34 episodes listed below
Experts explain the con; the hosts ask what to do.
Scammercast is an interview show about how scams reach older adults and what keeps them safe. Co-hosts Curtis Bailey and Art Maines talk with a compliance insider, a FINRA investor educator, a Stanford longevity researcher and a cybersecurity expert, and they keep steering each conversation back to the next practical step.
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Scammercast is an interview program about fraud, and its center of gravity is the older adult: the retiree with savings in a brokerage account, the parent getting online for the first time, the senior who was taught to always pick up the phone. Co-hosts Curtis Bailey and Art Maines bring in people who see those risks from the inside. Then they keep asking. A guest reaches for industry language, such as the culture of compliance that FINRA talks about, and a host pulls the conversation back toward what an ordinary person should watch for. Molly, a compliance insider from the financial services industry, says an unauthorized trade deserves a question, a firm's compliance department will take a complaint, and it is fair to ask an advisor how much risk an investment carries. She also explains how a fired advisor can resurface at a budget firm, which is why she prefers major ones. Gerri Walsh of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation brings survey findings on how little emergency cushion many older households have, along with research that debunked the stock image of the fraud victim as an isolated older woman. Her phone advice is disarmingly simple: let unknown numbers go to voicemail. Marti Deliema, of the Stanford Center on Longevity, points out that scammers did not invent their persuasion tactics. They borrowed them from everyday sales and attached them to a transaction built on a lie. That fits a point the hosts make often, that emotion sends the thinking brain offline. On the technology side, cybersecurity expert Scott Schober recounts hacking attempts against himself and his company, warns about debit cards, and describes guessing a friend's password from the sports teams he follows. His episode title carries the show's sturdiest theme: smart people get ripped off too. A conversation with Ellen and Lynn, of the Senior Learning Network and Generations Learning, reflects another conviction, that older adults who stay connected, active and learning are harder to fool. The hosts tie much of this to their three R's of scam prevention, especially reaching out to someone trusted before acting. The episode list widens the range, with titles such as 'Romance Scams with The Love Coach Nikki Leigh', 'Avoiding the Work from Home/Too Good to Be True Scams' and 'Prosecutor Brendan Kelly Details The Perils of Elder Financial Exploitation'. Identity theft returns across several titles, and Caregiving.Com and AgingParents.Com each appear in others. Episodes close by noting the material is educational, not a substitute for an attorney, physician or financial professional. The register stays warm and unhurried even when the subject turns grave. A sensible first listen is 'Smart People Get Ripped Off Too! A Visit with Cybersecurity Expert Scott Schober', whose title states the premise outright.
Made for: Suits a listener who looks after an aging parent's money or online accounts, or is planning for retirement, and wants specific questions to put to an advisor or an unfamiliar caller before trusting them.
What sets it apart: Rather than dramatizing swindles, it builds its conversations around guests such as regulators, longevity researchers, compliance insiders and cybersecurity specialists, with the co-hosts turning each expert's knowledge into a concrete next step. Its insistence that smart people get fooled too, and that staying connected is itself protection, gives it a patient, prevention-first angle.
Learn how to defend against the most prolific Scams that effect us both online and offline now! Hosts Art Maines and Curtis Bailey harness the skill sets of experts of all kinds to showcase how you, your loved ones and those around you can help them – HAMMER THE SCAMMERS!
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Expert conversations turn fraud research, financial safeguards, and cybersecurity habits into steps people can use before money is lost.
Curtis Bailey and Art Maines treat scam prevention as a subject to be learned before a crisis, using expert interviews to connect practical defenses with the conditions that make fraud effective.
That nice financial advisor? You can ask who handles complaints before loyalty gets expensive.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A steady warning about advisor trust, oversight, and what to do when something feels off.
This episode looks at the uneasy line between trust and oversight in financial advice. It moves from concern to action without much detour: ask how the firm is set up, find out who the manager is, call compliance, write the complaint, or bring FINRA into it.
A practical scam conversation that ties fraud risk to everyday money pressure.
ScammerCast turns a talk with Jerry Walsh into a clear look at how scams land: money stress, debt, and thin emergency savings make people easier to pressure.
A grounded reminder that staying connected can help older adults avoid scams.
ScammerCast frames scam prevention as a shared habit, not a solitary reflex. Curtis Bailey and Art Maines talk with people working on the front lines of a serious threat to seniors' quality of life, longevity, and ability to withstand scams.
A steady reminder that careful people still need disciplined password habits.
ScammerCast uses Scott Schober's guest spot to make a plain point: getting ripped off does not mean someone was foolish, and cybercriminals keep shifting tactics.
A practical scam-defense conversation that links emotion, social support, and careful judgment.
ScammerCast treats scams as an emotional and social problem, showing how feeling can push judgment aside and why checking with a family member, friend, or trusted advisor can help before money changes hands.
Fraud stories with comic whiplash.
True scam stories with a prevention mission.
Family accusations meet evidence, pointed questions and consequences.
Curtis Bailey and Art Maines talk with a guest who helps explain how compliance works in finance about the risks that can hide inside ordinary advisor relationships.
Curtis Bailey and Art Mainz welcome Jerry Walsh from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.
Curtis Bailey and Art Maines open by framing scams as a serious and growing threat to older adults.
Curtis Bailey and Art Mainz talk with Scott Schober about scams and online security.
Curtis Bailey and Art Maines speak with a guest about how scams slip into a person’s judgment.
An episode of Scammercast featuring an interview with author and former law enforcement officer Mark Goodman about his book Future Crimes and how to protect against scams.
This episode educates listeners on recognizing and preventing home repair scams, featuring expert Faye Moore.
Hosts interview a police officer about scam prevention and community education.
This episode discusses a tool that helps caregivers monitor seniors' bank accounts and stop fraudulent charges.