July 8, 2025 • 24 mins
This week, we will share top five telltale signs you are being scammed.
• Someone you don’t know is calling you incessantly and creating a sense of panic.
• Someone is telling you not to talk to anyone else.
• If you are at your bank withdrawing cash while on the phone with someone who is coaching you what to say.
• If you ever find yourself putting cash into a Bitcoin ATM at a local store, you are doing something wrong.
• Someone is asking for remote access to your computer.
Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio (www.k4hd.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Let’s Talk About Scams TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).
Let’s Talk About Scams Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individual professional / legal advice. The podcast information was carefully compiled from vetted sources and references; however, R.O.S.E. Resources / Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly cannot guarantee that you will not fall victim to a scam.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/let-s-talk-about-scams--6483699/support.
• Someone you don’t know is calling you incessantly and creating a sense of panic.
• Someone is telling you not to talk to anyone else.
• If you are at your bank withdrawing cash while on the phone with someone who is coaching you what to say.
• If you ever find yourself putting cash into a Bitcoin ATM at a local store, you are doing something wrong.
• Someone is asking for remote access to your computer.
Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live Tuesdays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio (www.k4hd.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Let’s Talk About Scams TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).
Let’s Talk About Scams Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individual professional / legal advice. The podcast information was carefully compiled from vetted sources and references; however, R.O.S.E. Resources / Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly cannot guarantee that you will not fall victim to a scam.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/let-s-talk-about-scams--6483699/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This program is designed to provide general information with regards
to the subject matters covered. This information is given with
the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors, or station
are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial, legal, counseling,
professional service, or any advice. You should seek the services
(00:23):
of competent professionals before applying or trying any suggested ideas.
The information contained in this podcast is intended for informational
purposes only and is not a substitute for individual professional
legal advice. The podcast information was carefully compiled from vetted
sources and references. However, Rose Resources outreach to safeguard the
(00:45):
elderly cannot guarantee that you will not fall victim to
a scam. Let's talk about scams. It's the must listen
show for anyone who wants to protect themselves and their
loved ones from scams. Every Tuesday, eight am Pacific time
on K four HD Radio, Joyce Petrowski, founder of Rose,
(01:05):
and her guests will provide valuable insights and practical tips
on how to recognize and protect yourself from scams. And
now here is your host, Joyce Petrowski.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Good Morning, everybody, Welcome to Let's talk about Scams. My
name is Brian Watson. I'm a community outreach specialist for
Rose Resources Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly, and I'm filling
in for Joyce Petrowski today. I'm actually filling in for
Joyce for several weeks. She's giving me keys to the
radio show and we've got a bunch of great episodes
(01:42):
coming up, and today we are going to start. Today's
topic is five Signs that you are being scammed. I've
been working for Rose for almost two years now, and
what's really struck me is the amount of extremely smart
people that have been scammed. To be honest, there were
(02:06):
I was expecting to run into a few people that
had some cognitive decline, who were getting older just couldn't
handle their finances, but that's not been the case. So
I've seen a lot in the last two years, and
I want to talk about just some patterns that I'm seeing.
So we're going to talk about five signs that You're
(02:28):
being scammed. We could have done ten or fifteen, but
I wanted to keep it nice and tight, keep it
at five. So let's talk about these trends. They're in
no particular order, but let's start with number one.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
First sign that you.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Are likely being scammed is someone you don't know is
calling you on your phone incessantly. They're calling from different
phone numbers. They're not giving you a break, they're telling
you what to do. They're being bossy, they're being demanding.
They're creating that sense of panic. That's just not normal.
(03:08):
That's what scammers do. I've heard so many stories of
scammers calling people up and just not letting them get
a break because they don't want you to talk to
someone else. They don't want you to, you know, get
a second opinion. You know, the longer they have you
on the phone, the more likely they're going to take
your money. So the key is to disengage right away.
(03:32):
Don't let them get to that point. Because they walk
you down that path, and they have you at a
certain point, it's hard to get off that path. You remember, remember,
time is your friend. You don't have to act immediately.
You need to end that conversation and ask for help,
even if you have to lie, make something up. Say
(03:54):
you know what, I have a family member coming over,
I have another call coming in, but just break this cycle.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
What's going on? You know.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Just to give you an example, I spent my career
as a special agent with the IRS, and the IRS
impersonation scam was going on years ago, and I was
at the office one day with a coworker. We had
just finished lunch, we're kind of hanging out. His phone
rang and it was a scammer telling him he owed
(04:23):
money to the IRS, which was kind of funny to
think because we were both IRS special agents at the time,
and they would just not let my friend have a break.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
They told him what to do.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
They said he needed to get in his car and
drive down and buy a prepaid card to pay his bills.
