Worth Your Time: How One Family Stopped a $280,000 Crypto-Romance Scam

A late-night panicked call, an urgent request for $280,000, and a family who trusted their gut instead of just wiring the money. This one’s worth 20 minutes of your time.

We didn’t write this one — it’s an episode from AARP’s The Perfect Scam podcast, hosted by Bob Sullivan, and it’s a genuinely gripping listen. A couple gets a late-night call from their son, sounding panicked, saying he urgently needs a huge sum of money. Instead of scrambling to send it, the father — a trained counselor — senses something is wrong. What unfolds is the story of how an online romance connection had pulled their son into a crypto investment scheme, and how the family worked together to pump the brakes before real damage was done.

It’s a great listen for exactly the reason our own “Family Emergency” and “Romance Scam” guidance exists: these schemes work by creating urgency and isolating the people they target. Hearing how a real family slowed down, asked questions, and intervened is more useful than any bullet-point list.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: “How One Family Stopped a Crypto-Romance Scam” — AARP’s The Perfect Scam

Worried this might be happening in your own family? Our What To Do page — Family Emergency section and Romance Scam section cover exactly what to do next.