Presenting – Hardcore Con with Johnathan Walton

Summary

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The Knife: A True Crime Podcast

Special Episode – Presenting: "Hardcore Con with Jonathan Walton"

Episode Date: July 21, 2026

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Overview

In this special crossover episode, hosts Hannah Smith and Patia Eaton present the gripping first episode of Hardcore Con, the new podcast from friend of the show and returning guest, Jonathan Walton. Walton, a veteran journalist and scam victim turned true crime investigator, tells the shocking, step-by-step story of Charlotte Coles, an accomplished financial journalist who fell prey to an intricate social engineering scam and lost her entire life savings. Blending first-person narrative, psychological insight, and hard-won expertise, the episode exposes not just the mechanics of the con but also the deep emotional vulnerabilities that sophisticated scammers exploit. The hosts and Walton hope the episode serves as both a cautionary tale and a tool for scam awareness.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction & Context

• Hosts Recap Walton's Prior Appearance:
  • Jonathan Walton was previously a guest on The Knife, sharing his book "Anatomy of a Con Artist" and his own experience of being conned.
  • Hannah: “He goes through the methods that con artists use to trick people and he really lays it out in the book in such a smart and interesting way. It's excellent.” (03:05)
• Purpose of Featuring “Hardcore Con”:
  • Walton’s new podcast focuses on real-life scam stories and the psychology of cons, aiming to educate listeners about the tricks and mental hacks scammers use.

The Scammer’s Playbook in Action: The Charlotte Coles Case

Prologue: The Crime Unfolds

• Opening Scene: (04:53)
  • Charlotte Coles, a savvy, Ivy League–educated journalist, stands outside her Brooklyn apartment, clutching a shoebox with $50,000—all her savings. She places it in the back of a stranger’s white Mercedes and watches as it’s driven away.
• The Paradox:
  • Walton dispels the myth that only the gullible can be conned:

    “Listen, I know you think there's just no way that you'd ever hand a stranger all the money in your bank account. … But a similar thing happened to me.” (05:18)

    • He underscores: Overconfidence in one's immunity actually increases vulnerability.

Setting the Stage: Charlotte’s Background

• Who is Charlotte Coles?
  • Financial journalist with bylines in New York Times and New York Magazine.
  • In 2003, she’s a student at Columbia, reading about cons as distant news. Now, she’s living one.

The Anatomy of the Scam: Step by Step

1. The Initial Hook – Spoofed Amazon Call (12:30–14:00)

   • “Hello, am I speaking to Charlotte Coles?”
     • Fake Amazon rep warns of suspicious $8,000 charges.
     • Caller ID shows “Amazon”—a deception based on phone number spoofing.
   • Psychological Insight:
     • “Con artists don't actually outsmart you. … They out feel you and then they weaponize your feelings against you.” (13:19)

2. Rapid Escalation – Transfer to 'FTC Agent' (14:14–18:13)

   • Charlotte is offered a transfer to an 'FTC investigator' instead of a lengthy reporting process.
   • Fake FTC agent “Calvin Mitchell” supplies her social security number, badge number, callback number (all plausible details) to build trust.
   • Quote:

     “At this point, it's obvious to Charlotte that Agent Mitchell has all her information.” (18:31)

     • Walton explains how, through data breaches, scammers possess alarming amounts of personal info.

3. The Pressure Cooker – Constructing a Far-Fetched Narrative (20:39–22:29)

   • She’s told her information has been used to launder millions, drugs and blood have been found in a rental car in her name, and she’s facing multiple felonies.
   • “There actually have been arrest warrants issued in your name in Texas and in Maryland.” (22:13)
   • Psychological Tactics:
     • Stories from faraway places and excessive details make claims hard to dispute—so victims accept them.

4. Isolation and Secrecy—Entrenching the Victim (24:21–26:45)

   • Charlotte is told not to talk to anyone—including her husband—or risk putting him in danger.
   • She is instructed not to use her phone to contact anyone as her devices might be 'compromised'.

5. Escalating Authority—Transfer to a 'CIA Agent' with British Accent (25:44–28:06)

   • The scam ups the ante with a third actor: “Special Agent Michael Serrano” from the CIA.
   • “By keeping your husband out of this, you are protecting him.” (26:38)

6. The Sting—Withdrawal of Funds (31:13–34:42)

   • Serrano convinces Charlotte to urgently withdraw her savings ($50,000) to avoid losing access.
   • She is made to believe she’s helping catch a crime syndicate and will get a Treasury check in return.

7. Final Handoff—The Shoebox Drop (35:10–39:38)

   • Under instructions, Charlotte places the cash in a shoebox labeled with her case number and hands it to a stranger in a white Mercedes, believing him to be an undercover agent.
   • Even her husband unknowingly crosses paths with her during the final exchange, as she masks her panic.

8. Aftermath—The Realization and Impact (39:30–42:45)

   • Hours later, Charlotte has her “Keyser Soze” moment, realizing she’s been duped.
   • Reports to police, writes her story, but the money and scammers are never found.

Lessons and Psychological Insights

• Shame and Underreporting:

  • Upwards of 90% of scam victims never come forward due to embarrassment—meaning scams are massively under-reported and scammers remain at large.

• Failures of Law Enforcement:

  • Walton shares his own difficulties getting police to treat his scam as a crime, not a civil matter:

    “Authorities do not prioritize scams as a crime. They almost don't care.” (41:00)

  • He offers tips (in his book) for getting law enforcement to act.

• The Devil’s Trick:

  • “Because the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And that's the reason you won't know you're getting scammed until it's all over.” (06:51)

• On Emotional Manipulation:

  • “Con artists out feel you. And at this very moment, Charlotte's feelings are being played like a violin concerto by a con artist virtuoso. She didn't stand a chance.” (14:34)

• Sunk Cost Fallacy:

  • By the time Charlotte faces the ultimate ask, she’s so invested in the process and the lies that one more step (the handoff) seems inevitable.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Addressing Listener Skepticism:

  “You think you'd never fall for a scam like this? Well, that belief actually makes you so much more likely to.”
  — Jonathan Walton (05:46)

• On Emotional Leverage:

  “Con artists don't outsmart you. … They out feel you and then they weaponize your feelings against you.”
  — Jonathan Walton (13:19)

• On Law Enforcement Apathy:

  “Nine out of every 10 times, … they will not take a report. They will actually turn you away telling you it's not a crime because you willingly gave the scammer your money.”
  — Jonathan Walton (41:00)

• On Survivor Courage:

  “Charlotte, you will never know how many people you saved from this exact scam by speaking out. Thank you.”
  — Jonathan Walton (44:50)

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Important Timestamps

• Hosts Intro and Walton Context: 02:28–04:09
• Walton Introduction and Scam Begins: 04:53–12:30
• Spoofed Amazon Call: 12:30–14:00
• ‘FTC Agent’ Scare Tactics: 18:13–22:29
• Instructions to Isolate Victim: 24:21–26:45
• ‘CIA Agent’ Call and Escalation: 25:44–28:06
• Charlotte Withdraws Savings: 31:13–34:42
• Shoebox Handoff: 35:10–39:38
• Charlotte Realizes, Reports Crime: 39:30–42:45
• Walton’s Lessons and Systemic Reflections: 41:00–45:00

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Final Thoughts and Resources

• Charlotte’s story is featured in her own words in a New York Magazine essay:
  "The day I put $50,000 in a shoebox and handed it to a stranger."
• Walton encourages listeners to read his book Anatomy of a Con Artist and listen to more episodes at Jonathan Walton Media.
• Insight from both Walton and the hosts: Scam awareness and emotional preparedness are everyone’s responsibility—nobody is immune, and shame only protects the perpetrators.

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For more gripping true crime stories and scam awareness education, search “Hardcore Con” or “Jonathan Walton Media” in your podcast app.

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Transcript

[Jonathan Walton]

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[Fake FTC Agent (Scammer)]

diabetes, but I manage it well.

[Jonathan Walton]

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[Hannah Smith]

This story contains adult content and language. Listener discretion is advised.

[Patia Eaton]

Welcome to the Knife. I'm Patia Eaton.

[Hannah Smith]

I'm Hannah Smith and today we are sharing a special episode with you of a new podcast that we just listened to. It comes from Friend of the Podcast and former guest on the Knife, Jonathan Walton.

[Patia Eaton]

You guys probably remember we had Jonathan on the show last September. It's still one of our favorite episodes. You can listen to that episode in our feed. It's called Queen of the Jonathan Walton's Story. We spoke with him about his excellent book Anatomy of a Con Artist, and of course, his own riveting personal experience with being conned.

[Hannah Smith]

Yeah. I still think about his book so often and it's just such a great book. He goes through the methods that con artists use to trick people and he really lays it out in the book in such a smart and interesting way. It's excellent. If you haven't read it, I still highly recommend reading that book.

[Patia Eaton]

Yeah. And I mean, anecdotally, when we speak with people who have been skeptical, it's like, oh, yep, check, check, check. Everything in the book playing out in this story. So highly recommend.

[Hannah Smith]

Yeah. And so he has a brand new podcast. Maybe there's a couple episodes out now. It's called Hardcore Con. And it's really interesting. We got to listen to the first episode. And every episode is a story of someone being scammed or conned. But Jonathan kind of weaves in a lot of what he's learned over the years, studying scam artists into the story. So it's educational as well, I would say.

[Patia Eaton]

Yeah. And he's narrating it and he's an amazing storyteller.

[Hannah Smith]

Yeah, it's great.

[Patia Eaton]

It's really great. We think you guys will love it.

[Hannah Smith]

Okay, so here's the episode description of what you're about to hear. What on earth could convince an Ivy League educated journalist to fork over a shoebox with her entire life savings in it to a complete stranger for safekeeping? This is an intricate and complex con involving multiple con artists and it could truly happen to any one of us.

[Fake CIA Agent (Scammer)]

So.

[Hannah Smith]

So pay attention to the tricks, the brain hacks and the dark psychology. These a list scammers used to successfully pull off this $50,000 con.

[Patia Eaton]

You can find out more information about Jonathan and his other podcasts and projects@Jonathan Walton.com.

[Hannah Smith]

enjoy the episode.

[Jonathan Walton]

It's late October now, in 2023 in New York City. It's a cool 65 degrees outside, just past 6pm and 39 year old Charlotte Coles is nervously standing in front of her Brooklyn apartment building. She looks like she's seen a ghost and she's clutching a shoebox containing $50,000 in cash. Her cash. Her entire life savings. She had just come from her bank after withdrawing it all when all Of a sudden, a man in a white Mercedes SUV pulls up. And Charlotte places that shoebox with her life savings in it on the back seat of that Mercedes and slams the door shut and watches as it drives away. At this very moment, even though Charlotte Coles is an Ivy League educated financial journalist for the New York Times and New York Magazine, she has no idea that she has just fallen for an elaborate confidence trick orchestrated by a team of sophisticated con artists working in unison with surgical precision to scam her. How did these people, these scammers, infiltrate her life to begin with? And what could they have possibly said and done to convince Charlotte Coles to fork over her entire life savings behind her husband's back? Listen, I know you think there's just no way that you'd ever hand a stranger all the money in your bank account. And I know you think Charlotte Coles must be a gullible idiot for doing that. But a similar thing happened to me. I got conned out of close to $100,000, and I managed to turn the tables and put my con artist in jail. And I've since investigated hundreds and hundreds of con cases and scams and wrote a book, Anatomy of a Con Artist, about the psychology of how these elaborate scams work and how these MFers know the exact way to hack your brain to get you to do what they want. You think you'd never fall for a scam like this? Well, that belief actually makes you so much more likely to. In each episode of Hardcore Con, I'm not just going to tell you a crazy con story. I'm also going to pull the curtain back and expose the dark psychology and the mental tricks these scammers use to manipulate you, while at the same time making you completely unaware that you're being manipulated. Because the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And that's the reason you won't know you're getting scammed until it's all over. That's what happened to me, and that's what's happening to Charlotte Coles right now. And my sole mission in life until the day I die is to make sure it never happens to you or anyone you care about. I'm Jonathan Walton, and this is Hardcore Con, episode one, the Shoebox. If you liked this episode, you'll find more episodes of Hardcore Con at my new home at Jonathan Walton Media. Just tap that magnifying glass on your podcast app and search Jonathan Walton Media to listen to all my new cocaine air the quarterback and the con artist The Handyman of West Texas and this one hardcore con. Back to episode one now about Charlotte Coles losing her life savings to a team of sophisticated con artists who are ganging up to scam her. 20 years earlier, in 2003, a 19 year old Charlotte Coles is sitting on the campus of Columbia University outside Lerner Hall. She's a creative writing major and as she opens a bag of potato chips and pops a couple into her mouth, the news of the day spreading all over campus is about a con artist named Christophe Rockencourt, a Frenchman who claimed to be a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family in order to con the rich and famous out of $1.2 million. And at this point in Charlotte's life, she's a teenager. And elaborate con stories like this are just something she sees on the news or in Hollywood movies, like the Usual Suspects. You think he's Kaiser so I don't know. Verbal Kaiser so is a shield or like you said, a spook story. The idea that Charlotte Kohl's would one day fall hook, line and sinker for for an elaborate con herself and lose her entire life savings in one fell swoop is just so far removed from her realm of thinking at this point. And that's the problem. Laura Flynn Gold Michael Aesop Smith Adam David Ryback Charlotte. Carla Coles Charlotte graduates from Columbia University in 2007 with a Bachelor's degree in English Language, Literature and Letters. A year later, she lands a pivotal job as an assistant editor at the New York Sun. And over the next decade, Charlotte's career in journalism takes off and she quickly moves up, writing for Harper's Bazaar, New York Magazine and the New York Times. And by the time Charlotte is introduced to that motley crew of con artists who'd go on to scam her out of $50,000, she's freelancing for both the New York Times and New York Magazine as a financial columnist. It's Halloween now, Oct. 31, 2023, in Brooklyn. Just past noon and some of the neighborhood kids are getting a jump on their trick or treating. Charlotte's working from home, trying to finish her latest piece for New York magazine, while her two year old son is playing in the next room. At around 12:30pm, Charlotte's phone rings. She glances down at her caller ID. It's Amazon calling immediately. Charlotte thinks maybe this is about a grocery order or a package she's been waiting on. So she answers. Hello, am I speaking to Charlotte Coles now? If you've ever spoken to Amazon over the phone, then you Know they employ call centers in India and other far flung places to handle their customer service calls. So Charlotte thinks nothing of the woman on the phone with the thick accent. And she confirms that yes, she is in fact Charlotte Kohl's and politely asks what the purpose of the phone call is. I'm calling from Amazon customer service to verify some unusual activity on your account. This call is being recorded for quality assurance. Right off the bat, this call seems legit. After all, it's being recorded, right? And remember, it came up as Amazon on Charlotte's caller id. But it most certainly is not Amazon at all. Just a clever scammer who knows how to spoof phone numbers. Word to the wise, never Trust your caller ID. We wanted to confirm a few recent charges totaling $8,000 for a MacBook Pro and an iPad. Charlotte immediately gets scared because those are not her charges. She didn't buy a MacBook Pro and an iPad. Could someone have hacked her Amazon account? And here's where the manipulation starts. Con artists don't actually outsmart you. They're not smarter than you. Con artists out feel you and then they weaponize your feelings against you. They make you emotional, which gets you to bypass your intellect altogether. And that's how they manipulate you. Right now, Charlotte's scared. And that fear is a powerful feeling. And it's only going to grow and get her to do all kinds of things she would never do in her right mind. Especially after this fake Amazon customer service rep tells her it appears you've been

[Patia Eaton]

the victim of identity theft.

[Jonathan Walton]

Someone has used your credentials to open an Amazon business account in your name and is making purchases as we speak. Charlotte is now in full freakout mode. And then suddenly, this con artist on the phone posing as an Amazon rep does what all con artists do to firmly establish a stranglehold in their victims lives. They offer to help. And right now, Charlotte feels like she can use all the help she can get. Which is exactly how the con artist wants her to feel. The rep tells her that Amazon has been explained experiencing a sudden deluge of identity theft cases just like hers, and that they're working with investigators right now from the Federal Trade Commission, the FLTC in Washington D.C. and that at the end of this phone call, Charlotte can either call and report this to the FTC herself, which will take God knows how long to get one of these FTC agents on the phone. Or if Charlotte prefers, the Amazon customer service rep can transfer her to an FTC investigator they're working with right now. Which sounds great to a scared and now, desperate for help, Charlotte Coles. Remember, con artists don't outsmart you. They out feel you. And at this very moment, Charlotte's feelings are being played like a violin concerto by a con artist virtuoso. She didn't stand a chance. You're listening to my new series, Hardcore Con for more episodes like the one explaining how falling in love with a con artist is what actually killed Hollywood actress Britney Murphy. Search Jonathan Walton Media on whatever podcast platform you're listening on. We'll be right back.

[Patia Eaton]

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[Jonathan Walton]

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[Patia Eaton]

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[Jonathan Walton]

welcome back to hardcore con. Charlotte Kohl's just got transferred to a legit sounding FTC agent over the phone. She has no idea she's falling victim to an elaborate scam.

[Fake FTC Agent (Scammer)]

Hi, Charlotte, this is Agent Calvin Mitchell with the Federal Trade Commission. I've been in touch with Amazon. I'm looking into your case right now.

[Jonathan Walton]

Agent Mitchell immediately gives Charlotte his badge number and a phone number she can call him back on in case they get disconnected. And that phone number has a 202 area code, which is in fact, a Washington, D.C. number. And then he actually tells Charlotte the last four digits of her Social Security number, just to confirm he has the right. Charlotte Kohl's on the phone. At this point, it's obvious to Charlotte that Agent Mitchell has all her information, Social Security number included, on his computer screen in his office down there at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, dc. And the idea that this is all an elaborate ruse never even occurs to Charlotte. I mean, why would it? But here's the thing. All of our Social Security numbers and all of our personal information is out there on the Dark Web right now. And professional scammers buy and sell bundles of this information to each other in order to scam us. You might be wondering, how on earth do scammers in, say, India or Nigeria or China get their hands on you, your Social Security number? Well, the answer is simple. Data breaches. Word of a massive data breach for AT&T. Lots and lots of data breaches.

[Intuit/Scott Patterson Advertiser]

That cyber attack on JP Morgan Chase.

[Jonathan Walton]

Tonight, Flagstar is warning customers their personal

[Intuit/Scott Patterson Advertiser]

information, including Social Security numbers, may have

[Jonathan Walton]

been stolen in a ransomware breach.

[Alec Baldwin]

Crime of our times.

[Jonathan Walton]

So the fact that this scammer on the phone with Charlotte, who is posing as an agent for the Federal Trade Commission in D.C. has her Social Security number and all her personal information on his computer screen goes a long way in making him seem legitimate to Charlotte. And then this Agent Mitchell tells her,

[Fake FTC Agent (Scammer)]

your personal information is linked to a case that we've been working on for a while now, and it's quite serious.

[Jonathan Walton]

According to Agent Mitchell, the people that stole Charlotte's identity belonged to a sophisticated crime syndicate who, in a very short amount of time, managed to open 22 bank accounts in Charlotte's name in multiple states and then used those various bank accounts to launder more than $3 million that they quickly wired to other banks overseas. Disease. Charlotte suddenly feels all the blood drain out of her face. Agent Mitchell then texts her a picture of a woman's driver's license. A woman by the name of Stella

[Fake FTC Agent (Scammer)]

Kwong, do you know this woman? Have you ever seen this woman before? If you know her, you better tell me the truth, because if I find out later you're lying to me, you will be in so much more trouble, I can assure you.

[Jonathan Walton]

Agent Mitchell tells Charlotte that the driver's license for this woman, Stella Kwong, was found in a rental car that had been abandoned near the Texas southern border, and that that car was rented in Charlotte's name. And police later find drugs and blood in the trunk, evidence of foul play. And when they execute a search at the rental car company, they find reams of bank statements also in Charlotte's name with her Social Security number attached. And Charlotte nearly faints when Agent Mitchell

[Fake FTC Agent (Scammer)]

reveals there actually have been arrest warrants issued in your name in Texas and in Maryland. And you're facing multiple felony charges for cybercrimes, money laundering, and drug trafficking.

[Jonathan Walton]

Now, there are two very powerful scamming techniques that I write about in Anatomy of a Con Artist that are being used on Charlotte very successfully here. Number one, stories from far away places. The overseas bank accounts, the southern border rental car. The blood, the drugs, the felonies in Texas and Maryland. Human nature is unreliable and easily influenced. That's why advertising is a billion dollar industry. We're out of Pringles just blowing the can. And why when someone tells you these kinds of stories from faraway places, they're hard to prove false off the top of your head. And the minute you can't prove something is false, the way the human brain works, you are that much more likely to just accept it as true. The other psychological trick the scammers are employing here, using all those exquisite details in their stories from faraway places, tons of minute details have a tendency to immediately convince someone that what they're hearing is true. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many details. Add to that, at this point, Charlotte is scared. Terrified, actually. And she believes this FTC agent in D.C. on the phone with her is trying to help. So she is that much more primed to just accept whatever he says as true. From this point on, as Charlotte is talking to Agent Mitchell, she texts her husband, telling him that someone has stolen her identity. And suddenly, Agent Mitchell, sensing Charlotte is distracted, commands her full attention by asking,

[Fake FTC Agent (Scammer)]

have you recently used public WI fi anywhere? A coffee shop or an airport or any place like that?

