Welcome to all of our new listeners! On today’s very special episode, the incredible Kate Spencer, from the award-winning podcast Forever35, is our guest. We briefly discuss the Netflix hit, The Tinder Swindler but then the conversation takes a turn to run the gamut from Kristen Stewart’s Oscar nomination, Olestra chips, and the weaponization of romance novels. Join us on this wild ride where we unpack toxic friendships, Instagram influencers, and pampering ourselves. 

Also, Kate’s debut novel, In A New York Minute, is available for preorder wherever books are sold.

This special episode with Kate Spencer ran for almost two hours, so additional clips from this interview can be found on our Patreon page!

https://www.patreon.com/scamwowpodcast?fan_landing=true 

RESOURCES:

Buy Kate’s Book!  In A New York Minute 

And The Dead Mom’s Club

The Tinder Swindler 

https://www.katespencerwrites.com/ 

https://forever35podcast.com/ 

The Sweet Bobby Podcast

https://www.iheart.com/podcast-awards/ 

Get those DISCOUNTS https://allform.com/lp/scamwow/podcasts 

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York State probably won’t email you a holiday card or ask you to share a stimulus opportunity with 10 of your family members to get paid.

Journalist Rommel Ojeda from Documented digs into a story (co-reported with Telemundo) about how scammers target immigrants with fake government benefits in WhatsApp chat groups and chains.

Caity’s husband and journalist Allen Arthur (a Documented alum) joins into find out just how these spread so easily and how they exploit genuine confusion around resources available to immigrants with an official looking message. Hint: If the government uses emojis in the message, delete it ASAP. Hopefully this can help you or your loved ones avoid getting scammed! 

RESOURCES:

https://twitter.com/cestrommel 

https://documentedny.com/2021/12/16/scams-whatsapp-immigrants/

https://documentedny.com/author/rommel-ojeda/ 

Get those DISCOUNTS https://allform.com/lp/scamwow/podcasts 

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Investigative journalist and VICE contributor Sarah Berman joins Caitlin this week to talk about Keith Raniere and NXIVM. Sarah has been at the forefront of this story since the beginning, but she’s here to discuss another surprising side to the saga for the first time.

It’s creepy, it’s convoluted, it's acapella.  

It’s also the subject of an episode of the HBO show How To with John Wilson, titled How to Appreciate Wine. 

Caitlin and Sarah unpack the messy story involving a cult leader, Allison Mack, and a choir. 

RESOURCES:

Don't Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of Nxivm By: Sarah Berman

https://twitter.com/sarahberms

New Yorker MAgazine, What Makes a Cult a Cult? 

How To with John Wilson on HBO 

How to Appreciate Wine. 

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A fake boarding school that wanted to be a high school football powerhouse??! What could go wrong?

This week, journalist and Caity’s husband Allen Arthur brings a scam hot off the ESPN broadcast! That’s right, even Disney can get in the scam game. Allen covers the fraudulent school and sports program, Bishop Sycamore. He'll talk about the fake school's distant connection to a real church, how many helmets they had (not enough), and the bounced checks to hotels the kids were put up in.

This insane scam might have gone mostly unnoticed if BS hadn't flown too close to the sun and played on ESPN. The game was so unevenly matched that announcers and viewers began to question if Bishop Sycamore even had a full team. Spoiler alert: they didn’t!

RESOURCES:

High School Website

We learned more about how Bishop Sycamore ended up playing on ESPN, and it's only getting shadier

https://twitter.com/bkoo

How the Bishop Sycamore Football Saga Happened 

https://twitter.com/thisweekandrew

Ben Koo, Author at Awful Announcing

https://www.sbnation.com/authors/james-dator 

https://twitter.com/James_Dator

Bishop Sycamore scandal: Complete timeline of the scam that fooled ESPN - SBNation.com

How a shady high school football team faked its way onto ESPN - SBNation.com

Reality over perception: Bishop Sycamore looks to alter viewpoint with football, Massillon trip

https://twitter.com/lissomelight

https://www.allenarthur.work/ 

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week is the 2nd half of our Crypto, shmipto, bipto episode. This episode is about NFTs and how to make them, sell them, and become obsessed. Are NFTs the new answer to financial stability as an artist? Do you trust yourself with a digital wallet? And can your automatic password be actually a foreboding sign to: STOP AND WALK AWAY! Sabra and Stephen Boyd share their own digital creation, video game worlds, and how they are navigating the arbitrary value of an NFT. 

