Identity theft was once fairly easy. Watch someone's mailbox for a credit card offer, then send it in with a new address; discover something like your Social Security number, then route that money to their bank account. There were lots of ways. But now there's a new one -- a fabricated synthetic identity. It's you without really being you. It can take your money in a quick hit or drain your money slowly. In this episode, we'll tell you how it's done and what -- if anything -- you can do about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices