They Stole My Savings in Minutes: Social Security Scam
The Perfect Scam
AARP
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 August 2019
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rob, a veteran in his 70's, was a caretaker for his wife for years. He is still grieving her death when he receives a call from a woman claiming to be from social security. The woman tells Rob that his social security number has been used to defraud multiple banks and there is a warrant out for his arrest. Even more troubling for Rob, the woman tells him that he will need to get all new identification cards. Rob has been looking forward to taking his special needs daughter on a much needed vacation and worries he won't be able to get a new license in time for the trip. In a frenzied state, he begins to comply with the instructions of the woman on the phone. But as her directions get stranger, Rob begins to question if he's doing the right thing. He realizes that he may be the victim of a scam. Unfortunately, by this time the scammers have already emptied out Rob's savings account. Rob is distraught as this means he'll have to cancel his trip with his daughter. But, just when he's about to lose all hope, Rob's community steps in to help.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | coming up this week on AARP the perfect scam. |
| 0:02.8 | Well, I think they're the scum of the earth. |
| 0:04.7 | That's what I told somebody else. |
| 0:06.0 | You know, I don't know how they can in good conscience do this. |
| 0:08.6 | They scan old people and a lot of times they get every last dollar they have, |
| 0:12.3 | you know, and they don't get it back. |
| 0:15.8 | Welcome back to AARP, the perfect scam. |
| 0:18.1 | I am your host, Will Johnson, and I'm here with my co-host, A. A Fraud Watch Network Ambassador Frank Abagnale. |
| 0:24.0 | Frank, good to have you back once again. |
| 0:26.0 | Thank you. It's great to be here. |
| 0:27.0 | So Frank, we have yet another scam story to share with our listeners this week. |
| 0:32.0 | I wanted to ask you about, we've talked about this a little |
| 0:34.6 | bit before, but the idea of being skeptical, aware, but not being scared about the world |
| 0:40.9 | and all that, all the scams that are out there. I have a quick story to share with you. |
| 0:45.1 | A family member who got a letter in the mail said the home inspector is going to be coming by |
| 0:50.0 | just to check on the house and do some measurements and do what they needed to do for insurance and blah blah. |
| 0:55.2 | So my family member welcomed the home inspector that came into the house, went all around, measured things, went outside. |
| 1:00.9 | And about midway through it, I happened to be visiting this family |
| 1:03.2 | member she said I wonder you know I don't know if I ever heard from my insurance |
| 1:06.3 | company before all this and anyway long story short got concerned that maybe this was |
| 1:10.9 | all some scam and then I was sort of thinking well maybe there is something here like I don't know what they would be |
| 1:15.3 | doing but maybe they're going through and know what you know taking pictures of |
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