The Perfect Scam

The average American is on the receiving end of more than 150 robocalls a year. Some robocalls, which are automated telephone calls placed by a computerized auto dialer, have legitimate purposes. Unfortunately, many of these calls are used to pester or scam consumers. In June 2019 alone Americans received 4.35 billion robocalls, with scams and telemarketing making up over 50 percent. Curious about...

In a Texas suburb, a typical lottery scam has turned into something much more sinister. A scammer has promised a retired couple a fictitious lottery payout if they continue to send him money for fees and taxes. With their life savings gone, the victims are forced to sell their home. But the swindler isn't done with them yet, as his constant calls have created a bond between him and the 70-year-old...

A woman in a Texas suburb is enjoying her retirement years with her husband when she gets a call that will change their lives. According to the voice on the phone, she's won an overseas lottery. Millions of dollars and a new luxury car will be delivered to her front door. But before she can collect the cash and other prizes, she must send money to the man on the phone. At first, she's told she nee...

Desiree, the "Sweetheart Swindler," has made off with $15,000 of 76-year-old Jim's money. Once a millionaire, Jim lost his real estate empire during the recession, and now thanks to Desiree he has also lost the savings he worked tirelessly to rebuild. Desiree has moved on to a new mark, Doug, a veteran living in Nevada. This time around Desiree's husband joins her in the con, approaching Doug in a...

Jim spent much of his life building a real estate empire on the West Coast. In the process he became a millionaire, profiled in newspapers and on television. But in 2007, when the recession hit, Jim lost his vast fortune. At 76, Jim is running a small resort in Lake Tahoe, working to slowly rebuild his finances, when he receives a mysterious call. The woman on the other end of the line asks for Ji...

Bobby Thompson was once a respected fundraiser, generating millions of dollars for his charity, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. When a Florida journalist uncovers that the charity is a scam, Thompson goes on the run. Eventually he starts a new life as "Don Morsette" in Portland, Ore. Living in a boardinghouse and claiming to work as a consultant for Boeing, Thompson thinks he's outsmarted the...

The man known to Washington's elite and powerful politicians as Captain Bobby Thompson has disappeared. Due to an investigation by a Florida-based journalist, it's been revealed that Thompson's charity, the US Navy Veterans Association, is an elaborate scam. For years this charity has fraudulently collected millions of dollars under the guise of supporting military veterans. Rather than face up to...

The U.S. Navy Veterans Association claimed to be a charity headquartered in Washington, D.C. Founded by Bobby Thompson, known to top politicians as a retired lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, the charity's stated purpose was to support veterans and their families. Using telemarketing firms, the association secured contributions from donors big and small, collecting from everyday peopl...

Darren Berg's crimes are catching up to him. Through his company the Meridian Group, Berg has been operating Washington state's largest Ponzi scheme, defrauding investors of more than $100 million. The FBI, the U.S. attorney's office and the IRS are all on the case, combing through Meridian's financial records. People like best-selling author J.A. Jance, who invested a half-million dollars with Be...

It's 2009 and Bernie Madoff has pleaded guilty to stock and securities fraud in New York. Covered heavily by the media, Madoff's Ponzi scheme is front of mind for many Americans. It also has a group of investors on the West Coast concerned. They've placed their hard-earned savings with the Meridian Group, a company operating out of downtown Seattle. Its founder, Darren Berg, a well-known and respe...

The FBI is on to Farid Fata, an oncology doctor in Michigan who has been administering unnecessary cancer treatments in order to steal $34 million from Medicare. George, the practice's office manager, has gathered enough evidence to bring the case to the authorities. It lands of the desk of Agent Drake during his first week with the FBI's health care fraud team. Investigators are disgusted by what...

When Dr. Maunglay moves to Michigan, he's excited to join Dr. Fata's practice. But Fata's controlling and odd ways make him question his decision to take the job. When Maunglay looks into a patient's records, he's shocked at what he finds: Fata is giving chemotherapy and other treatments to patients who don't need it, some of whom don't have cancer at all. His motive? Stealing money from Medicare.

