Scams & Cons

In separate incidents, a man and a woman are arrested for romance scams. A boy in Taiwan agrees to have both legs amputated to gain insurance money and a woman who wanted a puppy pays the money, only to be told it's a scam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Frank Ahern Books by Frank Ahern Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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