The Hollywood Hoodwinker with Lauren Lapkus

Summary

Scam Goddess – "The Hollywood Hoodwinker" with Lauren Lapkus

Original Release: October 15, 2019

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Episode Theme

In this wildly entertaining episode, host Laci Mosley (the "Scam Goddess") welcomes comedian and actress Lauren Lapkus for a deep dive into Hollywood scams—both experienced personally and perpetrated on a grander scale. They swap stories of being duped in everyday life, reflect on why smart people fall for cons, and dissect the infamous (and unsolved) "Hollywood Hoodwinker" case: a years-long scam that preyed on the hopes of entertainment industry professionals.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Scam Stories & Scam Psychology

• Opening Bants and Crypto Sarcasm

  • Laci and Lauren riff about fake coins (“Web Bucks” with an “X”—“If you guys buy web bucks, y’all are really fools.” – Laci, 00:53).

• Lauren’s Childhood Street Scam (01:15–02:34)

  • A teenage trip to Italy—family falls for a street vendor's dancing paper figurines, only to discover it’s all strings and tricks.
  • Memorable Moment: “We realized they were just yarn and paper... this man had a string that he was pulling... We were fully scammed. It was very stupid.” – Lauren (02:09)

• How Mosley & Lapkus Met: On the Set of a Scam (02:34–04:59)

  • Both answer a call for an indie film that seemed legit—a good script, big promises, but devolved into a mess after serious red flags: misrepresented backers, stolen script, and a hierarchy treating actors unevenly.
  • Quote: “There was so much good information, it felt like everything was written well... and then, it just was not.” – Lauren (03:08)

• Red Flags and Industry Gaps

  • Importance of verifying opportunities, especially those involving travel or high promises.
  • “Be wary of islands. This was after Fyre Fest. We really should have questioned going to an island at all.” – Laci (04:46)

2. Timing, Desperation & The “Despo Meter” (06:58–07:43)

• How even smart, successful people can fall for scams due to circumstance & desire (“despo meter”—desperation is the real fuel for cons).

• Quote: “People think if you’re in a scam you’re stupid or gullible, but a lot of times it’s about what we call our 'despo meter.' How desperate are you?” – Laci (06:58)

3. Safety, Vulnerability, and Women & Rideshares (07:14–10:35)

• Lauren’s terrifying airport “taxi” scam story—ignoring internal alarms until it was almost too late.
• The difficulties and fears women often face in everyday situations like cabs or Ubers.
• Defensive strategies: pepper spray, keychain self-defense tools, and comic reflections on survival mode.

4. What’s Hot in Fraud: Student Loan Consolidation Scams (13:02–17:38)

• Current scam warning: Predatory companies luring millennials with fake “student loan debt relief.”

  • Victim stories—like Lisa D., who was scammed out of $17,000 (14:18)

• Desperation around student debt makes this scam particularly effective.

• Advice: Always verify with your loan provider before paying consolidators; red flags include offers that sound “too good to be true.”

• Quote: “This is the perfect scam because there’s a need, a want, a desperation. The timing’s perfect.” – Laci (13:34)

5. Historic Hoodwinks: “The Hollywood Hoodwinker” (18:43–42:19)

The Scam Story (starting at 18:43)

• A mystery woman impersonates Hollywood big wigs (Amy Pascal, Kathleen Kennedy, etc.), promising jobs to aspiring professionals worldwide, usually requiring them to travel to Indonesia.

• The scam: Once there, victims are required to pay for rides, accommodations, and “fees”—and are then ghosted.

• Impressive twist: This scammer is a master of vocal impersonation and industry lingo—making them almost respectable in their skill.

• Elaborate details include burner phones, GoDaddy fake websites, and a full cast of accomplices (drivers, interpreters, “moped men”).

• Quote: “[She] uses a combination of deceit, charm, and intimidation to manipulate her marks… earning her the begrudging respect of her victims.” – Laci (23:42)

• Victims include hair stylists, stuntmen, photographers—people in roles less likely to be able to “spread the word.”

• Voice analysis suggests one woman plays many roles—“She’s the talent!”

• Comic Moment: “Can I get some Holiday Inn cucumber water before I am robbed by this man on a moped?” – Laci (23:10)

• Sociological discussion:

  • Why this scam is especially effective in Hollywood, where networking and odd jobs are the norm.
  • Quote: “The weird thing about Hollywood is sometimes you’ll get an email that sounds wrong, and it’s real!” – Laci (25:02)

• The skill in the con

  • Both hosts praise the scammer’s method acting—“She might be Amy Walker, the YouTube accent queen!” (43:06)
  • The hosts joke that such mastery deserves a certain awe and maybe even a biopic.

6. Scammer of the Week: Dive Instructor’s $2M Con (44:18–46:34)

• A diver was conned by a woman masquerading as a government official, promising Cayman Islands status for $2 MILLION in "fees."

• She strung him along for five years, draining his business, family home, and personal savings.

• Discussion shifts to the psychological toll and the sociopathic coolness required to bleed someone dry—noting that only scammers are passionate about managing someone else’s money.

• Quote: “When the government takes your money, they don’t give it back. That’s basically just a fact.” – Laci (45:02)

• Comic line: “If I ask for money, I’d be in tattered rags every time you see me.” – Lauren (47:16)

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Notable Quotes

• “That’s the thing about scams—sometimes they work, you know?” – Laci (00:13)
• “Be wary of islands… this was after Fyre Fest, we should have questioned going to an island at all.” – Laci (04:46)
• “The ‘despo meter’… how desperate are you?” – Laci (06:58)
• “Can I get cucumber water before I am robbed expeditiously by this man on a moped?” – Laci (23:10)
• “Nothing is 100%, but they're very, very sure that this one person is the guise of multiple people.” – Laci (27:07)
• “To scam somebody for five years and take $2 million from them when you know they don’t have it—yeah, that’s so unfeeling.” – Lauren (51:04)
• “When your bank account gets that low, you know exactly what’s in it.” – Laci (53:32)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:15–02:34 – Lauren’s Italy street scam story
• 02:34–04:59 – The indie movie scam (how Laci & Lauren met)
• 06:58–07:43 – Scam psychology & the “despo meter”
• 07:14–10:35 – Lauren’s airport taxi con; women’s safety and rideshare anxieties
• 13:02–17:38 – Student loan debt relief scam; tips to avoid it
• 18:43–42:19 – Deep dive: the “Hollywood Hoodwinker” scam
• 44:18–46:34 – Scammer of the Week: Dive instructor conned for $2 million

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Memorable & Comic Moments

• “If you guys buy web bucks, y’all are really fools.” (00:53, Laci)
• Sardonic life advice: “Caring is the cause of strokes. Scammers live a long time!” (12:37, Laci)
• The acting skills of the scammer inspire more admiration than anger—“We just want to make her life a movie... I, too, am impressed with this woman.” – Laci & Lauren (27:00)
• Imaginary scammer confrontation: “So you show up with $65,000, be prepared to give some to a man on a moped.” – Laci (41:43)
• “When your bank account gets that low, you know?” – Laci (53:32)

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Takeaways & Advice

• Don’t trust big promises (especially for jobs requiring you to pay or travel).
• When approached with debt consolidation or “government” offers, always verify independently.
• Never lend more than you’re comfortable never seeing again.
• In Hollywood and life: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• If a man on a moped demands payment, run (and don’t expect reimbursement).
• Caring less = lower blood pressure. "Scammers live longer!"

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Closing

With wit, candor, and irreverent honesty, Laci and Lauren blend comic relief and hard-learned lessons about fraud, desperation, and resilience. Whether you’re in showbiz or not, the universal rule stands: Stay schemin’—but please, stay vigilant too.

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For more:

• Lauren's Podcasts: Raised by TV, Wild Horses, With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus (see Stitcher/Apple Podcasts)
• Follow Laci: @divalaci
• Share your scams: [e-mail]

Stay safe, Con-gregation!

Transcript

[A]

Scams.

[B]

C,

[A]

Robbery and frauds. Scams.

[B]

C,

[A]

Robbery and fraud. Scam Goddess. That's the thing about scams, sometimes they work, you know? You just gotta keep sinking your money into every single one. It's true. Yeah, I missed out on the bitcoin scam. I'm gonna come with my own coin.

[B]

No. What?

[A]

We said we wouldn't call this coin. Cody. Cybercoin. That sounds like it already existed.

[B]

The cyber coin.

[A]

Intercoin. Like Internet and then coin.

[B]

A web coin.

[A]

Web coin. I like web coin. All right, guys, Lauren and I are coming out with web coin.

[B]

Web bucks.

[A]

Web bucks. Web bucks.

[B]

Definitely sounds fake with an X at the end here.

[A]

B U, C, X. Web bucks.

[B]

Oh, God.

[A]

If you guys buy web bucks, y' all are really fools. What's up, Congreg? Your girl, Lacy Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. And I'm here with an amazing guest, guys. I'm so excited to have her on the show. She's super talented. She's a writer, she's a director, she's an actress, she's a comedian. You know her. You love her. Ms. Lauren Lapkin. Hi.

[B]

I'm so excited to be here.

[A]

I'm so happy you're here.

[B]

Yeah, it's gonna be fun.

[A]

So, wait, Lauren, what is your relationship with scams?

[B]

Okay, so I was thinking about this as I knew I was coming here, and I was like, there's one scam that pops out of my head. It's very stupid and small, but I was like. It was the first thing I thought of, which is my family went to Italy when I was in high school on, like, a family trip. And we. There are all these people on the street, like, trying to trick tourists with shit all the time. Oh, yeah. Like, selling you stupid shit that nobody wants and, you know, whatever. We fully fell for one. There was one where it was like, this man had a boombox set up, and it's so stupid. He had these little, like, paper, like, imitate you, like, knock off, like, Mickey and Minnie characters that were made of paper with, like, yarn legs and, like, little feet. And they were dancing to the music, like. Like one of those, like, 80s flowers thing, you know? I mean, like, where it's like, just kind of like the beat is making it move. And we love them, so we bought them.

[A]

You thought this was gonna work at home?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And then we got home and realized

[B]

they were just yarn and paper. Like, it was like, there's. He had a string that he was pulling, and we eventually, like, saw more people doing it around town. After we bought them, we were like, looked and saw the string this time. We're so stupid.

[A]

He got you. Can I ask where. Do you remember where you encountered him?

[B]

Just on the street. Like, it was just like. He was just, you know, was it

[A]

near your hotel or where you were eating?

[B]

I don't know, but I'm sure it was in a very touristy destination.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Mainly just super touristy areas.

[A]

He got y'. All.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. We were fully. We were fully scammed. It was very stupid. But then the bigger scam that I've recently been a part of is where I met you.

[A]

Like, how we met, which is kind

[B]

of amazing because our origin story as friends is a scam.

[A]

Oh, my God. It really, like, sent us into, like, now we're like sister wives.

[B]

I know. We've been through hell and back. We. So just to be as vague as.

[A]

Oh, God, we have to be so vague.

[B]

We signed on to do like an indie movie. A low budget indie movie.

[A]

Yes, we did. With a great script. It was a really funny script.

[B]

Everything seemed on the up and up.

[A]

That was the hook.

[B]

Yeah. And it's how we all were taken by this because we truly, like, there was so much good information surrounding this. It felt like everything was like, written. The script was written well. The, like, pitch about the script was written well, like, where it was like, oh, it's like these people and so. And so is involved and we have this set up and. And these people have said yes and blah, blah, blah. And we got there and it just was not.

[A]

We were on an island case.

[B]

We were on an island. First of all, we had to take

[A]

two planes to get to where we went.

[B]

I see a boat. Did you have to take the boat?

[A]

Okay, we did take a boat. We flew out.

[B]

I was going to say. Because I felt like I was mistreated

[A]

because we took a ferry in. We. You were saying you were mistreated because you took the ferry. You got the plane.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Only one person got a plane.

[B]

And we know. And that was a celebrity. Yes. That's completely unfair.

[A]

That was a whole thing too.

[B]

It was.

[A]

It was a hierarchy. Okay, so let me try to, like, break this down in simplest terms. We basically thought we were going to shoot a movie. Scams. Timing is really important. So this was like a low budget movie with a really great script. And the reason that we all were free is because, like, it's feature season, it's the summer, so it's not really like, for actors, like, it's a little bit of a slow Slower time. Like, August is a slower time, like the summer in general. Like, there's movies. You go shoot a movie, you come back, whatever. And then there comes episodic, and then there comes pilot season. So we're like, kind of in a, you know, like a chill place where most people are like, I'll take a little random.

[B]

It sounded like a vacation. Like, it was on an island. It was like, almost like a. Like a retreat sort of experience is how it was kind of pitched. Like there. It's this sort of luxury cabin situation. And it sounded really appealing to all of us.

[A]

Be wary of islands. This was after Fyre Fest. We really should have questioned going to an island at all. Yes.

[B]

An island you've never heard of. It's like, what are you doing?

[A]

If anyone asks you to go to an island, y', all, that's step number one. You need to start Googling.

[B]

Start Googling and also, like, talk to

[A]

your friends, which is what we should have done.

[B]

We should have done that.

[A]

But, yeah. So basically, this person who created this movie. Perfect scammer, they stole. So they wrote a script with someone else, and then they decided to make the script without the person that they wrote it with, which is illegal.

[B]

And remove their name from the script.

[A]

And remove their name from the script.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Steal the script. And then their family was, like, super rich, which, like, as a scammer, you need resources.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

So this was the perfect setup.

[B]

Use what you have.

[A]

This person had resources. Okay. So we get to this island and we start shooting, and things are just a little off.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But the person had gotten, like, a huge recommendation from a huge production company, or so we thought.

[B]

Yeah. And we later found out that that just wasn't true. It was. And that the person had said that this, you know, impressive production company was on board for it. We later discovered that they, the creator of the film, had actually, like, just won a contest through that company and was, like, cropping.

[A]

Listen, with the days of Photoshop and everybody's got imovie on their phone, I

[B]

know many things were cropped and added. I mean, I'm truly, like, I'm impressed to the level of, like, wow, you went all the way to every little thing we could possibly Google and made it look a certain way.

[A]

If you get on Adobe Photoshop for a scam, Listen, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.

[B]

Yeah. But that, I think, was the. That was the craziest scam I've ever been a part of because I. I felt so swindled and so, like, I had no clue what was happening in my own life. Like, I went. I, like, took a step back, and I was like, how did this happen to me? Like, I feel like I should be smarter than this existential crisis. Yeah. Like, I was like, I should have a better, like, red flag thing, like, you know, coming up for me, where I'm like, oh, this seems bad. Like, I just didn't listen to any. Any of my feelings.

[A]

And that's, like, what's a part of scams? Like, people think sometimes if you're in a scam that you're stupid or you're gullible. But a lot of times it's actually about what we call our despo meter. How desperate are you?

[B]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[A]

And if you're not that we were desperate, but if you were, like, willing to buy into something fun. Right.

[B]

No. Yeah. Actually, you're reminding me of another thing that happened to me when I was. I was, like, 22, and I had just moved to New York, and I had gone home to visit my family, and I came back through the airport. And you know how they have, like, those signs where it's like, never take a ride from someone? Yeah. I, like, didn't see that or didn't know that was a thing because I

[A]

didn't see the sign. I was willing to take a ride from anywhere.

[B]

Truly. It was. It was the kind of thing where every second of it was terrifying. And I was going, don't do this. Don't do this. And I kept doing everything that I was telling myself not to do. And this man comes up to me and he's like, taxi. And I was like, yeah. And then he just grabbed my suitcase and started walking ahead of me. And so I was like, oh. So I started following him. We passed. I mean, Truly, I'm like, I was so dumb and young and stupid.

[A]

It was just like, wow, I can't. Robbery. I rob you.

[B]

I was like, I'm going with you, Sarah. Like, it was truly. I started following him, and then we walked past the taxi line where I was going. I should get Lauren.

[A]

This is taken.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. It could have easily ended. Really horrible.

[A]

This is taken. Do you have a father who will neck chop for you until he died?

[B]

He might. He might. It hasn't come to that, but I, like, follow this guy. We pass the taxi line. I get into his suv.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And as he's putting my suitcase and I'm going, I just. Just take it and then say no. And then just. I'm, like, thinking all of this I get in. I only had a razor phone because it was back then, and, like, I had no way to, like.

[A]

That's hot.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, it was really cool. I had a pink.

[A]

Yeah. I couldn't get a razor. I had one of the saddest flip flops. It looked like I sold drugs. I wanted a razor so bad.

[B]

It was. Yeah, my dad, he did pay 200 for my hot pink razor. And I. I thank him every day. And just the whole ride home, I was terrified. And I was trying to go on my maps on my razor, which was, like, going to, like, a website, like, to, like, MapQuest. And I didn't know where I was or what was happening. And the whole time, and he was, like, starting to say stuff to me that was very scary to me. Like, he was, like, challenging me and, like, wanting to, like, kind of make me say things that would offend him. It was, like, turning into this negative vibe where I was like, I feel like I shouldn't talk because I'm afraid I'm gonna say the wrong. Eventually he did drop me my house, but then he charged me, like, way more than a cab would have recharged. And I did have the cash, so I just gave it to him. And then I. Yeah, that's paying for your life. Yeah. I just ran into my apartment and cried. It was scary.

[A]

It was like, look, I decided not to murder you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you're like, thank you so much, sir. How much money would you like.

[B]

Yeah, I was picturing, like, jumping out of the. The car and, like, just being. I don't need my bag. Like, have you ever been in a situation like that where you're, like, trying, like. Because now we have Uber and stuff, and I feel like there are so many situations where you're in an Uber as a woman, where it's just like, this feels probably bad.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that's when I. Yeah, the survival stills, they totally kick in. I'm trying to do whatever to make this man not try to murder me.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Which is sad that that's a requirement. It's like, what do I have in my bag of? Please don't murder me today.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

I got some cash, and then I got a photo of my family that loves me. What can I tell this man?

[B]

Do you carry, like, protective things? Like, you know, like those, like, keychains that have, like, eye gougers and shit? Like, I don't have anything like that. I feel like I should.

[A]

I see those, but those are direct combat for Me, like, I'm never gonna get close enough to an assailant to jab they eyes out. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah.

[A]

I have pepper spray, though. And I have practice where you look away, you spray, you look away, you spray. Oh, good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Cause if you look at them while you spray and it's a downwind, next thing you know, you in the trunk. You know what I mean? And if I was in the trunk, cause I pepper sprayed myself, I'd just be like, well, damn, I deserve this.

[B]

Yeah, that's true. At that point, it's your fault. Yeah.

[A]

Oh, man, I'm glad that you made it out with your life.

[B]

Me too. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Both situations, actually.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We had to escape that. That island on a little. A tiny little plane where I was, like, I actually felt nervous about flying, and I usually don't, but I've never been on a plane that small. Yeah, this feels.

[A]

I was having, like, Aaliyah flashbacks anytime I get on this.

[B]

Yeah, I know. It's like we're all actors. It's like, oh, this is a huge. Like, we'd all die at once, right? It'd be a story.

[A]

God, it wouldn't even run that long. Fucking Trump, man. We would have had murals and fucking candlelit shits and all types of stuff if Trump wasn't president. Nowadays you can't even be a sad story for that long.

[B]

I know, I know. It all moves way too fast.

[A]

God damn. Our candlelight visual be blown out and over after two hours. I'm like, move over, bitch. We got new people to talk about. Trump taught all the black people to go back to Africa. He's providing votes. Oh, God. We can't talk about you did. But just know what?

[B]

I hate him more than anyone ever. Oh, God.

[A]

I don't even mention him. It's sad that, like, usually a president is a wealth of jokes, but we don't really get much out of him. Cause everyone's just so fucking sad.

[B]

I know, I know. I would just like him to peacefully pass naturally.

[A]

Oh, man. He's gonna live forever. When you evil, you be living a long time. That's true. I'm gonna switch over to being evil when I'm like 45. I'm gonna switch over to being evil because you be living. My aunt Charlene has outlived all of my grandparents. She is evil as fuck. I used to have to clean her house when I was a kid because she was dirty. She never gonna hear this. She don't understand po. Like, she was evil. As fuck. I remember her telling me something about putting a fork in an electrical socket.

[B]

Like, just, like, telling you to do it.

[A]

No, you know what it was? She was doing it. She was trying to fix an electrical socket with a fork. And I was like, aunt Charlene, like, that's a bad idea. You can get electric. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

[B]

But she survived it because she evil.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. She's so evil.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

But I'm going to get like, her because nice people be dying. Like, when you be worrying about people and stressing and caring about people, that's when your blood pressure go up.

[B]

That is true. Okay, let's all care less.

[A]

Yes. Caring is the cause of strokes. You heard it here first. Cameras live a long time. Scams. Oh, well, Laura, I have to talk to you about what's hot and fraud. Okay, so this is a segment of the show where we really try to protect our listeners from scams that are current and happening. Because if it's not me calling, then I don't want you guys to participate. Okay? But if I try to scam you, please know.

[B]

Oh, yeah, go along with it.

[A]

It's legitimate. But what's hiding fried this week is student loan debt relief.

[B]

Okay. Okay.

[A]

Which. So companies are luring people with false promises to pay down student loans with lower monthly payments and interest.

[B]

That's a good scam.

[A]

Yes, it is an excellent scam because millennials have so much student loan debt that we're like, what do you want to. You want to consolidate? Y' all gonna do a bundle?

[B]

Okay. And it's such a topic right now, like, how people have been so fucked by. By student loans.

[A]

So these companies, like, this is the perfect scam. Cause there's a need, there's a want, there's a desperation. The timing's perfect.

[B]

Wait, what was that term that you used? The despo.

[A]

Yeah, the despo meter. How desperate are you? And on a scale of desperate for student loans, everybody's pretty high. Everybody's like, at an 8 or 9. You know, we'll try some things. So basically this one woman, Lisa D. Says, I was one of these people that fell for this. Four years later, the company I went through is under investigation. I recently called my student loan provider and spoke to them about my sit. Although they can't do anything, I did find out that this company got me for $17,000. Instead of paying my loans down, I now have more debt. Be careful, people. I didn't know better at the time.

[B]

Oh, My God. Wait, so are they just, like, your loan is still with the original company that it's with, and then they're just like, we'll help you. And they're like, just give us $17,000. We'll pay it off. And then they're actually just keeping the money? Yeah. Wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That is so sad.

[A]

I know. That's a scam that I just can't get behind because millennials are already in so much debt. You're just gonna put.

[B]

No, it's really awful. I mean, I still have friends who are paying off their student loans, and they have barely cracked into them because, like, the interest is so high that over the years, it just keeps it, like, stays level.

[A]

I was doing that scam where when they called me because I definitely have student loans numbered in my phone, so I know when they call, I have the number say, yeah.

[B]

Did they call from the same number every time? Yeah, I had.

[A]

Well, depending on what your loan is. But I had a small loan for books and for housing because I had free tuition, which was so dumb. I could have just got a job. And my parents were like, don't get a job. I'm like, well, hello. These loans, they like you on tv. I'm like, but you said you was gonna pay for these. I don't care. Come pay for these. I know I sound super spoiled, but.

[B]

No, I know what you mean.

[A]

Yeah, but as soon. So I used to do that thing where you would just defer it. Like, they would call me and I'd be like, hey, guys, I'm an actor.

[B]

I don't have.

[A]

I have zero money for y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

And they'd be like, okay, well, as long as you are not making anything. Like, they laughed once. They were like, okay, girl, we get it.

[B]

You don't got no money.

[A]

And so as long as I didn't have any money. But then as soon as I started making money, oh, they called real quick. It's all auto, auto, debit now. Every month.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Yeah, they're getting theirs.

[B]

I had a friend who got all, like, she did her. Her tuition on student loans and then also was, like, fully shopping on credit cards all through college. So it, like, was a student loan. Like, her. Her debt has. Was so huge from college because she was, like, paying for everything on credit cards and then just had all of that debt, too, to pay off for, like, years to come.

[A]

I do not recommend it, guys. Debt is a real stifling thing also. It's stifling if debt. I'm not gonna marry You.

[B]

Yeah, it's. I mean, you marry somebody with debt,

[A]

then you already married.

[B]

I know, but I've done it too. I've been married twice. Like, I think I'll just keep getting married forever.

