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
140 episodes
Scammers are pretending to be exorcists
If you bought tickets to a pop-up taco museum restaurant in San Antonio, you got scammed. If someone wants to hook you up with a priest who does exorcisms, beware. But we begin with the story of a brand new scam called call merging. It involves...
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Season 9
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9:27
Scamming for hotel rooms with roaches and used condoms
More than 60 hotels are conned by a man who dirtied rooms with roaches and condoms, and scammers are showing up at people’s doors to collect money they say they are owed. And I want to tell you the tale of a gambit that I can't call a con, but ...
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Season 9
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14:22
How to stay safe from nearly all scams
We're all vulnerable to scams, but we don't have to be willing victims. Today I'm doing something I should have done a long time ago -- tell you just what to do to thwart scammers.
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Season 8
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Episode 16
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21:47
New scam targets those who tap credit cards
A new scam is moving across the country that can capture the information on your credit card's chips, plus Minnesota legislators are considering a law that would reimburse victims of scams.
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Season 8
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Episode 15
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13:20
The Scopes trial was a scam -- but not necessarily a bad one
What some of you may remember as the Scopes Monkey Trial is a scam. If you don’t know about the trial, you may know about the movie, “Inherit the Wind,” which – and I’m being charitable here – took poetic license with the truth. Today, as we ne...
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Season 8
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Episode 14
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32:49
Butcher scammed out of meat
Alabama leads the nation in losses from online scams and a Massachusetts butcher shop owner says he was scammed out of $60,000 of meat. Plus, we'll update you on the Frye Festival scheduled for Mexico, but who knows where in that country it wil...
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Season 8
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Episode 13
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25:41
The most notorius scammers
There are con artists who have pulled off major cons. What they do is so ballsy, it’s hard to believe anyone would fall for them. Yet, in the annals of history, they live on.Today on Scams And Cons, we'll tell you their stories.
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Season 8
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Episode 12
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26:22
Scammers begin work without authorization - and make the victim pay
We'll tell you the story of con artists who preyed on the elderly with home remodeling scams. One was brazen enough to outright tell the homeowner what needed to be done and begin work.
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Season 8
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Episode 12
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16:34
Using AI to build sucker lists
Is this written by me or an AI? Will you hear my voice or an AI voice in this podcast? (Spoiler, you'll hear both)AI voices and images are so easy to create these days that it's easy to throw someone into a money-gushing panic if they ge...
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Season 8
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Episode 11
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18:10
Georgia banks exempt from protecting you from scammers
In this week's news, Thailand takes the unusual step of cutting off electricity to 500,000 people to stop scammers and con artists are staging car crashes to collect insurance money.Plus, Georgia exempts banks from protecting customers f...
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Season 8
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Episode 10
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12:24
Deep fakes: Am I who I say I am?
Is this written by me or an AI? Will you hear my voice or an AI voice in this podcast? (Spoiler, you'll hear both)AI voices and images are so easy to create these days that it's easy to throw someone into a money-gushing panic if they ge...
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Season 8
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Episode 9
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31:51
Scammers pretend to be TV news anchor to rob previous victim
A man got taken by a scammer and called a local TV station for help. The scammers weren't caught, but they later called the man back, pretending to be the anchor and tried to shake him down again.It didn't go well for the scammers.
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Season 8
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Episode 8
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12:33
Communities of scammers are roaming the country
Groups of con artists roam the country, sweeping into a community and taking it for all they can until the police get wise.They're called Travellers and we'll tell you how they work and why they are different from other scammers.
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Season 8
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Episode 7
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26:11
The pigeon drop is revived to steal expensive jewelry
The pigeon drop -- and oldie, but a goodie -- is misdirecting people so their new expensive purchases can stolen and fake Amazon customer service agents targeted a woman and tried to clean out her bank accounts.
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13:01
Can scam victims get justice?
If you've been scammed, will you get your money back? Will you get justice? The answer, unfortunately, is no.While it may be your life savings, the amounts are generally too small and police have such limited resources that they can't h...
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19:17
Scammers are using Amber Alerts to steal info on your child
Your child is safe at home, but scammers are calling to get info about them to put into a state "registry." It's a scam ... don't fall for it.Hear this story and more on Scams & Cons News.
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Season 8
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Episode 4
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11:55
Scammers do stupid things, too. Let us tell you about them.
It's easy to think of a scammer as a slick, sophisticated character, ready to outsmart your every move.Not so fast.Scammers do stupid stuff too, and we're here to tell you about them. Listen in for a good laugh and relief that t...
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Season 8
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Episode 3
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22:23
One bad click wipes out a life's savings and a scammer took the money, but kept the pictures
In the early days of computing, we were afraid that if we pushed one wrong button, we'd lose all our work -- and that frequently happened.Nowadays, the risk isn't so high and total losses are rare, but scammers have figured out how to c...
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Season 8
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Episode 2
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14:03
Welcome to Season 8
We're kicking off season 8 with a look at some really stupid scammers, then come back by asking if victims can ever really get justice.The news is back with some changes and we'll be taking several dives into how AI is being used by sca...
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Season 8
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3:17
REPLAY: Time travelers are scamming thousands
People are coming back from the future. Some want computers to help solve problems for which the need ancient software, while others need some cold, hard cash to survive in this primitive world of ours.People are handing money over to t...
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Season 8
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15:45
REPLAY: 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 th...
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Season 8
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23:31
Squatters are getting more creative - and more political
We're talking about squatters again, primarily because they are improving their tactics and because they can rob you of your single largest investment. And it's a scam you don't see coming until it has already happened.Squatters are also organizin...
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Season 7
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Episode 23
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22:06
Adoption fraud: When hopeful parents are robbed of their dream
Adoption agencies can be difficult to work with. They have many requirements that must be met, and justifiably so. They want to make sure an adopted child finds a good and safe home.But some potential parents are patient. They want a faster proces...
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Season 7
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Episode 20
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27:15
The swoop and squat scam is back!
The old scam called the swoop and squat is back! It involves two cars with one swooping in front of a another, then coming to a halt. The scammers hope the rear driver will pay up without involving an insurance company. If no crash occurs, the sca...
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Season 7
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Episode 16
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13:02
Scammers say Black Friday 'tis the season to be stealing
Fake websites are the hot thing this holiday season and they'll be popping up everywhere.You'll be amazed at how easy it is to set up a fake website. We'll tell you how it happens -- not how to do it.Listen to Scams and Cons wherever you get podca...
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Season 7
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Episode 17
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21:24