Scams & Cons

Jim Grinstead

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. read less

Our Editor's Take

Anyone wondering why people become scam victims should listen to the Scams & Cons podcast. From the Pigeon Drop scam to Three Card Monte, the podcast covers famous cons, old and new.

Hosted by Jim Grinstead, the podcast exposes the way swindlers work. Scams & Cons offers a fascinating look into the minds of scammers and victims of scams. Packed with revealing interviews, it's a riveting true crime podcast.

Episodes expose get-rich-quick hustles, sweepstakes hoaxes, mail fraud, and phishing scams. In “Three-Card Monte,” Chef Anton explains how the old card con works. The reformed con man shares the tricks of his old trade. Listeners will hear how people lose their money on the streets betting on a “sure thing”. Another episode, “The Money Box,” highlights how scammers prey on greed. In the episode, Grinstead talks about the old Money Machine scam invented in the 1800s. Victims believe they are buying a machine that turns blank paper into money.

The Scams & Cons podcast examines how fraudsters pick their marks. Grinstead narrates how scammers prey on lonely people, emptying their bank accounts. How are people conned into parting with enormous sums of money? Why would anyone share their Social Security number or credit card number with strangers? These are questions well addressed on the podcast.

Interviews with FBI agents and cyber security experts reveal how these criminals operate. Listeners will hear how fraudsters cultivate sucker lists and share marks' information.

The Scams & Cons podcast does an excellent job of exposing complex and common scams. New episodes are available every two weeks.

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News: A Nebraska woman is conned out of a gold bar a woman buys the wrong kind of gift card, frustrating a scammer, but still losing her money

News: A Nebraska woman is conned out of a gold bar a woman buys the wrong kind of gift card, frustrating a scammer, but still losing her money

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

Episodes

News: A Nebraska woman is conned out of a gold bar a woman buys the wrong kind of gift card, frustrating a scammer, but still losing her money

News: A Nebraska woman is conned out of a gold bar a woman buys the wrong kind of gift card, frustrating a scammer, but still losing her money

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

Witness Protection Programs -- it's not an easy way to vanish

Witness Protection Programs -- it's not an easy way to vanish

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 the night to disappear and you'll hear from the people who created the federal program. If you're thinking the best way to disappear is to catch someone committing a crime so you'll get protection, you may want to think again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Woman recovers $147k from scammer and a man tries to own the New York Hotel

Woman recovers $147k from scammer and a man tries to own the New York Hotel

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

Hear from Maureen, a woman whose husband disappeared and she doesn't know why

Hear from Maureen, a woman whose husband disappeared and she doesn't know why

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 her tragic story and her best guess on what really happened, although she'll unlikely to never know for sure. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scammers break into a physician's prescription system, creating orders for tens of thousands of addictive drugs and a lawsuit has been filed against CitiGroup for not doing enough to protect customers

Scammers break into a physician's prescription system, creating orders for tens of thousands of addictive drugs and a lawsuit has been filed against CitiGroup for not doing enough to protect customers

Scams & Cons News for March 21, 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vanishing: Where to go and dealing with loneliness

Vanishing: Where to go and dealing with loneliness

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 more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Woman uses soap opera scheme in attempt to kill husband; catfishing scam hits business for $4 million

Woman uses soap opera scheme in attempt to kill husband; catfishing scam hits business for $4 million

Scams & Cons News for March 7, 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vanished: How to go missing and avoid those searching for you.

Vanished: How to go missing and avoid those searching for you.

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

Scams & Cons News: Scammers use a smartphone with Bluetooth to steal 800 gallons of gasoline and the DEA accidently gives $500,000 to scammers

Scams & Cons News: Scammers use a smartphone with Bluetooth to steal 800 gallons of gasoline and the DEA accidently gives $500,000 to scammers

Scams & Cons News for February 15, 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The longest con of all -- vanishing. Why would anyone want to do it?

The longest con of all -- vanishing. Why would anyone want to do it?

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. It's about people who want to abandon one life and start again. The mark is everyone in the world, because to be successful, you must never be heard from again. In this episode we talk about why someone would want to disappear and in future episodes, we'll tell you how it is done. Lastly, you'll hear from a woman whose husband vanished and she never saw him again -- even when they were granted a divorce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 6 -- A user's guide

Season 6 -- A user's guide

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. Our focus will be on those who want to trade their current life for a new one.There will be episodes about why people want to disappear, how they do it and how they deal with the loneliness. You'll also hear from a woman whose husband walked out the door one day, never to return. She didn't know if he was alive until his lawyer contacted her about getting a divorce.This not a con on one or a few people -- it is run on everyone in the world. Let me tell you about those who never want to be seen again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scams & Cons News: A dating app leads to a carjacking and are you being smished?

Scams & Cons News: A dating app leads to a carjacking and are you being smished?

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

BONUS: Lee Goldberg tells how he writes scams into his books and TV shows

BONUS: Lee Goldberg tells how he writes scams into his books and TV shows

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 BurningDreamtown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

REPLAY: Luxury scams

REPLAY: Luxury scams

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, but now marketers have refined those techniques to scam us in legal ways.Listen in because, as always, we'll tell you how it's done and why we fall for it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

REPLAY: Three Card Monte - Remastered

REPLAY: Three Card Monte - Remastered

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 not about the cards, it’s about getting the sucker to put all the money they have on the box and walk away with nothing. And it can be done in about eight minutes. In this episode, Chef Anton will walk you through how it’s done. And he should know, he is a veteran of the streets. These days, he uses his skills to entertain at trade shows and events and to get free drinks in bars. And he is likely to continue doing just that. As his title, Chef, declares: “Cons Hustle Everyone Forever.” Chef Anton School for Scoundrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

REPLAY: The Russian Bride Scam

REPLAY: The Russian Bride Scam

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 flattery and the person will seem to have a genuine interest in you. It might even include some “interesting” photos. Why stop? It’s an online thing and you can stop any time. Then one day your future spouse needs help. Their situation is serious, they confess to you. They may even have to sell their home to survive. The scammer doesn’t ask for more and rebuffs any offers you make to help, but, eventually, they agree and you send the money and feel good about it. What you don’t know is that you have just become prey for the Russian Bride Scam.In this episode, I’ll tell you how it works, you’ll hear from scam victims and customer service reps from companies that enable the scammers. Your love may have been sincere, but it blinded you to their torrid affair with your wallet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See ya next year

See ya next year

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

Miracle cures have arrived! Whatever the ailment, they will do the job

Miracle cures have arrived! Whatever the ailment, they will do the job

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/adchoices

Scams & Cons News: Funeral home scammer takes money from widow, bank disses woman who was scammed, asking if her husband did it, and more!

Scams & Cons News: Funeral home scammer takes money from widow, bank disses woman who was scammed, asking if her husband did it, and more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robo calls -- How they work, who makes them and how you can cash in by listening

Robo calls -- How they work, who makes them and how you can cash in by listening

We've done stories about robo calls before, but this one is different -- we're telling you how the technology works, who makes the calls and how you can make money by simply listening to the sales pitch, getting answers to a few questions and mail a complaint.robocalls@scamsandcons.comKit for challenging robo callsSample challenge letter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices