Gas Station Employee Stops a Crypto Kiosk Scam
The Perfect Scam
AARP
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2026
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Eric's day-to-day interactions at the gas station where he works have taught him to recognize when something isn't quite right with one of his customers. He's also aware that the crypto kiosk in the store is a tool that is used by criminals to steal money from fearful victims. So one day when Ellen enters the store, talking on her cellphone while frantically looking for the store's crypto kiosk, Eric knows it's time to step in.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This week on The Perfect Scamp. |
| 0:04.0 | She then told me that because I had missed the court date, that they had a warrant out for my arrest, and to avoid being put in jail, I had to pay the bond to avoid being jailed. |
| 0:18.5 | And that bond amounted to 50% of my loan under the PPP program. |
| 0:24.6 | So she told me I had to pay $6,200 in cash to avoid being placed in jail. |
| 0:31.6 | I was panicky, I was shaky. |
| 0:34.6 | And that's where I just kept asking her. I was like, I do not like this. I'm not going to put |
| 0:39.9 | this money in a machine. And she said, you have to. We have a, this is how bails are paid. |
| 0:49.4 | Welcome back to the perfect scam. I'm your host, Bob Sullivan. Look out for your neighbors. |
| 0:58.4 | It sounds like such a simple thing, and yet it's not so simple, right? It can be tempting to stay out of things, to not get involved. |
| 1:06.7 | But today's story, I hope, will show you just how much a little bit of caring can go a long, long way |
| 1:13.4 | and can make an immense difference in a neighbor's life. |
| 1:16.6 | This story might sound all too familiar at the start, but it's got a very, very surprise ending. |
| 1:24.6 | Meet a woman we're going to call just Ellen to protect her identity. She lives in |
| 1:30.3 | small town, Tennessee. It was about a year ago I got a phone call that I couldn't answer. So they |
| 1:37.4 | left a voicemail. And when I checked, it said it was the police department. Actually, it said it was |
| 1:42.3 | the sheriff's office in Sumner County, which is the |
| 1:45.7 | county Gallatin is in, and that I needed to call back right away. So when I did, they left a number |
| 1:51.6 | on my voicemail. That person said her name was Karen Johnson and that she worked for the sheriff's |
| 1:57.8 | department and she had a warrant for my arrest. She had my attention right away. |
| 2:04.6 | Good afternoon. This is Sergeant Karen Johnson, Sumner County Sheriff's and Court Services. |
| 2:09.6 | Seeking establish contact with the missile... |
| 2:11.6 | Ms. Kyi's contact calls in regards to urgent legal matter. |
... |
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