<prompt> Human: Hey all, I thought Id post a brief update. Some people who have participated in this discussion have asked if much has changed.Last UpdateSo, I took the excellent advice given here and sent my mom to a CPA for her taxes this year. Although I am sure you are hungry for the details, all I know is that the money she withdrew from her retirement was not subject to any penalty taxes, so she doesnt owe any money for that, and state taxes are also a non-issue. So that was good news, as she wouldnt have had the money to pay a large tax bill.My mother does not yet seem to fully understand that the money she gave away is really gone. She still believes the government will get it back. :The only other update is that this entire situation has probably damaged my relationship with my mother irreparably. I did not include this information in the prior posts because I didnt want a lot of comments about my mother being stupid or greedy- I needed help trying to figure out how to help. But the truth is that at about the mid-point of her sending thousands of dollars overseas, I happened upon a bank statement that showed a 50k withdrawal, and I did confront her about it. She lied to me and said it was for an investment, and when I asked if she was working with her financial planner for this investment she said yes. Now, obviously, we know that money went to some lucky Nigerian Prince. But the fallout from my realization that she deliberately lied to me, where the truth could have put the brakes on this whole debacle about 150k in instead of, you know, 295k...... its made me wary. The credit tracking, and suggestions about how to handle any follow-up scam calls, were all very useful, and my mother says she hasnt had any other trouble. She did see her dr, and is taking a low dose of a thyroid medication that seems to have improved her mood. We are still unsure of what she will do when she retires. She decided against my advice, as per suggestions made here to begin withdrawing her social security at 65 but continue working, instead of delaying the payments. The home she owns but has the 100k HELOC on will require quite a bit of work before it will sell at an acceptable price. She seems unwilling to pay others to complete the work but is also unwilling to do things like basic landscapingweed pulling herself. I am starting to believe that she will simply allow the house and property to crumble around her regardless of what anyone else says or does. Thank you again for everyone who offered advice and who were kind enough to send me follow-up PMs to check in.  <response>: Apparently Im not familiar with how numbers work- this would be the 3rd post, but the 2nd update. sigh 