With 23% of America’s 52 billion robocalls categorized as scams, I feel like I’m gambling every time I decide to answer a call from an unknown number.

And if it’s not you being taken for a “sucker,” it’s our government institutions being gamed, with deceptive criminals, domestic and abroad, siphoning our hard-earned tax dollars.

Americans’ visceral anger at Minnesota’s alleged rampant health-care and daycare fraud even led former Democratic vice-presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz suddenly end his re-election bid.

It’s hard to openly admit you’re a victim because in hindsight, the tactics are incredibly clear.

Outsiders with no emotion in the situation see the scheme at hand and consider you a fool instead of a victim.

I’ve never talked about this publicly, but my wife and I were scammed in 2020 on Facebook Marketplace.

My wife had an old item she wanted to sell but doubted she even could. The scammer emailed her, claiming a PayPal payment had been made, so she prepared to ship the item the next morning.

Despite our embarrassment, we’re lucky we didn’t suffer any massive losses.

Many Americans have lost their entire life savings — and some have taken their own lives.

IPX1031’s 2025 Fraud and Identity Theft Report found 28% of Americans were scammed in the last year.

This abundance has created an industry of “scam baiters” who blend aspects of investigative journalism, white-hat hacking and entertainment on their YouTube channels.

Ben Taylor, @PleasantGreen on YouTube, specializes in humor........

© New York Post