And even when my friend lied and said he didn't
have a car and that he was handicapped, they didn't care.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
They kept him on the line. And that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
You need to break that cycle, because if you're allowed
to hang up or you stop talking to them, get
your wits back and realize things aren't right.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
So that was number one.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Someone you don't know is calling you incessantly from different
phone numbers and not giving you a break. All right,
Let's move on to number two. Someone is telling you
not to talk to someone else. You know, why would
they do that. You know, that's the kind of creepy,
abusive language that child predators use and other victims. You know,
(05:28):
they want to keep you isolated. The goal of financial
predators is to control you, force you to make bad decisions,
and then ultimately steal your money, because that's what all
criminals do. They lie to you and they steal your money.
This is why people tragically fall victim for the grandparent scam,
(05:50):
because they will call you up, pretend to be someone
calling from a jail, saying your grand in jail and
that you need to send money right away. And this
happened to someone I know here in Arizona, and this
is what they told him. They said, the judge has
(06:10):
put a gag order in place, and you aren't allowed
to talk to someone else. So how convenient is that
for the criminal? They're saying it's against the law to
talk to someone else.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
So he didn't. He stayed on the line.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
He ended up wiring this fifteen thousand dollars and he
never got it back. But if he had, if he
had talked to someone else, they would have said, you know, dad,
you're being scammed. That's a scammer. But that's what they
want to do I want Speaking of the grandparents scam,
I once heard a story from some law enforcement officials
(06:47):
in northern Arizona. One of their residents in I think
it was Yavapai County, he received the grandparents call and
he was told the scammers told him that his grandchild
was in Mexico, and he started driving from northern Arizona
down to.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Mexico.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And because he believed it, and he didn't talk to
anyone else, somehow, some way they were able to intercept him,
talk to him, find him, and they broke that cycle.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
But so that was number two.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
If someone is telling you not to talk to someone else,
that's a red flag. Anything that's legitimate, you should have
time to think about. You should get a second You
can have a second opinion. You know, sleep on it.
Whenever you make a big purchase. You know, if you're
going to go buy a car, you don't have to
buy it immediately. You know, you can go sleep on it,
(07:47):
you can go look at other places. So break that cycle.
So that was number two, all right, Moving on to
number three. If you find yourself at your bank with
drawing cash while on the phone while someone is coaching
you what to say. I guarantee you you are being scammed,
(08:09):
and I hear this story all the time. Scammers obviously
want money, and where's money. Money's at the bank, and
you know, you can only take out so much cash
from your ATM. Usually the daily max is around three
hundred dollars. Well, scammers aren't happy with three hundred dollars,
(08:30):
so to get more than three hundred dollars, you have
to go inside the branch. And but if you go
into a branch and ask to withdraw, you know, five
thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars, they're going to ask questions why,
because that's their job. They take care of their customers.
(08:52):
And the people at the bank are trained. They're trained
to spot scams. And it's just not normal for someone
to walk into a bank and ask for a lot
of cash. So criminals are prepared, so they will coach you.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
They will tell you what.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
To say, they will stay on the phone with you,
and so if the banker says, you know, why are you,
sir or ma'am, why are you with drawing so much cash?
They will have a lie prepared. One of the common
ones is I'm buying a used car, and the person
(09:28):
doesn't want to check.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
They want cash.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Okay, sounds pretty legitimate, but they'll keep asking more and
more questions. I mean, ultimately, it's your money and they
can't stop you from withdrawing cash, but if they suspect
a scam, they will try to stop you. Another one
is I'm withdrawing cash to do some home improvements. So
where I live here in Arizona, I have a banker friend,
(09:53):
and she told me the story where this gentleman came
in and was withdrawing a really large amount of of
cash and he said it was for home improvements. Well,
she knew where he lived. He lived in a retirement
community where he rented, so there would be no reason
in the world for him to do home improvements. So
(10:14):
she knew her customers. She intervened. But that's what they do.
Another thing they'll do. It's still talking about number three
being at the bank and withdrawing cash the scammer. If
things aren't going right with the teller, they will instruct
you to go into the restroom for privacy and talk
(10:35):
on the phone. They'll instruct you to go outside to
your car, and you know, so they can coach you.
