In this November 17, 2025 episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show, Certified Financial Planner Mike Milligan opens with a market recap highlighting recent volatility, AI‑related stock declines, and Peter Thiel’s exit from Nvidia. He then shifts focus to International Fraud Awareness Week, emphasizing that seniors are prime targets for financial scams. Consumer advocate Gary Nolan shares FTC statistics showing a dramatic rise in large‑loss scams among older adults. The hosts describe common scam tactics—impersonating banks, Medicare, law enforcement, and the classic “grandparent” scam—along with newer methods like voice‑cloning. They provide a step‑by‑step anti‑scam checklist: never share personal info unexpectedly, verify requests by calling known numbers, avoid wire transfers and gift cards, and report incidents promptly. They recommend establishing a family code‑word to confirm identity. Personal anecdotes illustrate how miscommunication and fraudulent rental‑car charges, stolen credit cards, and a Wells Fargo‑style phone scam affected the hosts and their families. Throughout, Mike promotes One Oak Financial’s personalized planning services, a bestselling book, and a self‑paced personal‑finance course offered through Old Dominion University, providing contact numbers and a text‑in option. The episode ends with a disclaimer that the opinions expressed are not investment advice and should be reviewed by a licensed professional.
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Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show with your host, Mike Milligan. Today is Monday, November 17th, and what a great week we have ahead for you. Last week though was not a great week for the stock market. The US stock market experienced a challenging week marked by increased volatility and continued uncertainty around AI valuations. Labor market data, and lingering effects of the recent government shutdown. Although the major indices attempted a late-week rebound, most closed lower, and investors are cautiously optimistic about the week ahead, focused on key tech earnings and economic data releases. Last week, the S&P fell 1.6%, the NASDAQ Composite declined 3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 1.2% for the week. Looking ahead to this week, it's expected to be pivotal, pivotal, and potentially volatile with Major tech earnings, including Nvidia, and the release of delayed US economic data following the shutdown. Speaking of Nvidia, last week we got some major news that Peter Thiel, billionaire Peter Thiel, and his hedge fund Thiel LLC reduced their shares of Nvidia to zero. They sold 537,000 shares, which represented nearly 40% of their portfolio during the 3rd quarter. The exit comes amid mounting concerns about AI bubble, with AI stocks collectively losing $1.8 trillion in value and the top AI-linked company shedding $1.2 trillion in a single week. Thiel has expressed concerns about the inflated expectations surrounding AI, uh, that is detached from economic realities, echoing warnings from other prominent investors, including Michael Burry, who also has taken significant put positions against Nvidia and Palantir. Guys, there's risk in the stock market. There always is. Just like a week last week in major news where people look to take money off the market, You want to make sure that your portfolio is balanced. And if you haven't had an end-of-the-year portfolio review, I invite you to text NEWS to 600-700. One Oak Financial is here for you. Mike Milligan, Certified Financial Planner, is here for you. Before we get moving on to a segment of the One of a Kind Financial Show that recorded over the weekend, I just want to let you know, end-of-year review rebalancing is critical. This week also marks an important week internationally as it is International Fraud Awareness Week. Seniors are the most likely target of scams around the country. Just like you heard me talk about what happened in the market and Peter Thiel's liquidation of Nvidia and his outlook on AI, even Michael Burry coming out and saying a lot of things. Now's not the time to be scammed by people posing as investment advisors looking to move your money somewhere that is not in your best interest. So on the One of a Kind Financial Show this weekend, Gary and I talked about International Fraud Awareness Week. Enjoy this segment next. And again, Be one of a kind.
Welcome back to the One of a Kind Financial Show. I'm your consumer advocate, Gary Nolan. And with me is Mike Milligan, Certified Financial Planner, author, educator, and founder of One Oak Financial with over 25 years experience in retirement planning business. Today we're spotlighting International Fraud Awareness Week. That's a critical topic, especially for our older listeners, Mike.
That's right, Gary. International Fraud Awareness Week reminds us all just how serious financial fraud is and why it's more important ever for older Americans to be vigilant. Fraudsters are getting smarter, and unfortunately, our senior community is often their prime target.
Yeah, Mike, the numbers are staggering. Get this now. The FTC reports that older adults not only lose more money often, but their average losses are much higher. Now, according to the FTC, From 2020 to 2024, the number of reports for older adults losing $10,000 or more scams rose to nearly fourfold. Losses of $100,000 or more, the number of reports climbed nearly sevenfold, while losses total in that category scored eightfold. So man, there's a lot going on here and a lot of our seniors are being taken advantage of, and that's so sad.
So exactly, the tactics scammers use are consistently evolving. Imposters are pretending to be from your bank or from Medicare or even law enforcement. They might even say your Social Security number is involved in a crime, or it's what's called the grandparent scam. They'll call and pretend to be a grandchild in crisis.
Yes.
Asking for money urgently. Guys, I mean, Gary, these scammers are using technology to sound convincing. Even cloning voices.
Mm-hmm. That's terrifying. What can older Americans do to protect themselves, Mike?
Well, here are the— here are a few crucial steps. First, never share personal or financial information with someone who calls or emails you unexpectedly. If you get a suspicious call from your bank or your grandchild, pause and verify. What I mean by that is Hang up and then call either your bank or your grandchild directly. Not the one they gave you. Call their number. Second, stay skeptical about urgent requests for money, especially if they want wire transfers or gift cards, which are easy to disappear. Guys, once money is wired out of your bank, it is almost impossible to get it back. Once somebody has a gift card number and they use it, Those gift carders have no liability protection for you. And then lastly, don't be embarrassed if you've been targeted. Report it right away. Your voice could help protect someone else, and especially if you get scammed, guys, because it would be— the scammers and fraudsters out there want to make you feel less of yourself. And they don't want you to say anything because when we don't speak up, They're going to win, and they're going to keep targeting other people.
Yeah, there's no question about that. Or set up a code word. I've heard that you can use that too with your grandchild, that only they would know, just to make sure that you're talking to the exact person that you're thinking of.
Have you done that, Gary? Have you set up a code word?
No, I have not. But I've heard that's something that you can do.
That is absolutely an amazing strategy right there. If you have a great relationship, even with a child, if the word is something that you guys would only know like maybe a cartoon you used to watch together or, you know, or a book you used to read them or, you know, the favorite, you know, the favorite side dish at Thanksgiving. You know, if that's not said, you know, that's not the person who you want to be talking to at that time. Gary, that's absolutely amazing advice right there.
Yeah, absolutely. I've heard that a couple of times. Welcome back to the One of a Kind Financial Show. I'm your consumer advocate, Gary Nolan. Back with us to help you take charge of your money is Mike Milligan. Let's get you on the calendar all set up with that comprehensive plan. That phone number is 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. So, Mike, with decades of experience, what's your best piece of advice for families, uh, concerned for their older loved ones?
Well, open communication is the best defense. Um, one of the things that we don't— you know, we all, you know, we always talk about—
there's a couple things we never talk about around the Thanksgiving table.
You know, we don't talk politics, you know, we don't talk religion, and we don't talk about money.
Well, you should.
I'm telling you guys, some people do.
That's right, some people do.
Right.
Those families are, I guess those are the families who are the closest to each other, right?
Exactly.
Families need to talk openly about scams and how they work.
No judgment, right?
I mean, the reality is, is we all were as kids probably scammed, right?
I mean, think about it.
You're on the playground, you're 4 or 5, 6 years old, and that little 4th grade kid comes up to you and says, give me your lunch money. Well, that's a scam. It's a bully. It's a scam, right? So there's scams that are out there all the time, right? There's points in times where maybe you've been at This happened to us recently. We were at a rental car on a vacation that we went on, but at the rental car place, and we were in a place that's not our typical that we go to, we didn't speak the language very well. We're still learning Spanish and we didn't speak it very well. And the people behind the rental car desk said, if you don't have a toll pass, you'll get charged a $45 penalty every time you go through a toll.