[A]

Listen, I always talk about my first marriage and how I want it to be, and then my second marriage and my third. You know what I mean? Like, look, it's good.

[B]

It's good to be practical with that. Like you might have a first one that doesn't end up being the one.

[A]

But I'm hoping that mine are where my spouse dies. That way I don't have to feel bad for.

[B]

No, yeah, that's. That's the best way probably because then it's just like that ended. Natur.

[A]

That's what happened to my grandpa. My Grandma was married three times. He was married once for 20 years. Wow. Then she died. Then he was married for 17 years to my grandma, then she died. Wow. Then he just. He recently passed away. But I was like, he was married for five more years after that. I was like, yes, papa. You had all these lives.

[B]

Yeah. It is like a whole new life.

[A]

Yeah. And it's very respectable. Cause he never got divorced.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

He said till death, then he meant it. That's how I'm gonna be. So whoever wants to be my first

[B]

husband, just be ready to die.

[A]

I guess. That sounds really terrible. I mean, this will be of natural. Cause you're gonna die natural.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was meant to be.

[A]

But you're not happy. Cause you with me? Yes. But so this one really hurts me. Guys, if anybody's offering to consolidate your loans, please think twice about it or ask questions or Google or contact your actual agencies that you got the loans from to see what reputable companies are doing it. Because you don't wanna be in this situation where you just. And I get so much fucking mail about consolidate your debt.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Blah, blah. Like they're out there.

[B]

Oh yeah. And I feel like people will.

[A]

I.

[B]

It's so easy to believe something when you like just receive company's information. It's like this seems real, right? Like it's that. I feel like that scam. I don't know if you've talked about it with like Apple calling you to like your. Your. They need your password, your Apple ID and your password. But it's like Apple would never call you to do that. But there are like older people who don't know that who just suddenly are like talking to them for an hour and like just giving them all of their information.

[A]

Yeah. And they say. They're like. Because you said you're with Apple, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yes, this is me, Steve Jobs. I'm calling to verify your app. They're like, okay, Steve, yeah, absolutely. Which. Those scams always particularly interest me because we've talked on the show not about that specific one, but about the fact that, like, a lot of times those scams, those people come with information that they shouldn't be offering up anyway. Like, they're always like, I have a confirmation number from the company. And it's like, if someone's calling you and. And they need information, they're gonna grill you to, first of all, see if you are who you say you are. Like, it's not gonna be like, hey, I have a confirmation number for you. 2.

[B]

2, 7. Right. They're gonna ask you for the confirmation.

[A]

All right, congregation, time for my favorite seg. Historic hoodwings, guys. So I'm gonna regale Lauren with a story that I don't think she's heard before about a very popular scammer, and we'll just see what you think.

[B]

Okay, great.

[A]

Okay, guys. So for more than a year, some of the most powerful women in entertainment, including Amy Pascal, Kathleen Kennedy, Stacey Snyder, and a Homeland director, Shade. Whoa. And somebody who directed Homeland, have been impersonated by a cunning thief who targets insiders with promises of work and then bilks them out of thousands of dol. The past two and a half years, hundreds of unwitting victims around the world have been ensnared by a small but cunning criminal organization that contours only are beginning to understand. So basically, we don't even know how many people these people have scammed. We don't have a name of who this person is, but we know that this is someone who has mastered replicating other people's voices on the phone.

[B]

Whoa. Yeah.

[A]

So it's like, that's cool, actually. Right.

[B]

I feel like that's a talented scammer.

[A]

Right. I feel like this is someone whose dream was deferred. Like, they had perfect pitch. They can probably sing, because if you can do voices, chances are you can sing a little bit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I kind of feel like this person, you know, I'm with it. I'm with it. So the people being impersonated were like the who's who of Hollywood. Like, everyone I just described. And that one director from Homeless who's not the who's who, because they would not say the person's name, were saying, who are they?

[B]

Who is who?

[A]

So how it works was this imposter uses a combination of deceit, charm, and intimidation to manipulate her marks. It is a woman. The victims travel to Indonesia on a promise of work. And once they're there, they're asked to hand over, like, relatively modest amounts of money at a time. Up to, like, $3,000 in some cases.

[B]

But they travel all the way to Indonesia, like, thinking that there's a job.

[A]

Yeah, thinking that there's a job. So they think they're, like, on a production crew.

[B]

For the amount of, like, prep that you're doing in your head, for that to be eventually scammed is crazy. Like, you're just. I mean, we actually could.

[A]

Right? Literally.

[B]

But, like, I'm going to Indonesia. I have a job there. I'm going to go. And then if you get there and

[A]

you just get robbed and you got to reimburse for. They're going to. Oh, we'll reimburse you for your flight. That's number. If anybody tells me they're gonna reimburse me for my travel, I'm like, I'm not going. Y' all better preimburse me for the travel. You better buy the flight. I won't be there. I will not.

[B]

Cause I like preimbursed.

[A]

Cause, like, what the hell am I supposed to do? If I fly there, you don't reimburse. I already did the flight. I can't be like, hey, guys, I need my money back. They're like, but we took you here.

[B]

Yeah. Like, we don't care what airline is

[A]

gonna give you your money back. Nobody airlines hate everybody now anyway.

[B]

You have to pay to cancel a flight. That's a scam.

[A]

It truly is. And you buy a flight, and they're like, okay, we have your money, and we're gonna keep that, but would like to cancel it or have more. Like, we also need you to pay for this.

[B]

Like, it makes more sense to not show up for the flight than it

[A]

does to cancel it. Yeah. If you don't show up for a flight and then you show up within two hours of when the flight was supposed to take off, you can reschedule it.

[B]

Oh, I didn't know that. Yes. Okay.

[A]

That's a good one.

[B]

That's a good one.

[A]

So it's like, if you miss the flight, like, don't sit at home, like, go to the airport, you know, panic. Throw a little, you know, water on your brow and make it work. You tell them you're in an accident. They don't know. There's so many accidents happen every day. Don't mean that you gotta be extreme. You know what I mean? Yeah, exactly. I left my keys in the door. That was an accident. I was in an accident. You know what I mean? You gotta fix your thinking, change your mind.

[B]

I feel like you are a scammer. I am.

[A]

I fully am. I don't deny it one bit.

[B]

You just suggested we throw water on our brow to look like we're panicking. It helps.

[A]

Look, people like a good story, you know? So basically, once they would fly to Indonesia, which. Why, God. A designated Indonesian money man arrives on a moped to collect the funds. Oh, God. Needless to say, the promised reimbursement never arrives. Don't trust nobody on a moped.

[B]

They can get away so fast. You don't have to see their face necessarily. They could have a helmet on, right?

[A]

A helmet. It's the only kind of vehicle where we don't have to see your face. And then you can get through traffic and red lights and shit. Like, you're not in a vehicle. And also, like, if a man arrives on a moped to take your money, like, what?

[B]

Why? What? Why is there a rush? First of all, why do you want my money so bad that you have to, like, and then speed off with it? I'm very stressed by that. Why are you meeting me right here to get it immediately?

[A]

Like, from the airport? Like, I can't even get to my hotel. I can't check in.

[B]

Can I relax for a second before I get robbed?

[A]

Can I get cucumber water? Can I get some holiday and cucumber water Before I am robbed expeditiously by this man on a moped? Also, getting robbed by somebody on a moped is just embarrassing. It is. So needless to say, the reimbursements never arrived. Hundreds and thousands of dollars have been collectively stolen this way. So at the center of this organization is the impersonator. It's a woman whose sophisticated research skill with accents and deft psychological and emotional manipulation have earned her the begudging respect of her victims and trackers.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Afterwards, you're like, I respect her.

[A]

Like, she kind of Chicago's you. And you're like, I mean, how could I not fall for that? That's how I want to be scammed. I don't want to be scammed by somebody where it's like, all the signs were there.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I would like to be like, oh, no. She was talented. Yeah, right? So K2 Investigators. So it's like an international investigation. They believe that the woman is the talent of the operation. While relatively Small. They think that it's operating in three continents, including the U.S. asia and Europe. The victims come from all over and represent a wide swath of creative industries. Hairstyles, stylists, stuntmen, military advisors, photographers, cinematographers. So basically she's saying, hey, it's me, Kelly. I'm British. As you know, we're doing a project over here in Indonesia, and we would really love if you will come. We'll reimburse you for your travel.

[B]

I personally want to do it. I like how you.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I mean, also, if you're going to, like, lower on the food chain of, like, people working in the business where you're like, okay, I'm going to scam the hairdresser as opposed to the director of a film or something, like. And then they're like, oh, it's a job. I could just, like, jobs come out of nowhere through random people that, you know, like, it all just can happen that way where someone calls you and you get a job like that.

[A]

So, like, yeah, that's harder.

[B]

It's harder to fact check.

[A]

That's the weird thing about Hollywood is, like, sometimes you'll get an email. You're like, this sounds wrong. And then you'll go, and it's real. I got an email once to do 20 minutes of improv for $5,000. And I was like, there's no way.

[B]

This is. No.

[A]

I, like, emailed them. Like, I had them send me over their website, all their information, all stuff. I only gave them information that was like, not my personal information. And then the day came and I was like, okay, so what's the worst? I get killed if I go, or

[B]

you get no money or like, whatever. Like, they never send you a check. And did it work out?

[A]

Oh, my God. They gave me the check there. Wow. It was like 15 minutes and they gave me a check.

[B]

And I was like.

[A]

And it cleared. Wow. The check cleared. And I was like, so that's the reason why in Hollywood, it's like, is going to be adept to these scams. Because I'm like, okay, Indonesia.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And then I think Indonesia is a. Is like a great place. Because what do you know about Indonesia?

[B]

I don't know much. It's super vague. I feel like I'd be like, sounds really cool. I've never thought about going there.

[A]

So if the moped man pulls up, you're giving him your cash?

[B]

I probably would. I mean, I feel like. I mean, I can't imagine fighting back in that moment.

[A]

I'm like, yeah. He said, we got to Give him the cash.

[B]

Are you supposed to. They tell you to show up with cash? Like, what do people have so much money on them?

[A]

I think because they talk about reimbursement and all that stuff, that maybe they have it on them. I don't know.

[B]

Or maybe they're, like, told, like, it's easier to. To buy things with cash there. So just bring cash for all the stuff you're going to do while you're there.

[A]

Right? Yeah, that might be what it is. Like, just bring cash and Indonesia. The transfers, not the high. So they're doing this to so many people. And I guess it's smart because, like you were saying, they're not going higher up to where people could actually spread the information. If you're just one hairstylist, like, who are you going to tell? Yeah. You know what I mean?

[B]

And it just. It sounds true. Like what? Yeah. There's no reason to not believe it.

[A]

And so they have a transcription of her.

[B]

Oh, wow. Wow.

[A]

Doing this. So basically.

[B]

And they don't know who it is.

[A]

No, they don't.

[B]

That's so crazy.

[A]

So someone named Scott Johnson started tracking this woman because he was really impressed by her different vocal skill sets. Maybe he wants to be her.

[B]

But I love how everyone talking about her is just really impressed by her.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No one is like, let's arrest her. They're like, we just think she's an amazing actor. She's really talented.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

We just want to know more.

[A]

We want to make her life a movie that actually isn't a scam. Like, the movies that she's saying are scams. Yeah. All for research. So they're saying nothing is 100%, but they're very, very sure that this one person is the guise of multiple people. And we're talking more voices, more Personas, more personalities, more accents than probably what they've calculated out of their little list. And the director from Homeland.

[B]

Yeah. So have, like, people come out of the woodwork saying, like, this happened to me, or, like, how are they figuring this out?

[A]

So what's happened, and that's why K2 got involved and it became international, is because different continents. Well, not different continents continents, but people on different continents were speaking up about the similar kind of scam. So they aren't sure, still 100% if it is the same woman, but they're pretty sure because they have, like, voice analysis and people who are, like, running the, like, checking her because they have recordings now. So they're checking. So that's like the hot Thing right now is like, is it one person? Is it multiple people?

[B]

It's like Banksy and It's like secretly 10 people, baby. Or it's just one. Or it's just one great guy. But everyone's obsessed, right?

[A]

And so they said this is someone who's exceptionally skilled with voice work, impersonation, accents, and particular kind of psychology. They've talked about that a bunch. So they get people to go along with these job offers that just seem too good to be true. But she has this way about her that is convincing people. And I could. I could see that. Yeah, I could see that she was using burner phones to cover her tracks. So all these numbers are different. You can't call back. That's crazy. You get to Indonesia for your job and you call it, hello, Hello, I'm here for hello.

[B]

I know that would.

[A]

That.

[B]

That alone would be scary. Like, you arrive somewhere and then there's just like, no real. Like, nothing's really happen. Then you get all your money taken from you. You're totally fucked. Like, I don't know. That would be like a really. That would scare me from jobs in the future for sure.

[A]

I'm gonna give her a name. Sharon.

[B]

So it's Sharon. Her name is Sharon.

[A]

So you get to Indonesia and you're like, hey, Sharon, we gave the moped man our money.

[B]

Hello.

[A]

Hello. He sped off, and now you're just cashless in a foreign country with no job and probably no hotel either.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So which. Oh, gosh, girl. So they would use fake burner phones and they would also use GoDaddy accounts with fake email addresses.

[B]

Wow. Okay. So they made like, what, like fake websites or something?

[A]

So they were constructing fake websites to be like, oh, here, Google us. Like, this is legit. Our production company.

[B]

I feel like so often when like, something like this happens, it's almost like a way to teach people how to scam people. Because I'm like, oh, I wouldn't have thought of that. Okay, so there's that. I could do that if I was gonna do a scam. Like, you have a bunch of websites with all your different emails attached.

[A]

Patrick told us GoDaddy was a good company, and I believe her.

[B]

It's always the strange. That was like, one of the strangest. Like, mass shops.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm like, why? Heard I don't understand.

[A]

She races cars and this is websites. Y' all make websites?

[B]

Yeah, I get it.

[A]

NASCAR people need website. Okay, okay, you know what? It didn't matter. I remembered that's all godaddy Wanted.

[B]

That's true.

[A]

That's probably why they did. They were like, let's just do something random.

[B]

Yeah, it works.

[A]

And it worked. Cause we're like, why are they associated? But now my brain is questioning which Advertisement it's one of the only things

[B]

I know about Danica Patrick is that she likes GoDaddy.

[A]

Right. Literally. And she reads racist cars, so good job, GoDaddy. But yeah, so they were doing, like, fake GoDaddy accounts and things like that to just try to get people involved, and I thought that was great. So once they get to Indonesia and the moped man comes and leaves, then a local driver picks them up at the airport, sometimes accompanied by an interpreter. So they do get picked up. Wow. Yes. And then both ask. Can't even read this. Both ask for thousands of dollars up front to be used for the victim's accommodation, plus an additional fee for respective services.

[B]

So, okay, so someone shows up, and they also bring a translator. And both of those people are like, you have to give us money. Yeah. That's so intimidating. Like, you're in a car with people, and suddenly they're like, just give us thousands of dollars.

[A]

They're like, you got in the car.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

No, you already in the car, so give us the money.

[B]

I mean, that was.

[A]

Doors are probably locked from the inside. Yeah.

[B]

My pre Uber experience, he was like,

[A]

I'm giving you your life.

[B]

You're in a car, you got a ride home. So it's $120.

[A]

It's not much. I say it is, or else.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So they get in the car. Now, what I don't understand is the moped man already came for the cash, so.

[B]

Yeah. How did they have any money left? Maybe he only took a certain amount

[A]

or I. I truly don't know.

[B]

They must be told to, like, bring a certain amount of money with them, maybe. And then, like, it's just getting split all over the place. It doesn't feel as crazy, though, if, like, if you give them. If you're told to bring, like, $5,000 in cash and you give the moped man like, 2, 000, you're like, okay, well, that's fine. Got that deal done. And then you get in the car and, like, we want the 3,000 you' so they just kind of divide it so that you go along with it a little longer.

[A]

Yeah, maybe because it's like, smaller amounts.

[B]

Because, like, 5,000 would sound so insane to, like, give that first guy. But then it's like, if you're giving him a little bit and Then a little bit.

[A]

Yeah. And that's what they're doing. It's like a very small con because this is where the con actually ends. So it's like you're in the car with the driver and the interpreter, and they're like, give us this money for the accommodation and also give us this money for the interpreter. Which I'm like, I ain't asked for

[B]

no return for that.

[A]

I got Google Translate. Hold on, let me put in.

[B]

Have you seen 90 Day Fiance? These people have full relationships just through Google Translate. It literally just talks like a robot. And that's how they are with their lover. Exactly.

[A]

So nobody asks for your interpreter. Okay. I will get on Google Translate and be, what the hell? In Indonesian, give me my money back. Where am I going? And say, but in Indonesia, just vigorously typing away.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So it's like, I didn't ask for this interpreter. Why I gotta pay this guy? I love people showing up and demanding to be paid that you didn't ask to be there.

[B]

Yeah. That's really stressful. I feel like. I mean, I would give them everything. I. It would work.

[A]

Like, I'm so sorry.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So after they do this, the accomplices disappear. So basically, they drop you off at the hotel, and then you're like, okay, y' all checking us in or whatever, and they just leave.

[B]

They're gone.

[A]

And that's it.

[B]

That's it.

[A]

And they do this to all types of people.

[B]

Wow. So you're just in your hotel realizing what just happened to you. Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah.

[A]

Your hotel that you still have to pay for because the thousands that you paid did not go to the hotel.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Which I was like, okay. Props to y'.

[B]

All. God, that is. That would be. I honestly would feel so stupid by the time I was at the hotel. Like, it's just like, you just got robbed every which way.

[A]

I think I would, too. Robbery and fraud. So there's one guy who has kind of come back with his whole story, and he was a freelance documentary photographer who's 27, and he worked at conflict zones and several prestigious newspapers and magazine. He shot ad campaigns for corporate clients. Basically, like, he's a legit photographer. So he said the first thing that he noticed was the sender's name when he got this email, and it was from Amy Pascal, who's the former chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Pascal, in quotes, wanted to know if he would be interested in traveling to Indonesia to pursue an exciting project. So Indonesia is this girl's jam.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Like, she's like, I know the airports, I know the terminals.

[B]

I got all my people there.

[A]

I got moped men, I got interpreters. Like, I've built a thick web of lies in Indonesia. So this is where all her projects are, are happening. So after the call, he looked at the email again and he noticed the URL pascal films.com didn't exist. Okay. Pascal claimed to have been very publicly embarrassed in the 2015 Sony hack, and that was when all her emails came out. Zachary.

[B]

Yes. That was so bad.

[A]

So what a. What a loop de loop here.

[B]

That's an interesting person to pick because you're like, okay, this person's kind of been dragged through the mud a little bit. And so it would make sense that maybe they started their own thing and now they're doing something different. They have their own website because it's like now they're not really associated with Sony anymore.

[A]

And then like, who do you think is shooting, like weird projects in Indonesia? Definitely someone who was disgraced by the entire film industry.

[B]

Just go somewhere random and start over.

[A]

Right. So it's like you're thinking, if you know the industry, like, maybe she's starting over. She got some questions. When you think. I appreciate the amount of thought they put in. Yeah.

[B]

They didn't just say it was like Jennifer Lawrence.

[A]

Like, yeah, Jennifer Lawrence, we're making.

[B]

I'm making a Movie.

[A]

Silver Linings Playbook 3. In Indonesia, there was never a two don't ask questions show up. Shut up. Okay. So, yeah, so he picked somebody who's kind of disgraced. And then he basically, the photographer's like, this email doesn't exist. Like this person. Maybe something's fishier off. But the woman said that the lack of online presence for her new company was because she was laying low because of the 2015 Sony had.

[B]

That's a good excuse too.

[A]

It was excellent. Perfect. It's like you had to have done some thinking about that.

[B]

Yeah, you're ready for that question.

[A]

I too am impressed with this woman. So Pascal was familiar with details of his corporate clients, specifically personality quirks and of whom he'd worked with. Like, you only know these things if you've dealt with these people in very specific ways. So this gave her immediate credibility. So what he's saying is that when she was on the phone talking about, you know, other network execs, like, she's obviously met these people.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so she knew how to console. I've always thought that maybe this was like a secretary or someone who had been working in the film industry who Realizes she could do this con because that's how like good scammers start is like, they realize there's a flaw in the system.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then they exploit it. So I'm like, this woman had to know that.

[B]

So true. Because if you're. Yeah. If you're like someone who's like an assistant or whatever, like, so often they're on every single phone call listening. And as like someone calling them, you don't necessarily know that, but they're taking notes and like making sure that, that, that their boss has like, all the information for when they have to call them back later or whatever. And so they get all the inside scoop of how everything works, who all the people are, what all the names are, like how people are talked about and like, how people talk.

[A]

Exactly. So she saw the whole process.

[B]

That's gotta be what it is.

[A]

Has to be.

[B]

Like, how are you just some random person doing that? And you have. I mean, that would be so impossible to pull off.

[A]

You have to be.

[B]

It has to be someone from the inside.

[A]

It has to be. And maybe she was fired, or maybe she was fired from Sony when they cleared that house. Who knows? Maybe this is Amy Pascal. I'mma put that in. I'm throwing that in the ring too. But because, like, I think like, she was probably at her desk, like, damn, these hairstylists just be showing up to set down and they paying their own money, right? Stupid. Ooh, they stupid. And then the light bulb went off in her head. She was like, oh, I'm about to start doing this to other people.

[B]

I like that theory.

[A]

So she explained that he would stay in Indonesia for about a week, shooting images of landscapes, temples, iconic scenery for a storyboard. He would pay in advance for the airfare and the front costs for the driver, the translator and food and other sundries. And she would reimburse him for all these expenses. So before long, he was on a plane to Jakarta.

[B]

I mean, I believe it. Like, it's, it's actually a. The job sounds so legitimate, though, to be like, you're gonna go shoot these, like, things for a storyboard. Like, it's like, not even making it sound like it's something bigger than it is. Like it's, It's a very small. Yeah, like, it's a simple project. So that's why we can't pay you in advance. Like, it's just kind of a thing we're doing to like, get the ultra low rolling.

[A]

But you're gonn get your money.

[B]

You'll get paid.

[A]

So 6 months and $65,000. Why is it so much? I don't know that that's too much. The photographer who requested an anemone out of concern for his safety. Also probably because, like, to protect his

[B]

dumb ass from, like, 65. That's way too much money for, like, the flight. I mean, like, you can't. I can't even think of, like, what would add up to be that much in that trip. Like, that's just an insane L that you're taking.

[A]

Maybe he was, like, put up in a really nice hotel and he thought the company was paying for it.

[B]

Maybe he was.

[A]

You know what? He was probably in that hotel eating, getting dining in every day.

[B]

That might be what it is.

[A]

He was like, bring on the brutes. Yeah.

[B]

He's like, it's a work trip. I'm getting paid back.

[A]

Yeah. I'm getting reimbursed. Honey.

[B]

Need to be preimbursed. What have you learned?

[A]

Preimbursed? And then I was also, like, you were over there for. Please don't tell me you were over there for a week.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Cause then what are you, like, a king? Yeah.

[B]

Who spends that much money in one week? I don't understand.

[A]

You're like a royal family member. Like, what are you? $65,000. The interpreter just keeps coming back where

[B]

she's like, I got a lot to say. Just making him talk to random people.

[A]

People got a lot to say around you. You want to know or not? You don't want to know what they're saying about you. They talking about you over there, but you got to pay me first.

[B]

Then I'm gonna take $1,000 a word.

[A]

Yeah, seriously, because that's. $65,000 is an insane amount of money to be scammed out of.

[B]

It sounds fun to spend that much in a week. Like, I can't imagine what I would be buying and what I'd be doing, but it sounds like a good time.

[A]

Oh, I would love it. I would adore it. Like, so basically. Basically, this similar type of scam is what this woman has been running on so many people, and they don't have her name.

[B]

I can't believe she's still getting away with it. So, like, she must. She's probably still conning people, like, right now.

[A]

There's no resolution to this. She actually is still out here in the world conning people. And to that I say, listen, Queen Sharon, if you can hear this, I am proud of you, Sharon.

[B]

Call in on a burner phone. We will not try to track You.

[A]

No, we won't.

[B]

We just want to know.

[A]

We don't want you to get caught.

[B]

No, we just want to know how it's going, what your next plans are.

[A]

Yeah. Are you having moved up to cam ops and dp? No, they got a crazy union girl. Don't do that.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Stick with the hairstylist because they are. They work non union for a long time. Shout out to my hairstylist. I'm sorry guys, I. I don't think I would show up and, and not be paid for travel.

[B]

I don't know. Yeah, I guess. I think I might.

[A]

I mean she knows everyone in the industry.

[B]

Look, if I feel like that's where it would start to get fishy. Like if you involve like an agent or something, you'd think they're able to like check this and make sure it's real. But they might not be able to

[A]

cuz that happened to us like very large agencies who told us that this was a good idea.

[B]

Yeah. No one questioned it.

[A]

No.

[B]

At all. So yeah, it could happen.

[A]

Except for my lawyer who was like this is why you don't do low budget products. Get your ass out here. You're just saying that. Cuz who wasn't gonna make that much money.

[B]

Exactly. $5.

[A]

That's why you need selling your own movies every week. Come on. So I can get commission.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

No, but so I think the industry thing is the thing that's most jarring to me is like she's calling people and she's probably like, yeah, I'm working on this project with Ted. You know Ted from Sony. You know the one with the breath, don't say nothing.

[B]

You know, throwing it up super casual. Yeah.

[A]

And everybody's like, yeah, we all know Ted got halitosis on. He be eating them Listerine strips all day. We be like Ted go to the doctor, dad Ted. And she's like, yeah. So anyway, Ted involved.

[B]

So she show up with $65,000. It's going to be a four day trip.

[A]

Be prepared to give some to a man on a moped.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. You will speed away. You will never see him again. And that money does not go anywhere.

[A]

So it's not actually for anything that's a part of the trip.

[B]

You'll never know where it was.

[A]

There's just moped money that you got to give up. Don't ask. We reimbursing you. So why do you care?

[B]

Yeah, it's fine. It'll come back.

[A]

Got to watch out.

[B]

She's good. She's good.

[A]

She's Excellent. And she's still out here.

[B]

I love her.

[A]

Yeah. Oh. So here's some fun details about this. When she was doing the new or the Pascal accent, which I guess Amy Pascal's accent is a mix of New York and Midwestern.

[B]

Wow. That's like, a really nuanced dialect that

[A]

she's working with, with a slight lisp.

[B]

Oh, that's hard to balance all those things.

[A]

Now I know why they're impressed with, like.

[B]

Have you seen that? Maybe it's that woman. Have you seen that YouTube video of that woman who does all the accents? She just likes.

[A]

She just says.

[B]

Actually, she says, hi, my name is Amy. I actually think that's what she says in the video. She says the same sentence over and over, but, like, where she changes where she's from.

[A]

Wait, can we find. Oh, my God. Yeah. What if it's her? Oh, my God.

[B]

God.

[A]

Did you. Are we finding that?

[B]

I'm not sure if that's what she says, but I feel like it is. It's like, woman does, like, tons of accents. I don't know how you would find

[A]

it, but I think anybody who can do multiple accents, we have to keep an eye on, like, the government should.

[B]

Just like. Amy. Amy Walker.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

Oh, Amy.

[A]

Oh, Amy. Are we figuring out this has 11 million views? I think we might be on to something.

[B]

What if she was hiding in plain sight?

[A]

That's how you got out with this. Like her.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Hello. My name is Amy Walker. I'm 25 years old. Regional London, England. That's more money. That was a more money. My name is Amy Walker, and I was born in Dorkton, Ireland.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

Oh, my God. This is her. Hi. Hey. Gun. I'm Amy Walker. I'm 25, and I was born in Sydney. Oh, my God. She should have been arrested immediately as soon as they put this video. If you got this many talents, there's no way in hell you using them for good.

[B]

So impressive.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. Yeah, she's definitely Amy Walker.

[B]

I know. Name Amy.

[A]

What can I say if you seek Amy tonight. Y' all know that one. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. No, the accents. That's when you have incredible skills like that. Like, we can't not admire.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

You as a scammer.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

So now it's time for our last segment, Scammer of the Week, where we honor just one prestigious, amazing charlatan, you know what I mean, who's just been excelling at chicanery. This week we have a Georgetown woman who conned a Dive in instructor out of nearly $2 million by pretending the money was for legitimate fees for his Cayman status application.

[B]

Two million?

[A]

Two million.

[B]

What application? Like, what are you possibly getting yourself into that could cost $2 million to get, like, certified?

[A]

So he was trying to be a citizen? No, no, no. So he's trying to be like a legit operator, I guess, of like scuba diving in the cave.

[B]

That shouldn't cost $2 million. That's insane.

[A]

This sounds like a Richard Branson title.

[B]

And how did he even have 2 million? How did this happen?

[A]

Well, she was recently jailed for 10 years. Douglas presented herself as a legitimate operator working for the government and indicated that much of the money would be returned at the end of his process. Guys, this is a number one scam tactic. Anybody who's telling you they gonna give you your money back, when the government

[B]

takes your money, they don't give it back. That's basically just a fact.

[A]

The government's the biggest scam organization that we all participate in. Yeah.

[B]

We're paying our taxes. It's a scam.

[A]

We don't know where it goes. They're like, to the roads. Which road? Like, when they fix. We don't know. Like, sometimes I just want to get out and talk to construction workers, like, what y' all doing this week?

[B]

This.

[A]

Y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

Y' all doing. How much you getting a month? Everybody, let's talk. Cuz we don't know what the government's

[B]

doing with our money, but they're not giving it back.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

If I give the government $2 million, I'm not getting $2 million.

[A]

Absolutely not. And why do y' all need it? Why do y' all need to hold my money? Y', all, Y' all, the government. Now taxes are that we give them money and they do give us money back.

[B]

Yeah, but maybe a little. But it's not going to be. You're not going to get 2 million. No.

[A]

Nobody's getting a $2 million refund check, unfortunately. So red flag anyone telling you that they're going to give you money back. And also my mom always said, growing up, like, never borrow or no. Never lend out more money than you're willing to never see again.

[B]

I totally agree with that. I totally agree with that.

[A]

So if someone asks me for a loan, I have to think about how much they want. But because I'm like, I have to be okay with, like, never getting this money back.

[B]

Yeah. And I've. I've lent money to friends before and have gone like, okay. And they've they've paid me back, actually, every time. But it's that thing of I might never see it again. So that the amount that I give has to just be a gift until further notice. And then if they pay it back, that's great.

[A]

Right? It can't be so much money that I'm looking at you every time I see you going like, oh, so you got Starbucks. Oh, so you got money for sausage, but you can't pay me back. Oh, you got money for a double frap, but you can't pay me back.

[B]

I would take five, five dollars at a time.

[A]

You can send me five dollars at a time? Yeah. I'd be looking at everything they do. I'd be like, oh, okay, so you got gas in your car.

[B]

Where you going?

[A]

To get my money? Yeah. You going to the bank? No. Okay. Okay. I'm just saying you can't.

[B]

And you shouldn't ask for money if you can't handle being looked at that way. Like, with every purchase you make, like, it is, like, that's how it's gonna go.

[A]

If I ask for money, I have parents who I ask for money. Which are the best people to loan from. Cause they don't bother you. But, but if I have ever. If I'd ever borrowed someone's money, I would never have the audacity to try to like, spend any money in front of me.

[B]

No.

[A]

Every time I was nothing frivolous, I'd be in tattered clothes. Yeah, you have so many clothes. Like, where are these rags coming from? I just played a part of things

[B]

are not going well. Yeah.

[A]

Where did you get these tattered rags?

[B]

And why do you only wear them when we hang out? Because I've seen your Instagram. I just feel like I see your Instagram stories.

[A]

You're wearing normal clothes everywhere else, but then when I see you, you're dressed like an 18th century beggar. Like, what is this? Like, I'm gonna play it apart until I got the money.

[B]

You know what I mean?

[A]

We ain't gonna go nowhere to spend money. Every time we go out, it's gonna be a hike, right? It's gonna be one of those cheap ass Tinder dates that everybody likes to do. Like, oh, let's go for a hike or a walk. Oh, I ain't going to fucking woods with you.