[Jonathan Walton]

Charlotte did in fact use public WI fi recently at the airport, and she feels really stupid now for doing it. As she tells Agent Mitchell and Agent Mitchell, seizing on a sudden opportunity to make Charlotte blame herself for what's happening piles on telling her that her recent public wi fi use at the airport is the reason this crime syndicate was able to hack into her phone and into her life and is now using her identity to commit all these crimes all over the country. Andy says they're probably monitoring her phone right now, So she shouldn't be calling or texting anyone about anything, especially about this current FTC fraud investigation into her case. Panicking now, Charlotte quickly deletes the text she just sent to her husband, even though he already saw it. And she agrees not to call or text anyone else about this open FTC investigation. Agent Mitchell then tells Charlotte, we've been

[Fake FTC Agent (Scammer)]

working with the CIA on this case for the past few months. If it's okay with you, I'd like to transfer you to the agent in charge.

[Jonathan Walton]

So now Charlotte. Charlotte is being transferred to a third person, which just makes this scam feel even more credible. And then to really juice up the credibility here, this third person, this CIA agent, speaks with a British accent.

[Fake CIA Agent (Scammer)]

Charlotte, I'm Special Agent Michael Serrano. I'm pleased to finally be talking to you. We've been working on your case for the past six months.

[Jonathan Walton]

Agent Serrano gives Charlotte his badge number. And later, to assuage any concern she has, he texts her a picture of his ID and tells Charlotte from this point on, she's not to talk about this case, this open investigation, to anyone, including her husband. Charlotte balks and tells Agent Serrano that her husband can be trusted. He's a good man, honest and hardworking. And Agent Serrano firmly reminds her, you

[Fake CIA Agent (Scammer)]

are being investigated for major federal crimes. By keeping your husband out of this, you are protecting him.

[Jonathan Walton]

So Charlotte reluctantly agrees not to tell her husband anything until the investigation is over. An Agent Serrano explains that with Charlotte's help, the CIA wants to catch the perpetrators in the act. And to do that, they need to deactivate her Social Security security number and frees all her bank accounts, the fraudulent ones and the real ones. Because in the eyes of the law, he says, there is no difference. Charlotte asks how would she be able to pay her bills if her bank account is frozen? And now we get to the meat of the conversation. Agent Serrano offers to help Charlotte. Are you sensing a theme here? He says he can hold off on freezing her bank accounts to give her enough time to withdraw all her money that she can then use to live on until she's issued a new Social Security number and would be able to open up a new bank account. At that point, completely separate. And independent from the fraudulent bank accounts that that could crime syndicate opened in her name with her old Social Security number. And Agent Serrano again implores Charlotte not to breathe a word about this investigation to anyone.

[Fake CIA Agent (Scammer)]

You need to go to the bank and get that cash out now. You cannot tell them what it is for. In one of my last cases, the identity thief was someone who worked at the bank.

[Jonathan Walton]

Shockingly, this actually rings true to Charlotte because she's been working as a financial journalist for the past 10 years in New York City and she knows for a fact fact that half of all bank fraud cases are perpetrated by someone on the inside by someone who actually works at the bank. You're listening to my new series Hardcore Con for more episodes like the one explaining how a 54 year old man hides the corpse of his dead mother and dresses up like her to collect her pension checks for years. Search Jonathan Walton Media on whatever podcast platform you're listening on, Search Jonathan Walton Media we'll be right back.

[Patia Eaton]

Are your ad campaigns lighting up the dashboard but not the pipeline? That's bullspend and marketers are calling it out in dashboard Confessions.

[Jonathan Walton]

My boss asked for results, so I opened my dashboard for the only positive sounding metric I had. Impressed impressions.

[Patia Eaton]

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[Alec Baldwin]

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[Jonathan Walton]

