July 27, 2024 • 30 mins
Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring Jon Miller Steiger, FTC East Central Region Regional Director & Joannie Wei, FTC Midwest Region Asst. Regional Director. Jon Steiger and Joannie Wei discuss imposter scams, including the most prevalent ones, how to spot and report them, and what to do if you fall victim to one. Plus, Juliana Mercer, Director of Veteran Advocacy at Healing Breakthrough, joins the show to discuss how MDMA-assisted therapy is helping veterans diagnosed with PTSD and the push for FDA approval for this treatment.
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(00:00):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a publicaffairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting
you. This week, here's RyanGorman. Thanks so much for joining us
here on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm RyanGorman, and we have a couple of
really important conversations lined up for you. In a moment, we'll check in
with the Federal Trade Commission to discusseverything you need to know about imposter scams.
(00:23):
Plus in a bit we'll connect withan organization focused on helping our veterans
deal with PTSD. Right now,to get things started, I'm joined by
John Miller Steiger, Regional Director withthe FTC's East Central Region, and Jony
Way, Assistant Regional Director with theFTC's Midwest Region, to discuss the latest
scams you need to know about,how to spot them, how to report
(00:45):
them, and what to do ifyou end up becoming a victim of one.
John, Jony, thank you somuch for coming on the show.
And John, let's start with you. We're hearing imposter scams are on the
rise. What can you tell usabout these scams and how significant of a
problem are they? Sure happy toanswer that, and thank you for having
us an imposter scam is where ascammer pretends to be someone you know and
(01:07):
trust just to get your money orpersonal information. A scammer might pretend to
be from a well known company likeMicrosoft or publisher's clearinghouse, a government agency,
or even a friend or loved one. And imposter scams top the list
of scams reported to the FTC,with people reporting two point seven billion that's
(01:30):
billion with a B in losses toimposter scams last year and twenty twenty four
is shaping up to be the same. That is a staggering amount of losses.
So what does the data tell usfor twenty twenty four up to this
point? You mentioned it's shaping upto be the same. Can you expand
on that? Sure? And inthe first half of twenty twenty four,
(01:52):
reports about business impersonation scams, governmentimpostors, and romance scams are on the
rise. Something different and concerning thatwe're seeing our government impersonators targeting people for
cash payments. This trend started lastyear and this year we're continuing to see
an increase in reports where people paidscammers in cash. In just the first
(02:15):
quarter of twenty twenty four, peoplereported losses of twenty million dollars to government
impersonation scams with cash as the formof payment. It's a lot of money.
And how much is the average personlosing to these scams. People are
reporting paying scammers thousands of dollars incash so far this year. The median
reported is around fifteen thousand dollars,and people report mailing cash as well as
(02:38):
handing cash to drivers sent to collectthe money. What can you tell us
about the reports that are coming inabout these scams so we know what to
look out for. Well, thereare many variations of imposter scams, but
one new twist we're seeing is wherescammers build on layers to make the transaction
look more legitimate. So example,the scammers may say they're with the business
(03:02):
you recognize, claiming they're reaching outabout a problem like suspicious charges on your
Amazon account, or theyrewith Microsoft,contacting you about a virus on your computer
or an account breach. The storyquickly escalates. They lie and say you
were involved in a serious crime andclaim the court is about to seize the
(03:22):
money in your bank account or retirementsavings. Well, this is also a
lie. Next, they switch frombeing the bearer of bad news to acting
like your hero. They claim theycan connect you to someone with a government
to help you fix the problem.But the person they transfer you to doesn't
work for the government and they don'thelp. They want to trick you into
(03:45):
taking cash out of your bank orretirement account and giving it to someone else.
There are variations, but basically they'llmake you feel alarmed and alone,
and then they'll give you the solutionto the problem they've just created. They
tell you that in order to protectyour money, you need to move it
from your bank, investment or retirementaccount into a new account, or to
(04:10):
give it to someone. The problemis that once you turn it over or
create that new account, the scammercontrols it and will take your money and
run. I mean, this isall really alarming. Can you go a
little more in depth about how thesescenarios play out so those listening to us
right now can spot scam Sure.Scammers have all sorts of ways to get
(04:31):
you to move your money to supposedlyprotect it. For example, they may
tell you to put cash in abox and give it to a driver they'll
send to pick it up, orthey'll tell you to mail it or drop
it off somewhere. They might sayyou need to withdraw money and transfer it
to a new account or deposit itin a Bitcoin ATM to secure your money,
(04:54):
But it's all a lie. Themoney goes straight to the scammer's wallet
moving it it can cost you yourlife savings. If anyone tells you that
you need to move your money toprotect it, it's a scam. Period.
So they tell you they're going toprotect your money, but they're really
after it to steal it by havingyou move it. I mean, it
(05:15):
sounds like something right out of amovie, but it's happening in real life,
and these scammers are really good atwhat they do. I'm Ryan Gorman,
joined by John Miller Steiger, Regionaldirector with the FTC's East Central Region.
And now let me bring in JonyWay, Assistant Regional director with the
FTC's mid West Region. So,Joony, what should we do if we
(05:38):
end up getting one of these calls? Thanks? Ryan, thanks for having
me. Yes, let me sharea few things that people can do if
they get in a situation where someoneis telling them to move their money to
quote protect it. Do nothing.Never move or transfer your money to protect
it. Your money is fine.Where it is. No matter what they
(06:00):
say to scare you, moving itmeans you'll lose it, not protect it.
Only scammers will tell you to movemoney to protect it. So don't
give cash to a driver or amail cash to protect it. That's a
scam. Even if they say they'rewith the government, don't believe that.
