logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
51m 29s

My Psychic, She Wrote Me a Letter: Maria...

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

If you have psychic powers, you should see a scam coming a mile away. Not so for Maria Duval. The French psychic only wanted to use her powers for good, but three shady dealers used her name to create one of the world’s longest-running cons. Just because a letter has a coffee stain on it doesn't mean it's real. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
The King of Counterfeiters: Jeff Turner
<p>If you were in a bad place, hard up financially, looking for work, and some sorta lifeline... how far down your list of options would be the idea: should I start a counterfeiting ring? For Jeff Turner that was his number one idea. And that's how he became the King of Counterfe ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 20
There Ain't No Cure for the Varsity Blues: Rick Singer
<p>Applying to college. Oh, what a busy time that is for high school students. There are stressors like posing for a fake rowing photo or making sure your SAT ringer spelled your name right on the Scantron. See, while some teens spend all their time studying and participating in ... Show More
1h 3m
Nov 18
The Flapper Bandit: Rebecca Bradley Rogers
<p>The 1920s was an era of radical change in the culture. One of the major indicators was the advent of The Flapper &ndash;- young women who rejected the previous generations' notions of femininity and embraced their own ideas of modern womanhood. This of course inspired a nation ... Show More
56m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2020
413: Mark Edward | True Confessions of a Fake Psychic
<p><a href="http://themarkedward.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Mark Edward</strong></a> is a professional mentalist who specializes in magic of the mind -- including a convincing stint as a fake psychic. He's the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com ... Show More
1h 19m
Oct 2023
Psychic Mail Fraud Scheme Enabled by Data Firm
<p class="MsoNormal">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 goo ... Show More
57m 24s
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
Mar 2023
Scammed By Fake Psychic
Fake psychics manipulate people by making false claims about their psychic abilities and preying on vulnerable individuals. They offer false hope or play on people's fears and emotions, using tactics like cold reading or hot reading to create the illusion of psychic ability. Thei ... Show More
1h 7m
Jun 2018
Have psychics solved any actual crimes?
<p>It's a common trope in film and TV -- a police department at their wits' end calls in a favor and makes contact with a genuine psychic, someone in tune with the greater mysteries of life, death and the universe. In works of fiction these individuals often do possess some spark ... Show More
1h 1m
Jul 2023
Archive Episode: The Hidden World of Psychic Scams, Part 2
<p class="MsoNormal">In Part 2 of this 2019 episode, after losing her job and breaking up with her boyfriend in the same day, a distraught Debra pays a visit to a psychic. Little does Debra know that the shop is part of a larger criminal organization, and psychic Sylvia Mitchell ... Show More
15m 17s
Jul 2018
Are We All Psychic?
Laura Lynne Jackson is one of the most incredible psychic mediums of our time. She’s also the New York Times-bestselling author of the thoroughly enjoyable, uplifting read The Light Between Us. Today, she shares some of her profound intuitions with us—like why she believes we all ... Show More
39m 19s