[00:00:04] It’s a group of people that are easily preyed upon.
[00:00:14] There’s people abroad you know targeting our seniors every day.
And there’s people being caught every day.
Frank, we meet again.
[00:00:34] Frank Abagnale: Yes, we are, and I’m glad to be back.
[00:00:36] Will Johnson: Thanks for being here.
But um, this is one my sister got, and she sent it to me.
“Good evening to you.
My name is Moren Jeffson from London, England.”
So this is Moren Jeffson.
“I school and work as a fashion designer for part-time job after my school.
I’m the only child of my parents.
My father died on a fatal auto accident on the way to see my sick mother at the hospital.
Are you following along, here?
[00:01:29] Frank Abagnale: Yeah.
[00:01:08] Will Johnson: All right.
“Today I’m 26 years old.
Uh, obviously trying to get information.
Um, again, people need to be very careful.
Phishing emails, they’ve gotten very sophisticated.
We need to do that more often.
When you get back, call me and we’ll do lunch again.
By the way, I saw this on YouTube and I thought you’d find it interesting.
Here’s the link, see you soon.
All of that information comes from the social media.
They know they were going to Disney World.
My wife, Karen and I, really enjoyed ourselves.
We need to do that again soon.
As you know, I’m on my way to Nashville today for a conference.
I’ll be gone this week.
[00:03:37] Will Johnson: By the way.
[00:03:37] Frank Abagnale: Yeah.
It’s time consuming, but I guess somebody has the time.
[00:04:27] Will Johnson: Is nothing.
[00:04:27] Frank Abagnale: Nothing.
He is one of hundreds of individuals who have fallen victim to what U.S.
Senator Susan Collins has called one of the worst scams her committee has uncovered.
[00:04:48] Will Johnson: Vacationland, Maine.
It’s a beautiful place to live and visit.
Sheriff Joyce is well aware that with a large aging population scammers are targeting seniors in Maine.
[00:05:11] Sheriff Joyce: The seniors are more vulnerable.
Uh, they’re more likely to answer the phone in the daytime because they’re not at work.
[00:05:45] Sheriff Joyce: Yeah, I would think that the number would be staggering.
At its core, it’s a romance scam, a scam built on trust and connection.
[00:06:15] Sheriff Joyce: Well the dating scams, you know, they say love if blind.
She’s an artist, and we communicated almost every day.
[00:07:11] Joseph Brian Martin: Yes, yeah.
That certainly was the case.
They were going to pay all my expenses.
What made you change your mind?
[00:08:16] Joseph Brian Martin: Well, I just felt I owed her something.
I mean we knew each other fairly well.
[00:08:32] Will Johnson: And you were newly married.
Did your new wife know about this?
I mean she obviously knew you were heading out of town.
[00:09:16] MUSIC SEGUE
[00:09:18] Will Johnson: Brian gets his instructions from Joy.
It took me a week of waiting before they finally came through with a package.
[00:10:22] MUSIC SEGUE
[00:10:22] Will Johnson: Brian heads to the airport.
He goes through security in Lima with no problem and heads to London via Madrid, Spain.
[00:10:55] Joseph Brian Martin: First of all I, I just drew in a deep breath.
[00:11:34] Will Johnson: Describe what, if you could, what that was like.
[00:11:45] Joseph Brian Martin: I was just so devastated.
I couldn’t believe that I was involved in something like this.
[00:12:00] Will Johnson: And could you like watch TV in there?
[00:12:22] Joseph Brian Martin: Six years, one day.
Brian’s other kids haven’t talked to him in years.
Andy was, in fact, estranged from his father for over a decade before his father was arrested.
[00:12:44] Will Johnson: Yeah.
[00:12:58] Joseph Brian Martin: Yes.
[00:13:59] Andy Martin: Correct, and he’d be paid handsomely for doing that.
[00:14:02] Will Johnson: And paid handsomely?
Do you have any idea how much he offered?
[00:14:14] Andy Martin: No, that’s what I asked him too.
I said, have you ever heard of FedEx, you know, come on.
[00:14:18] Will Johnson: Yeah.
Could have avoided a lot of trouble down the road.
This is, this is some kind of joke, isn’t it?
As far as I know, he’s in Maine.
He just got married.
Why would he be in Spain smuggling cocaine?
[00:15:22] Will Johnson: Did you travel to Spain?
[00:15:23] Andy Martin: Yeah we did.
We were actually going to go to Europe on a honey–, on a late honeymoon.
We were in Paris and we took a day and shot down to Madrid to see him.
That’s the first time I’d seen him in probably 10 years, maybe 12 years.
[00:15:34] Will Johnson: And so, was he still in a wheelchair when you saw him?
[00:15:57] Andy Martin: Correct.
[00:16:12] Andy Martin: She chairs a committee, (inaudible) the Aging, the elderly.
[00:16:24] Will Johnson: And what were you testifying then?
[00:16:41] Will Johnson: And what did they go about doing to get him out?
[00:17:53] Will Johnson: So your dad has returned to the United States.
[00:18:09] Andy Martin: Exactly.
Jack of all trades.
Catch me if you could.
[00:18:15] Will Johnson: It amazes me that this is actually a thing.
I mean that’s a long, that’s a big investment to put into somebody.
Well, you know, 10 other people on the same flight get through.
They’re using seniors more and more, cause they seem less likely to be a drug mule.
[00:19:21] Will Johnson: The scams come in all shapes, sizes.
[00:19:37] Andy Martin: Yes.
Especially if you’re not going to look at them first.
[00:19:40] Will Johnson: Did Joy drop off the radar after all this?
[00:19:50] Will Johnson: Right back into online relationships?
[00:19:52] Andy Martin: And sending money to people overseas.
[00:19:54] Will Johnson: Oh, come on.
[00:19:54] Andy Martin: I kid you not.
You’re 79 years old.
[00:20:43] Andy Martin: Yeah.
[00:20:43] Will Johnson: These people are offering him a life that, that is probably unattainable.
[00:20:48] Andy Martin: Yeah.
One that he never had that he wished he had had, you know.
[00:20:52] Andy Martin: What are your thoughts about your father today?
I know it’s been, it sounds like a roller coaster.
I mean that, that was like the thing that bothered me the most about his situation.
I wanted to get him home.
[00:22:16] Joseph Brian Martin: Absolutely not.
Did you pack your own bags?
Do you know the things that are in your bag?”
When you leave the United States, you’re not asked any questions.
You see nobody, you just get on the plane, show your passport, and off you go.
It was just, he happened to be, unfortunately, it’s checked.
[00:24:48] Will Johnson: And I have to ask.
It could have been a simple matter of that.
The opportunity came to her and then she said, who do I know that could do this?
I don’t think the money was the issue, I think it was the girl.
[00:25:31] Frank Abagnale: But can we bring up the red flag again?
[00:25:33] Will Johnson: kindly bring up the red flag.
I think this girl’s interested in me though I never met her.
That’s the red flag.
[00:25:59] Will Johnson: All right.
[00:26:04] Frank Abagnale: Thanks Will.
For AARP - The Perfect Scam, I’m Will Johnson.
END OF TRANSCRIPT
Bryon, a retired pastor, thought hed met his dream girl online.
For five years he conversed over the internet with Joy, who claimed to live in London.
For instance, if you are looking for a job you are more vulnerable to a work-at-home scam.
