The Right Way to Dodge Scams, Plus Learn How Robo-Investing Works

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

NerdWallet Personal Finance

Business, Education, Investing, How To

4.2 • 665 Ratings

🗓️ 28 July 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Learn how to dodge scams to protect your money, then understand how to compare robo vs. traditional investment risks. What should you do if your credit card is compromised in a scam? Are robo-advisors riskier than traditional brokerage accounts? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola discuss how to spot and respond to identity theft and dig into how robo-advisors stack up to traditional investing platforms to help you protect your financial life. They kick off Smart Money’s new Scam Stories series by welcoming guest Scramble Hughes, a circus performer and scam victim, who shares a real-life experience with credit card fraud. They discuss tips and tricks on recognizing red flags like mass spam messages, acting fast by calling the number on your card (not clicking links), and filing credit freezes with all three credit bureaus. Then, investing Nerd Bella Avila joins Sean and Elizabeth to discuss how robo-advisors compare to traditional brokerage accounts. They discuss risk levels in automated portfolios, SIPC insurance protections, and key factors to consider when choosing a platform like account minimums, platform stability, and user experience. See NerdWallet’s top picks for the best robo-advisors of 2025 here: https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/investing/robo-advisors Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: credit card fraud, how to report identity theft, robo advisor vs brokerage account, SIPC insurance limits, credit freeze Experian, how to freeze your credit, credit card scams TikTok, how to know if a text is a scam, what is a robo advisor, tax loss harvesting robo advisor, ETF risk robo advisor, ETF diversification, FDIC vs SIPC, how to block spam texts, freeze credit TransUnion, safest robo advisors 2025, best robo advisor for ETFs, hacked credit card reader, RFID credit card theft, how to recover from identity theft, difference between SIPC and FDIC, scams targeting small business owners, how to secure your investment accounts, how to protect credit card information, email spam after identity theft, what to do after credit card theft, how long do fraud refunds take, when to freeze credit, best practices after identity theft, and comparing investment platform safety. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's episode is sponsored by Dell. Let's talk about the new Dell AI PC powered by the
0:05.2	Intel Core Ultra processor. It's not just an AI computer, it's a computer built for AI. That
0:11.6	means it's built to help do your busy work for you. So you can fast forward through
0:15.6	editing images, designing presentations, generating code, debugging code, categorizing your
0:20.3	financial transactions, running lots of apps without lag, creating code, debugging code, categorizing your financial transactions,
0:21.6	running lots of apps without lag, creating live translations and captions,
0:25.1	summarizing meeting note, extending battery life, enhancing security, finding that file you are looking for,
0:29.9	organizing your receipts, managing your schedule, meeting your deadlines, drafting financial summaries,
0:34.3	responding to Cody's long emails, leaving all the time in the world
0:38.3	for more you time and the things that you actually want to do. No offense, Cody.
0:43.3	Get a new Dell AI PC starting at 699 at Dell.com slash AI-PC. That's Dell.com slash AI dash PC.
0:54.0	How those ahead stay ahead.
0:56.3	It seems like you can't go anywhere, whether it's a web page or a store, without encountering some kind of scammer nowadays.
1:03.1	I agree with that.
1:03.7	You can't even go on your phone without encountering a scammer these days, Sean.
1:07.3	It's exhausting, but together we can hopefully fight back at least a little bit.
1:17.8	Welcome to Nerd Wallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds.
1:24.2	I'm Sean Piles. And I'm Elizabeth Ayola. This episode we're going to answer
1:28.5	listeners question about whether Robo Advisor accounts are riskier to invest in than traditional
1:33.3	brokerage accounts. But first, we are kicking off a new series called scam stories, where we
1:38.4	share real stories from folks like you who've experienced a scam, identity theft, or fraud,
1:43.6	and how they handled it.
	...

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