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Close the door on scammers

A simple weekend plan to protect your savings, your home and your privacy after 60.

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Book cover: Close the Door on Scammers, with Hal Brennan

Most harm to people over 60 doesn't break in. It walks in through a door you already opened.

Criminals choose people over 60 on purpose: savings, good credit, and trust. The FBI's yearly reports show that Americans over 60 report losing more to fraud than any other age group. An alarm watches the front door. This book closes the other four.

The four doors this book helps you close

One weekend. Plain steps, one at a time. Most are free, and the rest cost under $20.

1

Your home

Who really has a key, the cheap door upgrade that resists a kick, rules for helpers, and how to check for hidden cameras.

2

Your phone

How phone scams are built, the five common impostors, a family code word, and word-for-word scripts.

3

Your money

The free credit freeze, same-day bank alerts, safer checks and mail, and the payments scammers always ask for.

4

Your information

Passwords without the headache, Wi-Fi and smart TV settings, and how to shrink what's posted about you online.

Three mistakes that leave the doors open

None of them is foolish. Each is a normal way to live, and each is exactly what a scammer plans around.

1

Looking for a stranger

Many cases start with someone who already had a key, a code or your trust.

The book shows you how to ask a better question: what can this person reach?
2

Deciding in a hurry

Every scam is built to keep you on the line and acting fast.

You get one simple rule and the exact words to end any call politely.
3

Keeping no record

Without dates and details, nobody can see the pattern, and some may doubt you.

The Two-Notebook Method turns your notes into proof in your own handwriting.

What's inside

143 illustrated pages, 30 short chapters. Every chapter explains why it matters, gives numbered steps, and ends with a checklist so you know the door is closed.

Why the doors are open

How criminals choose, and your plan for Saturday and Sunday, including three quick wins you can do in under an hour.

Your home

Access lists, locks and windows, what your house tells a stranger, hidden devices, and helpers in your home.

Your phone

Spoofed numbers, silent calls, impostors, the family code word, call scripts and phone settings.

Your money

Credit freeze, bank alerts, cash and checks, power of attorney red flags, and risky payment methods.

Your information

Passwords and two-step sign-in, Wi-Fi and smart devices, your data online, and paper records.

When a door was already opened

The first hour after a scam, the Two-Notebook Method, and who to call, in what order.

Everything you get

  • The 143-page illustrated PDF in large, easy-to-read print
  • A weekend plan, starting with three quick wins
  • The Travel Edition: a routine for every hotel, rental and cruise
  • The Family Safety File: printable access list, emergency contacts, accounts list, and incident and access logs
  • Printable cards: phone script card, family code word card, room-check card and before-you-leave checklist
  • A list of official resources so you can check everything you read

On a trip, you sleep behind someone else's lock

Someone else has a key to your room, runs the Wi-Fi, and your house sits empty back home. The Travel Edition gives you a short routine for four moments of every trip.

Before you leaveClose the doors at home.
First ten minutesCheck the room before you unpack.
While you're outGuard your cards, cash and phone.
Checking outLeave no accounts behind.

Written for you if

How the steps work in real situations

These are case studies, not customer reviews. Each one is a composite based on the kinds of cases reported by the FTC, the FBI and the news, with invented names. They show what a chapter asks you to do, and what changes when you do it.

Margaret, 74: the charger on the kitchen counter

The situation

Her nephew set up her internet. Weeks later he seemed to know details about her money she had only discussed in her kitchen. Her daughter wondered about her memory.

What the book shows

Chapter 7: check everything plugged in near where you handle money. Chapter 29: write down what he knew and when he had access.

How it plays out

Her notes point to the one afternoon he was alone in the kitchen. The charger he plugged in holds a camera aimed at her bill-paying table. She photographs it, calls her bank and the police, and her notebook answers the question about her memory.

Robert, 78: the call from his “grandson”

The situation

A crying voice that sounds exactly like his grandson says he’s been arrested and needs bail money tonight. “Please don’t tell Mom.”

What the book shows

Chapter 11: ask for the family code word. Chapter 12: hang up and call back on the number you already have.

How it plays out

The caller can’t say the word and pushes harder. Robert hangs up and calls his grandson, who is at work and fine. No money leaves his account.

Dolores, 71: the small withdrawals

The situation

Money starts leaving her account in amounts small enough that the bank never flags them. Normally she’d only notice on her monthly statement.

What the book shows

Chapter 15: turn on an alert for every withdrawal and transfer, and read each alert when it arrives.

How it plays out

The first unfamiliar withdrawal shows up on her phone the same afternoon. She calls the number on the back of her card that day, not a month later.

Frank, 69: the account he didn’t open

The situation

A data breach exposed his Social Security number. He doesn’t know it yet.

What the book shows

Chapter 14: freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It’s free and doesn’t affect your score.

How it plays out

Someone applies for a store credit card in his name. With his credit frozen, the lender can’t pull his report and the application stops.

Linda, 69: the first night in a winter rental

The situation

She arrives at a vacation rental after a long day of travel and just wants to unpack and rest.

What the book shows

Chapter 25: the ten-minute room check. Look at everything that can see the bed and bathroom, then do the flashlight test.

How it plays out

A small device by the bed has no clear purpose. She isn’t sure, so she unplugs it and covers it with a towel. The question is settled for her whole stay.

Real reader stories will be added here only with their permission.

Close the Door on Scammers

Complete PDF, Travel Edition, and every printable form and card.

$27

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7

7-day money-back guarantee. Close one door this weekend. If the book isn't clear and useful to you, request a refund through Hotmart within 7 days and you'll get every dollar back.

Questions

I'm not good with technology. Is this for me?

Yes. Every step is written in plain language with large print, and many can be done by phone or on paper. You can ask a family member to sit with you for the phone and computer steps.

Do I need to buy cameras, an alarm or special gadgets?

No. Most protections in the book are free, and the rest cost under $20 at a hardware store.

Can't I find this information for free?

Some of it, yes, and the book tells you where it comes from. What you get here is the order to do things in, the exact words to use, and printable forms that keep it all together.

Is this a printed book?

No. It's a PDF you download right after checkout. Read it on your phone, tablet or computer, or print it at home.

Can I buy it for a parent?

Yes. It works well as a gift for a mother, father or grandparent, and you can go through the weekend plan together.

About Hal

Hal Brennan is the voice of this book and of a YouTube channel about how scams and hidden surveillance work. Hal is a fictional character. The information in the book is drawn from public guidance by the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the credit bureaus and published news cases.

This book is general information, not legal, financial or security advice. If you believe you are the victim of fraud, contact your bank and your local police.

Close the doors this weekend

Four doors. Plain steps. Free or under $20 each.

Get the book now