She sent $470,000 to someone she thought loved her, most of it from her 401(k) and an annuity, and her family doesn't know yet. Damon Day and I talk about how that happens to smart, careful people, why lonely isn't the same as stupid, and what to do before it happens in your family: a family safe word against AI voice clones, why "go to a Bitcoin ATM" is always a scam, what you can and can't get back, and how an irrevocable trust can protect a parent before they need it.
Then the rest of this week's mailbag: a cosigner walkout, a widow's $30,000 surprise, gambling, memory care and a car title loan, and someone who is 65, $50,000 in debt and afraid of bankruptcy. No shame and no judgment in any of it.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro: debt confessions from the Ask Steve chat
2:20 The $470,000 romance scam
5:24 AI voice clones and the family safe word
8:52 Card vs. cash: what you can get back
10:15 If anyone says "Bitcoin ATM"
12:18 Why lonely isn't stupid
14:48 Pig butchering: the long con
17:32 Sexually transmitted debt
20:45 The cosigner walkout
22:35 When your parent is being scammed
29:33 The state trooper's driving test
32:29 Irrevocable trust: set it up before you need it
33:47 The widow's $30,000 surprise
36:32 Gambling, memory care and a car title loan
39:35 No shame, no judgment
42:07 Student loans and survival jobs
45:34 65, $50,000 in debt, afraid of bankruptcy
50:16 No sense wasting a perfectly good mistake
51:34 Next on Gigalicious
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetOutOfDebtGuy
Steve Rhode, Get Out of Debt Guy: https://getoutofdebt.org
Ask Steve, my free, anonymous AI chat: https://getoutofdebt.org/ask-steve/
Talk to Damon Day (free appointment): https://damonday.com
My free weekday email, Your Money Actually: https://yourmoneyactually.com
A note on taxes: a 2025 IRS Chief Counsel memo (CCA 202511015) treats romance-scam losses as personal casualty losses, which aren't deductible for 2018 through 2025. Some investment-type scams may be treated differently, so ask a tax pro about your own situation.
