Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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She thought she was in a relationship with Richard Gere.

She was wiring him money. Trying to sell her jewelry to send him more.
But it wasn’t Richard Gere. It was a scam.
Journalist Nancy Rommelmann tells Mike Pesca the story of a woman whose mother fell into a celebrity romance scam — one of the fastest-growing forms of elder fraud.
These scams are getting more sophisticated, more convincing, and more devastating for families.

In the full episode, AARP’s Senior Director of Fraud Victim Support Amy Nofziger explains how these schemes actually work — from celebrity catfishing to massive “pig butchering” crypto scams — and what families can do to stop them before life savings disappear.

#elderfraud #scams #cybercrime #podcastclips #thegist

#aarpfraudwatch


Check out the full episode on The Gist Podcast: mikepesca.com/how-to-with-mike-pesca

#scams #elderfraud #podcastclips #cybercrime

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CREDITS:

Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca

Producer:
Corey Wara

Video Editor:
Geoff Craig