And if you’re already an expert at this, call us on the Hot Tip Hotline (347-509-9414) and share your wisdom, feelings, or encouraging words while we struggle to decode this new world. Let’s all collectively agree this is confusing. 

RESOURCES:

https://opensea.io/assets/0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e/13898110725975682382453390143437525154019008494979079660577878501176433967105

https://www.powells.com/book/the-women-of-jenji-kohan-9781949024302

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2157823/joshua-hunt 

https://sabraboyd.com

https://opensea.io/collection/counterfeit-birkin-bags

Check out Sabra’s previous episode: S01E124: When Cults Become Comforting w/ Sabra Boyd ‎ScamWow: 124: When Cults Become Comforting w/ Sabra Boyd on Apple Podcasts 

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that you can buy a 600k dollar invisible yacht? The incredibly kind, brilliant, and generous Sabra and Stephen Boyd join Caitlin Brodnick today to explain cryptocurrency and NFTs! Bitcoin. Ethereum. Crypto ATMs? Hear this explanation for the lay-woman and Caitlin finally understanding the world of scamming fake money. What is a crypto? How to not be scammed by a crypto-bro? Where is my password?! Keep up with the crypto-NFT-moneylaundering breakdown of the confusing and vast world of a digital wallet. 

If not this is the episode for you! And if you’re already an expert at this, call us on the Hot Tip Hotline and share your wisdom, or feelings, or encouraging words while we struggle to decode this new world. Let’s all collectively believe this is confusing. 

Check out Sabra’s previous episode: S01E124: When Cults Become Comforting w/ Sabra Boyd ‎ScamWow: 124: When Cults Become Comforting w/ Sabra Boyd on Apple Podcasts 

RESOURCES:

https://opensea.io/assets/0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e/13898110725975682382453390143437525154019008494979079660577878501176433967105

https://www.powells.com/book/the-women-of-jenji-kohan-9781949024302

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2157823/joshua-hunt 

https://sabraboyd.com

https://opensea.io/collection/counterfeit-birkin-bags

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy New Year from Caitlin Brodnick and Ellen Haun. Ellen joins Caitlin to discuss the trial of Real Housewife of Salt Lake City, Jen Shah. They discuss the Hulu documentary, The Housewife and the Shah Shocker, and all of the court transcripts they can get their hands on. Find out about how many companies Jen Shah is tied to, how she screams at her employees, and the influence of mormon perfectionism. 

Also is Whitney a secret detective/ true-crime junky we should all be listening to?  

Spoiler: Her case did not get dismissed and Jen Shah headed to court! 

RESOURCES:

https://www.ellenhaun.com

http://www.innercitypress.com/sdny11telemarkjenshah111921.html

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21037245-shaw1suppressionshsdeniedicp

https://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-salt-lake-city/season-2/episode-10/highway-to-vail

https://www.thebravodocket.com 

https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/jen-shah-legal-drama-what-we-know-about-rhoslc-role-arrest/ 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSc4cvHJfc9/

https://sandsbywilla.com 

https://www.instagram.com/feministfairytalesbook/

https://www.instagram.com/ellenhaun/

https://feministfairytalesbook.com

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Caity is off living her best holiday life, celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, and time with family. Producer Cait is stepping in to reminiscence about the last year of scams and great scam episodes. Producer Cait reads bad reviews AND supportive messages from our scam family. Then she plays some of her favorite clips from the most popular episodes and best scams of the year. Have a quick listen for some holiday cheer and check out our long and incredible catalog of great episodes.

