Scam Secrets

Who could resist the offer of a free grand piano? Or a remarkably cheap campervan? Just as long as you pay for delivery - but that's a small price to pay, right? This episode of Scam Secrets is about those times when you're offered something - perhaps something you've always fancied - on amazingly good terms. It's a scam - otherwise Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood wouldn't be talking about...

A trusted celeb seems to be promoting a crypto investment. Would you know what to do? In this episode of Scam Secrets, Shari Vahl, Dr Elisabeth Carter and former criminal Alex Wood hear how an apparent endorsement from a trusted celebrity paved the way for the relentless psychological manipulation of a couple, with devastating consequences. The team discuss how helpless people can even be made to...

A letter arrives at your home - addressed to a company you've never heard of. Would you know what to do? Criminals are registering companies at innocent people's addresses at a shocking scale - sometimes covering an entire street at a time. In this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Elisabeth Carter and former fraudster Alex Wood find out the alarming consequences if your home is targeted - and how to fight...

You've spotted a nice cardigan on social media - the website looks legit. So you buy one. It doesn't feel like a scam... In this episode, Shari Vahl and the Scam Secrets regulars - Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood - unravel a global scam that relies on people buying pieces of clothing they've seen advertised on social media. As the team find out, what arrives is very much not what they've been hoping f...

You've met someone online. You chat every night and it's going well - but then they need your help. Would you know what to do? Romance fraud cost people more than £400m last year - and that's just the cases that were reported. In this episode, BBC reporter Shari Vahl, criminologist Dr Elisabeth Carter and former scammer Alex Wood dissect the harrowing story of a woman who sent £80,000 to a man she...

Your bank is on the phone. The man knows all your details. He says there's a problem on your account. Would you know what to do? Scam Secrets is the new series lifting the lid on the techniques criminals use to steal your money. BBC reporter Shari Vahl is joined by criminologist and forensic linguist Dr Elisabeth Carter and former scammer Alex Wood to get inside the mind of the criminals and highl...

Criminals will try anything to steal your money - but if you know their techniques, you can see the scams coming. In this series, BBC fraud reporter Shari Vahl analyses some of the most shocking scams she's covered, dissecting how they work piece-by-piece. To do this, she's joined by the criminologist and forensic linguist Dr Elisabeth Carter, and Alex Wood - a former criminal who stole millions t...