anonymous, secret and safe from seizure. But prosecutor Erin West and her team are proving them wrong, recovering millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency and returning it back to victims. West is a six-year veteran of REACT (Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team), a cross-agency task force addressing the escalating problem of high technology crime. In this special episode, Bob talks with Erin about the top five things everyone should know about cryptocurrency scams, including whether money lost to scams is recoverable and if scams are traceable. Erin will discuss steps that can be taken if you've experienced a crypto scam, as well as the impact law enforcement can have when agencies have the right tools, knowledge and collaboration.

In part 2, after a scammer she meets playing Words With Friends steals most of her family's savings, Kathy is so distraught that she attempts to take her own life. She survives thanks to the quick actions of her husband and police, and with the support of her family and professional help, Kathy starts on the road to recovery. The emotional wounds of scams are deep, but Kathy is healing by sharing her story. She hopes that others who might be feeling the way that she did know that there is life and even joy after a scam — Kathy and her husband recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Like many of us, Kathy struggles in the early days of the pandemic to adjust to isolation from family and friends. She enjoys the diversion of playing Words With Friends and soon strikes up a friendship with a fellow player. For months the friends continue playing online games and chatting on WhatsApp, until one day he asks Kathy for a loan. He says he is stuck in Mexico and having trouble accessing his accounts. Kathy sees no harm in helping out a friend, especially when he promises to quickly pay the money back. When the repayments never come, Kathy comes to the devasting realization that it was a scam and that most of her and her husband's retirement savings are gone. Distraught and ashamed, Kathy begins to have thoughts of suicide. This is the story of one woman's survival from the darkest of days. This episode contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text 988, a free nationwide service where professionals can listen and get you the help you need.