Also, let us know if you want to join the Cult of Caity Brodnick! The sign up fees are very low.

Thank you for listening and Happy Holidays! If you want to hear more episodes we have two special Patreon episodes out this month if you are interested in becoming a ScamWow Patreon! 

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Caitlin is joined by Scamspondant , resident Magician, and friend of the pod, Kevin Smith! Kevin shares his experience as a salesperson at a noted cell phone provider store, and all the cons involved. They discuss how a sales team is trained to lead the shopper into certain purchases and the emotional connection that gives each sales pitch an “X-Factor!” YUCK. 

It’s interesting, it’s creepy, and it is probably going to save you a lot of money next time you need an upgrade. 

Plus Kevin explains the easiest way to create a password that might be the most un-hackable option. 

And guys here’s a Hot Tip: If you start talking to a salesperson for over 45 minutes you might end up marrying them!

Thank you for listening and Happy Holidays! If you want to hear more episodes we have two special Patreon episodes out this month if you are interested in becoming a ScamWow Patreon! 

RESOURCES:

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-call-customer-service/

https://bestlifeonline.com/how-to-reach-customer-service-rep/

https://www.popsci.com/customer-service-tips/

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy holiday shopping season! Have no fear that with the many ways you can be bamboozled in shopping this year, ScamWow is here to guide you down the right path. Author and comedian Carrie McCrossen is here to discuss book scams!

Covering everything from publishing to promotion, Caitlin and Carrie go over the hottest romance novel scams to ever hit your tablets and the drama behind #CockGate. Why are romance novel readers so angry about a court case involving cocky doctors and cocky firefighters? Find out this and why you should be reviewing books on Barns&Noble over Amazon. 

Today’s guest Carrie McCrossen and her husband Ian McWethy, co-wrote the young adult novel, Margot Mertz Takes It Down, which is quickly becoming a fan favorite! 

Here is a little blurb from Penguin Random House: 

Veronica Mars meets Moxie in this hilarious and biting YA contemporary novel following Margot Mertz, a girl who runs an internet cleanup business and embarks on a quest to take down a revenge-porn site targeting the girls in her school.

For the right price, high school junior Margot Mertz will go to the ends of the internet to remove your nip-slip, dick pic, or embarrassing DM. At least that’s what it says on her business card. Margot founded a now notorious company that helps students, teachers, even a local weatherman, discreetly clean up their digital shame. And since her parents lost her college fund, Margot is happy to work for anyone… if they can pay, she can clean.

But when a fellow student hires her to take down some leaked nudes, Margot discovers a secret revenge porn site featuring Roosevelt High girls. And hell hath no fury like Margot when she sees girls’ butts shared without their consent. With the help of an unwitting ally, the popular and uncomfortably handsome Avery Green, Margot will gain access to the far flung cliques of Roosevelt High. Anything to find the mastermind (read: asshole) behind the site. But the more she digs, the deeper and darker the case becomes until Margot realizes that some jobs are so dirty, no one can come away clean. Even her. Gross.”

Teen & Young Adult Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Social Issues, Teen & Young Adult Romance

RESOURCES:

https://www.instagram.com/misscarrielynne/?hl=en 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647585/margot-mertz-takes-it-down-by-carrie-mccrossen/

https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/16/17566276/cockygate-amazon-kindle-unlimited-algorithm-self-published-romance-novel-cabal

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/27/16208294/handbook-for-mortals-nyt-bestseller-list-accusations

https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/handbook-for-mortals-lani-sarem-23-hour-new-york-times-bestseller.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamrowe1/2018/04/07/amazon-has-filed-suit-to-stop-the-six-figure-book-stuffing-kindle-scam/?sh=7f5fa7a97344

DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon

Send us your scams!

[email protected]

Or call: 347-509-9414

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices