Santa Cruz journalist Martha Mendoza goes inside the global scam industry for new PBS documentary

For the past year, journalist and UC Santa Cruz lecturer Martha Mendoza has been investigating the rise of online scams as a correspondent for “Frontline,” PBS’ documentary series. She traveled across the United States, obtained documents from a Myanmar scam compound and interviewed CEOs, senators and critics. 

She did not expect the professional to turn personal. However, that’s exactly what happened when people close to her were targeted by scammers in the past few months, here in Santa Cruz. 

“I found myself on the other end of this, walking into a local bank asking them for help,” said Mendoza, who raised her family in Santa Cruz and teaches for UCSC’s Science Communication graduate program.

She said bank tellers in Santa Cruz told her they’re confronting scams every day. Local retirement advisors and financial planners said this is a problem for many of their clients. 

“It preys on people’s trust,” Mendoza said.

“Scammed,” which premieres Tuesday on PBS, dives into the “growing epidemic” of the online scam industry, which steals billions each year. Mendoza and a team of journalists from The Associated Press and “Frontline” traveled across the United States, Southeast Asia and Nigeria to investigate what she said is becoming “one of the biggest crimes in the world.”

“We were looking at what happens when people get scammed, who are the people behind the scams, and finally, who’s accountable? Tech companies, the federal government, financial institutions — there’s an array of different institutions that could help put a stop to it, and they don’t,” she said. 

Mendoza said these scams are also happening “close to home.” In the past year, Santa Cruz County’s Human Services Department reported scams involving SNAP/CalFresh and Medi-Cal, where scammers posed as representatives and requested personal information. Scammers have also targeted county residents by saying they’ve missed court dates or jury duty. 

“Somebody doing something as simple as applying for food stamps may be getting scammed. Somebody who thinks they’re being a responsible citizen and responding to a jury duty letter of warning could be getting scammed,” Mendoza said. “People need to be really alert and verify what they’re doing.”

While stories of older adults getting scammed often make the news, Mendoza emphasized that people of all ages are affected: “When I talk to college students, inevitably they’ve tried to buy tickets through Facebook Marketplace or something, and then lost their money.”

As more people use the internet to make purchases, get medical care and do banking, the online scam industry will continue to grow. The rise of cryptocurrency and generative artificial intelligence have also allowed the online scam industry to thrive. 

Mendoza hopes that viewers come away from the documentary more skeptical and aware of how they manage their own transactions. She said it’s important that people don’t feel “embarrassed or ashamed” for sharing their experiences with online scams. Informing others helps keep them safe from falling victim to similar tactics. 

“It’s not a level playing field when it comes to scams. We’re all like third graders dealing with people who are very sophisticated Ph.D.s coming after us,” Mendoza said.

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