The Perfect Scam

When Charlotte Robinette receives a phone call from kidnappers demanding a ransom for her daughter Kristen, her daughter’s voice on the phone convinces her that the situation is dire. Over the next four grueling days, the kidnappers wear Charlotte down, keeping her on the phone, sending her all over Phoenix and having her wire money to Mexico. Finally, she’s instructed to travel with the remaining cash to a small town across the border, where she’s told she can rescue her daughter. Little does she know, a stop by the U.S. Border Patrol may end up being a lifesaver.

After anxiously waiting for her fiancé, Tony, to arrive at the airport, Kate Kleinert is shocked when she receives a call from his attorney, who says that Tony has been arrested on a drug charge. He tells Kate that he’ll need $20,000 to bail Tony out of jail. Out of money and insisting that she be allowed to visit the man she expects to marry, Kate begins to suspect something is off, especially when Tony makes odd requests for more payments. Brokenhearted, Kate leans on her sisters and finds the courage to heal.

Eleven years after losing the love of her life, 68-year-old widow Kate Kleinert receives a friend request online from Tony, a handsome surgeon working in Iraq for the United Nations. After accepting his request, she gets caught up in a whirlwind romance, and they quickly fall in love. A few months later, Tony asks to borrow money, initially for help with his daughter’s expenses. She sends him money via gift cards and continues to do so whenever he asks, even though his attempts to pay her back by wire transfers fail. After doling out $39,000, Kate anxiously waits by the phone, excited to finally meet her now fiancé in person, only to find that Tony has run into legal trouble at the airport.

As 72-year-old Steve Steele is released from jail, not only can he hardly stand or walk, but he is worried about how he will recover the property stolen by Elizabeth, the caregiver who worked for him. That’s where Steve’s attorney, Brent Smith, comes in, waging what becomes a nearly two-year battle.

After 72-year-old Steve Steele’s life partner passes away, his housekeeper, Elizabeth, offers to work as his caregiver. Over time, Elizabeth takes over Steve’s finances, even persuading him to deed her his homes. It all comes to a head one Christmas Eve, when Elizabeth accuses Steve, who can hardly stand or walk, of assault and the police cart him off to jail for months. When the public defender’s investigator meets Steve, though, she quickly senses this is elder abuse. The judge agrees and releases Steve, but now he faces an even bigger battle: How does he get his homes back? And will Elizabeth be held accountable for her crimes?

Rookie FBI agent Mike meets 80-year-old Alan, who has sent $600,000 to “friends” he met online. Typically, international scammers are notoriously hard to prosecute. After hearing that Alan visited the scammers in the Middle East and Africa, though, Mike senses a unique opportunity to lure the con artists to the United States. The pair devise a scheme so that the swindlers can be arrested and convicted of their crimes.

After 80-year-old Alan returns from a trip to the Middle East and Africa, where he visited new “friends” he made online, his wife grows suspicious that he’s involved in a scam and contacts the FBI. That’s when rookie FBI agent Mike gets involved. Over the next nine months, Alan becomes Mike’s informant as they work to prosecute scammers who aren’t even on American soil.

In the middle of the night, Jeremy Vincent is awakened by a call from his mother’s number. When he answers, he’s shocked to hear a man’s voice on the other end threatening to harm his mother — who lives thousands of miles away in rural Missouri — if Jeremy doesn’t send money. After an agonizing back-and-forth exchange, Jeremy panics and hangs up, calling 911 despite the callers’ warnings. Officers are sent to the home of his mother, where, luckily, they find her safe and well. It is a virtual kidnapping scam.

When Melany Robinson discovers that she has breast cancer in July of 2020, she decides she needs to plan something positive to look forward to in 2021 — a much needed vacation. After scouring the internet, she finds the perfect home on Craigslist in her favorite place, Park City, Utah. But six months and almost $20,000 later, Melany discovers that her dream rental is part of an elaborate scam.

When Judy gets a call from a man claiming to be a police officer who says a car registered to her was found full of drugs, she’s skeptical. Before Judy can hang up, though, the man discloses the Social Security number used to purchase the vehicle—her full Social Security number. Shocked, and convinced he’s telling the truth, Judy follows the man’s detailed instructions. She leaves her house immediately, speaks to no one, and obeys his command to stay on the phone. With hours passing, $15,000 missing from her bank account, and no sign of her, Judy’s concerned family scours their small town in hopes of finding her.