Longtime homeowners on Chicago’s West Side trust Mark Diamond to help them access funds and carry out necessary home repairs. However, they are often unaware that they are entering into reverse mortgage agreements. The repairs are never completed, and Diamond disappears with the money, leaving families desperately struggling to save their homes fro…

Douglas is enjoying a second career as an artist, selling his paintings online and in gallery shows. People occasionally ask about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of his work. Still, he never gives it too much thought until a woman on LinkedIn approaches him with what seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. Her company can convert his artwork to an NF…

When Chloe’s mom experiences a medical emergency, Chloe rushes to be by her side. Amid the stress and chaos of the following days, her mother’s cat, Percy, slips out one evening. Chloe and her family do everything they can to find him, but after several days, Percy still hasn’t returned. Then, they receive a call from the “Tampa Bay Humane Society”…

In part two, law enforcement narrows in on Kota Youngblood and his scheme to steal millions of dollars from neighbors and fellow hockey league parents. His cruel lies have many believing that his life and, in some cases, their own lives are in danger from a Mexican drug cartel. The stories are so convincing that some victims are hesitant to talk to…

Kota Youngblood is known as a larger-than-life character in his small Texas town, spinning wild tales of military service and work as an undercover federal agent to his neighbors and acquaintances from his son’s hockey league. His deceptions – from investments in rare coins and sports memorabilia to stories about drug cartels and kidnappings – stea…

In this bonus episode, Bob sits down with Josh Margolin, writer and director of the action and comedy film, Thelma, to discuss Josh’s real-life inspiration – his 104-year-old grandmother, Thelma, and her frightening experience as a scam victim. Josh took the experience to heart, especially because the criminal pretended to be him. Thelma is winner …

Jordan is a star athlete and homecoming king who is packing for a beach vacation when he receives a message on Instagram. The account is of an attractive girl named Dani. Jordan exchanges flirty messages with her, and eventually, she convinces him to send an explicit photo of himself. That's when everything changes. Dani threatens to send the photo…

In part 2, US Postal Inspector Cory McManus is hot on the trail of criminals running an elaborate romance scam network. After identifying dozens of victims, he arrests two suspects who've been acting as money mules. They quickly give up information about how the scam works and the name of the ringleader, Wisdom Onyobeno, who lives in Atlanta. Onyob…

When Debbie's mother passes away suddenly, she is not prepared for what she finds. While sorting through financial records and paperwork, she discovers correspondence with the US Postal Inspection Service and letters to a victim's advocate. Debbie learns that her mother was hiding the painful secret that she was the victim of a romance scam that ha…

In this 2021 episode, when Shirley Gibson learns that her property in Miami’s historic West Grove neighborhood has been sold by someone using a forged deed, she is determined to fight. Working together with journalist Phil Prazen and lawyer David Winker, they uncover an elaborate real estate scam targeting dozens of elderly property owners in this …

In this 2021 episode, Miami’s historic West Grove neighborhood has recently become a hot real estate market. So hot, in fact, that it has attracted the attention of scammers. It wasn’t always so. Shirley Gibson’s family has owned property in West Grove since her great-grandmother immigrated from the Bahamas over 100 years ago. Now in her 80s, Shirl…

Suzi and Gary retire to Tucson and find the perfect house with a less-than-perfect kitchen. They love to cook and entertain, so they put their energy and money into renovating their dream kitchen. Construction starts and is going smoothly until the payment for cabinets is due. The designer requests immediate payment by wire transfer, but a week lat…

Retired priest, Father Robert Banzin, has devoted his life to the service of others. Now in his 80s, he continues to preach every Sunday at his Chicago-area parish. Father Bob, as he is known in his community, gets an alarming email claiming that his PayPal account had been used for a purchase on eBay. Concerned, he calls a number he believes to be…

In part 2, Chris and his family try without success to stop their father, Alfred, from sending money to a series of criminals he met online – some claiming to need medical care and one even impersonating WWE wrestler Alexa Bliss. One day when Alfred comes to him asking for a $5,000 loan, Chris thinks it could be a turning point. The optimism is sho…

When Alfred's sons notice unusual transactions on their dad's bank statements, they start asking questions. But Alfred's reaction tells them that there is much more to the story than he is letting on. The family spends the next several years trying desperately to disentangle their father from various scams, one even involving an online romance with…

After 25-year-old Niki Hutchinson loses her mother, she uses some of her inheritance to start fresh in California. Not knowing anyone, she does what many people do today and joins a dating app to make connections. She develops a friendship with a man named Hao and, in time, he offers to teach her how to invest in cryptocurrency. With some small suc…

When Cathy's disabled husband loses his Medicaid coverage, she must look for a job to help pay the rent. The retired Army Reserve veteran has impressive work experience, so when she puts her resume online, she almost immediately gets an offer. The job is for a shipping company, receiving, inspecting, and forwarding packages, and it allows her to wo…

80-year-old David lives in a tight-knit community, frequently helping his neighbors with yard care and other tasks. So when he gets a knock on the door from two brothers claiming they are working on his neighbor's home, and noticed a hole in his roof, David agrees to let them fix it. But one repair turns into many as the brothers find more and more…

Rodney Baldus, a retired truck driver from Minnesota, believes he is the recipient of a large inheritance belonging to his late wife. The inheritance is in Italy, but he is told he must first fly to Africa to sign papers before going on to Italy. Since his travel expenses are all paid for, Rodney is not suspicious of criminal activity. Unfortunatel…

Ray is retired but always looking for interesting opportunities. So, when he gets a cold call from a whiskey brokerage firm asking if he wants to invest in some of the world's rarest whiskeys, he's intrigued. He meets with a wealth manager, Casey Alexander, who is well-mannered and professional. Ray feels confident investing over $300,000 in whiske…

In this 2023 episode, YouTube star Kitboga has turned scam baiting into performance art, delighting his 3.6 million followers with his many characters and laughs at the expense of online criminals. It started out as pure curiosity, and a way to avenge his grandparents who'd been victims of scams, but along the way, he's helped return money and hija…

In this 2022 episode, host Bob Sullivan welcomes special guest Alexis Conran. Conran’s insight into the mind of a con man comes from acting as one on the popular BBC show The Real Hustle. On the series, Conran, an actual trained magician, and his team perpetrate scams on unsuspecting consumers and then reveal the crimes to the victims (now in the h…

We use our smartphones for just about everything these days, and that makes them a prime target for scammers. Online banking often relies on a code sent in a text message to verify the account holder's identity, but criminals have figured out a way to impersonate the phone and intercept these messages. This is exactly what happens when Jeff receive…

Imagine you've just had everything stolen from you by a ruthless scammer. You are wondering how you will pay your bills, maybe even have enough money to buy food. And then a bill arrives from the IRS – you owe taxes on the stolen money. Unfortunately, scam victims across the country are getting hit with huge tax bills thanks to a change in the tax …

Thanksgiving is a time for sharing food with family and feeling grateful. It means a lot to Georgete, a struggling mom who just wants to make the holiday special for her kids. She relies on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits to get by, and when her Thanksgiving dinner is essentially stolen from her, she is devastated. The the…

Alice hires a local handyman, Joey, as a live-in caregiver after her shoulder surgery. She recovers, but soon COVID-19 hits, and Joey, who is down on his luck, stays on to help around the house. Alice has known Joey for years and trusts him completely. But one morning when she opens her monthly bank statement, everything about her relationship with…

Debbie, a Colorado native and mother of three adult children, leads a fulfilling life of travel, salsa dancing and volunteer work. While her life is full, she would like to have someone to share it with. So, Debbie looks for love online and meets a seemingly great guy named Russell who claims to be a successful businessman. After weeks of daily tex…

It’s a typical busy day for Amanda as she sees her teenaged daughter off to work. But five minutes later, everything changes when she receives a call from a local number and hears her daughter’s voice crying. A man comes on the line with a chilling threat for Amanda if she doesn’t do exactly what he says. Technologies like AI are making virtual kid…

Dennis, an 82-year-old proud father and grandfather, makes a connection with a woman he meets on Facebook named Jessie. Jessie claims to have made a lot of money through crypto investments and offers to teach Dennis how she did it. Having developed a trusting relationship with Jessie and hoping to build an inheritance for his family, Dennis decides…

In this 2019 episode, Marlene is enjoying the Atlantic City boardwalk with a friend when a young woman approaches her. The woman introduces herself as Savannah and offers to give Marlene a psychic reading. Figuring it will cost her just a few dollars, Marlene takes her up on the offer. Savannah takes Marlene back to her shop. During the reading she…

In Part 2 of this 2022 episode, Darlene Asher, as the head of her local dart league, has been leading the charge to help Jeremiah Jon Smith, who they believe is dying from cancer. But when Jeremiah’s wife leaves him, she shares her doubts with Darlene about his illness. A police investigation reveals the devastating truth: Jeremiah has been faking …

In this 2022 episode, Darlene Asher is the head of her local Minnesota dart league, a close-knit group of dart enthusiasts who rally around champion dart player Jeremiah Jon Smith when they learn he is dying from cancer. They raise thousands through fundraisers and a GoFundMe page, going as far as paying for Jeremiah’s wedding. It seems like they’r…

Kim is grieving the tragic death of her son, who was serving in the Army, when she learns that she is the sole beneficiary of his military death benefit. To help with financial decisions at such a vulnerable time, an adviser named Caz Craffy is offered by the military. Kim plans to use the money to buy a home, but Craffy insists that she make inves…

Neill is a successful ER physician and business owner who has regrets after a recent missed investment opportunity that proved to be lucrative. So he jumps on board after meeting Clinton Herzog who is offering buy-ins for his dental clinic chain in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, this new investment opportunity turns out to be a classic Ponzi scheme …

The Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes is famous for showing up at winners’ homes with a giant check and transforming lives. So when Kathy receives a call from someone claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House, saying that she’s the next lucky winner, she begins dreaming of all the good she can do for her friends and family. However, after s…

When Penny signs up for a few magazine subscriptions, she thinks she is helping some kids with a school fundraiser. Little does she know that it will lead to years of harassment from telemarketers and the theft of much of her savings. But it will also lead Penny and her sister Nancy to help bring down a 20-year conspiracy that robbed more than 150,…

In this 2021 episode, an IT professional in the UK who goes by the alias Jim Browning is battling cyber scams. Fed up with robocalls disrupting his day, Jim decides to fight back. As con artists try to scam him, Jim uses his professional training to reverse engineer his way into their computers. With the ability to see everything on these computers…

In this 2021 episode, credit card scammer Lisa Reid’s methods are sophisticated, creative and callous. After gaining credit card information from the wealthy seniors she targets, Lisa goes on lavish shopping sprees at high-end retailers, leaving her victims with bills of hundreds of thousands of dollars. But when one of her victims teams up with th…

Summer is the prime time for road trips. And as more people are out there on the roads, scammers are eager to cash in. Drivers across the country are receiving fraudulent text messages claiming they have unpaid tolls. In this bonus episode, Bob invites Eva Velasquez from the Identity Theft Resource Center to discuss this trending scam.…

Volunteer firefighters are vital to the communities they serve, selflessly giving up their time to provide lifesaving emergency fire, rescue and medical services. So, when the Volunteer Fire Department in Rockville, Maryland, are targeted by a scammer while they are in the process of purchasing two new ambulances, the community comes together to th…

Daniel no longer lives in his hometown of Fairfield, Connecticut, but he still owns a plot of land that was essentially his childhood backyard. When he returns to visit a sick friend, he is shocked to find that a developer has cleared the trees and is halfway through building a luxury home on his property. But how could something like this happen, …

Lori is enjoying her early retirement, pursuing her hobbies and caring for her animals in rural Ohio. One day, a call from someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration leaves her rattled. He says her information has been compromised and she must work quickly to convert her money into gold bars. What happens next is part of the dan…

Phillip and his family are planning a move from Las Vegas to Denver and need a new place to live quickly. He finds the perfect rental house on Craigslist but he doesn’t want to take any chances and flies to Denver to tour the home with the real estate agent. A few days after he moves in, a woman knocks on the door claiming she has also rented the h…

Michael and Kelli are empty nesters after their three adult children move out, and they aren’t prepared for how quiet and lonely the house becomes when their two dogs suddenly die. The couple turn to the internet, looking for a puppy to help fill the void left in their home and their hearts. Instead of finding a companion, the couple are targeted b…

Lindsay, an Army veteran and single mother of a young daughter with cystic fibrosis, is taking a much-needed day to reconnect with an old friend over a game of golf. A friendly older man named Rob asks to join them. As they spend the afternoon on the golf course, he tells them that he spends his time raising money for various charities. He even kno…

In part 2 of this 2021 episode, 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 Unite…

In this 2021 episode, 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 prosecut…

In part 2, James is becoming suspicious of the people who are “helping” him sell his Lake Tahoe time-share. After several months of paying fees, he learns that he’s in the middle of a common, and dangerous, time-share resale scam. The people he thinks are real estate agents are actually members of a notorious Mexican cartel who have shifted their b…

When James receives a call from a company offering to sell his Lake Tahoe time-share, he jumps at the chance to off-load it. They find a buyer in Mexico and draw up a contract through an escrow company in New York City. James is told he only has to pay a fee to transfer the property, which will be reimbursed by the buyer. Unexpected fees and expens…

Jody and her husband love to travel, and they love to save up credit card reward points to make their family vacations more affordable. When they start getting notifications that some of their points have been redeemed without their permission, they are led on a monthslong ordeal to secure their accounts from criminals who are turning those hard-ea…