But that's it. You know, once again, how do you
break this cycle? You got to hang up and talk
to someone else. And I know it's scary, but be
prepared for that call and be prepared to hang up
(10:56):
because who is your phone or friend? Joyce and I
talk about this all the time. We all have to
have a phone a friend. And that was from the
show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? If you didn't
know the answer to something, your best bet was to
have your smartest friend on hold. So I'm not telling
you you have to have that person on hold all
(11:17):
the time because that's just not practical. But in your contacts,
you should have a friend, and you should talk about
this ahead of time. And you can have a friend
where you help each other out. But I recommend a
you know, a family member, someone you've known obviously a
long time, or a family friend someone you've known since
(11:37):
high school or college, and help each other out. You
know what, Every friend I know, every person I know,
would love to stop a scam in progress. So that
was number three. If you were at a bank with
drawing cash and someone's telling you what to do, I
guarantee you you're being scammed, all right, So that leads
in to the fourth side that you are being scammed.
(12:02):
And if you ever find yourself putting cash currency into
a bitcoin ATM at a local convenience store or smoke
shop or mall, you are doing something wrong. Now let's
just back up a second. What is a bitcoin ATM. Well,
(12:23):
bitcoin is one of the thousands of cryptocurrencies, and bitcoin
has the largest market share. They're at like sixty percent.
So when I say bitcoin ATM, I'm not picking on bitcoin,
but those are the most prevalent ATMs. So I've been
to the Tucson Mall in Tucson, Arizona, and there is
(12:47):
a Bitcoin ATM and it looks like an ATM automated
teller machine that you would see at your local bank
or credit union, and it says bitcoin on it, and
you walk up to it, and what you do is
you can log in into your account. Usually that's using
(13:07):
one of those QR codes that black and white square
and scammers will give you that. And so from now on,
we'll just call it a cryptocurrency ATM. But let's say,
why wouldes scammers send you there? So this is like
a scenario. They'll say, you get a phone call and
(13:31):
it's someone from the sheriff's department, sheriff's office or the
police department, and they say you've failed to show up
for jury duty and there's a warrant out for arrest.
But they'll say, you know what, we can take care
of this right now if you pay money. So how
do you pay money? A variety of different ways, you know,
(13:53):
they might ask for a prepaid card, you know, wire transfer, cash.
But the thing we're saying now is there they'll instruct
you to go down to this cryptocurrency ATM and they'll
tell you the location at this convenience store on this corner,
and they will send you one of those QR codes
(14:15):
on your phone. They'll text it to you so that
what they want you to do, go to your bank first,
withdraw all that cash. And if you're able to draw
the withdraw the cash without the teller convincing you it's
a scam, they have you drive down to that cryptocurrency ATM,
scan the QR code right right in front of the
(14:35):
little at at the bitcoin ATM, and then you start
entering cash.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Okay, if you're doing that, you are being scammed. Now.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Are cryptocurrency ATMs illegal? No, absolutely not. It's just a
way to invest in cryptocurrency, and some people do that.
But in my view from being a law enforcement officer,
former law enforcement officer, and now being with Rose for
almost two years, this is a scam. I don't like
(15:07):
these machines because I see them as fraud receptacles or
machines that allow fraud to take place, and they're just
scam machines. So but this is what scammers do. The
typical thing is they want people to pay in a
way that they're not familiar with. You know, we were
(15:28):
all familiar with cash in check in credit card, debit cards,
things like that. But they want you to use those
prepaid cards, they want you to use zell, they want
you to use wire transfers and things like that. So
just to you know, just as a quick example of
putting cash into an ATM or a crypto ATM up
(15:53):
in Phoenix, I met a lady. She received a phone
call and they said it was her bank security department.
She said there was an insider at the bank trying
to take her money that she needed to move it
somewhere safe. She went to her bank withdrew all the
cash that she needed and again they told her to lie,
which was number three on our scams that you were
(16:15):
pulling out money to buy a car, and then she
went down to a specific cryptocurrency ATM and deposited her cash.
She did this thirteen times, lost two hundred thousand dollars.
It's absolutely tragic. But that's one of the biggest scams
we're seeing right now, is anything involving cryptocurrency ATM. So
(16:37):
that was number four. If you ever find yourself putting
cash into a cryptocurrency ATM in a local store, you
were doing something wrong.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
You are being scammed, all right.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Last one, number five, we're talking about remote access, and
I'll explain what that is. But if someone is asking
for remote access to your computer, you are being damned.
Remote access is basically giving someone permission to be on
(17:08):
your computer from somewhere else. Now, why would we need
remote access. Let's say you work for a company and
you have an IT person and you're having issues with
your computer. You need to update a program. They will
reach out to you. They'll send you a little message
that pops up, Brian, can I have remote access to
(17:29):
your computer? And you click yes, and then they do
all this stuff in the background, totally legitimate. It's great technology.