[B]

I don't do that on Tinder. Wanna go on a hike?

[A]

Okay, I get it.

[B]

I don't like that.

[A]

Yeah, they have sex. It's hinge where they wanna go for hikes. Everybody think they so deep. Cause they like tacos, office and everything else.

[B]

I don't wanna go on a hike on a first date with where I'm out of breath. I can barely get it. Like, get a conversation going.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That's like. And also, like, not fun.

[A]

No, not fun at all.

[B]

Not relaxing.

[A]

Like, I'm going up into the. I don't know.

[B]

Yeah, you're going to kill me at the top of this canyon.

[A]

Great.

[B]

No, that's not like a perfect recipe.

[A]

I'm just bringing the murder to you. Like, that's not even fun.

[B]

A stranger is going to take me to the top of a canyon. That's a no.

[A]

Yeah, but it sounds. It sounds fun. Just like long walks on the beach. You know how hard it is to walk in sand.

[B]

Yeah, I don't want to do that.

[A]

I did a 5k on the sand and I was like, fuck this. Good for you. Yeah, that's a brag.

[B]

It's a humble brag to this by the sand.

[A]

You know, it's harder because it's on the sand.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Am I making that clear?

[B]

Strong calves.

[A]

So back to Douglas. So you know me. I am all for women scamming men, but this poor guy. This was very sad. Some hilarious quotes from this was, okay, he was a diver, but he was hardly able to get a breath. He was drowned by her ocean of lies.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

A very creative reporter who was a

[B]

poet, who wrote this.

[A]

So basically she just kept calling him, pretending to impersonate the government, saying that she needed more fees from the government. Everybody gives the government their money.

[B]

Like, he must have been in debt from this, though. Like, I mean, unless he was a millionaire.

[A]

If you got millions to spare like this, then, like, how.

[B]

How are you getting scammed? Actually, I feel like if you have millions, you have, like, the best people ever helping you do everything.

[A]

Like, you start to have so much money, you need help managing it. That's how Rihanna got scammed.

[B]

His own brother.

[A]

Yeah, because, like, my mom, never be too big to sign your own checks.

[B]

Right. Because they're not paying attention on the ins and outs. Yeah.

[A]

So now you have somebody whose whole job is to manage your money, which.

[B]

That's dangerous.

[A]

That's. Nobody but a con artist wants to manage other people's money. Nobody else gets passionate about other people's shit like scammers.

[B]

Right. Cause they're getting something out of it. Yeah, it's a good point.

[A]

Yeah. So I'm like, maybe I could see how maybe this money just kind of like, oh, but Nathaniel Robb Was the victim here. And actually, at the end of this scam, he says that he's a broken man. Just $19.75 in his bank account after a relentless five year comp.

[B]

Okay, but at what point do you go, I don't need to be a scuba instructor that bad. Like you are down to your last $20.

[A]

Rob borrowed from friends. Oh, no, from businesses. He borrowed from his own dive business, which was probably thriving in the U.S. he sold a family home in the U.S. to help meet Douglas. Douglas's demands.

[B]

So, okay, so he wasn't a millionaire who was just not paying attention. He was using every resource he could possibly tap into. Yeah.

[A]

To try to make this work. Now I'm thinking, I'm like, okay, so you're going broke for this. You're selling homes, you're buying from friends, you're buying against your own business. But then the Cayman Islands are a real diving hotspot.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And maybe he was about to have a luxury diving company where, you know, all the Kim Kardashians would be floating in the ocean with their silicone booties, diving and seeing tropical fish.

[B]

I mean, don't you think you have to be a sociopath to like, pull, like, to scam somebody for five years and take $2 million from them when you kind of know they don't have it? Yeah, that's like, so unfeeling.

[A]

And also, like, you really, truly have to be a sociopath. Because I think I would emotionally get exhausted by having to talk to this

[B]

person all the time and him being like, okay, I'm gonna refinance my house. Okay, maybe. Oh, God.

[A]

I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, refinance the house.

[B]

Like, okay, talk to you soon. Just let me know when that's done. Send me that money.

[A]

What was that about? Your daughter's kidney on the black market. Okay, let me know when it goes.

[B]

You're being happy that you. You. New ideas, new ways to get money.

[A]

You're very clever.

[B]

Talk to you soon. Hang up. Like you have to not give a shit.

[A]

I would get so annoyed having to constantly like, oh, my God. Sorry, y', all, it's work. Hello, Nathan. Okay, so. So. So your family got robbed.

[B]

Now.

[A]

Okay, well, how you gonna get the money? Cuz the government of the Cayman Islands, they said they need it.

[B]

They need a million dollars tomorrow. Have you. I read this book called the Psychopath Test, which is like all about psychopaths and sociopaths and, like, how they can manipulate everyone in their lives. It's actually really, really good. Read. But one of the things that I thought was really interesting about it was that they said like, the, like there was a person in it who was like, I feel so bad for, for the sociopath because they're, you know, and because of like their life, it's so sad. And like all the ways that they're like, so mean, they don't realize. And the person writing the book was like, you basically can never feel sad for that person because they feel nothing about you. So, like, the scammers are getting away with this. They don't give a fuck. They don't care. They feel nothing about that. I mean, you have to be a sociopath because you'd have to guilt. Like, if you had no guilt, you're like missing a part of your brain that like tells you to feel bad. And you're just like, oh, I can just manipulate these idiots into giving me whatever I want. And like how that simple. Yeah. I mean, their lives are really carefree

[A]

because they don't care. Yo, I'm low key envious. I'm low key envious because they're gonna live longer.

[B]

Yeah, they are.

[A]

They are, I think evil sociopaths. Same thing. Yeah.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

45. I have to become a complete sociopath.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I want to live for a long time.

[B]

Just turn off that part of your brain.

[A]

Caring about people kills you guys. Ok? But yeah, so this poor guy, he ends up with like 19. I'm like, who is Nathan's wife? Like, who are his family members?

[B]

Like, why are they all going along with it? Like, at what point isn't your wife like begging you to stop doing this? Like, I would be so mad at my husband if he was just like, okay, I'm gonna borrow money from everyone we know and I'm gonna put our business on the line and like, we're gonna lose everything. Okay, I have $19.75. So he was like, he knew exactly how much it was, right?

[A]

I mean, look, when your bank account get that low, you know?

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Oh, yes. Listen, when I was in college, I used to know if a penny was deducted totally.

[B]

I wrote down the gas station. Yes. No. And like those gas stations, they're like, it's 35 cents for the charge to use your debit card. I'd be like, I'm gonna go across the street, right?

[A]

I'm like, it's an ATM right there for my bank. So actually I'm gonna save my 35. Thank you.

[B]

I used to write down every penny that I spent when I was living in New York because I was, like, so broke and it was like I. I wanted to make sure I never overdrafted. So it was like if I bought a bottle of water, I wrote down, begrudgingly wrote down my $1 that I spent on the bottle of water. I mean, I kept track of it.

[A]

You're so responsible. Oh, my gosh. Well, Lauren, it was so good to have. This was so fun. Thank you for having me. Anything you want to plug, any podcasts you want to.

[B]

Yeah, I want to plug my. I have too many podcasts. I have raised by tv. I have wild horses. I have with special guests, Lauren Lapkis. I have three of them. They're all in Stitcher Premium. Some of them are on Apple podcasts. They're all different things. So go check them out and, you know, whatever one strikes your. Your interest.

[A]

People can't get enough. No, I mean, so many platforms.

[B]

Too many. Too many platforms. So find the one that you like and listen to that one. Thanks.

[A]

And as always, guys, you can find us @scamgodesspod on Instagram. Scamgodesspod Gmail. If you've been scammed, reach out to us. Let us know about it. We wanna hear it. We'll share it on the show if it's interesting. And then always. Lacey Mosley. On social media, you can find me at divalacy D I V A L A C I. On all platforms.

[B]

Including Venmo.

[A]

Including Venmo.

[B]

$. Why not?

[A]

All right, congregation, we'll see you next week. Scam Goddess. This has been an Earwolf production in association with Team Coco. Scam Goddess stars and it's hosted by me, Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. Our producer is Jessica Cisneros and our audio engineer is Rich Garcia. Research for the show is conducted by Kate Doyle. Stay scheming.