Episode 255: How Kindness Works in The Scammer's Playbook

About this episode

Brian Ward discusses his father's experiences with scams and the unsettling nature of how reasonable they seemed.

She said her name was Clara Harper from Chase Bank. She argued with a police officer. She needed gift cards. Brian Ward shares the three times his 85-year-old father got scammed — and why the most unsettling thing wasn't the con. It was how reasonable it all sounded.Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Guest: Brian Ward

Topics covered

• scams
• kindness
• elderly
• financial fraud
• police interaction
• gift cards

Keywords

• scams
• elderly
• Chase Bank
• gift cards
• kindness
• Brian Ward
• police

Sponsors

DeleteMe

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chase Bank

Places: United States

More episodes of What the Hack?

• Episode 254: Even If You're Not Online, You're Online · June 2, 2026 · 51 min
• Episode 253: When the Bait Bites Back · May 26, 2026 · 47 min
• Episode 252: Surveillance In America, Pt 4: No Warrant Required · May 19, 2026 · 47 min
• Episode 251: Surveillance In America, Pt 3: Just Say No · May 12, 2026 · 53 min
• Episode 250: Becky Holmes and the Future of Fraud · May 5, 2026 · 50 min
• Episode 249: The End of the Constitution Had to Start Somewhere · April 27, 2026 · 46 min