Also, people should know that there'sno such thing as a government bitcoin account
(06:23):
or government digital wallet. There areno bitcoin federal safety lockers, and only
a scammer will give you a QRcode to supposedly help you deposit your life
savings in a bitcoin ATM. Sothere are ways to spot the scam,
but we know the scammers can bereally convincing. So if you're worried at
(06:44):
all, stop and check it out, hang up, then talk to someone
else, a friend or family memberor someone you can trust, and finally
report it. If you get acall like this, tell your bank or
fund right away, especially if you'vemoved money or shared a verification code.
After you do that, tell theFTC about it at Report fraud dot FTC
(07:09):
dot gov. Again, that's reportfraud dot FTC dot gov. Now can't
my bank or broker do something tostop these transfers. It's easy to think
that your banker broker will protect youfrom a scammer, but unfortunately the truth
is that this is your money.You control it. So if you withdraw
(07:30):
it and move it somewhere else andit turns out that the scammer got that
money, there's probably very little thatcan be done to get that money back.
But here are some things I wanteveryone to remember. If it involves
your bank account, retirement account,or life savings, just stop and hang
(07:50):
up and call your bank or brokerdirectly using a number that you know is
right. Do not use the numberthe caller used or gave to you,
because that will just lead you rightback to the scammer. The other thing
is tell someone Scammers they really wantto isolate you from people that you know
or trust, so you should neveragree to keep a secret, especially if
(08:15):
you're scared and worried. Always tella family member or friend you trust.
They care and they can help.The scammer might tell you to lie to
the bank, don't lie to avoidthe bank security department. What are some
of the telltale signs that you're dealingwith a government imposter? A key telltale
(08:35):
sign is this government agencies will nevercall, email, text, or message
you on social media to ask formoney or personal information. And they will
never demand a payment by cash,gift card, WHI, or transfer payment,
APPED or cryptocurrency. They also willnot tell you to keep your conversation
(08:58):
a secret or light to anyone,and they won't tell you to transfer money
from your accounts to quote protect themoney as I mentioned earlier, But scammers
will do these things. So ifit looks like a caller message from a
government agency and they do any ofthese things I just listed, you know
it's a scam. I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by Joni Way, Assistant Regional
(09:22):
Director with the FTC's Midwest Region andJohn Miller Steinger, Regional Director with the
FTC's East Central Region. John,let me go back to you. What
is the FTC doing to try tostop these scams. The FTC is working
on many fronts to combat these scams. For example, the FTC has a
new impersonation rule that gives the agencystronger tools to combat scammers who pretend to
(09:46):
be government agencies and businesses. Thenew rule enables the FTC to file cases
to get money back to consumers andput civil penalties on the rule violators.
THETC, along with many government partners, is also working to raise awareness of
these scams and help people protect theirmoney, like we're doing today by talking
(10:09):
about these scams, and where caneveryone listening right now learn more about imposter
scams and how to protect themselves.To learn more about protecting yourself and your
loved ones, visit FTC dot govslash impostors. There you'll find articles,
consumer alerts, and videos that youcan check out and share to help recognize
(10:33):
and report these scammers. Joni,let me go back to you for a
moment. What about romance scams?We've heard a lot about them. Are
they still a problem and what arepeople reporting to the FTC? Yes,
people are reporting losing money to Actuallya new twist on romance scams. In
this version of the scams, someonetries to make an online connection with you,
(10:58):
saying all the right things to buildour relationship with you. But before
you know it, they're talking moneyand claiming to know how to make big
money through crypto investments. Because theycare about you, they say they want
to teach you some investment tricks.So romance scams are sometimes another version of
imposter scams. This time the scammer'simpersonating an individual. They're not who they
(11:22):
say they are. But no matterwhat they say, if someone you meet
online says they can teach you investmenttricks, what they're really leading you to
is a scam. And how caneveryone spot these types of scams? Well,
keep in mind that no one canguarantee that you can make big money
investments only scammers promise that kind ofthing. All investments have risks, including
(11:48):
investments in crypto only. Scammers saythere's no risk. And finally, pay
attention to how they want you tosend money to them. Scammers want your
money quickly. I'll steer you tosending cash, gift cards, payment apps,
tell you to wire money or payby crypto only. Scammers insist that
you send money this way. That'sreally good information. Now, what should
(12:11):
you do if you think you meta scammer on social media? If you
think you've met someone on social mediaand that person is a scammer, cut
off contact, tell the social mediaplatform, and then tell the FTC at
Report Fraud dot FTC dot gov inEnglish or at report afrauday dot FTC dot
(12:31):
gov in Spanish. If you're morecomfortable in another language, call eight seven
seven three eight two four three fiveseven and press three to talk with an
interpreter in your preferred language. Bonelines are open between nine and five Eastern.