A bustling oncology practice in Michigan is hiding something sinister. Patients come to Farid Fata at their most vulnerable, after they've been diagnosed with cancer or to receive the life-altering diagnosis. But when Angela, an oncology nurse, arrives at one of Fata's well-regarded clinics for an interview, she finds that nothing is as it seems. Horrified by what she sees, she reports the doctor...

Single mother Sara is growing suspicious of the man she met online. He claims to be an Army major stationed in South Africa, but Sara's family worries she's being scammed. Meanwhile, another woman approaches law enforcement to report that she's been swindled out of thousands of dollars by the same man in a romance scam. 

Sara thought she knew everything about the Army major and single father she met online. After months talking she found herself falling for him. But what Sara didn't know was that the man she'd fallen in love with was actually the ringleader of a romance scam that bilked nearly $2 million from its victims.

On this special episode of  The Perfect Scam , Frank breaks down all the ways fraudsters try to scam you through voicemail and email by claiming to be everything from IRS agents to bank officials. Frank gives the skinny on each scam, who's behind them, and what you should and shouldn't do if you get a scam message. Plus, the show producers share their own voicemails from scammers.

Bryon, a retired pastor, thought he'd met his dream girl online. For five years he conversed over the internet with Joy, who claimed to live in London. So when Joy asked Bryon to transport real estate papers, he had no idea he was being used in an elaborate plot to smuggle drugs. Bryon is one of hundreds of Americans over the age of 60 who were conned into unwittingly serving as drug mules in what...

Every year thousands of Americans get fraudulent calls from con artists claiming to be from the IRS. Working from call centers around the world, these fraudsters pressure targets with threats of jail, liens and garnished wages to scam them out of money. We uncover how these call centers work and speak to a 19-year-old who helped the FTC shut down one of the largest.

Jeff has lived for decades as a couch-surfing con man preying on the kindness of the outdoors community. He spins tales of hikes he's never completed and exploits the sympathy of his marks with sad stories of his past to rip them off. Now Jeff's lies are finally catching up with him. After stealing a car and credit cards, the con man has turned fugitive with the police hot on his trail.

When Melissa met Jeff Cantwell online, the two connected immediately. He was friendly, well spoken and shared her love of the outdoors. Jeff told Melissa stories of the daunting hikes he'd completed and shared the tragic loss of his family in a car accident. But these were just stories: In reality, Jeff "Cantwell" was Jeff Caldwell, a con man who'd spent decades ripping off members of the close-kn...

Deep within the internet is the dark web, a space where criminals can anonymously buy and sell illegal goods and private information. Known as the "original internet godfather," Brett Johnson created one of the dark web's first online stores where criminals bought stolen credit cards, Social Security numbers, drugs and guns. After serving seven years in prison, Brett turned his back on criminal en...

A prominent philanthropist and the epicenter of the New York society scene, Brooke Astor lived a tumultuous but glamourous life. Left a fortune by her third husband, Vincent Astor, Brooke planned to live out her later years at her country estate. But when Brooke's son refuses to let her do so, then sells his mother's favorite painting (worth over $30 million), grandson Philip decides to step in. P...

MSNBC anchor Richard Lui commutes from New York to San Francisco to help care for his father. Stephen Lui, who spent his career as a pastor and social worker, is now retired and suffers from dementia. After Stephen responds to mail from scammers, they begin bombarding him with hundreds of calls asking for money for fake charities and lotteries. But the Luis' story is about more than being scammed,...

CNN journalists Melanie Hickens and Blake Ellis have spent years investigating psychic Maria Duval. Letters in her name were sent to millions around the globe promising psychic protection in exchange for money. In 2016, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service permanently shut down the fraud scheme in the United States, but investigators have yet to find Maria, leaving Melanie and Blake to wonder whethe...

A letter arrives in the mail from a woman claiming to have psychic abilities. She warns you of danger but promises good fortune — if you send her money. This is the setup for one of the longest-running scams in U.S. history. These predatory letters were sent to millions of Americans and raked in over $200 million. At the center of it all is the elusive French psychic Maria Duval. Who is Maria Duva...