[00:00:00] This is Scams & Cons News with Jim Grinstead In this week's news, scammers break into a
[00:00:12] position's prescription system, creating orders for tens of thousands of prescriptions
[00:00:17] of addictive drugs.
[00:00:19] And a lawsuit has been filed against City Group for not doing enough to protect consumers
[00:00:23] from scammers.
[00:00:25] Let me start with British officials chasing a person they believe is the nation's most
[00:00:30] prolific romance scammer.
[00:00:32] It began when Sharon met David.
[00:00:35] The British TV show this morning lays out what happened next.
[00:00:39] He walked into my shop and said he was looking for a rice cooker.
[00:00:45] I was selling retro stuff so I didn't have anything like that.
[00:00:48] Absolutely charming, handsome.
[00:00:53] And he just sweet talked me for the next hour but found out everything about me within
[00:00:58] that hour by owned my own place if I had my own business, how many kids I had, I had
[00:01:05] a big family.
[00:01:07] The first meeting met him on plenty of fish and it didn't take more than a couple of
[00:01:14] days before we actually met.
[00:01:16] And again, he knew everything about me within the first drink.
[00:01:22] Her sister Lisa also fell in love with David.
[00:01:25] Can I ask it?
[00:01:26] Did you both fall for him?
[00:01:27] Did you both love him?
[00:01:28] Definitely.
[00:01:29] It just goes to show you know when you're in love.
[00:01:33] Things get blinded, don't they?
[00:01:34] Yeah.
[00:01:35] You let a lot slip.
[00:01:37] When you're loved up, you do let a lot slip.
[00:01:39] But the problem with him was he was a complete controlling, dominating character.
[00:01:45] So he threatened my son.
[00:01:47] What?
[00:01:48] Yeah, he also alienated me from my friends.
[00:01:53] You know, are you home?
[00:01:55] No, I'm out.
[00:01:56] Well if you're not back in five minutes, I'm leaving.
[00:02:00] That type of thing.
[00:02:02] Like all romance scams, once the scammer established his dominance, they begin to ask for money
[00:02:08] and they take it until the person either gets wise or runs out of money.
[00:02:13] This time something different happened.
[00:02:15] And Fonkoff and the police to say this guy's a wronged man.
[00:02:18] Yeah, they told me he was with the 17 women at the time.
[00:02:22] Oh, I was getting that Fonkoff.
[00:02:25] It was like he died.
[00:02:27] Honestly, I didn't feel sadness for the loss of the relationship because really, I think
[00:02:33] it had run its course anyway.
[00:02:36] So it was a cutoff point.
[00:02:38] Well on the 29th of November, he was convicted of 19 kinds.
[00:02:43] Of fraud and one of theft.
[00:02:45] And he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
[00:02:47] Yes.
[00:02:48] I mean, how are you by feeling about that now?
[00:02:50] He's not going to do 11 years.
[00:02:51] He's not only going to do half and then he'll be out and do it again.
[00:02:55] But everybody knows what he is now.
[00:02:56] Yeah.
[00:02:57] A 38-year-old man from Texas has been sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement
[00:03:02] at a romance scam that defrauded a Missouri woman of nearly $1.2 million.
[00:03:08] The man, a native of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud,
[00:03:13] wire fraud and conspiracy.
[00:03:15] His Texas accomplice posed as a veterinarian on a dating site to establish a relationship
[00:03:20] with the victim.
[00:03:22] He manipulated her into sending large sums of money under false pretenses.
[00:03:27] This is Scams & Cons News.
[00:03:31] Listen to Mr. Bunker's Conspiracy Time podcast.
[00:03:34] It's a fun show about weird stuff.
[00:03:36] New episodes every Wednesday, yeah, eggheads.
[00:03:39] I'm art.
[00:03:40] I'm Andy and Mr. Bunker's Conspiracy Time is a podcast about conspiracies, the paranormal,
[00:03:45] UFOs, unsolved mysteries.
[00:03:47] We're going to be discussing the Kennedy assassinations.
[00:03:50] Oh yeah, that's his nickname, Finger Bang & Bob's Zarth.
[00:03:53] Give me some aliens with some good, freaking spacecraft!
[00:03:55] The whole enchilada.
[00:03:57] The only thing bigger than Bigfoot's feet are he goes.
[00:03:59] If you like simulation theory, ancient history, egghead science and Mandela effect, that
[00:04:04] kind of stuff, so check it out.
[00:04:06] New episodes every Wednesday, all the links you need on Mr. Bunker's Conspiracy Time.com
[00:04:11] And we'll see you in the bunker!
[00:04:19] An Australian man sent more than 17 million scam text messages from his home.
[00:04:25] The television show occurred to fair and investigated and asked Michael, former digital forensic
[00:04:30] specialist in the New South Wales Police Force, to explain the equipment that was found.
[00:04:36] So these are typically known as sim boxes.
[00:04:39] So essentially they're just a bank of GSM modems or cellular modems.
[00:04:44] Each one with their own corresponding sim card that can be used to send out bulk SMSes.
[00:04:49] Detectives are ledge these devices can hold over 250 active sim cards and will typically
[00:04:56] send out 150,000 messages a day.
[00:05:01] In this case they allege the scammer was posing as companies, including Australian Post
[00:05:07] and LinkedIn.
[00:05:08] They're often connected to a computer so the computer will craft the message and any responses
[00:05:14] if they elicit responses they'll come back through that computer as well.
[00:05:18] So the idea of it is that they're sending fake links that you click on.
[00:05:22] That's right so that's a common technique.
[00:05:24] They'll send out links from common Australian businesses such as Australia Post or banks
[00:05:29] and the idea is to instill a sense of urgency in clicking the link or providing information.
[00:05:36] About one in ten of those who received the text, click the link.
[00:05:41] A long island man was cheated out of $8,000 in a Rolex watch sale by a scammer he met
[00:05:46] through Facebook Marketplace.
[00:05:49] The thief asked the seller to walk to his car so he could get the payment.
[00:05:53] The New York Post said that the thief locked himself in the car with the watch and attempted
[00:05:57] to drive away.
[00:05:59] The victim, Steve Morrow jumped on the hood of the moving car and an attempt to stop him.
[00:06:05] Despite Morrow's efforts, the thief managed to escape with the watch.
[00:06:09] The incident was witnessed by a police officer, Morrow sustained minor injuries in the scuffle.
[00:06:15] A sophisticated drug ring, orchestrated by Devon Anthony Magarrerian of Kissimmee, Florida
[00:06:22] hacked into a doctor's electronic prescribing accounts to generate tens of thousands
[00:06:26] of fraudulent prescriptions for addictive drugs.
[00:06:30] Those prescriptions were then picked up by runners and resold online.
[00:06:34] Magarrian faces multiple criminal charges related to illegal drug sales and diversion
[00:06:39] of prescription medications.
[00:06:42] The scheme exploited vulnerabilities in the E-prescription system and mainly involved
[00:06:47] drugs like oxycodone.
[00:06:49] Magarrian operated through an encrypted messaging service to coordinate with customers,
[00:06:54] living a lavish lifestyle from the proceeds.
[00:06:57] Law enforcement became aware of the operation after a local pharmacist raised suspicions
[00:07:02] about a fraudulent prescription that led to Magarrian's arrest.
[00:07:07] This is Scams & Cons News.
[00:07:10] From DNA testing to the Dixie Mafia, Crime Capsule brings you new stories of true crime in American
[00:07:17] history.
[00:07:18] I'm your host, Benjamin Morris.
[00:07:21] Join us for exclusive interviews with authors from Arcadia Publishing, writing the hottest
[00:07:26] books on the most chilling stories of our country's past.
[00:07:30] You can find us wherever you get your favorite podcasts or on evergreenpodcasts.com.
[00:07:36] Crime Capsule.
[00:07:38] History is so interesting, it's criminal.
[00:07:42] New York Attorney General, Leticia James, has filed a federal lawsuit against City Group
[00:07:47] Inc, alleging that the bank failed to protect customers and compensate victims of fraud
[00:07:53] adequately.
[00:07:54] The lawsuit claims that City Group's actions have led to millions of dollars in losses
[00:07:59] for New York customers.
[00:08:01] City Group asserts that it complies closely with wire transfer laws and works hard to prevent
[00:08:06] fraud instances claiming that its measures have reduced wire fraud significantly.
[00:08:11] However, James suits Six Reimbursement for Loss Funds, a civil penalty for violations
[00:08:16] of general business law and other financial penalties.
[00:08:20] The complete Allegiance City Group, of lacking strong online protections against unauthorized
[00:08:26] account takeovers, misleading account holders about their rights after the fraud, and unlawfully
[00:08:31] denying reimbursement to fraud victims.
[00:08:34] The lawsuit highlights instances where customers lost significant sums including retirement savings,
[00:08:41] due to fraudulent activities facilitated through the City Group system.
[00:08:45] Jose Medina Teren, a webster Batista Fernandez, made headlines in Phoenix, not for their
[00:08:51] flashy lifestyles driving Lamborghini's, but for running one of the largest YouTube music
[00:08:56] royalty scams in history.
[00:08:59] Billboard says the duo's scheme involves siphoning $23 million in royalties for Latin music
[00:09:05] copyrights they didn't control.
[00:09:08] Despite their elaborate operation, they were eventually caught and indicted on multiple
[00:09:12] charges.
[00:09:13] Batista accepted a plea deal, shedding light on how the scam operated.
[00:09:19] Meanwhile, suspicions arose about the role of ad rev, the rights management company
[00:09:23] involved.
[00:09:25] Victims in industry and ciders are seeking restitution and hoping for justice to serve
[00:09:30] as a deterrent to future scams.
[00:09:33] It might be fun to be a secret chopper, but it could also be a scam.
[00:09:37] WSOC and Charlotte North Carolina spoke with a woman who was looking to earn extra money
[00:09:42] and almost fell for an advertisement seeking secret choppers.
[00:09:46] When I got the check in the mail, it had a letter with instructions.
[00:09:49] They told me I was hired.
[00:09:50] Congratulations.
[00:09:51] They had to date the company name.
[00:09:53] It seemed legit.
[00:09:54] It had told me to go to different stores and purchase ebay gift cards.
[00:09:59] The only thing that literally saved me was because I slept on it.
[00:10:07] Scams and cons is a member of the Evergreen Podcast Network.
[00:10:11] Lo this is Dr. Grande, the host of True Crime Psychology and Personality.
[00:10:17] On my podcast, I explore and explain the pathology behind some of the most horrendous crimes and
[00:10:22] those who commit them.
[00:10:24] We discuss topics like narcissism, psychopathy, sociopathy and anti-social personality disorder
[00:10:31] from a scientifically informed perspective.
[00:10:34] What is a narcissist?
[00:10:35] How do you spot a sociopath?
[00:10:37] What signs can you look for to protect yourself from these dangerous personalities?
[00:10:42] It's not just about the stories but also the science and psychology behind them.
[00:10:47] So if you're interested in True Crime or Mental Health, I'd encourage you to give my show
[00:10:51] a listen wherever you get podcasts.