We unfortunately the criminals know how to do remote access.
But allowing remote access is basically the same thing as
letting a criminal have unfettered access to all of your finances.
(17:51):
And if you saw the movie The Beekeeper from twenty
twenty four, in the movie, the criminals end up getting
remote act access to the victim's computer and they were
able to start moving money around. That's the way it
happens in the real world.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
They do that.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Now the scammers, here's the important thing. They're not going
to say, mister Watson, I need remote access to your computer.
They will say something like it'll all start with this
scam where you're owed a refund, because you know, how
can you be scammed if you're getting a refund. They
(18:29):
don't do that, but you'll get an email or a
text message saying we're from this company and we overcharge
you and we need to.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Pay you back.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
So you call them and say I'm calling about my refund.
They say, okay, great, let's do this. And then you
ask can I get a check or a credit on
my account and they'll say no, no, no, our company
policy requires you to request the refund. This is the
only way it can be resolved here dread flag. So
the scam will send you a little email or an email,
(19:04):
but a little pop up on your computer, and then
you end up clicking yes. And then let's say they
owe you twenty dollars. You type in two zero on
your computer, but then they add a number or two
or three, so that twenty dollars becomes twenty thousand. And
then they'll say, you know what, we just made a
(19:24):
huge mistake. You need to pay us back. And the
guy on the phone will say, if you don't pay
me the money back, I'm going to be fired.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
They pull on your heartstrings, and in the background, since
you've given them remote access, they can move money from
your checking account to your savings account to make it
look like they actually did put that twenty thousand in
your checking account, but they didn't. They're just it's a
shell game. They're moving the money around, and then at
that point they want the cash, so they take you
(19:56):
back to number four on our list. Today they'll send
you to that cryptocurrency ATM to deposit twenty thousand dollars.
So all these scams are tied together, they're all related.
It's that's just the way they work. So but this
happened to my friend's mother in law here in Tucson.
(20:18):
She had a Norton subscription. They said she was due
a refund. She said, okay, little pop up came up
and she said when she typed in the twenty dollars,
it instantly became the twenty thousand. And they ended up
having her go to her bank and wire transfer the
money overseas and she lost that money. I tell you,
(20:39):
she's a very smart lady. So that was number five.
When asking someone is asking for remote access, don't give it.
Stop the cycle, all right, So we always end with
common sense advice. So when in doubt, you know, hang
up your phone, turn op texting with someone, stop emailing
(21:01):
with someone. Talk to that family member or trusted friend.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
If it's technology, I know, I call my son because
he's the technology wizard. But you know what, like I
could call Joyce, you know, Joyce could call me from
Rose because we see these scams. I can reach out
to my parents. They can reach out to me, you
know what. And if you don't have someone that's available
at the moment, call your local police department, call your
(21:27):
Sheriff's department, every law enforcement agency I know would gladly
help someone on the front end and prevent a scam
them trying to track down the money later. And just remember,
scammers are financial predators that always use urgency to get
their victims to make bad and poor decisions. They're better
at this than you are. We're all rookies when it
(21:51):
comes to scams. When it comes when compared to the
scammers out there, they are at the PhD level and
like we're still in kindergarten at times. So they're using scripts.
They're basically actors reading from scripts, and they know exactly
what to say and what to works, what works. So
in the past two years working for Rose, as I
(22:14):
mentioned at the top of the show today, everyone I've
met has been smart, educated, financially independent. That's what surprised me.
And if they can get all these smart, financially educated
and independent people, they.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Can get all of us.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are,
how much money you have, They're coming after all of us.
Our passion is that anyone seeing this radio show today
won't get scammed. And we want you to share this
with someone. Send the link to someone you know and love.
You will be doing them a big favor. And please
go to our website, Roseadvocacy dot org. There's the website
(22:54):
scrolling across the screen bookmarket watch some of our videos
on there. Share it with friends, and we really want
you to sign up for our monthly email. It goes
out at the beginning of the month. It's got all
the latest scams and other techniques. And then as a bonus,
every Tuesday morning, we send out a little tax tip.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I used to work for the irs.
(23:16):
I'm sorry, And it's early a little scam prevention tip
and they're short and sweet. Share them with your friends,
just really really really good advice. I will be back
next week on July fifteenth. The title of the show
is Don't Panic when your Computer Wails. And this is
(23:37):
a story of a pop up that happened to my
mom with a siren okay, and it was scary and
I can't wait to tell the story, So please tune
in on July fifteenth when we talk about pop ups.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
And what to do.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And it's just a scary story, but it has a
happy ending. I like good stories, and it's got a
very good teaching moment that we can do. Thank you
all for tuning in today. I appreciate your attention and
we'll see you on July fifteenth. Thank you for watching
Let's talk about Scams.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Well that's all the knowledge for this episode. June in
every Tuesday at eight am Pacific time on KFOURHD Radio
at KFORAHD dot com as Joyce explores a variety of knowledge,
so you have the power to make scam protection your
healthy habit, and until then, feel free to reach out
to Joyce and Let's talk about scams.
This program is designed to provide general information with regards
to the subject matters covered. This information is given with
the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors, or station
are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial, legal, counseling,
professional service, or any advice. You should seek the services
(00:23):
of competent professionals before applying or trying any suggested ideas.
The information contained in this podcast is intended for informational
purposes only and is not a substitute for individual professional
legal advice. The podcast information was carefully compiled from vetted
sources and references. However, Rose Resources outreach to safeguard the
(00:45):
elderly cannot guarantee that you will not fall victim to
a scam. Let's talk about scams. It's the must listen
show for anyone who wants to protect themselves and their
loved ones from scams. Every Tuesday, eight am Pacific time
on K four HD Radio, Joyce Petrowski, founder of Rose,
(01:05):
and her guests will provide valuable insights and practical tips
on how to recognize and protect yourself from scams. And
now here is your host, Joyce Petrowski.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Good Morning, everybody, Welcome to Let's talk about Scams. My
name is Brian Watson. I'm a community outreach specialist for
Rose Resources Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly, and I'm filling
in for Joyce Petrowski today. I'm actually filling in for
Joyce for several weeks. She's giving me keys to the
radio show and we've got a bunch of great episodes
(01:42):
coming up, and today we are going to start. Today's
topic is five Signs that you are being scammed. I've
been working for Rose for almost two years now, and
what's really struck me is the amount of extremely smart
people that have been scammed. To be honest, there were
(02:06):
I was expecting to run into a few people that
had some cognitive decline, who were getting older just couldn't
handle their finances, but that's not been the case. So
I've seen a lot in the last two years, and
I want to talk about just some patterns that I'm seeing.
So we're going to talk about five signs that You're
(02:28):
being scammed. We could have done ten or fifteen, but
I wanted to keep it nice and tight, keep it
at five. So let's talk about these trends. They're in
no particular order, but let's start with number one.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
First sign that you.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Are likely being scammed is someone you don't know is
calling you on your phone incessantly. They're calling from different
phone numbers. They're not giving you a break, they're telling
you what to do. They're being bossy, they're being demanding.
They're creating that sense of panic. That's just not normal.
(03:08):
That's what scammers do. I've heard so many stories of
scammers calling people up and just not letting them get
a break because they don't want you to talk to
someone else. They don't want you to, you know, get
a second opinion. You know, the longer they have you
on the phone, the more likely they're going to take
your money. So the key is to disengage right away.
(03:32):
Don't let them get to that point. Because they walk
you down that path, and they have you at a
certain point, it's hard to get off that path. You remember, remember,
time is your friend. You don't have to act immediately.
You need to end that conversation and ask for help,
even if you have to lie, make something up. Say
(03:54):
you know what, I have a family member coming over,
I have another call coming in, but just break this cycle.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
What's going on? You know.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Just to give you an example, I spent my career
as a special agent with the IRS, and the IRS
impersonation scam was going on years ago, and I was
at the office one day with a coworker. We had
just finished lunch, we're kind of hanging out. His phone
rang and it was a scammer telling him he owed
(04:23):
money to the IRS, which was kind of funny to
think because we were both IRS special agents at the time,
and they would just not let my friend have a break.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
They told him what to do.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
They said he needed to get in his car and
drive down and buy a prepaid card to pay his bills.
And even when my friend lied and said he didn't
have a car and that he was handicapped, they didn't care.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
They kept him on the line. And that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
You need to break that cycle, because if you're allowed
to hang up or you stop talking to them, get
your wits back and realize things aren't right.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
So that was number one.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Someone you don't know is calling you incessantly from different
phone numbers and not giving you a break. All right,
Let's move on to number two. Someone is telling you
not to talk to someone else. You know, why would
they do that. You know, that's the kind of creepy,
abusive language that child predators use and other victims. You know,
(05:28):
they want to keep you isolated. The goal of financial
predators is to control you, force you to make bad decisions,
and then ultimately steal your money, because that's what all
criminals do. They lie to you and they steal your money.
This is why people tragically fall victim for the grandparent scam,
(05:50):
because they will call you up, pretend to be someone
calling from a jail, saying your grand in jail and
that you need to send money right away. And this
happened to someone I know here in Arizona, and this
is what they told him. They said, the judge has
(06:10):
put a gag order in place, and you aren't allowed
to talk to someone else. So how convenient is that
for the criminal? They're saying it's against the law to
talk to someone else.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
So he didn't. He stayed on the line.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
He ended up wiring this fifteen thousand dollars and he
never got it back. But if he had, if he
had talked to someone else, they would have said, you know, dad,
you're being scammed. That's a scammer. But that's what they
want to do I want Speaking of the grandparents scam,
I once heard a story from some law enforcement officials
(06:47):
in northern Arizona. One of their residents in I think
it was Yavapai County, he received the grandparents call and
he was told the scammers told him that his grandchild
was in Mexico, and he started driving from northern Arizona
down to.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Mexico.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And because he believed it, and he didn't talk to
anyone else, somehow, some way they were able to intercept him,
talk to him, find him, and they broke that cycle.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
But so that was number two.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
If someone is telling you not to talk to someone else,
that's a red flag. Anything that's legitimate, you should have
time to think about. You should get a second You
can have a second opinion. You know, sleep on it.
Whenever you make a big purchase. You know, if you're
going to go buy a car, you don't have to
buy it immediately. You know, you can go sleep on it,
(07:47):
you can go look at other places. So break that cycle.
So that was number two, all right, Moving on to
number three. If you find yourself at your bank with
drawing cash while on the phone while someone is coaching
you what to say. I guarantee you you are being scammed,
(08:09):
and I hear this story all the time. Scammers obviously
want money, and where's money. Money's at the bank, and
you know, you can only take out so much cash
from your ATM. Usually the daily max is around three
hundred dollars. Well, scammers aren't happy with three hundred dollars,
(08:30):
so to get more than three hundred dollars, you have
to go inside the branch. And but if you go
into a branch and ask to withdraw, you know, five
thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars, they're going to ask questions why,
because that's their job. They take care of their customers.
(08:52):
And the people at the bank are trained. They're trained
to spot scams. And it's just not normal for someone
to walk into a bank and ask for a lot
of cash. So criminals are prepared, so they will coach you.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
They will tell you what.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
To say, they will stay on the phone with you,
and so if the banker says, you know, why are you,
sir or ma'am, why are you with drawing so much cash?
They will have a lie prepared. One of the common
ones is I'm buying a used car, and the person
(09:28):
doesn't want to check.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
They want cash.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Okay, sounds pretty legitimate, but they'll keep asking more and
more questions. I mean, ultimately, it's your money and they
can't stop you from withdrawing cash, but if they suspect
a scam, they will try to stop you. Another one
is I'm withdrawing cash to do some home improvements. So
where I live here in Arizona, I have a banker friend,
(09:53):
and she told me the story where this gentleman came
in and was withdrawing a really large amount of of
cash and he said it was for home improvements. Well,
she knew where he lived. He lived in a retirement
community where he rented, so there would be no reason
in the world for him to do home improvements. So
(10:14):
she knew her customers. She intervened. But that's what they do.
Another thing they'll do. It's still talking about number three
being at the bank and withdrawing cash the scammer. If
things aren't going right with the teller, they will instruct
you to go into the restroom for privacy and talk
(10:35):
on the phone. They'll instruct you to go outside to
your car, and you know, so they can coach you.
But that's it. You know, once again, how do you
break this cycle? You got to hang up and talk
to someone else. And I know it's scary, but be
prepared for that call and be prepared to hang up
(10:56):
because who is your phone or friend? Joyce and I
talk about this all the time. We all have to
have a phone a friend. And that was from the
show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? If you didn't
know the answer to something, your best bet was to
have your smartest friend on hold. So I'm not telling
you you have to have that person on hold all
(11:17):
the time because that's just not practical. But in your contacts,
you should have a friend, and you should talk about
this ahead of time. And you can have a friend
where you help each other out. But I recommend a
you know, a family member, someone you've known obviously a
long time, or a family friend someone you've known since
(11:37):
high school or college, and help each other out. You
know what, Every friend I know, every person I know,
would love to stop a scam in progress. So that
was number three. If you were at a bank with
drawing cash and someone's telling you what to do, I
guarantee you you're being scammed, all right, So that leads
in to the fourth side that you are being scammed.
