Publisher’s Clearing House Scam: How My Family Was Targeted—and Why Awareness Isn’t Enough (Ep 34)

Even scam-savvy families aren’t immune. In this episode of Stolen, host Erin West—former prosecutor and national expert on transnational fraud—shares a deeply personal story: how her own family member was devastated by a Publisher’s Clearing House scam, despite doing “everything right.” From coached gift card purchases at Target to fake FBI agents, burner phones, and an unrelenting flood of follow-on scams, Erin walks listeners through how modern fraud actually works—and why education and awareness alone are failing victims. This episode breaks down: How Publisher’s Clearing House scams really operate Why seniors remain vulnerable even with safeguards in place How scammers maintain psychological control over victims What happens after the first scam—and why victims are relentlessly retargeted Why 2026 must be the year we move from awareness to real, scalable solutions Erin also lays out what’s next: the technologies, partnerships, and cross-industry collaboration that can stop scams before they reach our loved ones. If you think “this would never happen to my family,” this episode is for you.   Stolen is hosted by Erin West, former Santa Clara County prosecutor and founder of Operation Shamrock. Learn more about Operation Shamrock: operationshamrock.org Meet Our Sponsors BioCatch prevents financial crime by recognizing patterns in human behavior, continuously collecting 3,000 anonymized data points – keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behavior, physical device attributes, and more – as people interact with their digital banking platforms. With these inputs, BioCatch's models reveal patterns that distinguish the criminal from the legitimate. Scamnetic is a leader in AI-powered scam detection and prevention, protecting individuals, businesses, and financial institutions from digital scams. With solutions like KnowScam and IDeveryone, Scamnetic delivers real-time scam insights, identity verification, and intervention. Restoring trust, reducing losses, and empowering organizations to safeguard customers in an increasingly complex digital world.