Gullible suburban mother of four regularly duped in her half-century life. Exploring hoaxes and schemes as the ExSCAMiner, she attempts answering the nagging question: Should I have fallen for that? Got scam tips, email Karin at ScamExaminer@gmail.com.

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Showing entries for Category: fraud

Scamming psychic cinema

1 comment

November 10, 9:13 AM

by Karin Malchow, Scam Examiner

Here are some acclaimed films with scamming psychics. A fraudulent character discovering real powers is a common cinematic motif. After all, the audience wants to believe.

Ghost (1990)
Whoopi Goldberg won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar portraying the fake medium adjusting to real powers when Patrick Swayze's spirit invades.

Ghostbusters (1984)
Smarmy Bill Murray is less than sincere doing psychic research before his crew saves New York City from ghosts. Special effects and music Oscar-nominated.

Family Plot (1976)
Quirky Alfred Hitchcock entry, unfortunately his last film, with Golden Globe nominated Barbara Harris as the bogus psychic (or is she?) intersecting with a kidnapping scheme.

Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
Oscar-nominated Kim Stanley concocts a kidnapping plot to attain psychic recognition solving the crime.

Man on the Moon (1999)
Golden Globe winning Jim Carrey portrays comedian Andy Kaufman, including a desperate attempt to cure cancer with a psychic surgeon.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985)
Okay, maybe this cult classic didn't win accolades, although the "Tequila" scene was nominated for a 2008 TV Land "Best Dance Sequence You Reenacted in Your Living Room." Pee Wee's quest includes a fortune teller revealing his beloved stolen bike resides in the Alamo's basement. Takes a while for him to find out there isn't one.

Topics: movies , fraud , paranormal , psychic surgery

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Taking out the trash

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November 5, 10:39 PM

Fans of The Sopranos will recognize this scam. Organized crime groups control waste management in an area by price-fixing (which ends up as consumer price-gouging) and using threats and intimidation (or worse) toward any competitor looking to enter... Read More
Topics: fraud , organized crime

Hurricane damage continues with recovery fraud

4 comments

October 9, 7:19 AM

Pre-Hurricane Gustav and Ike, scammers opened their usual bag of tricks: sending phishing e-mails to area residents under the guise of confirming bank information and setting up fake relief charity websites. Post-hurricane, the scammer deluge... Read More
Topics: fraud , FBI

Does your city rank on reporting fraud?

1 comment

September 30, 12:12 AM

The Federal Trade Commission maintains a Consumer Sentinel database collecting complaints from 125 organizations, including the Better Business Bureau, the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the US Postal Inspection Service. The individual consumer... Read More
Topics: fraud , Identity Theft , FTC

Life after death

2 comments

September 26, 11:48 AM

A recap of insurance fraud items in the September 2008 news:Dead men don't go to the doctor.When Ahmad Akhtary's British ex-wife attempted to claim £300,000 insurance after reporting his death in Afghanistan, a couple items tripped up the scheme. ... Read More
Topics: fraud

Moving company pirates hold stuff hostage

1 comment

September 19, 9:33 PM

Unscrupulous moving companies and drivers are hijacking people's belongings and demanding ransom. The scam goes like this:After entering into a contract with a moving company for interstate relocation, possessions are loaded into a truck. ... Read More
Topics: fraud

Calling all Scam Grams

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July 21, 8:06 AM

With all the election season health insurance talk, there's still the old problem with one current government program, Medicare: Fraud costing an estimated $60 billion annually.A few examples:A recent Government Accounting Office report... Read More
Topics: fraud , Medicare , Dept. of Health and Human Services

Mice in the Mercedes

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July 9, 4:25 PM

The owner and general manager of a Redwood City, California luxury auto repair shop pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, grand theft, tax fraud and perjury.One of the married couple's alleged scams: stuffing dead mice (painted black to look... Read More
Topics: fraud , auto repair , insurance fraud

What people do for a free lunch

1 comment

July 5, 5:48 PM

In Milwaukee, Robert P. Farnam was arrested for faking a heart attack to avoid paying a $22.66 Applebee's check. He didn't pay his cab fare going there, either, using the same technique. A doctor recognized him at the hospital,... Read More
Topics: Con artists , fraud , restaurants , dine and dash

The fraudulent personality

1 comment

June 28, 8:06 PM

From an FBI press release:Over $9 Million in Fraudulent District of Columbia Checks Deposited into Account of Former IRS Employee Robert O. Steven; Used Funds to Purchase at Least Four Jaguars, a Townhouse and Vacations to the Bahamas.By issuing and... Read More
Topics: fraud , embezzlement , FBI