talkaboutpd.com welcome back to Hardcore Con. Charlotte Coles is 100% certain she's on the phone with a bonafide CIA agent who is right now in the process of convincing her to go to her bank and secure all her money. So Charlotte leaves her apartment and walks to her bank. She keeps CIA agent Michael Serrano on the phone with her and she agrees not to mention the real reason she's withdrawing $50,000 from her savings account. As she's withdrawing $50,000 from her savings account, which is all the money she is had in there to begin with. Now you have to understand Charlotte's mental state at this point. She's in fight or flight mode. Her stress hormones and cortisol levels are through the roof. She's desperate and she's not in her right mind at all. She's also petrified. And the only lifeline she feels she has right now is that CIA agent Michael Serrano. So she's doing exactly what he tells her to do. As Charlotte is walking home from the bank with $50,000 in hundreds in her purse, she still on the phone with Agent Serrano. It's Halloween and costume trick or treaters are scurrying everywhere when all of a sudden Charlotte notices a man in a hoodie and sunglasses who appears to be following her. Block after block after bl. And when she mentions this man to Agent Serrano, he says it's probably a member of that crime syndicate and that they're onto her. Now they know that she knows about them and they're following her. Well, Charlotte freaks out and starts running far ahead and ducks into a nearby parking garage and loses the guy that was following her. The truth of the matter is no one was actually following her. But in Charlotte's frazzled and fearful state of mind, everything just feels like an imminent threat. Everything feels like an emergency. And the scammer posing as a CIA agent on the phone with her just keeps stoking the flames of her fears. Charlotte gets back home and she's shaking now, Her adrenaline is pumping, but she's Unsure what to do next, Agent Serrano

[Fake CIA Agent (Scammer)]

tells her, tonight we will close down your Social Security number and you will lose access to your bank accounts. Tomorrow you need to go to the Social Security office and get a new Social Security number. We'll secure this money for you in a government locker and hand deliver a Treasury check for the same amount. You can cash the check and use it for your expenses until the investigation is over.

[Jonathan Walton]

Charlotte asks why she can't just hang on to the cash she just withdrew from her bank account. It's her cash after all. Why can't she keep it? Agent Serrano explains to her that all

[Fake CIA Agent (Scammer)]

of your assets under your current identity are part of the investigation. You are being charged with money laundering. If we see secure this cash and then issue you a government check under your new Social Security number, then that will be considered clean money.

[Jonathan Walton]

At this point, Charlotte is falling victim to a psychological phenomenon called sunk cost fallacy. It's the reason we all continue to watch a bad movie until the very end. And the reason gamblers will lose everything in a casino before they walk away. Charlotte has been on the phone now, now for five hours. And she's believed so many lies and so many dramatic stories up until this point. So one more lie, one more story was that much easier to accept. And so she did. That's sunk cost fallacy. Agent Serrano tells her to put the $50,000 in cash in a box. Charlotte digs around in her closet and finds a colorful shoebox, and she sticks the cash in it and she labels that shoebox with her name and the CIA case number Agent Serrano had given her. Yup, there was a case. And Charlotte is then instructed to hand the box to an undercover CIA agent who will be driving by in a white Mercedes SUV very shortly. Agent Serrano warns Charlotte that she is in fact being watched by members of that crime syndicate who stole her identity. And this cash handoff needs to fly under the radar as not to expose that CIA agent's cover. She's told to put the box on the back seat of that Mercedes suv, making the exchange look like she's selling something and the buyer came to pick it up. And here's the craziest part of this whole story. As Charlotte is walking out of her apartment, colorful shoebox with $50,000 in hand, her telephone pressed to her ear, talking to Agent Serrano, Charlotte's husband is actually walking in and passes her in the hallway. Remember, Agent Serrano urged Charlotte not to involve her husband for his own safety. So Charlotte pretends everything's okay. She says she has to meet a guy downstairs to clear up the identity theft thing she had texted him about earlier in the day. He accepts that explanation, and Charlotte blows right by him and keeps walking. Charlotte is now standing outside her apartment building, looking up and down the street as rush hour traffic drives by. Minutes later, that white Mercedes SUV pulls up. It's got tinted windows and Charlotte can't see the driver. She opens the back passenger door, puts her colorful shoebox on the back seat and slams the door shut. And that undercover CIA agent drives away with Charlotte's $50,000. Agent Serrano is still on the phone with her at this point, telling her what an amazing job she did. And he texts her a picture of what looks like a government issued check for $50,000 in her name that she'll be receiving tomorrow. It's Halloween now, so Charlotte takes her young son trick or treating and pretends everything's fine. But deep down, the thought of putting that shoebox with $50,000 in the back seat of that Mercedes is gnawing at her. And when she gets home that evening, she starts to play the conversation she had that day over and over in her head with the Amazon operator. It appears you've been the victim of identity theft with that Federal Trade Commission investigator.

[Fake FTC Agent (Scammer)]

I've been in touch with Amazon. I'm looking into your case right now.

[Jonathan Walton]

And with the CIA agent, you are

[Fake CIA Agent (Scammer)]

being investigated for major federal crimes.

[Jonathan Walton]

It suddenly dawns on Charlotte Coles in her own Keyser Soze moment that she's been scammed. She collapses on the floor of her bedroom in tears. Charlotte reports everything to police and even writes a piece about her experience for New York magazine. But those scammers have yet to be caught, and most likely Charlotte will never see that $50,000 ever again. There are a few things I want to point out here. As a victim of a scam who got justice, and this may surprise you to learn, but authorities do not prioritize scams as a crime. They almost don't care. In fact, nine out of every 10, oftentimes when you go to the police or the sheriff's office to file a report that you were scammed, they will not take a report. They will actually turn you away telling you it's not a crime because you willingly gave the scammer your money and that what you need to do now is hire a lawyer and go after the scammer in civil court. But they're wrong. Police turn me away too, when I lost nearly $100,000 to a sophisticated scammer. But I figured out a trick to change their minds and push back and get a criminal investigation started. It's actually a bunch of tricks. I have a whole chapter in my book teaching people how to pitch con cases to police to get them assigned to an investigator. The other thing that bugs me about the Charlotte Coles case here is if police really wanted to wanted to, they could have caught these scammers the very next day. I mean, think about it. New York City has traffic cameras on every street corner, not to mention everyone and their mother has a ring camera or something similar. Police could have easily used all those cameras and figured out where that white Mercedes SUV went the same effing day if they wanted to. And they could have gotten Charlotte's money back and arrested the scammers. But scams, in my experience, are not a priority for them at all. Period. The other thing that's abundantly clear to me in this case is there are probably thousands of Charlotte Coles who've fallen victim to this same exact scam all over the country. But after infection investigating con artist cases for the past nine years, I can tell you the vast majority of victims do not go to police. In fact, upwards of 90% of them never tell anyone they were scammed. Their shame and embarrassment stifles them. And I know for a fact the team of con artists who scammed Charlotte Coles probably scammed thousands of others. Look at how well rehearsed they were. Look at how elaborate and fleshed out and flawless their A story was. And their B story and their C story. These scammers, the woman playing the Amazon rep and the two men playing the FTC and CIA agents respectively. And that fourth guy in the Mercedes SUV picking up the money. They're a team. They're a well oiled machine who have no doubt been working on this same scam, perfecting it for years. And to put a finer point on things, they didn't just know Charlotte Cole's Social Security number. They knew her husband's name, her son's name. They knew her two year old son was in the next room playing before Charlotte even revealed to them she had a son. They knew her family's names and addresses too. That's. That's why Charlotte believed these people were legit CIA and FTC agents. And why she believed those criminals who stole her identity were surveilling her apartment. And that's why Charlotte thought she was in real danger. And that fear response hijacked her brain and took over. And that's why she got scammed. And if that fear response ever takes over your brain, you'll get scam too. My deep and profound admiration and appreciation for Charlotte Coles for coming forward and putting this scam on everyone's radar. Charlotte, you will never know how many people you saved from this exact scam by speaking out. Thank you. You can find Charlotte's powerful essay in New York magazine titled the day I put $50,000 in a shoebox and Handed it to a Stranger. For more episodes of Hardcore Con, like the one revealing the real cause of Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy's death, head on over to my new home at Jonathan Walton Media. Just click that search box on your podcast app and type Jonathan Walton Media. There you'll find my new podcast feed with all my new shows, including Hardcore Con, Cocaine, Air, the Quarterback and the Con Artist and the Handyman of West Texas, which right now is being adapted to the big screen. And you won't believe who's being tapped to play Mickey, the Handyman of West Texas. I almost can't believe it myself. Just type Jonathan Walton Media wherever you get your podcasts and come along on this fascinating journey with me. Hardcore Con was created, written and hosted by me, Jonathan Walton for Jonathan Walton Media Executive producer Evan Goldstein. All sound design was done by Jimmy O'. Holigan. My book, Anatomy of a Con Artist, the 14 red flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters and Thieves is available everywhere. Books are sold in print and in audio, so it's like a podcast. And both print and audio are also available for free at most public libraries throughout the country and on the Libby app. And if you've got a story you think deserves its own podcast, pitch it to me@Jonathan Walton.com.

[Patia Eaton]

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[Intuit/Scott Patterson Advertiser]

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[Patia Eaton]

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[Jonathan Walton]

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[Patia Eaton]

Oregon.

[Jonathan Walton]

This is our home. From its wide Pacific shore to its majestic peaks and open desert, this state has it all. But one careless spark could take all of this away. Whether you're at home, at play or on the job, the power and responsibility of Wildfire is in your hands. Please keep Oregon green.