Scams, Hacks and Frauds: Protecting your family from Internet Scams, Con Artists and Cybercrime

Tell us your story here! They called her a Real Housewife of Salt Lake City. She called herself the Wizard of Oz. But from 2023 to 2025, they called her an inmate. This week on Scams, Hacks and Frauds, we tell the true story of Jen Shah, the RHOSLC star who spent nearly a decade at the centre of a nationwide telemarketing fraud. The scheme targeted thousands of victims, many of them over 55, with...

Tell us your story here! When hackers hijack your social media accounts, the company you trust to protect you might just lock you out instead. This week, we sit down with Jeff, a retired attorney whose business and personal Facebook accounts were hacked — putting 14 years of memories, a small-town Indiana writing project, and his family's book business at risk. Jeff walks us through: How the...

Tell us your story here! In this episode of Scams, Hacks, and Frauds we cover a story that starts with a hack, moves on to a Scam, and ends up in Fraud.  You've probably received a Text message telling you that you need to update details for a delivery or pay some extra charges, but a lot of the time these messages are fake phishing attempts trying to steal your details. You've probably...

Tell us your story here! Have you seen an advertisement for one of those cheap streaming boxes that promises access to literally everything, even premium sports content for free once you've bought the box?  Well, if you bought one, once you've listened to this episode, I promise you're going to want to rip it out... These are real life Trojan Horses. These "Superboxes", or...

Tell us your story here! This week on Scams Hacks and Frauds, we have the greatest, most astounding identity fraud case you've ever heard.  How a man had his entire identity stolen for 30 years, and when he tried to get it back, found himself not just behind bars, but in a mental institution, has the fraudster insisted that William Woods - our victim - was in fact trying to engage in Identity...

Tell us your story here! Cee is having some production issues this week, so we're updating a Romance Scam story we told you this time last year.  Romance scams are some of the nastiest scams out there, as they play on your heartstrings, allowing people to lose their savings to a Scammer, or in this case, something much, much worse. Donna, a Grandmother from Western Australia, was on her first...

Tell us your story here! Think you've escaped your timeshare nightmare? Think again. This episode of Scams, Hacks, and Frauds exposes a devastating timeshare recovery scam operation that targeted timeshare owners not once, but multiple times over — proving that falling for one scam can make you a target for many more. What You'll Learn: The bait : How "Williams and Burns," posi...

Tell us your story here! Sales Tactics You Need to Know... and are Timeshares a Scam? Have you ever felt pressured into buying something you didn't want? In this episode of Scams, Hacks and Frauds , we expose the manipulative sales tactics used by scammers — and high-pressure salespeople — so you can protect yourself. In this episode we cover: Objection handling — the scammer's secret we...

Tell us your story here! Are you planning a trip this summer? Travel scams and travel fraud are more common than you think — and in this episode of Scams, Hacks and Frauds, we expose two real cases that could save your holiday. Travel Fraud Case 1 — The Travel Agent in a Ponzi Scam: Lynn Barlow ran one of the most audacious travel fraud schemes in recent UK history. Posing as a legitimate travel a...

Tell us your story here! This week, Scams, Hacks and Frauds asks what really goes on inside an Internet scam call centre? This week we go deep into the pig butchering scam industry — and the shocking truth that many of the people running these internet scams are themselves victims. We tell the story of a chef who travelled to Southeast Asia looking for work and found himself trafficked into a scam...

Tell us your story here! Fake Tech Support scams cost their victims billions every year.  This week on Scams, Hacks and Frauds we look into these scams, we'll tell you just how they trick you into thinking there really are problems with your computer.. But we wont stop there.  We'll tell you the story of Fraudster Michael Cotter, who ran these tech support scams, and how he used fraudule...

Tell us your story here! On Scams, Hacks and Frauds this week, we take you deep into a real employment scam.  What promised to be a dream work-from-home job turned out not just a nightmare but a full-on scam, with money laundering on top.   If you're looking for work or thinking about changing jobs, make sure you listen for red flags. And to help us find those fraud red flags, we're goin...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds.  Do you have a strange shop or restaurant in your town that no-one goes to but never seems to close down?  That might be a front for Money Laundering. This episode we're taking a step out of our story episodes, as it occured to Cee that although we talk about Money Laundering a lot on the show, we've never really given a good e...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds! In this episode, we dive deep into a fascinating true crime story about a sophisticated scam operation where Michael Smith was convicted of fraud related to fake listeners streaming AI-generated music on Spotify. This scam netted millions, exposing serious vulnerabilities in the music streaming industry. You'll learn how this scam w...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds.  Have you ever wondered how Scammers get your information?  Have you seen those ads that tell you how easy it is to get your business online?  What if I told you that setting up a trap to steal information like names, passwords, and banking details is just that easy? Ollie Holman is big in that business, except he won't sell you a w...

Tell us your story here! Is voter fraud a widespread problem or a manufactured crisis? In this eye-opening episode, we expose the truth about voter fraud statistics, explore real-world cases of election fraud, and reveal how strict voter ID laws may be the real scam targeting voters. We'll tell you about some real-life cases of voter fraud to show just how hard it is, look at the numbers to s...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds! In today's episode, we dive deep into a fascinating true crime story about a notorious gift card fraud ring of three Chinese nationals in the US. This group spent tens of thousands of dollars daily on tech gadgets at major retailers using fraudulently obtained gift cards.  Join us as we follow one of their shopping trips, uncover ho...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds, where we explore real life fraud and hacking stories.  This week we ask Is PayPal Honey a scam?  Discover the shocking fraud allegations against PayPal Honey in this deep dive into affiliate marketing scams.  Learn how the Honey scam allegedly uses cookie stuffing fraud to steal commissions from content creators. We expose the hidden fra...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds, where we explore real life fraud and hacking stories.  This week, we ask if buying a Lordship is a legitimate life hack or just another scam. Have you come across ads or videos promising to make you a Scottish Lord or Lady? Many wonder if these offers are just fun gifts or outright scams. In this episode of Scams, Hacks, and Frauds, we d...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds, where we recount True Crime Scam, Fraud and Hacking stories. We round out 2025 with a shocking true crime news update: US President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of David Gentile, the fraudster behind a massive $1.6 billion Ponzi scam. This elaborate fraud siphoned investors' savings over four years, fueling Gentile's...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks, and Frauds, where we retell tales of true crime fraudsters and scams. This week we're looking at one of the big grandaddies of the Scam world: The Ponzi Scheme. We delve into the world of Ponzi schemes, using the infamous Charles Ponzi as our guide. Discover how these fraudulent schemes operate and the subtle ways you might inadvertently becom...

Tell us your story here! Weclome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds where we follow true crime scam and hack stories.  This week we ponder "Why do Scams and Hacks ask for bitcoin?". We explore the dark underbelly of cryptocurrency and how unsuspecting individuals can become entwined in complex fraud schemes. Meet Jian Wren, a resilient woman who, after enduring years of hardship, finds herself c...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds, where we retell true crime scam stories.  This week we delve into Virtual Kidnappings, something that is every parent's nightmare. Virtual kidnapping scams are a terrifying new form of fraud that can affect any family. In this episode, we dive into Jennifer DeStafano's true crime nightmare — a shocking scam where fraudsters use...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds, where we look at true crime hacking stories.  Your data may have already been taken by hackers who have infiltrated a company responsible for the pensions of millions. Join us as we uncover a staggering data breach affecting over 6 million individuals, stemming from a major hack of outsourcing giant Capita. You may not have heard of Capi...

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks and Frauds, where True Crime stories about Scams and Hacks are our speciality.  This week, we see both combined as a man sees his bank account robbed when his card details are stolen. Join us as we delve into the harrowing experience of Ian Williams, a pensioner who found himself at the mercy of a sophisticated scam that drained his bank account. Im...