August12
Three Disk Monte
The three disk monte set is shipping now.
Rob Mond has done an incredible job in putting this DVD together and the disks look really nice.
I think you’ll enjoy getting these things dirty in the trenches.
Confessions
August11
Thirty Five Bucks
I did a gig about ten years ago for a festival that failed to pay me. After months of emails and phone calls, I finally got a check for…$35 less than I was owed.
I rang the organiser who said “yeah, you got paid last and got all the money left in the account. But it’s only $35 right?”
I was furious. It was only $35, but it was my $35.
Now, ten years later, I find myself getting angry about another $35.
This time, the $35 isn’t just mine. It’s your’s.
If you visit a Coles or K-Mart or a McDonalds in Australia and pay less than $35 with a card, you won’t be asked for a PIN or signature. You don’t need to prove who you are. In other words, anyone can take your card and use it at these shops.
You can’t opt out or go to another bank because the Fast Pay system is an industry wide policy. Every card from every bank is now open to small scale fraud.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t go to Coles, K-Mart or McDonalds because it is the con artists who are taking advantage of the system.
I spoke this afternoon with Judy Shaw from VISA who was the only person I could find willing to discuss the issue. Coles, K-Mart, McDonalds and the banks I called all ducked the issue or ignored me.
Judy stated that the system is low risk because a) Fast Pay only applies on transactions $35 or less and b) you will get your money back if you get scammed (after going to your bank and requesting a fraud report and waiting several weeks).
However, none of this explains why the big banks feel it necessary to save 20 seconds at the check out by not asking for the PIN or signature. All of those twenty seconds saved will get added up and lumped onto the poor sod who has to go chasing down their thirty bucks later on.
I reminds me of a dodgy housemates who steals money from your wallet and then, when you complain, rolls his eyes and says. “It’s only a few bucks. I’ll pay you back. Just chillax man.”
Where is the opportunity to opt out of the system?
We should be able to go the bank and tick and box that means a PIN or signature is required for all transactions.
Credit card fraud is on the rise. Skimmers and card duplicators are rife. It’s never been more risky to use a credit, dedit or key card. Why make things less safe?
But I’ve got to relax. It’s taking me back to ten years ago when I yelled at a festival organiser for stiffing me.
After all, it’s only thirty five bucks right?
BUT ITS MY THIRTY FIVE BUCKS!
sorry. I need a cup of tea.
August7
Harry Potter Swindle
Con artists have a habit of honing in on the desperate, the credulous and the zealous.
And there are few people more desperate, credulous and zealous than the fans of Harry Potter.
After all, they stumped up money twice to see that last book split into two separate films when there is barely enough material for one.
That is why, despite having more money than the US economy, J.K. Rowling has created Pottermore, a chance to re-read all of the books online plus get access to extra bonus material deemed too crappy to put in the actual books.
Rowling opened the website for a few weeks to a small number of people who had the chance to access the half finished site. To participate, you had to jump through more hoops than a quidditch quaffle answering trivia questions and following links.
And this is when the con artists showed up.
Websites started popped up offering people free access to the site if they would only hand over some personal details.
Other con artists hit eBay, selling fake accounts at one hundred dollars a pop.
Worse still, some users have found themselves accidentally signing up to premium services lines, like daily horoscopes, thinking they are getting their daily dose of Potter.
This all happened despite the fact the site was closed down two days ago until the official launch in October.
So until these scammers get caught and locked up in Azkaban or have their souls sucked by dementors, just take a deep breath, relax and remind yourself that it’s only a book.
August3
Follow me on Facebook
It’s difficult to read the title of this post without it sounding like a command or a plea.
But, it’s true.
You can follow me on facebook and get up to the minute news on blog posts, events, gigs and scams.
So do it.
Follow me on Facebook.
August2
How To Win The Lottery
You want to know don’t you?
How to do it. How to win the lottery and never work again in your life.
Well it’s possible. All you need to know are the two magic words known only to a handful of MIT statisticians and gambling investment companies.
Rolldown Week.
