Scams & Cons
Scammers don't steal your money, they create a world where it makes perfect sense to hand your cash over to them. Three-card-monte, the longest running show on Broadway, seems easy. You're watching the tosser and you always see the queen. What you don't see is a group of shills working you into the gate where you'll lose everything you have. Sometimes a large sum of money is accidentally sent to you and the sender asks for the additional cash to be sent back. In the meantime, they empty your bank account. We'll tell you all about the scams, how they work and why people fall for them. Don't become a sucker. Listen in.
Episodes
April 25, 2024 • 25 mins
It sounds exotic to fake your death, then just walk away, expect it almost never works. One woman was found in her home closet. Another was found by just pinging her phone.
Then there is the woman who researched how to fake her death and took it so far as to hold her own death certificate in her hands.
There are many ways to fake your death, but we don't advise that you try them ... unless your willing to sacrifice your own body.
...
Mark as Played
News: A Nebraska woman is conned out of a gold bar and a woman buys the wrong kind of gift card, frustrating a scammer, but still losing her money
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
April 11, 2024 • 18 mins
t would seem if federal and state governments wanted you to disappear for your safety, it would be an easy thing to do. They can create all the documents you need, give you some money to get started and grease the wheels needed to get a new job.
If only that were the case. Being uprooted is just as difficult -- if not more so -- than taking a powder on your own.
In this episode, you'll hear from some people who were scooped up in...
Mark as Played
April 4, 2024 • 13 mins
Woman recovers $147k from scammer and a man tries to own the New York Hotel
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
March 28, 2024 • 29 mins
The theme of this series has been the long con of vanishing. Instead of a scammer targeting you, you are the one scamming everyone else. To be successful, you must do this the rest of your life, making it possibly the longest con of all.
Maureen is the victim of this con. Her husband went missing and while she verified he was still alive, she doesn't know why he left -- or even if he is still alive.
In this episode, you'll hear h...
Mark as Played
Scams & Cons News for March 21, 2024
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
March 14, 2024 • 15 mins
Once you've decided to vanish, the question is: where do you go?
In this episode we explore those possibilities and what you need to keep in mind when choosing a place.
The odds are you'll end up somewhere that's not familiar and among people you don't know. That loneliness is one of the main reasons that a vanishing con fails. We'll tell you how people cope with that ... and sometimes it just means living on the street.
Learn mo...
Mark as Played
Scams & Cons News for March 7, 2024
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
February 22, 2024 • 26 mins
The longest con of all may be vanishing -- leaving the place you know, going somewhere unfamiliar and never having contact with anyone or anything from your past life.
In this episode, we tell you how to go missing and avoid those who will be looking for you.
Private Investigative Services
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
Scams & Cons News for February 15, 2024
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
February 8, 2024 • 17 mins
A good scam creates a reality where the mark thinks it makes perfect sense to go along with the con. A great con is when everyone else is fooled and you are the only one to know the truth.
The next few episodes are about the longest con of all -- vanishing. These are people who voluntarily disappear. It does not include those who are running for the law or legal obligations. It doesn't include those in witness protection programs....
Mark as Played
February 8, 2024 • 5 mins
Regular listeners are accustomed to hearing about different variations of a con in each regular episode. In season six, we're doing something different. We'll be focusing on one con -- vanishing.Vanishing may be the longest con of all because, if you're successful, no one will hear from you again.We'll talk about why people want to voluntarily disappear. We won't be talking about those trying to escape the law or legal obligations....
Mark as Played
February 1, 2024 • 9 mins
Are you being smed? It's a scam that involves both texts and social engineering. A dating app leads to a carjacking in Florida and a Swiss bus museum. A cashier stole more than $1 million between 2008 and 2019 by reselling museum tickets twice.These stories and MUCH more on Scams & Cons News.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
January 25, 2024 • 22 mins
Any con, any story of a con, begins in the head of the author. Lee Goldberg isn't a con artist -- unless you count how he leads readers toward wrong conclusions -- but he does write successful books and TV shows that involve cons.In this episode, Lee talks with us about how he does it, how he comes up with his ideas and what it's to deal with publishers and television story runners. It's a great listen.Lee GoldbergLee's WorksMalibu...
Mark as Played
January 18, 2024 • 20 mins
What time is it? 4:23? Thanks.You could have gotten the answer from your phone, a sign in front of a bank or dozens of other sources. So, why spend $150,000 for a Rolex to give you the same information.Luxuries are perceptions and scammers use those perceptions to make you think you're getting a very good deal on something that can perform the same function for far fewer dollars. Scammers have exploited those dreams for centuries, ...
Mark as Played
January 11, 2024 • 20 mins
It’s a simple game. It’s just a guy flipping three cards on top of a worn cardboard box.
If you’re the sucker, the game is easy. It’s meant to be that way. A lot of effort by a lot of people has gone into creating that scene. No wonder Three Card Monte is called the longest running show on Broadway.
The sucker sees it as a game of skill. They believe they can outwit the tosser. What the sucker doesn’t realize is that the game is no...
Mark as Played
January 4, 2024 • 19 mins
If you are a six and a 10 shows interest in you, at the very least you’d feel flattered. You might even spend a little time with them just to feed your ego.
And if that contact happens online, it seems even better. No dinners to buy. No gifts to exchange. And you can walk away at any time.But if the person on the other end of the line is a scammer, it might not be as easy as you think. You’ll be showered with attention, endless fl...
Mark as Played
December 28, 2023 • 1 min
We're taking a break for the holidays, but we'll be back early next year. In the meantime, please enjoy some replays that have been a hit among our fans.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
December 14, 2023 • 24 mins
Think of all the music jingles you've heard over the years, promising that this pill or that one will help prevent cancer, ease your aching bones or guarantee you a longer, healthier life.It's snake oil and in this episode we tell you the difference between Western medicine, alternative medicine and outright frauds.Pay close attention, because some people will swallow anything.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
Mark as Played
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.