Article Scams
This Article Does Not Exist Yet.
You are unable to add articles to the wiki. Sorry!
Brassiere Brigade
Type: Financial Scam. Summary: Female employees of the phone company stole thousands of dollars from their employer by hiding coin rolls in their bras. In September 1950, police in Miami, Florida accidentally discovered a crime ring that had been stealing thousands of dollars from the local phone company for years.…
Brooklyn Bridge Scams
Type: Scams. Summary: The “selling the Brooklyn Bridge” scam has been around almost as long as the Bridge itself. The article describes the origins of the “selling” scam as well as Steve Brodie’s own unique Bridge scam. Posted by: Elliot Feldman When construction ended on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883,…
Gold Accumulator
Type: Scam. Summary: A con artist lured investors with a machine that could supposedly suck gold out of the sea. In 1897 Prescott Ford Jernegan dazzled investors with his gold accumulator. When lowered into the ocean, this contraption sucked particles of the precious metal out of the surrounding waters. Hours…
Gross Things Found in Food
Type: Popular scam (though often the complaints turn out to be legitimate). Summary: Someone claims to find an inappropriate object in their food. Sometimes such claims are legitimate. Often, however, they are attempts either to extort money from the food vendor or to attract media attention. In 1906 The Jungle,…
Ponzi Scheme
Type: Financial Scam. Summary: Charles Ponzi gave his name to the most famous financial scam of the twentieth century. Charles Ponzi (1883-1949) Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant living in Boston in the early twentieth century, was said by his worshipful followers to have “discovered money.” In fact, what he really…
Principality of New Utopia
Type: Fictitious country. Summary: Howard Turney (AKA Lazarus Long) founded a “country” called New Utopia, supposedly based on the libertarian philosophy of novelist Ayn Rand. Unfortunately it became a center for offshore banking scams. Posted by: Elliot Feldman The Principality of New Utopia was an island country in the Caribbean…
Satellite Medical Exam
Type: Scam. Summary: Victims are convinced to pose outside so that a satellite camera can diagnose their medical condition. During the past three decades the resolution of satellite-based cameras has greatly increased, and satellite imagery has grown in importance for the work of both businesses and governments. Nevertheless, satellites remain…
Sober Sue
Type: Show Business Scam. Summary: A prize was offered to anyone who could make Sober Sue laugh. Contestants did not realize it was an impossible challenge. 1907 newspaper advertisement for Sober Sue’s performanceIn the Summer of 1907 a performer named “Sober Sue” began to appear onstage at Hammerstein’s Roof Garden,…
You are unable to add articles to the wiki. Sorry!
Articles in category "Scams":
There are 8 articles for this category
Brassiere Brigade
Type: Financial Scam. Summary: Female employees of the phone company stole thousands of dollars from their employer by hiding coin rolls in their bras. In September 1950, police in Miami, Florida accidentally discovered a crime ring that had been stealing thousands of dollars from the local phone company for years.…
Brooklyn Bridge Scams
Type: Scams. Summary: The “selling the Brooklyn Bridge” scam has been around almost as long as the Bridge itself. The article describes the origins of the “selling” scam as well as Steve Brodie’s own unique Bridge scam. Posted by: Elliot Feldman When construction ended on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883,…
Gold Accumulator
Type: Scam. Summary: A con artist lured investors with a machine that could supposedly suck gold out of the sea. In 1897 Prescott Ford Jernegan dazzled investors with his gold accumulator. When lowered into the ocean, this contraption sucked particles of the precious metal out of the surrounding waters. Hours…
Gross Things Found in Food
Type: Popular scam (though often the complaints turn out to be legitimate). Summary: Someone claims to find an inappropriate object in their food. Sometimes such claims are legitimate. Often, however, they are attempts either to extort money from the food vendor or to attract media attention. In 1906 The Jungle,…
Ponzi Scheme
Type: Financial Scam. Summary: Charles Ponzi gave his name to the most famous financial scam of the twentieth century. Charles Ponzi (1883-1949) Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant living in Boston in the early twentieth century, was said by his worshipful followers to have “discovered money.” In fact, what he really…
Principality of New Utopia
Type: Fictitious country. Summary: Howard Turney (AKA Lazarus Long) founded a “country” called New Utopia, supposedly based on the libertarian philosophy of novelist Ayn Rand. Unfortunately it became a center for offshore banking scams. Posted by: Elliot Feldman The Principality of New Utopia was an island country in the Caribbean…
Satellite Medical Exam
Type: Scam. Summary: Victims are convinced to pose outside so that a satellite camera can diagnose their medical condition. During the past three decades the resolution of satellite-based cameras has greatly increased, and satellite imagery has grown in importance for the work of both businesses and governments. Nevertheless, satellites remain…
Sober Sue
Type: Show Business Scam. Summary: A prize was offered to anyone who could make Sober Sue laugh. Contestants did not realize it was an impossible challenge. 1907 newspaper advertisement for Sober Sue’s performanceIn the Summer of 1907 a performer named “Sober Sue” began to appear onstage at Hammerstein’s Roof Garden,…