Cash WinFall is a little known game run by the Massachusetts State Lottery. It’s a small lottery that peaks every now and again with jackpot of $2 million. If the jackpot doesn’t pay off, the rules say that the winnings need to be spread out over several smaller prizes over the next week.
Rolldown Week.
Suddenly, for one week, the usually small prizes at the bottom end of the lottery spike in value. For a very small window of time, the odds swing the direction of the saavy gambler.
Early on 12 July, an elderly woman named Marjorie Selbee walked into Billy’s Beer and Wine and bought 150,000 $2 tickets in the lottery, tying up the ticket printing machine for hours. So long as they purchased over $100,000 worth of tickets, Selbee on her husband Gerald were almost certain to turn a profit. Since her husband was also buying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tickets, this was pretty much a sure thing.
MIT-educated statistician Mohan Srivastava has claimed that, if someone was to buy 200,000 tickets during rolldown week, they could expect to make between $240,000 to $1.4 million in profit.
And the Selbees are not alone. A select group of gamblers make a very good living from playing the lottery during Rolldown Week.
Of course, now that the word is out and more and more people take advantage of this mathematical quirk, who knows how long the game will be profitable.
Are you game?
August1
How Dice Help Stop People Lying
Have you ever been asked a sensitive questions on a supposedly private survey?
Do you still wet the bed?
Ever cheated on your partner?
Who is your favourite member of El Divo?
You’ve been told that the answers will be kept secret and no one will know what you responded but still….how honest are you prepared to be.
This was the problem faced by researchers in South Africa try to figure out what percentage of farmers shoot and kill leopards that come onto their property.
Bangor University researchers came up with a brilliant solution to the problem.
They had respondents on their survey secretly roll a dice before answering.
If they rolled a ONE, they were asked to answer YES, I have killed a leopard (regardless of the truth.)
If they rolled a SIX, they were asked to answer NO, I have not killed a leopard (again regardless of the truth.)
If they rolled a TWO, THREE, FOUR or FIVE, they were asked to answer honestly.
Because there was no way of knowing whether respondents had rolled a ONE or whether they had killed a leopard, the farmers felt comfortable telling the truth.
Because of the dice roll, the researchers were able to determine that, sadly, 19% of farmers have illegally killed a leopard.
And I thought dice were only useful for lying and cheating.
August1
The TODAY show
Appeared this morning on the TODAY show for the weather segment with Steve Jacobs.
Way too early in the morning to be doing complex sleight of hand.
July26
The $22,000 puzzle
22 people are locked in a room, each having wagered $1000 to be there.
Every hour, they are asked a YES or NO question.
They may lie or tell the truth.
The majority always loses.
For example, if they majority says YES, they will forfeit their money and leave the room. If they say NO and are in the minority, they play on.
In the result of a tie, a new question is asked.
The questions are asked until one person remains who gets the entire prize pool.
What is the best possible way not lose your $1000 and make some cash?
HINT: The solution is not logically flawed but is still flawed none the less.
Bonus points for those who know the original source of this puzzle.
July19
Herald Sun Article
This little article appeared in the Herald Sun in a feature about local performers at the Melbourne Magic Festival.
THE CON ARTIST
NICHOLAS J. JOHNSON
PRESENTING: Wanna Bet?
SIGNATURE TRICK: Three Disk Monte
He knows every scam, hustle and hoodwink there is, but Nicholas J. Johnson insists he uses his skills “for good rather than evil”.
Keep that in mind when “Australia’s Honest Con Man” props himself in the foyer of Northcote Town Hall and presents Wanna Bet? — a free, flim-flam guide to “best bar bets, proposition wagers and sneaky tricks”.
“I’ve been taught by the best,” he says. “Real card cheats, real con artists. Believe me, you’ll never have to pay for a drink again.”
July5
Three Disk Monte - Advanced Orders
We are now taking advance orders for the Three Disk Monte DVD documentary and disk set.
We’ve just sent the finished product to be produced and it looks amazing. Director/Producer Rob Mond has done an amazing job.
You can place your order here for the first edition limited edition set.
Orders will ship on 31 July.
A friend of mine drew this at two in the morning the other night.