I’m Frank Abagnale, and a new set of 12 episodes featuring America’s most shocking scam stories.
Julie, it’s great to have you here.
[00:00:35] Julie: Hi, Frank, and thank you.
I’m excited to be here and really looking forward to co-hosting with you.
So what that said, should we dive right into it?
[00:00:48] Frank Abagnale: Let’s do it.
[00:00:49] Julie: Okay, great.
So, Frank, our listeners always want to know what you’ve been up to lately.
[00:00:54] Frank Abagnale: Well, of course, still teaching at the FBI Academy.
This year we’re wrapping up 43 states.
So last night, we were actually in Philadelphia.
It’s published by Random House, and it’s available on Amazon and all the bookstores.
An amazing book, really.
It covers every scam.
We looked at every scam in very simple terms.
We explain how the scam works.
We have a little test after each scam so to confirm you remember what we said in the book.
So the book is “Scam Me If you’re able to.”
[00:03:06] Julie: Great.
Is there one scam that people should really be alert of right now?
The IRS and the Social Security would never ask you to do those things.
So the minute you hear that, know that that’s a scam.
[00:03:48] Julie: All right, Frank.
Well, without further ado, let’s jump right into our next episode.
[00:03:52] Frank Abagnale: Great.
[00:03:56] Julie: Our guest this week is Alex Palmer.
He’s a journalist, a New York Times bestselling author who covers travel, culture, and history.
It’s a fascinating story, and one to which Alex has a personal connection.
(telephone ring)
[00:04:28] Alex Palmer: This is Alex.
[00:04:28] Julie: Hi, Alex, it’s Julie Getz with AARP’s The Perfect Scam.
[00:04:32] Good, how are you?
[00:04:33] Julie: Good.
Thanks for talking with us.
[00:04:34] Alex Palmer: Absolutely.
John Duval Gluck is actually my great granduncle and a really fascinating character.
And that was the time that there would be a little more of a public celebration.
What happened from there?
[00:06:37] Alex Palmer: A growth and explosion of popularity in the celebrating of Christmas.
More extravagant than ever from one year to the next.
He was the oldest of five brothers and grew up in Westville, New Jersey.
For a while it seems like he was destined for a quiet life running the family business, no?
He had a pretty, pretty savvy managerial mind, and a passion for bigger things.
[00:07:11] Julie: What were those bigger things?
The general population protested having these little childish wishes just be destroyed.
[00:07:49] Julie: So this is when he formed the Santa Claus Association, right?
[00:08:16] Julie: Gluck immediately put his plan in motion.
Just weeks after forming his charity, they’re going through letters from the children of New York.
They spent hours tracking letters from thousands of New York children, and probably did it all for free.
We’re not here to get, ask for donations.
All we’re asking is for, for generous New Yorkers to come forward and answer a letter.
[00:11:43] Julie: On Christmas Day in 1915, Gluck announced his grandest plan yet.
He’d construct a massive building right in the middle of Manhattan.
The exterior would be white marble, and the front would have an arch portal 20 feet deep.
The first floor would house charities for children.
There’d be a toy fair that went all year round.
So he eventually got wind of the Santa Claus Association.
And he wanted to know where this money was going.
A lot of questionable things.
[00:15:10] Julie: Coler takes his findings to the press.
And when the news breaks to the public, it’s a huge scandal.
[00:15:39] Julie: Gluck got lucky.
He was disgraced, but at least nobody took him to court.
[00:15:53] Julie: Well that’s certainly quite a story.
I’m now talking with AARP Fraud Expert, Amy Nofziger.
Amy, how are you?
[00:16:00] Amy Nofziger: Thank you for having me back.
Amy, we just listened to an incredible story about a scam that happened back in the 1920s.
They know how busy we are.
‘Cause that’s one of the things that scammers wants are these prepaid gift cards.
Some other things that we see are definitely phishing emails.
[00:18:36] Julie: You know, the holiday season can be a very emotional time for people.
How do con artists use this to their advantage to separate you from your money?
And there’s grandma sitting there thinking, oh my gosh, I have to help him.
I’m the only one that can help him right now.
What do I need to do?
How would you handle that?
And he said, prepaid gift cards.
[00:21:43] Julie: I really love that idea of the post-it.
[00:21:49] Amy Nofziger: Well it’s interesting ‘cause it’s so simple.
[00:22:27] Julie: But where should people go to actually report it?
Is there any final time you want to share?
[00:24:15] Julie: Okay.
[00:24:16] Amy Nofziger: Thank you.
Avoid buying them off of an easily accessible rack.
I’m a true believer that every little piece of information leads to another piece of information.
[00:26:10] Julie: Got it.
Frank, do you have any tips for when people are feeling generous this holiday season?
They can advise you whether it’s legitimate, not legitimate.
You have the Better Business Bureau in your community that has information about that.
[00:27:21] Julie: Great.
And as you always say, Frank, stop and verify.
[00:27:25] Frank Abagnale: Yeah.
It reads, “Hi, it’s Santa.
Make Christmas magical for someone special with a letter from Santa this year.
All it’s crucial that you do is use this special code and get a discount.”
And then the young people will never know that their identification is being used.
So folks, you heard it here from The Perfect Scam podcast.
Be safe out there this holiday season.
Scammers are out there all year long, but around the holidays, they’re busier than ever.
Frank, thanks so much for being here.
[00:28:27] Frank Abagnale: Thank you for having me.
Be sure to find us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
For AARP - The Perfect Scam, I’m Julie Getz.
Gluck saw an opportunity, and created the Santa Claus Association in 1913.
For a time, the charity did just that.
For 15 years money and gifts flowed to the association, and Gluck became a Jazz Age celebrity.
For instance, if you are looking for a job you are more vulnerable to a work-at-home scam.