Wow. It's crazy.
Yeah. Think about that. So we're sitting at the rental car place and we're thinking, yeah, we got to buy this, right? We come back, 7 days later from that and say, hey, listen, we went by the tolls and I think we're not going to be charged the $45. They said, $45 for what? And we said, well, when we picked up the car, they said $45 off every time you go through the tolls if you don't have the toll pass. And they said, oh, that was a miscommunication lost in translation.
The person spoke English.
Oh, I see.
Right?
They just used it to get extra money from us. But listen, there's no judgment. When you talk about this among families, fraud can happen to anyone, absolutely at any time. I mean, I've had my credit card number stolen in a TV in Tampa bought, right? I've had my credit card stolen for something in North Dakota. Guys, it happens.
We're up against the clock, Mike. Final thoughts as we wrap up this segment.
Our clients, guys, I hope if you listen to the show and you are one of our clients, you know that we're always on the lookout for you being scammed. We always try to keep your money safe. For those who don't have that kind of relationship with a financial firm. Guys, I will tell one quick story to end this episode, and that is my mother-in-law was involved in a scam where they tried to get money out of her account because the phone number looked like Wells Fargo. They talked like Wells Fargo, and we were able to recover most of it. But this is happening every day. It's scammers' full-time jobs. Work with a company that knows you well enough to know if you were calling into the company, where you are not a number, where your story is not lost in a system because they're too big. Work with a company like One Oak Financial. We will build a one-of-a-kind financial plan with you that's around taxes, retirement, investments, long-term care, and legacy that helps you sleep at night, removes fear and anxiety. But most of all, we'll know you well enough that we'll keep your money safe. We'll, we'll let you know when scammers are on the hunt. And most of all, you will be called by your name every time you interact with us. Gary, tell folks how they can reach out to us to schedule a time to meet with me and our team who has their best interest at heart.
Absolutely, Mike. No question about it. They have your back. It is 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600- 800-748-1838. Let's do it right now.
Thank you again for listening to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. I've been your host, Mike Milligan. If you enjoyed the segment that you just listened to, I invite you to connect with us on Amazon. Google The One of a Kind Financial Plan. It's a bestselling book in the personal tax category, and I invite you to do that. Number 2, if you feel like you need more education when it comes to your own personal financial planning, we have a course that's offered through Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It's offered virtually and it's a self-paced course called Personal Financial Planning that I helped develop and I teach. It is 6 sessions, 90 minutes each, and full of recordings for you that you can start and stop based on what you need. It goes through the psychology and philosophy of money, the cash management, budgeting, and debt management. We talk about insurance, whether it's property and casualty like your homeowners, autos, renters, to the type of insurances you work on at, or you need to replace the biggest asset you have, Which is your income. Then we move over and talk about, do a real big investment dive into the difference between mutual funds and ETFs. We go all the way from crypto down to individual stocks and bonds from an academic standpoint. Then we look at retirement planning, tax planning, long-term care, and legacy. Ultimately, with the idea that you can build a one-of-a-kind financial plan for yourself. Ultimately though, what it does is it equips you with knowledge that if you're ever in a conversation with a financial advisor or a financial planner, you know the questions to ask. So I invite you to reach out to us. You can go to mikemilligan.com under the Educate tab and see how to register for that. We also put some resources behind that on school.com in our private closed group where you can ask questions and learn more. As always, just remember that I am an investment advisory rep, not only with One Oak Financial, but also Advisory Alpha LLC. Ideas by Mike doing business as One Oak Financial, Mike Milligan LLC, and Advisory Alpha LLC are unaffiliated entities. And thus all opinions expressed by me and Gary On the One of a Kind Financial Show and me on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily are purely my opinions and does not reflect investment advice. Please consult with a licensed financial professional before making any decisions. Till next time, this has been Mike Milligan.
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