(12:02):
And if you ever find yourself putting cash currency into
a bitcoin ATM at a local convenience store or smoke
shop or mall, you are doing something wrong. Now let's
just back up a second. What is a bitcoin ATM. Well,
(12:23):
bitcoin is one of the thousands of cryptocurrencies, and bitcoin
has the largest market share. They're at like sixty percent.
So when I say bitcoin ATM, I'm not picking on bitcoin,
but those are the most prevalent ATMs. So I've been
to the Tucson Mall in Tucson, Arizona, and there is
(12:47):
a Bitcoin ATM and it looks like an ATM automated
teller machine that you would see at your local bank
or credit union, and it says bitcoin on it, and
you walk up to it, and what you do is
you can log in into your account. Usually that's using
(13:07):
one of those QR codes that black and white square
and scammers will give you that. And so from now on,
we'll just call it a cryptocurrency ATM. But let's say,
why wouldes scammers send you there? So this is like
a scenario. They'll say, you get a phone call and
(13:31):
it's someone from the sheriff's department, sheriff's office or the
police department, and they say you've failed to show up
for jury duty and there's a warrant out for arrest.
But they'll say, you know what, we can take care
of this right now if you pay money. So how
do you pay money? A variety of different ways, you know,
(13:53):
they might ask for a prepaid card, you know, wire transfer, cash.
But the thing we're saying now is there they'll instruct
you to go down to this cryptocurrency ATM and they'll
tell you the location at this convenience store on this corner,
and they will send you one of those QR codes
(14:15):
on your phone. They'll text it to you so that
what they want you to do, go to your bank first,
withdraw all that cash. And if you're able to draw
the withdraw the cash without the teller convincing you it's
a scam, they have you drive down to that cryptocurrency ATM,
scan the QR code right right in front of the
(14:35):
little at at the bitcoin ATM, and then you start
entering cash.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Okay, if you're doing that, you are being scammed. Now.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Are cryptocurrency ATMs illegal? No, absolutely not. It's just a
way to invest in cryptocurrency, and some people do that.
But in my view from being a law enforcement officer,
former law enforcement officer, and now being with Rose for
almost two years, this is a scam. I don't like
(15:07):
these machines because I see them as fraud receptacles or
machines that allow fraud to take place, and they're just
scam machines. So but this is what scammers do. The
typical thing is they want people to pay in a
way that they're not familiar with. You know, we were
(15:28):
all familiar with cash in check in credit card, debit cards,
things like that. But they want you to use those
prepaid cards, they want you to use zell, they want
you to use wire transfers and things like that. So
just to you know, just as a quick example of
putting cash into an ATM or a crypto ATM up
(15:53):
in Phoenix, I met a lady. She received a phone
call and they said it was her bank security department.
She said there was an insider at the bank trying
to take her money that she needed to move it
somewhere safe. She went to her bank withdrew all the
cash that she needed and again they told her to lie,
which was number three on our scams that you were
(16:15):
pulling out money to buy a car, and then she
went down to a specific cryptocurrency ATM and deposited her cash.
She did this thirteen times, lost two hundred thousand dollars.
It's absolutely tragic. But that's one of the biggest scams
we're seeing right now, is anything involving cryptocurrency ATM. So
(16:37):
that was number four. If you ever find yourself putting
cash into a cryptocurrency ATM in a local store, you
were doing something wrong.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
You are being scammed, all right.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Last one, number five, we're talking about remote access, and
I'll explain what that is. But if someone is asking
for remote access to your computer, you are being damned.
Remote access is basically giving someone permission to be on
(17:08):
your computer from somewhere else. Now, why would we need
remote access. Let's say you work for a company and
you have an IT person and you're having issues with
your computer. You need to update a program. They will
reach out to you. They'll send you a little message
that pops up, Brian, can I have remote access to
(17:29):
your computer? And you click yes, and then they do
all this stuff in the background, totally legitimate. It's great technology.
We unfortunately the criminals know how to do remote access.
But allowing remote access is basically the same thing as
letting a criminal have unfettered access to all of your finances.
(17:51):
And if you saw the movie The Beekeeper from twenty
twenty four, in the movie, the criminals end up getting
remote act access to the victim's computer and they were
able to start moving money around. That's the way it
happens in the real world.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
They do that.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Now the scammers, here's the important thing. They're not going
to say, mister Watson, I need remote access to your computer.
They will say something like it'll all start with this
scam where you're owed a refund, because you know, how
can you be scammed if you're getting a refund. They
(18:29):
don't do that, but you'll get an email or a
text message saying we're from this company and we overcharge
you and we need to.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Pay you back.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
So you call them and say I'm calling about my refund.
They say, okay, great, let's do this. And then you
ask can I get a check or a credit on
my account and they'll say no, no, no, our company
policy requires you to request the refund. This is the
only way it can be resolved here dread flag. So
the scam will send you a little email or an email,
(19:04):
but a little pop up on your computer, and then
you end up clicking yes. And then let's say they
owe you twenty dollars. You type in two zero on
your computer, but then they add a number or two
or three, so that twenty dollars becomes twenty thousand. And
then they'll say, you know what, we just made a
(19:24):
huge mistake. You need to pay us back. And the
guy on the phone will say, if you don't pay
me the money back, I'm going to be fired.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
They pull on your heartstrings, and in the background, since
you've given them remote access, they can move money from
your checking account to your savings account to make it
look like they actually did put that twenty thousand in
your checking account, but they didn't. They're just it's a
shell game. They're moving the money around, and then at
that point they want the cash, so they take you
(19:56):
back to number four on our list. Today they'll send
you to that cryptocurrency ATM to deposit twenty thousand dollars.
So all these scams are tied together, they're all related.
It's that's just the way they work. So but this
happened to my friend's mother in law here in Tucson.
(20:18):
She had a Norton subscription. They said she was due
a refund. She said, okay, little pop up came up
and she said when she typed in the twenty dollars,
it instantly became the twenty thousand. And they ended up
having her go to her bank and wire transfer the
money overseas and she lost that money. I tell you,
(20:39):
she's a very smart lady. So that was number five.
When asking someone is asking for remote access, don't give it.
Stop the cycle, all right, So we always end with
common sense advice. So when in doubt, you know, hang
up your phone, turn op texting with someone, stop emailing
(21:01):
with someone. Talk to that family member or trusted friend.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
If it's technology, I know, I call my son because
he's the technology wizard. But you know what, like I
could call Joyce, you know, Joyce could call me from
Rose because we see these scams. I can reach out
to my parents. They can reach out to me, you
know what. And if you don't have someone that's available
at the moment, call your local police department, call your
(21:27):
Sheriff's department, every law enforcement agency I know would gladly
help someone on the front end and prevent a scam
them trying to track down the money later. And just remember,
scammers are financial predators that always use urgency to get
their victims to make bad and poor decisions. They're better
at this than you are. We're all rookies when it
(21:51):
comes to scams. When it comes when compared to the
scammers out there, they are at the PhD level and
like we're still in kindergarten at times. So they're using scripts.
They're basically actors reading from scripts, and they know exactly
what to say and what to works, what works. So
in the past two years working for Rose, as I
(22:14):
mentioned at the top of the show today, everyone I've
met has been smart, educated, financially independent. That's what surprised me.
And if they can get all these smart, financially educated
and independent people, they.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Can get all of us.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are,
how much money you have, They're coming after all of us.
Our passion is that anyone seeing this radio show today
won't get scammed. And we want you to share this
with someone. Send the link to someone you know and love.
You will be doing them a big favor. And please
go to our website, Roseadvocacy dot org. There's the website
(22:54):
scrolling across the screen bookmarket watch some of our videos
on there. Share it with friends, and we really want
you to sign up for our monthly email. It goes
out at the beginning of the month. It's got all
the latest scams and other techniques. And then as a bonus,
every Tuesday morning, we send out a little tax tip.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I used to work for the irs.
(23:16):
I'm sorry, And it's early a little scam prevention tip
and they're short and sweet. Share them with your friends,
just really really really good advice. I will be back
next week on July fifteenth. The title of the show
is Don't Panic when your Computer Wails. And this is
(23:37):
a story of a pop up that happened to my
mom with a siren okay, and it was scary and
I can't wait to tell the story, So please tune
in on July fifteenth when we talk about pop ups.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
And what to do.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And it's just a scary story, but it has a
happy ending. I like good stories, and it's got a
very good teaching moment that we can do. Thank you
all for tuning in today. I appreciate your attention and
we'll see you on July fifteenth. Thank you for watching
Let's talk about Scams.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Well that's all the knowledge for this episode. June in
every Tuesday at eight am Pacific time on KFOURHD Radio
at KFORAHD dot com as Joyce explores a variety of knowledge,
so you have the power to make scam protection your
healthy habit, and until then, feel free to reach out
to Joyce and Let's talk about scams.
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