logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
57m 24s

Psychic Mail Fraud Scheme Enabled by Dat...

AARP
About this episode

In 2018, The Perfect Scam brought you the story of the French psychic Maria Duval mail fraud impostor scheme. For decades, criminals, led by a man named Patrice Runner, used Duval's name and image on letters sent all over the U.S. and the world, promising good fortune in exchange for regular payments, and threatening disaster for those who ignored the solicitations. Federal investigators estimate the scam impacted 1 in 300 Americans and raked in over $200 million. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service finally put a stop to the letters in 2014, but even when we covered the story in 2018 Runner was still on the run. In this episode, Bob checks in with USPIS Inspector Clayton Gerber to find out how the fight for justice is going, and learns how one of the world's largest marketing companies, Epsilon, played a major role in the scheme. 

Up next
Yesterday
Archive Episode: Phone Scams and the Human Trafficking Connection
Have you ever thought about who might be on the other end of those scam calls and messages we all receive? The answer could be far more sinister than you might imagine. The "scammer" may also be a victim of human trafficking. These people are lured by the promise of well-paid job ... Show More
50m 38s
Jan 9
Archive Episode: Recent MBA Wakes Up From Dream Work-From-Home Job
Remote work, which was a necessity for many during the pandemic, is now commonplace. While it's hard to beat the commute, criminals are paying close attention to this trend too. In this episode, a recent MBA graduate lands what feels like her dream job at a start-up that advocate ... Show More
53m 9s
Dec 12
Bonus: AARP's Guide to Avoiding Holiday Scams
Amy Nofziger, Sr. Director of Victim Support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network™, stops by The Perfect Scam to discuss some new variations on old scams and the tactics criminals are using to exploit our vulnerabilities during this busy time of year. Learn what you should never do i ... Show More
29m 14s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2022
The Psychic Ponzi Scheme
Sara and Danny are back to talk about a scam in the 90's that affected over a million people in the US and abroad: the Maria Duval psychic mail scam. They go through all the details of how the scam came to be and how it functioned, and just how it managed to generate over $200 mi ... Show More
50m 13s
Apr 2024
Introducing The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam
It was the biggest gold mine fraud of all time – a scam that devastated countless lives. But what really happened? Suzanne Wilton revisits the story that she just couldn’t let go of, to find answers about how the scam was perpetrated… and about the mysterious death of a geologist ... Show More
2m 49s
Feb 2024
How The Cut's Financial Advice Columnist Was Scammed Out Of $50K
This week, Sara and Danny cover the viral story from The Cut's own financial advice columnist, Charlotte Cowles, who was the unlikely victim of a scam that cost her $50,000. They get into Cowles' article, which details how over the course of just one day, the scammers - posing as ... Show More
44m 27s
Apr 2022
Introducing Dirty Money Moves: Women in White Collar Crime
Dirty Money Moves: Women in White Collar Crime deep dives into cases involving a more rare type of criminal, women who commit financial crimes. In season one, host Jami Rice of MURDERISH podcast takes listeners on a journey to investigate Mary Carole McDonnell, a self-proclaimed ... Show More
5m 20s
Apr 2023
285: Tom Simon – Prison Ponzi Scheme
<p>Retired agent Tom Simon reviews his investigation of Las Vegas couple Perry and Rochelle Griggs for orchestrating a prison Ponzi scheme. While serving 8 years in federal prison for securities fraud, Perry Griggs started another scam, where fellow prisoners and their families w ... Show More
47m 38s
May 2022
Episode 106: The gangland fall-out from the EncroChat phone hack
Two gangsters have been convicted in the first murder plot trial involving EncroChat phones, a system described in court as ‘an Amazon for organised criminals’.Despite no DNA evidence, no fingerprints and no weapon, the court found that Paul Fontaine and Frankie Sinclair tried to ... Show More
31m 53s
Jun 2023
Money Box Live: Fighting Fraud
<p>The UK is the fraud capital of the world with hundreds of thousands of victims and billions of pounds stolen every year. </p><p>Every minute of 2022, thieves stole £2300 from bank and credit card accounts. They took a total of 1.2 billion from nearly 3 million people. In this ... Show More
28m 3s