What happens when someone files a reportwith the FTC, So when you
(12:56):
report a scam, We at theFTC use reports to build investigations and bring
cases. We also use them tohelp target education and outreach, and we
hope that stopping bad guys and spreadingthe word are good reasons to report these
scams. But telling your story canalso help your friends, family, and
(13:18):
community avoid scams. Both research andexperience tell us that the more we talk
about the scams that target our communities, the more likely we are to spot
and avoid them. Once you've madea report, you'll get guidance on next
steps. Remember if you get acall, email, or text message from
someone you think is trying to scam, you reported it as soon as possible
(13:43):
at Report fraud dot FTC dot gov. I'm Ryan Gorman with Joni Way,
Assistant Regional Director with the FTC's MidwestRegion and John Miller, Stagger Regional Director
with the FTC's East Central Region.That website again, where you can report
scams and frauds. Report fraud dotFTC dot gov. That's report fraud dot
(14:07):
FTC dot gov. John, letme turn back to you. Do you
have advice for those who just heardyou and Joni talking about these scams and
realize they paid a scammer? Whatsteps should they take? If you think
you've paid a scammer, The keything is to act quickly. Contact whoever
you used to pay the scammer,whether that's your bank, your credit card,
(14:31):
issue, are the gift card orwire transfer company or the cryptocurrency platform
that you used, Tell them you'vebeen scammed and ask if they can reverse
the payment. There's a small chanceyou can get your money back, but
again it's so important to act quickly. And Joony back to you. How
(14:52):
can everyone keep up with the latestscams? Sure to keep up with the
latest scams, we encourage you tosign up for the FTCs Free Alerts at
FTC dot gov slash Consumer Alerts.You'll get messages delivered straight to your email
inbox so you can know about andshare the latest scams. And the blogs
(15:16):
and social media graphics are really easyto share as well, and so talk
to your family and friends about whatyou know. It just might help someone
you care about avoid the scam.And one more time, everyone can learn
more about how to spot, avoid, and report all types of frauds and
scams at Consumer dot FTC dot gov. That's Consumer dot FTC dot gov.
(15:39):
John Miller Steiger, Regional Director withthe FTC's East Central Region, and Jony
Way, Assistant Regional Director with theFTC's Midwest Region, with us here to
talk about imposter scams. John,Jony, thank you so much for takeing
a few minutes to come on theshow. We really appreciate it. Thank
you so much. All Right,I'm Ryan Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities,
(16:00):
and now let me bring in mynext guest. I'm joined by Juliana Mercer,
director of veteran advocacy at Healing Breakthrough, an organization focused on advocating for
veterans diagnosed with PTSD. You canlearn more and support this work at Healing
Breakthrough dot org. Juliana, thankyou so much for taking a few minutes
to come on the show, andlet's start with how your organization first came
(16:22):
about. Thanks for having me Ryan. Healing Breakthrough was founded in twenty twenty
two when a group of philanthropists andour executive director, Jason File, who
is an Army veteran, saw agreat need to find solutions for veteran PTSD,
and when they saw that MDMA assistedof therapy had produced really promising results
(16:47):
to do that, they had nochoice but to get behind this and try
to figure out ways to ensure thatveterans have access to MDMA assisted therapy in
the VA system. Let's talk aboutthe scope of the problem, then we'll
get into specifics on what exactly MDMAassisted therapy entails. PTSD is a huge
(17:07):
issue in this country. We've talkedabout it many times before on the show,
but can you just help put thisinto perspective for everyone listening. Veterans
are facing a suicide epidemic. We'vebeen dealing with PTSD, you know,
since veterans have been going to war, but since two thousand and one,
(17:29):
since the global We're un terror started, we've been losing over six thousand veterans
a year here on American soil tosuicide. By the end of twenty twenty
four, we'll have lost one hundredand fifty thousand veterans to suicide. We
haven't had any real solutions for PTSD, and we've we've tried everything. We've
spent billions of dollars to try tofind solutions for post traumatic stress myself working
(17:56):
with nonprofits that are trying to helpveterans succeed post military. We've done everything
from connecting veterans to regular therapy andregular medications to outside of the box things
like puppy therapy and yoga and meditation, and getting them engaged in their communities,
(18:17):
trying to help them find purposeful work. None of that has moved the
needle in the right direction, andit's been really frustrating work because we're still
losing over six thousand veterans a yearand it seems that no matter what we
try, we're not able to findadequate solutions. And I can't imagine how
much worse it would be if weweren't doing all those things to try to
(18:40):
help. Because those things do help, they're just not helping us to really
fully solve the problem. And that'swhy MDMA assisted therapy is such a light
at the end of the tunnel forthose of us who have been looking for
solutions. Clinical trials showed that MDMAand injunction with talk therapy is seventy one
(19:02):
percent effective in eliminating the PTSD diagnosis. And this was for patients that had
an average of fourteen years of chroniccomplex PTSD. That means they were not
able to really function in their dailylives. They were being triggered every day
by their trauma response, so theywere either they were almost always in fight,
(19:26):
flight, freeze, or fawn mode, and so you can imagine they're
not able to really function in normalsociety. So these folks were able to
do talk therapy and have a sessionwith MDMA followed by talk therapy, and
in the trials that happened three times, so it was three sessions of medication
(19:48):
with MDMA under the supervision of amental health care provider and in conjunction with
the talk therapy. Two thirds ofthe trial participants no longer qualified for their
PTSD diagnosis. That means they wereable to go back to living their lives
fully. And of the other thirdthat didn't get completely rid of their diagnosis,
(20:12):
they had an eighty six percent reductionin symptoms, so they got to
a place where they could continue doingtherapy and work towards complete remission. I'm
Ryan Gorman joined here on iHeartRadio Communitiesby Juliana Mercer, director of veteran advocacy
at Healing Breakthrough, which you canlearn more about and support at Healing breakthrough
(20:33):
dot org. Before we get backto the MDMA part of the MDMA assisted
therapy that we're talking about, Ijust want to go through some numbers that
really stood out to me about theimpact of PTSD. Thirteen million Americans suffer
from that veterans and survivors of sexualassault and domestic abuse. They're the majority.
(20:55):
Veterans suffered disproportionately from PTSD, withten in one hundred male veterans and
nineteen in one hundred female veterans beingdiagnosed annually. PTSD the lead diagnostic contributor
to the veteran suicide epidemic, claimingseventeen to forty four veteran lives a day,
more than one veteran per hour.And like you mentioned, since nine
(21:18):
to eleven had nearly one hundred andfifty thousand veterans die by suicide, twenty
one times more than those lost incombat. Those numbers are just staggering,
So obviously there is a huge search, real push to find something to help
alleviate this problem. So let's getto MDMA specifically. What exactly is that.
(21:41):
I think most people probably heard ofit, but maybe in different contexts
before. Can you tell us aboutMDMA. MDMA is a pharmaceutical. It
was actually formulated in nineteen twelve,and it was used really successfully for therapy
up until the mid eighties. Itdid break out into the party scene.
(22:02):
Some people may know it as ecstasyor molly, and because it broke out
into the party scene, it wasscheduled as a Schedule one substance by the
DEA. And what schedule one meansis that it doesn't have any medical use
or medical value. The folks thatwere using it very successfully for therapy knew
(22:22):
that that was not true, andthey've been fighting since it was scheduled to
put MDMA through the FDA process becausethey knew. They knew that this was
something that held such great promise tohelp people through mental health conditions, specifically
post traumatic stress disorder. What MDMAdoes, and I'll put this kind of
(22:45):
in Layman's terms, it go.It chemically causes a reaction in your brain
that allows your fight flight, freezerfawn response to be turned off. So
somebody that has PTSD. That switchdoesn't turn off like that event is still
(23:07):
it's still there with them, andso they have these triggers that cause them
to go into their trauma response,and so chemically MDMA allows that switch to
be turned off. It also floodsyou with feel good hormones, with empathy
and with love, and it allowsyou to confront the root causes of your
trauma without that fight or flight orfreeze response, and it allows you to
(23:33):
really actually finally confront what that traumais and work through it in a way
that isn't threatening. And so thatmedication in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy produces
incredible results. We don't have anythingon the market currently that actually creates results
(23:56):
like MDMA does. The last timethat a drug was approved for PTSD was
over twenty years ago, almost twentyfive years now that we've had something new
for PTSD, and those medications,those SSRIs are at best thirty to forty
(24:18):
percent effective, and they only helpwith the symptoms. They don't help to
eliminate the PTSD diagnosis the way thatMDMA does when used in combination with therapy.
So you can imagine that this isa really bright light at the end
of the tunnel for those of uswho have been trying to find solutions for
PTSD, Yeah, it sounds likethis MDMA assisted therapy. It really gives
(24:45):
a veteran who's suffering from PTSD achance to open up and to work through
those issues that they've been dealing within just a much more effective way.
And this is something that may majoreducational institutions. We're talking Johns Hopkins,
Yale, Harvard, Stanford. It'ssomething that they all have been studying for
(25:07):
quite a while. And you alsohave some major veteran organizations, veteran service
organizations like the Wounded Warrior Project,the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans.
Many of these organizations have been onthe show. They're advocating for FDA approval
too for this right, Yes,they are, and the American Legion past
(25:29):
a resolution last year all the wayfrom the Montana state posts to the National
Headquarters, and it was in supportof MGMA assistant therapy. I know the
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have also beenhuge components of it, and like you
mentioned, Wounded Warrior Project actually hashelped with some of the trials that are
(25:52):
going on within the VA system.All of these organizations that have been trying
to find these solutions have seen thescience and the data that was put out
in the new drug application to theFDA and are waiting for it to be
approved because we know that this isgoing to be a game changer and helping
(26:15):
us to tackle this veterans suicide epidemic. And so and again, I'm joined
right now by Juliana Mercer, directorof Veteran Advocacy at Healing Breakthrough, which
you can learn more about and supportat Healing breakthrough dot org. How is
your organization involved in all of this? So, Healing Breakthrough is using the
veteran voice to call attention to notjust the veterans suicide epidemic, but to
(26:41):
the real need for solutions for mentalhealth disorders. As a Marine Corps veteran
myself, I struggled and needed tofind assistance for what I was going through,
and I went through the traditional routesand was not able to get the
relief that I needed, and Ihad to actually leave the country in order
(27:03):
to access a breakthrough therapy that wasable to help me deal with and get
to the root cause of my problemsand that was That was the solution that
I had been looking for, notjust for myself, but for my fellow
veteran brothers and sisters, and Istarted advocating for finding real solutions and that's
(27:26):
how I came to Healing Breakthrough,who is focused on getting MDMA assisted therapy
into the VA system once it's FDAapproved. And there's nothing out there that
has been helping me or my fellowveterans the way that this medication and conjunction
with therapy has the potential to doso. And I feel a moral obligation
(27:52):
to make sure that veterans have accessto this. And for me, as
you know, a woman veteran,that's important, but so as a woman,
women in our country have suffer froma much higher rate of PTSD than
their male counterparts do, so forme, it's important that veterans have access
(28:15):
to this, but I think it'simportant that everyone in our communities has access
to this. Our communities have beenfacing pretty severe mental health crisises over the
last handful of years, and wedeserve access to medications that can help us.
And finally, what can everyone listeningdo to help support this work and
(28:38):
support the mission that you're on atHealing Breakthrough. Yeah, so currently I'm
on the hill in DC talking toour legislators. We're busy working with the
House and the Senate to have themhelp us support following the science and ensuring
that the FDA makes their decision basedoff of the data, the facts and
(29:00):
the science that were submitted in thenew Drug application. And citizens can call
their representatives. They can email theirrepresentatives as well and call the White House.
If you need a transcript for whatto say, you can go to
Healing Breakthrough dot org and find ouradvocacy page and that's where you can find
(29:23):
a script, and it also givesyou the phone numbers to call and links
to find your senators and your congressionalrepresentatives. Again, Healing Breakthrough dot org
is the website. Juliana Mercer,director of Veteran Advocacy at Healing Breakthrough.
Juliana, thank you so much foryour service to this country and the work
(29:44):
you're doing on this issue. Wereally appreciate it. Thank you. Ryan.
All right, and that's going todo it for this edition of iHeartRadio
Communities. I'm your host, RyanGorman. We'll talk to you again real soon.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a publicaffairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting
you. This week, here's RyanGorman. Thanks so much for joining us
here on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm RyanGorman, and we have a couple of
really important conversations lined up for you. In a moment, we'll check in
with the Federal Trade Commission to discusseverything you need to know about imposter scams.
(00:23):
Plus in a bit we'll connect withan organization focused on helping our veterans
deal with PTSD. Right now,to get things started, I'm joined by
John Miller Steiger, Regional Director withthe FTC's East Central Region, and Jony
Way, Assistant Regional Director with theFTC's Midwest Region, to discuss the latest
scams you need to know about,how to spot them, how to report
(00:45):
them, and what to do ifyou end up becoming a victim of one.
John, Jony, thank you somuch for coming on the show.
And John, let's start with you. We're hearing imposter scams are on the
rise. What can you tell usabout these scams and how significant of a
problem are they? Sure happy toanswer that, and thank you for having
us an imposter scam is where ascammer pretends to be someone you know and
(01:07):
trust just to get your money orpersonal information. A scammer might pretend to
be from a well known company likeMicrosoft or publisher's clearinghouse, a government agency,
or even a friend or loved one. And imposter scams top the list
of scams reported to the FTC,with people reporting two point seven billion that's
(01:30):
billion with a B in losses toimposter scams last year and twenty twenty four
is shaping up to be the same. That is a staggering amount of losses.
So what does the data tell usfor twenty twenty four up to this
point? You mentioned it's shaping upto be the same. Can you expand
on that? Sure? And inthe first half of twenty twenty four,
(01:52):
reports about business impersonation scams, governmentimpostors, and romance scams are on the
rise. Something different and concerning thatwe're seeing our government impersonators targeting people for
cash payments. This trend started lastyear and this year we're continuing to see
an increase in reports where people paidscammers in cash. In just the first
(02:15):
quarter of twenty twenty four, peoplereported losses of twenty million dollars to government
impersonation scams with cash as the formof payment. It's a lot of money.
And how much is the average personlosing to these scams. People are
reporting paying scammers thousands of dollars incash so far this year. The median
reported is around fifteen thousand dollars,and people report mailing cash as well as
(02:38):
handing cash to drivers sent to collectthe money. What can you tell us
about the reports that are coming inabout these scams so we know what to
look out for. Well, thereare many variations of imposter scams, but
one new twist we're seeing is wherescammers build on layers to make the transaction
look more legitimate. So example,the scammers may say they're with the business
(03:02):
you recognize, claiming they're reaching outabout a problem like suspicious charges on your
Amazon account, or theyrewith Microsoft,contacting you about a virus on your computer
or an account breach. The storyquickly escalates. They lie and say you
were involved in a serious crime andclaim the court is about to seize the
(03:22):
money in your bank account or retirementsavings. Well, this is also a
lie. Next, they switch frombeing the bearer of bad news to acting
like your hero. They claim theycan connect you to someone with a government
to help you fix the problem.But the person they transfer you to doesn't
work for the government and they don'thelp. They want to trick you into
(03:45):
taking cash out of your bank orretirement account and giving it to someone else.
There are variations, but basically they'llmake you feel alarmed and alone,
and then they'll give you the solutionto the problem they've just created. They
tell you that in order to protectyour money, you need to move it
from your bank, investment or retirementaccount into a new account, or to
(04:10):
give it to someone. The problemis that once you turn it over or
create that new account, the scammercontrols it and will take your money and
run. I mean, this isall really alarming. Can you go a
little more in depth about how thesescenarios play out so those listening to us
right now can spot scam Sure.Scammers have all sorts of ways to get
(04:31):
you to move your money to supposedlyprotect it. For example, they may
tell you to put cash in abox and give it to a driver they'll
send to pick it up, orthey'll tell you to mail it or drop
it off somewhere. They might sayyou need to withdraw money and transfer it
to a new account or deposit itin a Bitcoin ATM to secure your money,
(04:54):
But it's all a lie. Themoney goes straight to the scammer's wallet
moving it it can cost you yourlife savings. If anyone tells you that
you need to move your money toprotect it, it's a scam. Period.
So they tell you they're going toprotect your money, but they're really
after it to steal it by havingyou move it. I mean, it
(05:15):
sounds like something right out of amovie, but it's happening in real life,
and these scammers are really good atwhat they do. I'm Ryan Gorman,
joined by John Miller Steiger, Regionaldirector with the FTC's East Central Region.
And now let me bring in JonyWay, Assistant Regional director with the
FTC's mid West Region. So,Joony, what should we do if we
(05:38):
end up getting one of these calls? Thanks? Ryan, thanks for having
me. Yes, let me sharea few things that people can do if
they get in a situation where someoneis telling them to move their money to
quote protect it. Do nothing.Never move or transfer your money to protect
it. Your money is fine.Where it is. No matter what they
(06:00):
say to scare you, moving itmeans you'll lose it, not protect it.
Only scammers will tell you to movemoney to protect it. So don't
give cash to a driver or amail cash to protect it. That's a
scam. Even if they say they'rewith the government, don't believe that.
Also, people should know that there'sno such thing as a government bitcoin account
(06:23):
or government digital wallet. There areno bitcoin federal safety lockers, and only
a scammer will give you a QRcode to supposedly help you deposit your life
savings in a bitcoin ATM. Sothere are ways to spot the scam,
but we know the scammers can bereally convincing. So if you're worried at
(06:44):
all, stop and check it out, hang up, then talk to someone
else, a friend or family memberor someone you can trust, and finally
report it. If you get acall like this, tell your bank or
fund right away, especially if you'vemoved money or shared a verification code.
After you do that, tell theFTC about it at Report fraud dot FTC
(07:09):
dot gov. Again, that's reportfraud dot FTC dot gov. Now can't
my bank or broker do something tostop these transfers. It's easy to think
that your banker broker will protect youfrom a scammer, but unfortunately the truth
is that this is your money.You control it. So if you withdraw
(07:30):
it and move it somewhere else andit turns out that the scammer got that
money, there's probably very little thatcan be done to get that money back.
But here are some things I wanteveryone to remember. If it involves
your bank account, retirement account,or life savings, just stop and hang
(07:50):
up and call your bank or brokerdirectly using a number that you know is
right. Do not use the numberthe caller used or gave to you,
because that will just lead you rightback to the scammer. The other thing
is tell someone Scammers they really wantto isolate you from people that you know
or trust, so you should neveragree to keep a secret, especially if
(08:15):
you're scared and worried. Always tella family member or friend you trust.
They care and they can help.The scammer might tell you to lie to
the bank, don't lie to avoidthe bank security department. What are some
of the telltale signs that you're dealingwith a government imposter? A key telltale
(08:35):
sign is this government agencies will nevercall, email, text, or message
you on social media to ask formoney or personal information. And they will
never demand a payment by cash,gift card, WHI, or transfer payment,
APPED or cryptocurrency. They also willnot tell you to keep your conversation
(08:58):
a secret or light to anyone,and they won't tell you to transfer money
from your accounts to quote protect themoney as I mentioned earlier, But scammers
will do these things. So ifit looks like a caller message from a
government agency and they do any ofthese things I just listed, you know
it's a scam. I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by Joni Way, Assistant Regional
(09:22):
Director with the FTC's Midwest Region andJohn Miller Steinger, Regional Director with the
FTC's East Central Region. John,let me go back to you. What
is the FTC doing to try tostop these scams. The FTC is working
on many fronts to combat these scams. For example, the FTC has a
new impersonation rule that gives the agencystronger tools to combat scammers who pretend to
(09:46):
be government agencies and businesses. Thenew rule enables the FTC to file cases
to get money back to consumers andput civil penalties on the rule violators.
THETC, along with many government partners, is also working to raise awareness of
these scams and help people protect theirmoney, like we're doing today by talking
(10:09):
about these scams, and where caneveryone listening right now learn more about imposter
scams and how to protect themselves.To learn more about protecting yourself and your
loved ones, visit FTC dot govslash impostors. There you'll find articles,
consumer alerts, and videos that youcan check out and share to help recognize
(10:33):
and report these scammers. Joni,let me go back to you for a
moment. What about romance scams?We've heard a lot about them. Are
they still a problem and what arepeople reporting to the FTC? Yes,
people are reporting losing money to Actuallya new twist on romance scams. In
this version of the scams, someonetries to make an online connection with you,
(10:58):
saying all the right things to buildour relationship with you. But before
you know it, they're talking moneyand claiming to know how to make big
money through crypto investments. Because theycare about you, they say they want
to teach you some investment tricks.So romance scams are sometimes another version of
imposter scams. This time the scammer'simpersonating an individual. They're not who they
(11:22):
say they are. But no matterwhat they say, if someone you meet
online says they can teach you investmenttricks, what they're really leading you to
is a scam. And how caneveryone spot these types of scams? Well,
keep in mind that no one canguarantee that you can make big money
investments only scammers promise that kind ofthing. All investments have risks, including
(11:48):
investments in crypto only. Scammers saythere's no risk. And finally, pay
attention to how they want you tosend money to them. Scammers want your
money quickly. I'll steer you tosending cash, gift cards, payment apps,
tell you to wire money or payby crypto only. Scammers insist that
you send money this way. That'sreally good information. Now, what should
(12:11):
you do if you think you meta scammer on social media? If you
think you've met someone on social mediaand that person is a scammer, cut
off contact, tell the social mediaplatform, and then tell the FTC at
Report Fraud dot FTC dot gov inEnglish or at report afrauday dot FTC dot
(12:31):
gov in Spanish. If you're morecomfortable in another language, call eight seven
seven three eight two four three fiveseven and press three to talk with an
interpreter in your preferred language. Bonelines are open between nine and five Eastern.
What happens when someone files a reportwith the FTC, So when you
(12:56):
report a scam, We at theFTC use reports to build investigations and bring
cases. We also use them tohelp target education and outreach, and we
hope that stopping bad guys and spreadingthe word are good reasons to report these
scams. But telling your story canalso help your friends, family, and
(13:18):
community avoid scams. Both research andexperience tell us that the more we talk
about the scams that target our communities, the more likely we are to spot
and avoid them. Once you've madea report, you'll get guidance on next
steps. Remember if you get acall, email, or text message from
someone you think is trying to scam, you reported it as soon as possible
(13:43):
at Report fraud dot FTC dot gov. I'm Ryan Gorman with Joni Way,
Assistant Regional Director with the FTC's MidwestRegion and John Miller, Stagger Regional Director
with the FTC's East Central Region.That website again, where you can report
scams and frauds. Report fraud dotFTC dot gov. That's report fraud dot
(14:07):
FTC dot gov. John, letme turn back to you. Do you
have advice for those who just heardyou and Joni talking about these scams and
realize they paid a scammer? Whatsteps should they take? If you think
you've paid a scammer, The keything is to act quickly. Contact whoever
you used to pay the scammer,whether that's your bank, your credit card,
(14:31):
issue, are the gift card orwire transfer company or the cryptocurrency platform
that you used, Tell them you'vebeen scammed and ask if they can reverse
the payment. There's a small chanceyou can get your money back, but
again it's so important to act quickly. And Joony back to you. How
(14:52):
can everyone keep up with the latestscams? Sure to keep up with the
latest scams, we encourage you tosign up for the FTCs Free Alerts at
FTC dot gov slash Consumer Alerts.You'll get messages delivered straight to your email
inbox so you can know about andshare the latest scams. And the blogs
(15:16):
and social media graphics are really easyto share as well, and so talk
to your family and friends about whatyou know. It just might help someone
you care about avoid the scam.And one more time, everyone can learn
more about how to spot, avoid, and report all types of frauds and
scams at Consumer dot FTC dot gov. That's Consumer dot FTC dot gov.
(15:39):
John Miller Steiger, Regional Director withthe FTC's East Central Region, and Jony
Way, Assistant Regional Director with theFTC's Midwest Region, with us here to
talk about imposter scams. John,Jony, thank you so much for takeing
a few minutes to come on theshow. We really appreciate it. Thank
you so much. All Right,I'm Ryan Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities,
(16:00):
and now let me bring in mynext guest. I'm joined by Juliana Mercer,
director of veteran advocacy at Healing Breakthrough, an organization focused on advocating for
veterans diagnosed with PTSD. You canlearn more and support this work at Healing
Breakthrough dot org. Juliana, thankyou so much for taking a few minutes
to come on the show, andlet's start with how your organization first came
(16:22):
about. Thanks for having me Ryan. Healing Breakthrough was founded in twenty twenty
two when a group of philanthropists andour executive director, Jason File, who
is an Army veteran, saw agreat need to find solutions for veteran PTSD,
and when they saw that MDMA assistedof therapy had produced really promising results
(16:47):
to do that, they had nochoice but to get behind this and try
to figure out ways to ensure thatveterans have access to MDMA assisted therapy in
the VA system. Let's talk aboutthe scope of the problem, then we'll
get into specifics on what exactly MDMAassisted therapy entails. PTSD is a huge
(17:07):
issue in this country. We've talkedabout it many times before on the show,
but can you just help put thisinto perspective for everyone listening. Veterans
are facing a suicide epidemic. We'vebeen dealing with PTSD, you know,
since veterans have been going to war, but since two thousand and one,
(17:29):
since the global We're un terror started, we've been losing over six thousand veterans
a year here on American soil tosuicide. By the end of twenty twenty
four, we'll have lost one hundredand fifty thousand veterans to suicide. We
haven't had any real solutions for PTSD, and we've we've tried everything. We've
spent billions of dollars to try tofind solutions for post traumatic stress myself working
(17:56):
with nonprofits that are trying to helpveterans succeed post military. We've done everything
from connecting veterans to regular therapy andregular medications to outside of the box things
like puppy therapy and yoga and meditation, and getting them engaged in their communities,
(18:17):
trying to help them find purposeful work. None of that has moved the
needle in the right direction, andit's been really frustrating work because we're still
losing over six thousand veterans a yearand it seems that no matter what we
try, we're not able to findadequate solutions. And I can't imagine how
much worse it would be if weweren't doing all those things to try to
(18:40):
help. Because those things do help, they're just not helping us to really
fully solve the problem. And that'swhy MDMA assisted therapy is such a light
at the end of the tunnel forthose of us who have been looking for
solutions. Clinical trials showed that MDMAand injunction with talk therapy is seventy one
(19:02):
percent effective in eliminating the PTSD diagnosis. And this was for patients that had
an average of fourteen years of chroniccomplex PTSD. That means they were not
able to really function in their dailylives. They were being triggered every day
by their trauma response, so theywere either they were almost always in fight,
(19:26):
flight, freeze, or fawn mode, and so you can imagine they're
not able to really function in normalsociety. So these folks were able to
do talk therapy and have a sessionwith MDMA followed by talk therapy, and
in the trials that happened three times, so it was three sessions of medication
(19:48):
with MDMA under the supervision of amental health care provider and in conjunction with
the talk therapy. Two thirds ofthe trial participants no longer qualified for their
PTSD diagnosis. That means they wereable to go back to living their lives
fully. And of the other thirdthat didn't get completely rid of their diagnosis,
(20:12):
they had an eighty six percent reductionin symptoms, so they got to
a place where they could continue doingtherapy and work towards complete remission. I'm
Ryan Gorman joined here on iHeartRadio Communitiesby Juliana Mercer, director of veteran advocacy
at Healing Breakthrough, which you canlearn more about and support at Healing breakthrough
(20:33):
dot org. Before we get backto the MDMA part of the MDMA assisted
therapy that we're talking about, Ijust want to go through some numbers that
really stood out to me about theimpact of PTSD. Thirteen million Americans suffer
from that veterans and survivors of sexualassault and domestic abuse. They're the majority.
(20:55):
Veterans suffered disproportionately from PTSD, withten in one hundred male veterans and
nineteen in one hundred female veterans beingdiagnosed annually. PTSD the lead diagnostic contributor
to the veteran suicide epidemic, claimingseventeen to forty four veteran lives a day,
more than one veteran per hour.And like you mentioned, since nine
(21:18):
to eleven had nearly one hundred andfifty thousand veterans die by suicide, twenty
one times more than those lost incombat. Those numbers are just staggering,
So obviously there is a huge search, real push to find something to help
alleviate this problem. So let's getto MDMA specifically. What exactly is that.
(21:41):
I think most people probably heard ofit, but maybe in different contexts
before. Can you tell us aboutMDMA. MDMA is a pharmaceutical. It
was actually formulated in nineteen twelve,and it was used really successfully for therapy
up until the mid eighties. Itdid break out into the party scene.
(22:02):
Some people may know it as ecstasyor molly, and because it broke out
into the party scene, it wasscheduled as a Schedule one substance by the
DEA. And what schedule one meansis that it doesn't have any medical use
or medical value. The folks thatwere using it very successfully for therapy knew
(22:22):
that that was not true, andthey've been fighting since it was scheduled to
put MDMA through the FDA process becausethey knew. They knew that this was
something that held such great promise tohelp people through mental health conditions, specifically
post traumatic stress disorder. What MDMAdoes, and I'll put this kind of
(22:45):
in Layman's terms, it go.It chemically causes a reaction in your brain
that allows your fight flight, freezerfawn response to be turned off. So
somebody that has PTSD. That switchdoesn't turn off like that event is still
(23:07):
it's still there with them, andso they have these triggers that cause them
to go into their trauma response,and so chemically MDMA allows that switch to
be turned off. It also floodsyou with feel good hormones, with empathy
and with love, and it allowsyou to confront the root causes of your
trauma without that fight or flight orfreeze response, and it allows you to
(23:33):
really actually finally confront what that traumais and work through it in a way
that isn't threatening. And so thatmedication in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy produces
incredible results. We don't have anythingon the market currently that actually creates results
(23:56):
like MDMA does. The last timethat a drug was approved for PTSD was
over twenty years ago, almost twentyfive years now that we've had something new
for PTSD, and those medications,those SSRIs are at best thirty to forty
(24:18):
percent effective, and they only helpwith the symptoms. They don't help to
eliminate the PTSD diagnosis the way thatMDMA does when used in combination with therapy.
So you can imagine that this isa really bright light at the end
of the tunnel for those of uswho have been trying to find solutions for
PTSD, Yeah, it sounds likethis MDMA assisted therapy. It really gives
(24:45):
a veteran who's suffering from PTSD achance to open up and to work through
those issues that they've been dealing within just a much more effective way.
And this is something that may majoreducational institutions. We're talking Johns Hopkins,
Yale, Harvard, Stanford. It'ssomething that they all have been studying for
(25:07):
quite a while. And you alsohave some major veteran organizations, veteran service
organizations like the Wounded Warrior Project,the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans.
Many of these organizations have been onthe show. They're advocating for FDA approval
too for this right, Yes,they are, and the American Legion past
(25:29):
a resolution last year all the wayfrom the Montana state posts to the National
Headquarters, and it was in supportof MGMA assistant therapy. I know the
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have also beenhuge components of it, and like you
mentioned, Wounded Warrior Project actually hashelped with some of the trials that are
(25:52):
going on within the VA system.All of these organizations that have been trying
to find these solutions have seen thescience and the data that was put out
in the new drug application to theFDA and are waiting for it to be
approved because we know that this isgoing to be a game changer and helping
(26:15):
us to tackle this veterans suicide epidemic. And so and again, I'm joined
right now by Juliana Mercer, directorof Veteran Advocacy at Healing Breakthrough, which
you can learn more about and supportat Healing breakthrough dot org. How is
your organization involved in all of this? So, Healing Breakthrough is using the
veteran voice to call attention to notjust the veterans suicide epidemic, but to
(26:41):
the real need for solutions for mentalhealth disorders. As a Marine Corps veteran
myself, I struggled and needed tofind assistance for what I was going through,
and I went through the traditional routesand was not able to get the
relief that I needed, and Ihad to actually leave the country in order
(27:03):
to access a breakthrough therapy that wasable to help me deal with and get
to the root cause of my problemsand that was That was the solution that
I had been looking for, notjust for myself, but for my fellow
veteran brothers and sisters, and Istarted advocating for finding real solutions and that's
(27:26):
how I came to Healing Breakthrough,who is focused on getting MDMA assisted therapy
into the VA system once it's FDAapproved. And there's nothing out there that
has been helping me or my fellowveterans the way that this medication and conjunction
with therapy has the potential to doso. And I feel a moral obligation
(27:52):
to make sure that veterans have accessto this. And for me, as
you know, a woman veteran,that's important, but so as a woman,
women in our country have suffer froma much higher rate of PTSD than
their male counterparts do, so forme, it's important that veterans have access
(28:15):
to this, but I think it'simportant that everyone in our communities has access
to this. Our communities have beenfacing pretty severe mental health crisises over the
last handful of years, and wedeserve access to medications that can help us.
And finally, what can everyone listeningdo to help support this work and
(28:38):
support the mission that you're on atHealing Breakthrough. Yeah, so currently I'm
on the hill in DC talking toour legislators. We're busy working with the
House and the Senate to have themhelp us support following the science and ensuring
that the FDA makes their decision basedoff of the data, the facts and
(29:00):
the science that were submitted in thenew Drug application. And citizens can call
their representatives. They can email theirrepresentatives as well and call the White House.
If you need a transcript for whatto say, you can go to
Healing Breakthrough dot org and find ouradvocacy page and that's where you can find
(29:23):
a script, and it also givesyou the phone numbers to call and links
to find your senators and your congressionalrepresentatives. Again, Healing Breakthrough dot org
is the website. Juliana Mercer,director of Veteran Advocacy at Healing Breakthrough.
Juliana, thank you so much foryour service to this country and the work
(29:44):
you're doing on this issue. Wereally appreciate it. Thank you. Ryan.
All right, and that's going todo it for this edition of iHeartRadio
Communities. I'm your host, RyanGorman. We'll talk to you again real soon.
Host
Manny Munoz
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