$1 Million Theft: Tech Scam Leaves Teacher Shaken

$1 Million Theft: Tech Scam Leaves Teacher Shaken

From The Perfect Scam by AARP

February 20, 2026 · 1h 3m · Episode 246

About this episode

The episode discusses a retired teacher's experience with a tech support scam that resulted in a loss of over $1 million.

Joyce is a retired teacher who works part-time with special needs kids. She's recently divorced after a long marriage, facing a cancer scare, and acting as the primary caregiver for her 96-year-old mother. With all of this weighing on her, she becomes the target of a tech support scam. Over months of instilling fear, the criminals steal more than $1 million from her retirement savings. Kathy Stokes of the AARP Fraud Watch Network stops by to discuss the new "Pause. Reflect. Protect." campaign aimed at combating scams like these.

People in this episode

Guest: Kathy Stokes

Topics covered

  • scams
  • technology
  • financial theft
  • caregiving
  • retirement
  • fraud prevention

Keywords

  • tech scam
  • financial fraud
  • retirement savings
  • AARP
  • scam prevention
  • caregiver
  • special needs

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AARP, AARP Fraud Watch Network

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